Expert Yardi Bookkeeping Services For Scaling Property Investors & Managers In Chicago
Chicago's rental stock runs from lakefront high-rise condos to dense multifamily buildings in Logan Square and Wicker Park to scattered single-family portfolios across the South and West Sides. Yardi splits into two different products for this range: Voyager for the commercial-grade side, Breeze for smaller residential operators, and the two produce very different books. We start every Chicago Yardi engagement by identifying which one you're actually running, because that answer changes what your chart of accounts can even do.
We work with accountant access inside your own Yardi instance, exactly as you would grant an internal hire.
Illinois rules that apply here
- Deposit return deadline
- 45 days (5+ unit buildings)
- Statute
- 765 ILCS 710
Why Yardi Operators in Chicago Come to REA
Voyager for enterprise, Breeze for smaller portfolios
Voyager or Breeze, diagnosed first
Before we touch a ledger, we confirm whether you're on Voyager or Breeze. Voyager's flexible chart of accounts means a single misconfiguration on a lakefront high-rise or CAM schedule propagates through every entity. Breeze users usually hit a reporting ceiling and start patching gaps with spreadsheets outside the system. We fix the actual product, not a generic Yardi checklist.
Books built for mixed portfolios
Chicago operators rarely run one property type. A single Yardi instance here might carry lakefront condo assessments, multifamily rent rolls out of Wicker Park, and scattered single-family homes on the South Side, each with different revenue recognition needs. We configure entities and GL structure so those categories stay separate instead of blending into one distorted set of financials.
RLTO compliance built into books
The Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance adds requirements that hit the books directly, including deposit interest payments and disclosure documentation tied to specific ledger entries. We build those obligations into the tenant ledger structure inside Yardi rather than tracking them in a separate spreadsheet, so the paperwork a Chicago audit asks for is already sitting inside the system of record.
Yardi and Illinois Deposit Rules
765 ILCS 710
765 ILCS 710 gives Chicago buildings with 5 or more units 45 days to return a security deposit or send an itemized statement of deductions. On Voyager, we tie that deadline to the move-out workflow so the itemized statement generates from the same ledger entries as the charges, timestamped automatically. Breeze has no equivalent move-out automation. Without a workaround built at setup, the 45-day clock gets tracked outside the system, on a spreadsheet nobody reconciles against the actual tenant ledger, which is exactly how buildings miss it.
The Illinois Security Deposit Return Act, 765 ILCS 710, requires landlords of buildings with five or more units to return the deposit within 45 days of move-out, with an itemized statement referencing the lease and supported by receipts. Bad-faith withholding carries a penalty of twice the deposit plus costs and fees.
All Illinois requirementsHow we keep you inside it
- Deposit liabilities tracked per tenant in Yardi, so a 45 days (5+ unit buildings) 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
Yardi Accounting & Bookkeeping Services
For Chicago 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
Chicago operators use REA for the full monthly close or for the single function that has become a bottleneck. Each one is performed inside your Yardi 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 Chicago?
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 Yardi handle Chicago's 45-day security deposit deadline automatically?
It depends which Yardi you're on. Voyager can trigger an itemized deduction statement straight from the move-out ledger, which satisfies 765 ILCS 710 for buildings with 5 or more units. Breeze does not have that workflow built in, so the 45-day clock has to be tracked manually. We set up a manual tickler system for Breeze clients specifically so that deadline never depends on someone remembering.
We're on Yardi Breeze and outgrowing its reporting. What do you actually do about that?
Breeze's reporting ceiling is real, most operators hit it once they're running more than a handful of doors or mixing property types. Rather than exporting to spreadsheets outside the system, which is how books drift from the ledger, we build custom report templates inside Breeze itself where possible, and flag the specific reports that genuinely require a Voyager migration so you're not guessing.
We manage a mix of lakefront condos and South Side single-family rentals on one Yardi account. Can the books stay separate?
Yes, and they need to. Condo assessment revenue, multifamily rent rolls, and single-family rentals scattered across the South and West Sides each carry different accounting treatment. We set up separate entities or property groups inside your Yardi instance at the start of the engagement so those revenue types never blend into one chart of accounts that can't answer a straight question about any single portfolio.
More in Illinois
Other Illinois markets, the platforms we work in, and the functions available on their own.
Yardi Bookkeeping for Chicago
Schedule a call and we will review your Yardi setup, your Illinois deposit handling, and what it takes to close clean every month.