Short answer: Real estate bookkeeping in Los Angeles gives each property or deal its own class, tracking category or file, so rent, repairs and mortgage interest stay with the right building. Security deposits are held as money owed to tenants, and repairs are kept apart from improvements. Mortgage payments are split into principal, interest and escrow.
Who this is for
Real estate books in Los Angeles usually belong to one of three owners. Small landlords with a duplex in Highland Park and a fourplex in the Valley. Investors who flip or develop through one LLC per project. Agents and small brokerages who earn commissions and pay splits, marketing and desk fees. Each needs the same thing: a ledger that separates one property or deal from the next.
What we set up
- A class, tracking category or separate company file for each property, so rent, repairs and mortgage interest stay with the building they belong to.
- Security deposits recorded as money you owe tenants, not as income.
- Repairs kept apart from improvements, so your CPA can decide what is expensed and what is depreciated.
- Mortgage payments split into principal, interest and escrow, matched to the lender's statement.
- Property management statements booked at gross, with management fees shown on their own line.
- For agents: commissions, splits, referral fees and marketing costs by transaction.
Los Angeles rules that show up in the ledger
The City of Los Angeles taxes property sales above certain values under Measure ULA, on top of the city's base transfer tax. For transfers on or after July 1, 2026, published thresholds are about $5.4 million for the 4 percent rate and $10.9 million for the 5.5 percent rate, adjusted each July. If you sell a building at that level, the transfer tax belongs in the sale entry, not buried in closing costs.
Owning rental property inside the City of Los Angeles can also mean a Business Tax Registration Certificate with the Office of Finance and, for units covered by the rent stabilization rules, an annual registration with the city's housing department. We record those fees by property so each building carries its true cost.
Transfer tax rules and thresholds change. Confirm the current figures with the Office of Finance or your escrow officer before a sale.
Keeping property money apart
The most common problem in small landlord books is one checking account for everything. Rent from three buildings, the roofer for one of them, the mortgage on another and a personal grocery run all come out of the same place. It can work, but only if every line is tagged as it happens. A separate operating account for rentals, and a separate account per LLC if you use them, makes the books faster to keep and much easier to defend if a lender, a partner or the IRS asks questions.
For investors with partners, we also record capital contributions and distributions by partner, so the split at sale time is not a negotiation from memory.
A monthly close for a small portfolio
- Collect statements Bank, card, mortgage and property manager statements come in each month.
- Book by property Rent, fees, repairs and loan payments are posted to the right building.
- Reconcile Every account ties to its statement, and deposits held are checked against your rent roll.
- Report You get a profit and loss for each property and for the whole portfolio.
Behind on a year of receipts?
Landlords often keep everything in one checking account and sort it out once a year. We can rebuild the year from bank statements and your manager's reports, then keep it current so next spring is a short conversation with your CPA.
Where we work
We keep books for businesses across the City of Los Angeles, the Westside, the Eastside, the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, the Gateway Cities and the South Bay.
- Alhambra
- Arcadia
- City of Industry
- Commerce
- Diamond Bar
- Downey
- Downtown Los Angeles
- East Los Angeles
- El Monte
- Koreatown
- Lincoln Heights
- North Hollywood
- Pasadena
- Pomona
- San Fernando Valley
- Santa Fe Springs
- Santa Monica
- Sherman Oaks
- South Bay
- Van Nuys
- Vernon
- West Covina
- West Los Angeles
- Whittier
- Woodland Hills
Questions
Do you handle trust accounts for property managers or brokers?
Trust accounting has its own rules. Tell us about your setup and a bookkeeper will say plainly whether it is work we take on.
Should each property be in its own QuickBooks file?
Not always. Many small portfolios work well in one file with classes. Separate LLCs usually need separate books. We help you decide.
Can you depreciate my buildings?
Depreciation schedules are your CPA's call. We keep purchase, improvement and repair records clean so they can do it quickly.