Get Real Estate Development Accounting Solutions With REA
As experts in real estate accounting, REA helps provide real estate developers with world-class monthly bookkeeping services.
Whether you are developing 1,000 residential units or 5 million commercial square feet, our real estate development accounting services provide you with accurate, audit-ready financial statements every month.
Whether you are developing 1,000 residential units or 5 million commercial square feet, our real estate development accounting services provide you with accurate, audit-ready financial statements every month.
1,000+Residential Units
5MCommercial Sq. Ft.
230+Property Accountants
Why Top Real Estate Developers Choose REA
CPAs Who Have Closed a Draw Before
Experts in Accounting For Real Estate Developers
Our team of CPA's & accountants have years of real estate development accounting experience. Focus on developing more properties, we'll handle the monthly accounting.
Dedicated resources
Prompt communication, proactive advice, audit-ready financial statements. We are your accounting partner here to help you scale.
Accurate financials
Accurately categorized transactions and reconciled bank accounts every single month. We are here to help accurately complete your real estate development financials.
Real Estate Development Accounting From REA
Done Inside the Platform You Already Run
Trust Bookkeeping
Leverage your software's powerful bookkeeping capabilities with REA's tailored service.
See how it worksCorporate Bookkeeping
REA's skilled team, in combination with your software's comprehensive toolset, addresses the complexity of your corporate financial activities.
Bank Reconciliations
Employing your software's state-of-the-art system, REA offers bank reconciliation services that brings meticulous accuracy to your finances.
See how it worksFinancial Diagnostic Cleanup
REA utilizes your software's advanced diagnostic tools to swiftly and effectively troubleshoot financial anomalies.
See how it worksTrust Compliance
REA pairs its accounting prowess with your software's detailed reporting to deliver comprehensive Trust Compliance Verification services.
See how it worksThe Full Scope
- AppFolio, Yardi, Buildium, and more
- Accounts Payable & Receivable
- Monthly Owner Statements
- Catch-up Bookkeeping
- Accurate NOI, Balance Sheets
- + 4 more below
Accounting For Real Estate Developers
- AppFolio, Yardi, Buildium, and more
- Accounts Payable & Receivable
- Monthly Owner Statements
- Catch-up Bookkeeping
- Accurate NOI, Balance Sheets
- Recording HUD's & Accruals
- Bank Reconciliations
- Owner Draws & Management Fees
- Corporate Accounting
Also available on its own
- Accounts Payable & ReceivableVendor invoices coded and paid, tenant receipts applied, management fees taken, and owner distributions cut on time.
- CAM ReconciliationCommon area maintenance pools built from the lease terms, reconciled against actuals, and billed or credited with a defensible tenant statement.
The Project Is the Unit of Account, Not the Month
Why Development Accounting Runs on a Different Clock
An operating property produces a monthly P&L. A development produces almost nothing for two years and then produces everything at once. In between, the only questions that matter are what got capitalised, what the lender will fund, and whether the project is still going to pencil.
What makes it different
Every dollar has a project to belong to
Development accounting has a natural structure: the project. Costs code to a budget line, the budget rolls to a pro forma, and variance against that budget is the single most useful number in the business. When the cost structure is set up correctly at the start, reporting is genuinely straightforward.
Where it goes wrong
Capitalise versus expense, decided a thousand times
Soft costs, carrying interest, property taxes during construction, internal labour, pre-development spend on a deal that later dies. Each one is a capitalise-or-expense call, and getting them wrong distorts basis, depreciation, and the eventual gain. Add draws recorded as income rather than a loan advance, and retainage held but never accrued, and the balance sheet stops describing the project.
How we work it
We keep the books lender-ready between draws
We maintain the cost structure against the approved budget, treat draws as what they are, accrue retainage, and hold the capitalisation policy consistently across projects. The practical test is whether your next draw package can be assembled from the books rather than reconstructed for the occasion.
Developers Accounting, Platform by Platform
Pick the Software You Actually Run
The accounting problem changes with the platform underneath it. Each page below is the specific version of developers bookkeeping for that system.
