Real estate bookkeeping · Tampa Bay, FL

The bookkeeping firm built for
real estate operators.

PadSplit, STR, MTR, LTR, flippers, and buy-and-hold investors — we keep your books clean, your properties profitable, and your lenders happy.

We onboard new clients at the start of each month — limited spots available.

Airbnb · VRBO · Furnished Finder PadSplit · Bungalow · Roomi QuickBooks Desktop & Online Multi-entity experience DSCR-ready financials Florida-based

The problem

Generic bookkeepers don't understand real estate.

Most bookkeepers treat a rental property like any other business. They don't know how Airbnb payouts work, can't reconcile PadSplit's weekly payment structure, and have never heard of a DSCR. You end up doing half the work yourself — or worse, getting reports that don't reflect reality.

Messy platform payouts

Airbnb, VRBO, Furnished Finder, and PadSplit all pay differently — fees, holdbacks, and adjustments make reconciliation a nightmare without a bookkeeper who knows the platforms cold.

Weekly vs. monthly timing mismatches

PadSplit pays weekly. Your mortgage is monthly. Your books need to handle both cadences cleanly — most general bookkeepers can't bridge that gap without creating a mess.

No property-level visibility

A single P&L for all your properties tells you almost nothing. You need to know which units earn, which are costing you, and which are worth refinancing or selling.

⚠ 2026 compliance alert

The IRS already knows your Airbnb income

Digital payment platforms now report gross income directly to the IRS. If your books show net deposits instead of gross — or if your 1099-K and your P&L don't match — you're creating an audit flag that's 100% preventable.

Multi-LLC confusion

If you hold properties across multiple LLCs, most bookkeepers can't deliver clean books at both the entity level and the consolidated portfolio level simultaneously.

Why Tampa Bay investors choose Lead Accountants

The Tampa Bay rental market is surging. Your books should keep up.

$2,100+ Average Tampa Bay monthly rent — up significantly year-over-year
Tampa Bay population growth rate vs. national average — sustained rental demand
30% Of all non-QM securitization volume in 2025 was DSCR loans — investors are scaling fast
$0 State income tax in Florida — every dollar you protect in deductions stays in your pocket

We know the Tampa Bay market, Florida STR regulations, and what DSCR lenders in this area actually require. We're local. We speak investor.

Who we serve

Built for every type of real estate operator.

Whether you have one Airbnb or thirty doors across multiple LLCs and platforms, we have a system built for how you actually operate.

STR

Short-term rentals

Platform payout reconciliation, occupancy tax, and nightly rate performance tracking — by property, every month.

AirbnbVRBODirect bookings
MTR

Mid-term rentals

Tenant tracking, monthly P&L, and Florida compliance for 30+ day stays with clean books every month.

Furnished FinderDirect
LTR

Long-term rentals

Rent roll management, maintenance expense tracking, and lender-ready financials for traditional landlords.

Traditional leases
Flipping

House flippers

Project-based bookkeeping, rehab vs. capital improvement separation, and cost-basis reporting per deal.

Buy & hold

Buy-and-hold investors

Portfolio-level reporting, equity tracking, performance by asset, and refi-ready books when the time comes.

Multi-entity portfolios

Holding properties across multiple LLCs or strategies? We deliver entity-level and consolidated reporting across your full stack — STR, PadSplit, LTR, and flips all in one unified picture.

$

QuickBooks cost advantage — only with Lead Accountants

We use QuickBooks Desktop with unlimited company files — meaning your entire multi-entity portfolio is managed without the per-company monthly fee that QuickBooks Online charges. For investors with 3+ LLCs, this saves $150–$300/month vs. running a separate QBO subscription per entity. We also work in QBO when clients prefer it.

DSCR loans & financing

Planning a DSCR loan? Your books need to be ready before you apply.

DSCR lenders don't look at your W-2. They look at your property's cash flow — which means they look at your books. If you can't produce 12 months of clean property-level P&L and a current rent roll, you're not ready to close.

Get DSCR-ready →
01

Property-level P&L — 12 months

Not a combined portfolio summary. Not a bank statement. A clean, per-property income statement that shows NOI clearly.

02

Current rent roll

Unit-by-unit occupancy, monthly rent, and lease terms. For PadSplit operators, that means per-room data.

03

Bank statements that reconcile

Your deposits must match your stated income exactly. Gaps kill deals — often the week before closing.

