I am going to be setting up QB for a realtor. I know how to set up company files, but I haven't worked with a realtor before. Are there any special accounts I need to create for that business as opposed to others?

Hi walkerva,

Are you working for a Realtor on a personal basis or setting up an office account? I did the bookkeeping for two Real Estate offices and can help in that respect because there are some specific accounts you should probably have set up (i.e. operating accounts, commission accounts, independent contractor accounts etc). If you are working solely with the Realtor those specified accounts will not be necessary. It would also depend on things such as how detailed your Realtor likes to keep their records and how well they have kept them in the past. Each account should be set up on individual basis determined on the information at hand. PM me if you have questions. Good luck.

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Rikki Green
www.timeforlifeconcepts.com

Thanks. I'm going to her home office as opposed to her business office, but I'm not sure what that means. As she hasn't done any bookkeeping all year, I doubt she is too picky about how it is done, but I could be wrong. Her urgency stems from needing to see her CPA about tax liability before the end of the year. It doesn't seem that she has a lot of information for me to input. I'll keep the accounts you suggest in mind as I go.
Thanks again.

No problem. Those accounts shouldn't be necessary if the books are being done only for her. QBs Pro has an option for a real estate chart of accounts. That should pretty well cover what you need. Then if her accountant has told her specific accounts then you could add those as well. Good luck!

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Rikki Green
www.timeforlifeconcepts.com

I do the bookkeeping for an agent also. What I did was set up her chart of accounts and then asked her to take it (or send it) to her CPA to look it over. I did a good job at choosing the accounts and he only had me remove a couple of accounts and change a couple. This may be an option for you. If you need to make changes in the future, it's pretty simple, but can be time consuming. And of course it depends on how in depth they want the accounts. My client has many subaccounts because that is how she likes to do it, but the accountant only needed the main accounts.

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This is the same process I use for ALL of my new clients. Each CPA likes things done a little differently and the 'pre-approval' of account setup saves everyone time, money, and frustration at the end of the year!

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Lily E. Chambers, CPS
The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
www.virtualofficegoddess.com

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the help.

Saw the client today and she was only upgrading QB (from 2003 to 2008), so the CoA was already setup. I just had to get used to working in a cash-based world, because I usually work with accrual-based clients. It was all good. Thanks again for the help.

Glad everything worked out for you!

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Rikki Green
www.timeforlifeconcepts.com