- AppFolioDraws and soft costs coded like rental income
- BuildiumDraws and capitalized costs default to income
- EntrataLease-up activity posts as operating income
- QuickBooksCapitalize-or-expense calls made one bill at a time
- Rent ManagerDraws and capitalized costs booked like rental income
- YardiJob costs post as expense, not asset
- MRINo shared close date between job cost and leasing
- RealPageConstruction draws and costs default to operating accounts
How Our Real Estate Development Accounting Services Work
Review, Close, Distribute
- 1
We review your property financials
Upon receiving Accountant access to your accounting software, we will begin by getting a complete understanding of your business and what the current issues are. We'll make sure the account is setup correctly, complete any necessary catch-up bookkeeping, and audit tenant/owner statements to ensure accuracy.
- 2
We complete your monthly bookkeeping
Once your financials are accurate for your business, we start our monthly property management bookkeeping and reconciliation work on the current transactions. We will create a finance calendar specific to your business, streamline accounts payable processes, categorize each transaction, and make sure every bank account is reconciled each month.
- 3
We send distributions and reports
Audit ready financials statements and monthly reporting lets you easily stay on top of your company financials and ensures all Trust account laws are strictly followed. If you need help with distributions, we can prepare owner and management distributions on a monthly basis. Never leave your LP's or owners in the dark again.
You Get a Team With Names, Not a Ticket Queue
Who Actually Works On Your Developers 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
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
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 DevelopersWe 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.
- 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
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
230+
Property Accountants
30M+
Commercial Sq. Ft.
Up to 50%
Saved vs In-House
Every month
On-Time Close
The Construction Stack We Work In
Procore, Buildertrend, Premier, Sage and Northspyre
We Also Work With
Every Vertical Has Its Own Way of Breaking
- Property ManagementThird-party managers scaling past their bookkeeping
- Commercial Real EstateLease administration and CAM reconciliation
- Owner OperatorsBuying units without adding accounting headcount
- Assisted LivingResident billing alongside property accounting
- HOAsAssessments, reserves and board-ready reporting
- SyndicatorsWaterfalls, GP/LP splits and investor reporting
- ConstructionJob costing, WIP and retainage
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you help with distributions and financial transparency for stakeholders?
We assist with preparing owner and management distributions every month, ensuring that limited partners (LPs) and owners are never left in the dark regarding financial distributions. We also ensure that all financial dealings are transparent and easily accessible to all stakeholders, enhancing trust and satisfaction among your investors.
What types of real estate accounting do you specialize in?
REA specializes in accounting for a wide range of real estate development projects, from large-scale residential developments involving 1,000 units to extensive commercial projects spanning up to 5 million square feet. Our expertise is tailored to handle the complexities of both residential and commercial real estate developments.
Can REA integrate with my existing real estate development accounting software?
Yes, REA seamlessly integrates with popular real estate accounting software systems like AppFolio, Yardi, and Buildium. Our team is proficient in utilizing these platforms to enhance your bookkeeping processes, ensuring that your financial operations are efficient and tailored to the specific needs of your development projects.
What is included in your monthly accounting for real estate developers?
Our monthly bookkeeping services include comprehensive management of your property's financials. This includes setting up and maintaining a finance calendar, streamlining accounts payable processes, categorizing transactions, and ensuring all bank accounts are reconciled. We also provide monthly owner statements, accurate recording of NOI, balance sheets, and handle accruals and owner draws.
How does outsourcing accounting help real estate developers reduce costs?
Outsourcing your accounting needs to REA can lead to significant cost reductions by eliminating the need for in-house accounting staff, which includes savings on salaries, benefits, training, and related overhead costs. Additionally, our efficient processes and use of technology reduce the time and effort required to manage your accounts, allowing you to allocate resources more effectively and focus on your core development activities.
Do you handle construction draws and retainage?
Yes. Draws are recorded as loan advances against the approved budget rather than as income, retainage held on subcontractors is accrued rather than left off the balance sheet, and the supporting cost documentation is maintained so a lender-ready draw package can be assembled from the books.
How do you access our accounting software?
Clients create and administer individual user access for authorized REA personnel within the client's own software environment. REA does not provide, resell, or sublicense software access. Clients retain control over access permissions and remain responsible for administering access in accordance with their software agreements and internal security policies.
Ready for Development Books That Hold Up at the Next Draw?
Schedule a call with our team to learn how REA handles project cost structures, capitalisation, draws, and retainage for real estate developers.