Bookkeeping for Real Estate Wholesalers

What do you get every month as a wholesaler?

A profit and loss for each deal with its fee, costs and net, a list of deposits still out, marketing cost per closed deal and cash against profit, from a month-end close with every account reconciled.

• Per-deal report: every deal with its fee, its costs and its net.
• Deposit schedule: every earnest money deposit still out, and its state.
• Marketing cost per closed deal, by campaign and overall.
• Cash against profit: what is in the bank next to what the deals made.
• Month-end close: every bank and card account reconciled.

Every month starts from the same layout. To see how a monthly report reads line by line, look at our real estate bookkeeping report example. It is built for a flip company, with invented data.

How is an assignment fee recorded?

We record an assignment fee as revenue on the deal it came from, at the gross amount, and record anything title withholds separately. The books show the fee earned and the cash that arrived, even when they differ.

The settlement statement is the source for every line. The gap between the fee and the cash in your bank can make correct books look wrong, so the report shows both. For the full entry, see assignment fee bookkeeping.

Deal 1 for Demo Wholesale LLC, 1807 Example Dr, Woodland, was a $15,000 assignment. These numbers are invented data.

The books record $15,000 of revenue on Deal 1 and $750 of title charges as costs on Deal 1. Title also returned your $1,000 earnest money in a separate wire the same day. That is your own deposit coming back, so it closes out the deposit and is not income.

What happens to earnest money, including on deals that die?

An earnest money deposit is an asset while it is out, not an expense. It stays on the books until it is applied at closing, refunded, or forfeited. A forfeited deposit becomes a cost on that deal.

• Paid: the deposit is out and held for the deal. It is an asset on your books.
• Applied: the deposit was used at closing. It leaves the books with that closing.
• Refunded: the deal ended and the deposit came back. The asset turns back into cash.
• Forfeited: the deal ended and the deposit was lost. It becomes a cost on that deal.

Deposits on cancelled deals are the easiest ones to lose track of. A deposit left on the books after its deal ended shows money you no longer have. The deposit schedule lists every deposit and its state, so none is forgotten. For how each state is recorded, see earnest money deposit bookkeeping.

The deposit schedule for Demo Wholesale LLC on Aug 31, 2026.

Deal 3 was cancelled on Aug 12, 2026. Its $1,500 deposit moved from an asset to a cost on Deal 3. How a forfeited deposit is treated on your tax return is for your CPA to decide.

How is marketing cost tied to a deal?

Marketing spend is recorded by campaign and matched to the deals it produced, so each closed deal carries its own acquisition cost and you can see what a deal costs to find.

Demo Wholesale LLC spent $4,800 on one mail campaign and $3,100 on cold calling. The mail campaign produced Deal 1 and Deal 3. Cold calling produced Deal 2. Deal 3 was cancelled, so $7,900 of marketing produced 2 closed deals, and a closed deal cost $3,950 to find.

What about double closings?

We record a double close as two transactions, one per settlement statement. The transactional funding between them is a loan in and out on the same day. The profit is the gap between the two, less costs.

Deal 2 for Demo Wholesale LLC, 455 Sample Ct, Rio Linda, was a double close in September 2026. It was bought for $210,000 and sold the same day for $232,000. A transactional lender funded $208,000 of the purchase, the $2,000 deposit covered the rest, and the loan was repaid from the sale. After the $2,080 funding fee and $3,400 of closing costs, Deal 2 made $16,520.

Two closings, one deal. We enter each settlement statement under the same deal in double close bookkeeping. To see what a fee or a spread leaves after costs on your own numbers, with both exits side by side, use the wholesale deal calculator.

What do you need from me to start?

A shared folder in your own Dropbox or Google Drive with your monthly bank and card statements, contracts and marketing invoices, plus your settlement statements from escrow. Everything after that happens on our side.

1. 1Share one permanent folder in your own Dropbox or Google Drive, and drop your monthly bank and card statements there.
2. 2Add your purchase contracts, assignment contracts and marketing invoices to the same folder. Escrow documents, such as settlement statements, go to a dedicated mailbox set up for you, or we request them from escrow with your authorization.
3. 3Photograph receipts into the folder or the mailbox. For cash with no receipt, send a short note: date, amount, property, what for.

Personal email access is never required. You do not need any bookkeeping software, and QuickBooks works if you already use it.

Who is this for?

It is for wholesalers who close deals regularly, often several at once, have deposits outstanding, and want to know what each deal cost to find.

A good fit if you:

• Close assignments or double closes regularly, often several at once.
• Have earnest money out on more than one deal at a time.
• Spend on mail, cold calls, PPC or driving for dollars, and want the cost per closed deal for each.

What stays with you and your CPA:

• Filing your tax return. We deliver tax-ready books.
• Filing 1099s. We deliver 1099-ready contractor reporting.
• Tax positions on your deals. Your CPA decides them.