What we do

Bookkeeping built around how real estate actually works.

Every service we offer is tailored to the specific needs of real estate operators — not adapted from a generic small business template.

01

Bookkeeping & monthly close

Accurate, property-level books closed every month — including per-room reporting for PadSplit and co-living operators who need more than a top-line property P&L.

  • Bank, credit card & platform payout reconciliation
  • Weekly PadSplit payments mapped to monthly books
  • Per-property and per-room P&L, balance sheet, cash flow
  • Rent roll tracking for LTR, MTR & room-sharing
  • Airbnb, VRBO, PadSplit, Furnished Finder reconciliation
  • Monthly variance and trend review
Core service
02

Cleanup & catch-up

Behind on your books? Switching from DIY to professional bookkeeping? We specialize in real estate cleanups — including untangling mixed PadSplit and STR income streams.

  • Historical transaction cleanup and recategorization
  • Chart of accounts restructured for real estate
  • Pre-refinance and pre-sale book preparation
  • Multi-entity and multi-platform cleanup
Project-based
03

Tax & compliance support

We don't file taxes — but we make sure your books are CPA-ready with every platform's income correctly categorized and documented before year-end.

  • Occupancy & lodging tax support for Florida STR operators
  • PadSplit platform fee and net income documentation
  • Repair vs. capital improvement categorization
  • 1099 and year-end coordination
  • CPA and tax-prep handoff packages
Compliance
04

Fractional CFO

For investors who want strategic support — including analysis of whether a property performs better as an STR, PadSplit co-living unit, or traditional rental.

  • Strategy comparison: STR vs. MTR vs. room-sharing by property
  • Portfolio performance analysis and hold/sell/refi decisions
  • Debt coverage ratio and lender-ready reporting
  • Cash runway and acquisition pro forma review
Advisory
We work with
QuickBooks DesktopQuickBooks Online Xero Airbnb VRBO PadSplit Furnished Finder Relay Stripe

Case studies

Results for real estate operators.

STR operator

6-property Airbnb portfolio — clarity on which units actually earn

Reconciled Airbnb, VRBO, and direct booking payouts across six Florida properties, implemented occupancy-tax tracking for state compliance, and delivered monthly per-property P&L reports. The owner identified two underperforming units and repriced or repositioned them within 60 days.

Result: Identified underperforming units and increased effective portfolio yield
Room sharing

PadSplit operator — weekly payouts mapped to clean monthly books

Set up a reconciliation system for a 4-property PadSplit portfolio with 18 rooms, correctly mapping weekly platform deposits to monthly close, tracking per-room occupancy and net income after PadSplit fees. The investor finally had a clear picture of actual room-level returns vs. what the platform dashboard showed.

Result: Per-room visibility revealed two underperforming rooms repriced immediately
Buy & hold

Multi-entity portfolio — property-level P&L across three LLCs

Implemented property-level tracking across a mixed STR and LTR portfolio held across three LLCs, delivering both entity-level and consolidated monthly reporting. Ownership now makes hold, refi, and sell decisions based on real monthly performance data.

Result: Refinanced two underperforming assets within a quarter of clean reporting
House flipper

4 simultaneous rehabs — clean books for every project

Set up project-based bookkeeping across four active rehabs, correctly separating repair expenses from capital improvements, and produced cost-basis reports for each property. Tax prep time dropped significantly and the investor had accurate numbers to guide pricing decisions mid-project.

Result: Accurate per-project cost basis reduced tax prep time and improved deal analysis

Why not DIY?

A spreadsheet works great — until it doesn't.

Most investors start with DIY bookkeeping. At 1-2 properties it's manageable. By 3-4 properties across different platforms, it starts breaking down in ways you don't immediately notice.

Situation Spreadsheet / DIY Generic bookkeeper Lead Accountants
Platform payout reconciliation ✗ Manual, error-prone △ Often records net only ✓ Gross + fees, every platform
Property-level P&L ✗ Everything combined △ Sometimes, extra cost ✓ Every property, every month
PadSplit weekly reconciliation ✗ Hours of manual work ✗ Most can't do it ✓ Built-in system
DSCR-ready financials ✗ Weeks to prepare △ Possible but slow ✓ Available by the 10th
Repairs vs. capital improvements ✗ Usually wrong △ Hit or miss ✓ Correct every time
IRS 1099-K reconciliation ✗ Often missed △ Varies ✓ Always reconciled

△ = possible with effort  ✗ = typically missing or incorrect

Client stories

What operators say.

