REA.co Real Estate Accounting & Tax

Fractional CFO services built for real estate

Accelerate your growth with expert CFO support, from accurate budgets to real estate-specific financial strategies. Count on REA's real estate CFO services to help make the right choices for your company.

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Most real estate companies do not have the need or the resources for a full-time controller or CFO. Fractional means you get the judgment without the salary.

FractionalNot a Full-Time Hire

230+Property Accountants

Real EstateOnly

We work with the software & tools you already use

Why Real Estate Companies Choose REA for CFO Support

Strategy From People Who Have Closed the Books

Experts in real estate

Build financial strategies and models that increase cash flow, improve profitability, and provide insights into your properties financial performance.

Dedicated resources

Prompt communication, proactive advice, audit-ready financial statements. We are your partner here to help you scale.

Accurate financials

Establish the financial control and processes that are ready for growth and impress your LPs with accurate, timely insights on their investments.

Real Estate CFO Services From REA

The Three Questions Owners Actually Need Answered

Budget to Actual

Understand when and why income and expense rise and fall relative to budget and/or your proforma. We provide timely analysis backed by real estate experts that help you communicate effectively with your stakeholders.

Cash Flow and Investor Distributions

Though often overlooked, there are many items (CAPEX, interest, payables, receivables, minimum working capital, and reserves) that impact cash that is not reflected in NOI but should be considered when determining distribution amounts. Consult with our team to make the most informed decisions possible.

Reporting and Valuation

See and trust where your portfolio is headed with customized financial reports based on the KPIs that matter to you and your business. Our real estate experts will help you understand the business trends, costs that should be expensed vs capitalization, and ultimately help ensure NOI is stated properly for banks and future buyers.

Monthly Close Underneath It

CFO advice is only as good as the books it reads. Where REA also runs the monthly close, the numbers behind the strategy are the numbers we produced.

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Back Books & Clean-Up First

If the historicals are wrong, no model built on them is worth running. We correct the record before we forecast from it.

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The Full Scope

  • Budget to Actual analysis
  • Cash flow modelling
  • Investor distribution decisions
  • CAPEX and reserve planning
  • Customized KPI reporting
  • + 4 more below

What Fractional CFO Support Covers

  • Budget to Actual analysis
  • Cash flow modelling
  • Investor distribution decisions
  • CAPEX and reserve planning
  • Customized KPI reporting
  • Expense vs capitalization guidance
  • NOI accuracy for banks and buyers
  • Proforma variance analysis
  • LP and stakeholder reporting

Also available on its own

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NOI Is Not Cash, and That Gap Is Where Distributions Go Wrong

What a Fractional CFO Is Actually For

Most owners can read a P&L. Far fewer can say how much is genuinely distributable this quarter, because the answer lives in items NOI does not show: CAPEX, interest, payables, receivables, minimum working capital and reserves.

What makes it different

Real estate is unusually modellable

Leases, debt schedules and CAPEX plans are known quantities. Once the actuals are trustworthy, a real estate portfolio forecasts better than almost any operating business, which makes proper CFO input disproportionately valuable.

Where it goes wrong

Distributions get set from NOI, then reversed

The classic sequence: distribute against NOI, discover the reserve is short when a roof fails, then call capital. Add expense-versus-capitalization decisions made inconsistently, and NOI itself becomes a number a buyer or bank will discount.

How we work it

Fractional, and downstream of your own books

Most real estate companies do not need a full-time CFO. They need the judgment for a few days a month, applied to books that are already correct. Because REA can run both, the strategy is not built on a set of numbers somebody else assembled.

How REA's CFO Engagement Works

Understand, Model, Report

Start With a Call
  1. 1

    We start from your actuals

    Before any modelling, we establish whether the historical numbers can be trusted. That means reviewing the books, the capitalization treatment and the entity structure, and correcting what needs correcting.

  2. 2

    We build the model to your proforma

    Budget to actual, cash flow including the items NOI hides, and the distribution mechanics your operating agreement actually specifies. Built on your assumptions, not a generic template.

  3. 3

    You get reporting on the KPIs that matter

    Customized reports on the metrics you and your stakeholders care about, delivered on a schedule, so the conversation with your bank, your board or your LPs starts from agreed numbers.

You Get a Team With Names, Not a Ticket Queue

Who Actually Works On Your Fractional CFO Books

Outsourced accounting fails when nobody owns the account. At REA you are assigned a property accounting team and a client success lead who knows your portfolio, your owners, and your quirks. They stay on your account, so you are never re-explaining your chart of accounts to someone new.

Sharifa Giraldo, CPA, VP, Client Success at REA

Sharifa Giraldo, CPA

VP, Client Success

Residential Property Management

20+ years of property accounting, a CPA since 2015, and a specialist in third-party management and platform migrations.

Will Daege, VP, Client Success at REA

Will Daege

VP, Client Success

Commercial Property Management

25+ years across retail, office, industrial, and multifamily, including Portfolio Controller for The Related Companies' New York development portfolio.

How we work together

  • A named team, not a poolThe same property accountants close your books every month.
  • Reachable the way you already workEmail, phone, video, or Slack. Urgent items get answered the same day.
  • Inside your Fractional CFOWe take accountant access to your instance, exactly as you would grant an internal hire.
  • 230+ property accountants behind themCoverage when someone is out, and a specialist to escalate to when a lease or a trust question gets strange.

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.

Check Out What Our Clients Have To Say About Us

Property Managers, Investors & Owner Operators

Client story

Came from a bookkeeper who did not know real estate

Following a series of erroneous financials from my previous bookkeeper, who lacked expertise in real estate, it's been truly remarkable to receive not only accurate financials on a consistent basis but also proactive advice without prompting. The REA team is a game-changer in real estate accounting!

SCSara CrosbyReal Estate Investor

Real-estate-only specialists

As REA exclusively specializes in Real Estate, I rest easy knowing my financials are precise every month while saving money at the same time, an invaluable benefit.

SWSteve WilkoOwner Operator

Handed over the whole accounting function

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!

TCTracy CollinsProperty Manager

Day-to-day financial operations

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.

BCBrian CookOwner Operator

Onboarding and responsiveness

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.

KSKelly StanawayProperty Manager

Smaller portfolio, still looked after

Adam the owner took a personal interest in my situation and was willing to work with me to see if his company was a good fit. I may be too small for them but I would highly recommend them to anyone considering a bookkeeper for their property management business.

TSTrevor SmithProperty Manager

230+

Property Accountants

30M+

Commercial Sq. Ft.

Up to 50%

Saved vs In-House

Every month

On-Time Close

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a fractional CFO and do I need one?

A fractional CFO gives you senior financial judgment for a few days a month rather than as a full-time hire. Most real estate companies do not have the need or the resources for a full-time controller or CFO, which is exactly the gap this fills.

How is this different from your monthly accounting service?

Monthly accounting produces accurate books. CFO support uses them: budget to actual analysis, cash flow modelling, distribution decisions and reporting built on the KPIs that matter to your stakeholders. Many clients take both, and the advice is stronger when we also produced the numbers.

Can you help decide how much to distribute to investors?

Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons owners engage us. CAPEX, interest, payables, receivables, minimum working capital and reserves all affect distributable cash and none of them appear in NOI. We model the actual position before a number is committed to.

Will this help when we refinance or sell?

It should. A large part of the work is ensuring NOI is stated properly, with expense versus capitalization applied consistently, so the number a bank or buyer underwrites is the number your books support.

Get CFO Judgment Without the CFO Salary

Schedule a call to talk through your portfolio, your proforma and the decisions coming up. We will tell you where fractional CFO support would actually change the outcome.