Property management in QBO

Thanks for visiting the Community today, PPL2.

Let's use the Class tracking feature to manage your properties. Then, create a service item for your communal fees and set up each complex. I'm here to help you through the process.

To turn on the class tracking:

1. Head to the Gear icon in the upper right and choose Account and settings under Your Company.
2. Go to the Advanced menu on the left panel and click the Pencil icon for Categories to see more options.
3. In the Track classes section, move the slider to the right to turn it on and tick the Track classes and the Warn me when a transaction isn’t assigned a class box. This is optional, but it's good to turn on, so when you look at reports, you know everything got classified.
4. Under the Assign classes drop-down, choose One to entire transaction or One to each row in transaction.
5. Press Save and Done.

Next, create classes for your rental properties (QBO) in QuickBooks Online. Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon in the upper right and select All lists.
2. Tap the Classes link to see more details.
3. Press the New menu to open the Class window and enter the property complex in the Name field.
4. Click Save.

Repeat the process for the remaining properties. When creating a new transaction, choose the complex from the Class drop-down menu.

In regard to the communal fees, create a service item and add it to the transaction. Here's an article that contains detailed instructions: Manually add service fees to invoices in QuickBooks Online.

You can also use the budget function to create a budget for each complex and compare it to the actual turnover for end-of-year reporting. As always, I recommend speaking with an accountant. They can advise you on how to handle the situation and ensure that your records are correct.

To help get a clear view of each segment's financial health and how the class tracking function helps you record income, expenses, or profitability by business segment, see the following links below:

• Get started with class tracking
• Create and manage classes

Finally, check out our help articles for information on how to use other features in QBO. This link contains topics on how your work is done that are separated by topics, such as account management, customer and supplier activity, and reports.

If you have further questions about this or need anything else with QuickBooks, let me know by adding a comment below. I'll be right here to help you. Have a great day ahead.

Hi Rasa-LilaM,

Thanks for the quick and detailed response. Luckily, I have time to sort this out, as I'll be moving everything to QBO at the year-end point in December/January. I'll read through the links you sent, thanks.

I have been using QB for quite a while and currently have the complexes set up in QB Desktop as separate companies. However, I need to change this and just use one account. Can I import the companies into one QBO online company?

Just so I have this correct in my head! :-)

I need to separate properties, units within properties, and owners, so, for example;

Complex 1

Complex 2

Complex 3

Complex 1: apt 001

Complex 1: apt 002

Complex 2: apt 001

Complex 2: apt 002

Complex 3: apt 001

Complex 3: apt 002

I also need to record the owner for each apt;

Complex 1: apt 001: Owner's name

Is this possible using classes?

At year-end, I need to produce reports against budgets for each complex. For the apts/owners, I'll set up memorized invoices, which need to be sent from QBO, and I'll need reminders for individuals also. I think I can do all this.

Thanks
Martin

Thanks for the immediate response, @PPL2.

Let me share more insights about the class tracking feature and importing company data in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Yes, based on your example, it's possible to separate properties, units within properties, and owners using the class tracking feature in QBO. To do this, kindly refer to the step-by-step guide provided by my colleague above or check out this article: Get started with class tracking in QuickBooks Online.

On the other hand, since you've set up your complexes in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) as separate companies, you're unable to import them into one QBO file or account. You'll have to manually enter each of their info (by creating classes) to have them into one QBO company.

Once you're done setting up your class list, you can start tracking your transactions, running reports, and creating a budget for each of your complexes.

Also, you may want to check out one of our Help pages as your reference to guide you in managing your business's growth and transactions in QBO: QuickBooks Learn and Support. It includes help articles, Community discussions with other users, and video tutorials, to name a few.

Let me know if you have other class-tracking and importing concerns in QBO. I'm always ready to help. Take care, and I wish you continued success, @PPL2.

Thank you for your quick answers. 

Hi,

I have another question regarding classes. I've read that there is a restriction of just 40 classes per company account. For the restriction, what counts as a class?

Does the following count as 1 class or two?

Property 1

Property 1: Unit 1

Thanks.

Hello, PPL2.

Good to have you here again. I'll jump in and give some details regarding the class counting in QuickBooks. 

The parent class and the subclass are counted as two separate lists in QuickBooks. So, when you create Property 1 as the parent and Unit 1 as its subclass, it will always count as two classes. 

In the event that you no longer need to use a certain class, we can inactivate it to lower down the count. On the Classes page, find the class you want to inactivate, click the arrow button beside the Run report link, then select Make inactive. 

I see that my colleagues have already shared some of the helpful articles for future references. I'll also add this one if you need help pulling up some other reports you might need in the future: Run reports in QuickBooks Online.

Share your thoughts and concerns in your next reply if you need to manage other things about your property management business. If you have some questions about your entries like sales or expenses, let me know and I'll gladly help you out again.