| valerie | email | Jun 14 2012, 11:35 PM |
|
Hi there, Just wondering if there is a good/best practice using Landlord Max to do this? I contract repair work and receive an invoice from a Vendor. I lodge the repair work/Vendor expense against the building, however, I also have to recover the expense from the Landlord at the end of a billing cycle. What is the best way to handle these two separate but related transactions in Landlord Max? |
|
| Stephane Grenier | email | Jun 15 2012, 11:31 AM |
|
Hi Valerie, This is where you're crossing into what is called a ledger based accounting system. In other words, you're now going from managing the accounting system from one perspective (the property owners) into multiple perspectives (property owners, management company, etc.) through ledges (different accounts). In other words, a single accounting entry can be an expense for one account but a revenue for another account. So for example a management fee is an expense for the property owner but a revenue for you. And hence you need to manage and transfer amounts between accounts. For this you need a ledger based property management accounting system whereas LandlordMax only offers a cash based accounting system. That is all entries are either expenses or revenues, and you can tally up the amounts. This also means that you can only manage the accounting for one type of entity, the property owners. The accounting for your property management company has to be done separately. Combining the two into one solution is extremely complex and expensive, and as far as we know there isn't a property management solution that offers this under $495, and even then that solution is not ideal. Normally you should expect to pay at least a thousand dollars or more. That's why we generally recommend using two solutions. One for your property management and one for your company's accounting. That and you and your property owners have different accounting needs, so each solution is better setup to handle each of your needs separately. Another way to look at it is the same as your personal finances and your company finances. Generally you use two different solutions to manage each rather than combining them into one solution. Each has different needs and requirements. Personal finance software will generally include the ability to manage stocks, mutual funds, etc., whereas business software will be geared more towards reporting, offer invoices and receipts which you don't need for personal finances, and so on. You can combine the two, but it's a lot more expensive and the software is generally more complex overall than using two solutions. Regards, Stephan Grenier Founder LandlordMax Software Inc. http://www.LandlordMax.com http://www.FollowSteph.com http://www.RealEstatePigeon.com http://www.twitter.com/StephaneGrenier |
|
| valerie | email | Jun 15 2012, 11:34 AM |
|
Hi Stephane, Yes...sigh. I guessed as much, looking for simplification. I do have Wave Accounting set up for this purpose. Thanks for the response. Valerie |
|
| Stephane Grenier | email | Jun 18 2012, 12:48 PM |
|
Hi Valerie, You're welcome. And thank you for your understanding, it is appreciated. Regards, Stephan Grenier Founder LandlordMax Software Inc. http://www.LandlordMax.com http://www.FollowSteph.com http://www.RealEstatePigeon.com http://www.twitter.com/StephaneGrenier |
|
| Melanie | email | Sep 26 2012, 11:54 AM |
|
This information is very helpful to me as a potential buyer; however, what I need is an explanation of how you would set up the accounting aspect to avoid all the double entries this seems to necessitate. For instance - I receive an invoice from a vendor who worked on one of my landlord's properties. I enter into LandlordMax as an expense then turn around and re-enter it into my accounting system where I will cut the check and pay the vendor then generate an invoice to my owner? |
|
| Stephane Grenier | email | Sep 26 2012, 02:23 PM |
|
Hi Melanie, The software's accounting system is from the viewpoint of your clients (the property owners). You cannot mix the finances together into one system without going to a ledger based accounting system, which immediately jumps you up to the thousand to multi-thousand dollar solutions. There's just no way to do it at our price point, it's too complex and expensive to implement and sell at our price point. For this you basically need two systems, one for your clients (LandlordMax) and another for your business, such as Quickbooks. The difference is that using two solutions such as LandlordMax and another small business accounting system is that the combined price is much much more affordable, the software is much easier to use on both counts (combining the two adds all kinds of complexity everywhere!), and you have the choice of adjusting which solution you want to use for which item (for example if you don't like your Quickbooks, you can use an alternative solution). And in any case, for solutions that try to combine both into one, you still end up having to do double entry, there's no way around this. Each entity, you and the client, for example has their own ledgers, and as such each entry has to be entered in it's own ledger. And any money transfered between accounts also has to be entered. Regards, Stephan Grenier Founder LandlordMax Software Inc. http://www.LandlordMax.com http://www.FollowSteph.com http://www.RealEstatePigeon.com http://www.twitter.com/StephaneGrenier |
|
| B Ferguson | email | Jun 3 2015, 10:06 AM |
|
I hope it is okay for me to use this reply space. I seem to have trouble getting my emails sent to LLM. I have been reading these forums for information purposes. I think this is what I am trying to do. For example I have a heat pump repaired on one of my properties I enter it in the as repair to certain property and vendor. I have recurring bills not related to the tenant but an expense for a certain building. I am trying to have a list to print at the end of the year for that expense for a certain building. I know that I have to total that expense for tax purposes for each individual rental property. This should not interfere with the tenants record. I enter this information in the invoice scheduled accounting for recurring accounts such as electric, phone, insurance etc. This is just a record of expenses for my rental property that my tenants are not involved. Thank you Bonnie |
|
| Stephane Grenier | email | Jun 3 2015, 03:55 PM |
|
Hi Bonnie, I'm sorry to hear you're having troubles getting your emails through. That being said have you tried our online system instead of email: http://www.landlordmax.com/support/index.php?pg=request.check That being said please find the answers to your questions below: 1. I have been reading these forums for information purposes. I think this is what I am trying to do. For example I have a heat pump repaired on one of my properties I enter it in the as repair to certain property and vendor. I apologize but I'm not quite sure what you're asking here? If you have a repair then yes you enter it as an Accounting Entry and assign the Accounting Entry to the appropriate building and vendor. Are you trying to do something beyond this? If so then the more details you can add the better we can assist you. 2. I have recurring bills not related to the tenant but an expense for a certain building. I am trying to have a list to print at the end of the year for that expense for a certain building. I know that I have to total that expense for tax purposes for each individual rental property. This should not interfere with the tenants record. You can run one of the expenses only report such as "Expenses for a building" if you just want a list of expenses for a property and so on. That being said I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "I know that I have to total that expense for tax purposes for each individual rental property. This should not interfere with the tenants record."... 3. I enter this information in the invoice scheduled accounting for recurring accounts such as electric, phone, insurance etc. This is just a record of expenses for my rental property that my tenants are not involved. Yes you can optionally select the tenant or not. Some people like to know the profits they make per tenant in addition to the profits they make per building. The tenant field is completely optional. Regards, Stephan Grenier Founder LandlordMax Software Inc. http://www.LandlordMax.com http://www.FollowSteph.com |
|