I was recording net Airbnb deposits for two years and thought my books were fine. Lead Accountants showed me I had been underreporting revenue and missing platform fees as deductions the entire time. My CPA was relieved — and so was I when I saw the tax savings.

M.R.

STR Operator · 4 Airbnb properties · Tampa Bay

PadSplit's weekly payment structure broke every bookkeeper I tried. Lead Accountants had a system built specifically for it — weekly deposits mapped to monthly books, per-room P&L, the whole thing. I finally know what each room actually earns after fees.

D.T.

PadSplit Host · 3 properties · 14 rooms · Tampa

My DSCR broker asked for 12 months of property-level P&L and I had nothing. Lead Accountants cleaned up 8 months of backlog and got my books current. I closed the cash-out refi six weeks later. The bookkeeping paid for itself on that one deal alone.

J.K.

Buy-and-Hold Investor · 8 properties · 2 LLCs · St. Petersburg

Plans

Straightforward monthly pricing.

Flat monthly rates with no hourly clock-watching. Pick the plan that fits your portfolio — and know your books are closed by the 10th, every month.

Save 10% with annual prepay Lock in your rate for 12 months and save — annual prepay discount applied at checkout. Onboarding fee of $750 waived on all annual plans.

Getting started

$350/mo

Annual prepay: $3,780/yr (save $420)

1–2 LTR or MTR properties · single entity

For investors just getting serious. Quarterly close, clean books, and a clear upgrade path as your portfolio grows.

  • Quarterly reconciliation & categorization
  • Basic P&L report
  • Chart of accounts setup
  • Email support
  • Upgrades automatically at 3+ properties
Get started

Operator

$650/mo

Annual prepay: $7,020/yr (save $780)

3–6 properties · any rental strategy

Full monthly close for growing portfolios — STR, MTR, LTR, or PadSplit. Property-level P&L every month.

  • Monthly reconciliations & close
  • Per-property P&L, balance sheet, cash flow
  • Platform payout reconciliation
  • Rent roll tracking
  • Priority email support
Get started

Portfolio Pro

$2,000/mo

Annual prepay: $21,600/yr (save $2,400)

16+ properties · multi-entity · active flippers

For established investors with complex structures who need comprehensive reporting and CPA-ready books every month.

  • Everything in Portfolio
  • Sales tax filing support
  • Custom reporting & KPIs
  • CPA & tax-prep coordination
  • Project-based flipper bookkeeping
  • Consolidated multi-entity reporting
Get started

CFO Partner

$3,000/mo

Annual prepay: $32,400/yr (save $3,600)

Full bookkeeping + strategic advisory

For investors who want a true financial partner — not just a bookkeeper. Strategy, analysis, and forward-looking guidance every month.

  • Everything in Portfolio Pro
  • Monthly strategy call
  • Hold / sell / refi analysis
  • Acquisition pro forma review
  • Debt coverage & DSCR reporting
  • Direct line access
Get started

Platform complexity note

STR (Airbnb/VRBO) and PadSplit portfolios require additional reconciliation work. Add $150/mo for platform-heavy portfolios in the Getting Started and Operator tiers.

Onboarding fee

$750 one-time — covers QuickBooks setup (Desktop or Online), chart of accounts restructure, and platform integrations. Waived entirely on annual prepay plans.

Add-on rates

Catch-up / cleanup: $125/hr · Standalone advisory: $175/hr · Both billed as project estimates with your approval before work begins.

Common questions

What real estate operators ask before signing on.

Do you work with PadSplit hosts?

Yes — PadSplit is one of the trickier platforms to reconcile because it pays weekly while your mortgage, utilities, and expenses are monthly. We build a reconciliation system that maps PadSplit's weekly deposits to your monthly books cleanly, and report net income per room after platform fees so you can see true room-level performance.

Can you handle Airbnb, PadSplit, and a long-term rental all under one portfolio?

Yes. Mixed-strategy portfolios are increasingly common and we're built for them. Each property gets its own P&L regardless of strategy, and we produce a consolidated view across your entire portfolio so you can compare performance across rental types apples-to-apples.

Do you work with investors who hold properties in multiple LLCs?

Yes — multi-entity setups are our specialty. We handle each LLC separately and provide consolidated reporting across your entire portfolio so you see both the entity-level and the full picture in one place.

