Expert MRI Bookkeeping Services For Scaling Property Investors & Managers In San Francisco
San Francisco portfolios rarely sit in one bucket: ground-floor retail leases sit under the same roof as pre-1979 rent-controlled units, and mixed-use buildings push commercial CAM schedules and residential rent ceiling tracking through the same books. MRI's module for commercial lease administration is built for the CAM side of that equation. The residential side, with its Rent Ordinance increase documentation, sits in a different module, and we reconcile the handoff between the two so neither ledger drifts from the other.
We work with accountant access inside your own MRI instance, exactly as you would grant an internal hire.
California rules that apply here
- Deposit return deadline
- 21 calendar days
- Statute
- Civil Code 1950.5
Why MRI Operators in San Francisco Come to REA
Enterprise and modular, strong on commercial
CAM reconciliation for mixed-use buildings
San Francisco's mixed-use stock puts ground-floor retail CAM schedules in the same building as rent-controlled units upstairs. MRI's commercial module handles the CAM side well: expense pools, tenant recovery ratios, cap tracking. We keep that module doing what it's built for and don't force residential rent-ceiling data through the same lease-admin workflow, which is where instances actually break.
Rent ceiling data across modules
When a unit's Costa-Hawkins exemption status is abstracted in MRI's commercial or lease module but billed through a separate residential ledger, the two can disagree on what rent is actually lawful. We reconcile exemption status and rent ceiling at the ledger level so an increase posted in one module matches the increase permitted under the Rent Ordinance in the other.
Ellis Act withdrawal accounting
San Francisco's Ellis Act withdrawals touch both commercial and residential units in the same building, and MRI's module split means withdrawal costs, relocation payments, and unit status changes often get entered in different places by different people. We track the full withdrawal in one reconciled record instead of leaving it scattered across modules that don't talk to each other.
MRI and California Deposit Rules
Civil Code 1950.5
California Civil Code 1950.5 gives you 21 calendar days to return a security deposit or send an itemized statement after move-out. MRI doesn't ship a built-in 21-day deposit clock the way some residential-first platforms do, its calendar and workflow tools are built around commercial lease milestones, not residential move-out timing. On SF portfolios where MRI is handling both, we run the deposit deadline as a manual-tracked date tied to move-out in the residential module, checked against the statute, not against MRI's default commercial calendar logic.
California Civil Code section 1950.5(g)(1) requires the deposit, or an itemized statement plus the remaining balance, within 21 calendar days of the tenant returning possession. Deductions above $125 must be supported by receipts for labor and materials.
All California requirementsHow we keep you inside it
- Deposit liabilities tracked per tenant in MRI, so a 21 calendar days deadline is answerable from the ledger
- Trust accounts reconciled three ways every month
- Deduction documentation recorded against the correct ledger
- Aging deposits flagged before the statutory window closes
MRI Accounting & Bookkeeping Services
For San Francisco Portfolios
- Process Review & Set Up
- Bank Reconciliations
- AP / AR
- Accurate NOI, Balance Sheets
- Recording HUD's & Accruals
- Owner Distributions
- Monthly Statements & Reports
- Management Fees
- Corporate Bookkeeping
- Tenant Chargebacks
Take the Whole Close, or One Function
San Francisco operators use REA for the full monthly close or for the single function that has become a bottleneck. Each one is performed inside your MRI instance.
Trust Accounting
Compliant, audit-ready trust funds
Learn moreBank Reconciliation Services
Three-way reconciliation, every account
Learn moreAccounts Payable & Receivable
Bills paid, rent collected, owners paid
Learn moreBookkeeping Cleanup & Catch-Up
Back books fixed and current
Learn moreCAM Reconciliation
Annual commercial true-ups
Learn moreOn a Different Platform in San Francisco?
We Work Inside All of Them
Experts In All Property Types
- Single-Family
- Multifamily
- Student Housing
- Affordable Housing
- Community Associations
- Commercial
Experts In All Property Types
Residential, commercial and everything in between. The asset class changes what the books have to prove, and our teams are staffed accordingly.
- Single-Family
- Multifamily
- Student Housing
- Affordable Housing
- Community AssociationsSee the page
- CommercialSee the page
Check Out What Our Clients Have To Say About Us
Property Managers, Investors & Owner Operators
I highly recommend Real Estate Accounting (REA) services from this group. They truly are great and have helped us tremendously at a time we needed it the most. I felt very comfortable giving up all my accounting responsibilities to this team and I'm still glad I made the decision to work with this group. Nothing less than an amazing experience!
REA and team have been nothing but excellent helping our firm with its day to day financial needs. Their expertise, professionalism, and timeliness have made our lives so much easier. We foresee a long relationship with REA and team.
Real Estate Accounting truly is a special company. They helped as if they were a part of our company, with the concern and caution as an employee would have, but even more. They quickly ascertained our needs and developed an effective team to help with our accounting needs. They were extremely responsive and always accurate. I would recommend their services to anyone who needs help with their property management accounting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does MRI track California's 21-day security deposit deadline automatically?
Not out of the box. California Civil Code 1950.5 requires the deposit return or itemized statement within 21 calendar days of move-out, but MRI's workflow tools are tuned for commercial lease milestones, not residential move-out dates. For San Francisco portfolios with residential units, we set the 21-day deadline manually against the move-out date in the residential module and track it separately from MRI's commercial calendar so it doesn't get missed.
Why does CAM reconciliation break in MRI for San Francisco mixed-use buildings?
It's usually a module handoff, not a CAM formula error. A lease gets abstracted with its recovery terms in one module and billed out of a separate accounts receivable module, and when the two aren't kept in sync, the CAM statement disagrees with what was actually billed. San Francisco's mixed-use buildings, ground-floor commercial under rent-controlled residential, make this more likely because two very different lease types are running through the same instance. We reconcile the handoff every cycle.
Does REA handle both the commercial and residential side of an MRI portfolio in San Francisco?
Yes, and most San Francisco MRI engagements need both. The city's stock runs from ground-floor commercial leases to pre-1979 rent-controlled apartments to condominiums, often in the same building or the same client's portfolio. MRI's strength is on the commercial lease administration and CAM side, so we lean on that module for the commercial units and handle rent ceiling tracking, lawful increase documentation, and Ellis Act cost accounting separately for the residential side.
More in California
Other California markets, the platforms we work in, and the functions available on their own.
MRI Bookkeeping for San Francisco
Schedule a call and we will review your MRI setup, your California deposit handling, and what it takes to close clean every month.