Real estate accounting, tax, and advisory for investors and operators across the U.S.

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My books are months behind. What do I do?

If your books are months behind, you’re not alone. This is one of the most common situations we see with real estate investors. When you’re focused on finding deals, managing properties, and handling tenant issues, the bookkeeping tends to slip. The good news is that behind books are fixable, and there’s a clear path to getting them current.

The process starts with an assessment. We look at what accounting software you have, what records exist, how far back we need to go, and what you need the books for. Some investors need to catch up for tax filing. Others need clean financials for a refinance, a sale, or bringing on new investors. This is exactly what catch-up and clean-up bookkeeping is designed for.

From there, the work follows a consistent path. First, we reconcile every bank account, credit card, and loan account against your statements. This is where we find missing transactions, duplicates, and errors. Reconciliation is the foundation because until the bank balances tie out, nothing else can be trusted.

Next, we rebuild or correct your chart of accounts. Real estate books need to be structured around your properties and entities. A generic setup that lumps all your rentals together won’t give you property-level reporting and won’t serve you at tax time or when a lender asks for financials.

Then we work through the transactions. Opening balances get corrected. Miscategorized items get moved to the right accounts. Personal expenses that ended up in the business books get separated out. We catch missed depreciation entries and make sure your fixed assets are recorded properly.

The final step is reconciling everything back to your prior tax returns. Your books need to match what was filed. If they don’t, we figure out where the disconnect is and fix it.

Once the books are clean, you move onto ongoing real estate bookkeeping services. The hard part is behind you. With regular monthly work, you stay current and never fall that far behind again.

We work with real estate investors across the 48 contiguous states, fully virtual, and every engagement is led by founder Matthew Rodrigue with direct access throughout. If your books have gotten away from you, this is where we start. It’s common, it’s fixable, and once it’s done, you have a clean foundation to build on.

Boutique Real Estate Accounting Firm

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Tell us about your portfolio and your goals. We'll walk you through how we can help and what an engagement looks like.

More Questions

When should a real estate investor stop doing their own books?

The inflection point comes when your portfolio outgrows your time or your spreadsheet system. Signs include multiple properties, multiple entities, raising capital, an upcoming sale or refinance, books that are behind, or hours you should be spending on deals instead.

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How does my entity structure affect my bookkeeping and taxes?

Your entity type determines which tax return gets filed and how income and distributions are reported. The books have to be set up to match the structure from the start. We coordinate the bookkeeping and the returns so everything ties out.

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How do I prepare my portfolio for a sale or refinance?

Clean, current financials, a clear picture of debt and capital expenditures, and organized entity records all speed a sale or refinance and support your valuation. Preparation should start six to twelve months before you expect to transact.

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What is depreciation recapture and how do I plan for it?

When you sell a property, the IRS recaptures a portion of the depreciation deductions you've claimed over the years. Real property depreciation is taxed at up to 25 percent, while personal property from a cost segregation study is recaptured as ordinary income. Planning options include 1031 exchanges and timing the sale strategically.

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What is cost segregation and is it worth it?

Cost segregation is an engineering study that reclassifies building components into shorter depreciation schedules, often making them eligible for bonus depreciation. It can generate significant tax savings in the early years of ownership, but the value depends on property size and your ability to use the deductions.

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Can clean books actually help me get better financing?

Yes. Lenders want clean, current, property-level financials before they fund a deal. Disorganized books slow underwriting, raise questions, and can sink financing entirely.

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Rock Real Estate Services is a boutique accounting firm serving real estate landlords, investors, operators, and brokerages nationwide. Bookkeeping, tax, advisory, and CFO services are all handled under one roof, with direct access to founder Matthew Rodrigue, an industry expert who leads every engagement.

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