Can you handle Florida short-term rental occupancy tax compliance?

We support Florida STR operators with occupancy and lodging tax tracking and reporting. Some platforms like Airbnb remit on your behalf in Florida — we make sure your books correctly reflect what was collected and remitted so there are no surprises at year-end.

Do you work with house flippers or just rental investors?

Both. For flippers we use project-based bookkeeping — tracking every expense by deal, correctly separating repairs from capital improvements, and producing cost-basis reports for each property. This keeps your books clean and your CPA happy at tax time.

Do you use QuickBooks Online or Desktop?

Both — and the distinction matters for multi-entity investors. We primarily use QuickBooks Desktop, which lets us manage unlimited company files without the per-company monthly subscription fee that QuickBooks Online charges. For a portfolio with 3 or more LLCs, this can save $150–$300/month compared to running a separate QBO subscription for each entity. We also work in QuickBooks Online for clients who already use it or prefer a cloud-based setup. Either way, you get the same clean, property-level books.

What counts as a transaction?

A transaction is any line item that hits your bank, credit card, payment processor, or platform feed that needs to be categorized in your books. We look at total monthly volume across all connected accounts.

My books are a mess. Can you still help?

That's one of the most common reasons investors come to us. Our cleanup and catch-up service is designed for exactly this situation. We start by getting your books in order, then move you into a clean monthly maintenance cadence. Cleanup is billed as a separate project before monthly service begins.

How do you price for real estate clients?

Our flat monthly packages start at $350/mo and scale by portfolio size and strategy complexity. Getting Started ($350/mo) covers 1-2 LTR or MTR properties. Operator ($650/mo) covers 3-6 properties of any strategy. Portfolio ($1,350/mo) is our most popular tier for 7-15 properties or complex STR/PadSplit portfolios. Portfolio Pro ($2,000/mo) covers 16+ properties or multi-entity structures. CFO Partner ($3,000/mo) adds full strategic advisory on top of bookkeeping. STR and PadSplit portfolios add $150/mo in the lower tiers due to platform reconciliation complexity. A one-time $750 onboarding fee applies — waived on annual prepay. We confirm fit and recommend a plan on your free consult call.

What does the onboarding fee cover?

The $750 onboarding fee covers QuickBooks setup or cleanup, chart of accounts restructured for real estate, platform integrations (Airbnb, PadSplit, Furnished Finder, etc.), and your first full monthly close. It's a one-time cost — and it's waived entirely when you prepay annually. Most clients recoup this in the first month by having their books set up correctly from day one.

Can I switch plans later?

Yes. You can move up or down a plan as your portfolio changes. We typically review scope together after the first quarter to make sure you're on the best fit — and we'll proactively flag when your portfolio has grown into a higher tier.

About Lead Accountants

Your finance partner, not just a bookkeeper.

Lead Accountants was built specifically for real estate operators because we've seen firsthand what happens when investors outgrow generic bookkeepers — missed deductions, DSCR deals that fall through, and tax time disasters that were completely avoidable. Every system we use and every service we offer is designed around how real estate portfolios actually operate, not how a generic small business does.

Based in the Tampa Bay area — we know the Florida STR landscape, the local tax requirements, and what DSCR lenders in this market actually need to see.

  • Experienced with multi-entity, multi-property portfolio setups
  • QuickBooks Desktop & Online — unlimited companies, no per-company monthly fee
  • Florida-based — we know the local STR tax landscape
  • Documented SOPs so nothing falls through the cracks
  • Month-to-month — no long-term contracts required

Get the monthly investor bookkeeping digest

One email per month — tax deadlines, platform changes, and bookkeeping tips for Tampa Bay real estate operators.

"Your properties are the business. Our job is to make sure the numbers reflect that — clearly, every month, without you having to ask."

— Lead Accountants
30+ Door portfolios managed
4+ Platforms reconciled
Multi LLC experience
M-M Month-to-month plans
  • We speak both "operator" and "accountant"
  • We're proactive, not reactive
  • Lender-ready financials available by the 10th every month
  • Our goal is to make decisions easier, not harder

Get started

Know your numbers. Grow your portfolio.

Book a free 20-minute consult. We'll review your current setup, identify any gaps, and recommend the right plan — whether you're running Airbnb, PadSplit, or a mix of both.

Book instantly on Calendly → or fill out the form below
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Florida-based · Real estate operators only · Month-to-month · No long-term contracts