Accounting and advisory for Real Estate
Real estate runs on the performance of individual properties and the entities that hold them — and most accounting systems flatten that detail into a single number. Laya keeps clean, property-level books inside structures that often run an LLC per asset, so investors, brokerages, property managers, and small developers can see exactly where the returns come from. Whether you hold one rental or a portfolio across several entities, the books are ready for partners and lenders.
The financial challenges Real Estate face
No P&L per property or per portfolio
When rents, repairs, debt service, and management fees land in one combined ledger, you can't tell which building actually performs. Tracking income and expense at the property level — then rolling it into a portfolio view — is what makes returns and problem assets visible.
An LLC for every property to keep books for
Holding each asset in its own LLC protects liability but multiplies the bookkeeping: separate bank accounts, separate ledgers, and intercompany transfers between entities and a management company. Without discipline, those movements blur ownership and distort each entity's results.
Investor and lender reporting on demand
Equity partners want distributions, capital accounts, and returns; lenders want clean statements and debt-service coverage. Pulling reliable figures together from scattered records — often under a deadline — is slow and error-prone when the underlying books aren't built for it.
Depreciation and 1031 exchanges done right
Buildings depreciate over decades, improvements are capitalized separately, and a 1031 exchange carries basis from a sold property into its replacement. Mistracking cost basis or accumulated depreciation creates real tax exposure that surfaces years later at sale.
How Laya helps Real Estate
Property and portfolio-level P&L
We structure your chart of accounts and use classes or locations in QuickBooks Online so every dollar of rent, repair, mortgage interest, and management fee ties to a specific property. Each monthly close produces a P&L per property and a consolidated portfolio view, so you can see net operating income asset by asset.
Multi-entity bookkeeping and intercompany
We support an LLC-per-property structure with each entity scoped as its own engagement, keeping separate books and bank reconciliations for every one. Transfers between entities and your management company are recorded as intercompany activity that nets cleanly, so ownership stays accurate across the whole structure.
Investor and lender-ready financials
We keep the books in a state where partner distributions, contributions, and balance sheets are current — so when an investor or lender asks, you're not rebuilding history. Statements come straight from a closed set of books, giving capital partners and underwriters numbers they can trust.
Fixed assets, depreciation, and 1031 tracking
We maintain a fixed-asset and depreciation schedule for each property, separating land from building and capitalizing improvements correctly. When you complete a 1031 exchange, we carry the deferred basis into the replacement property so your records — and the gain deferred — are documented and audit-ready.
What's included
- Monthly close by the 10th business day
- Per-property and consolidated portfolio P&Ls
- Separate books per entity (each its own engagement)
- Intercompany transfer tracking and reconciliation
- Fixed-asset and depreciation schedules
- 1031 exchange basis tracking
- Investor- and lender-ready financial statements
Frequently asked questions
Can you give me a P&L for each property and for the whole portfolio?
Yes. We tag income and expenses to each property using classes or locations in QuickBooks Online, so every monthly close produces a profit-and-loss statement per property plus a consolidated portfolio view. You can see net operating income building by building and compare assets side by side.
I hold each property in its own LLC — can you handle that?
Yes. Multi-entity structures are fully supported. Each entity is scoped as its own engagement with its own books, bank reconciliations, and financial statements. Transfers between entities and your management company are recorded as intercompany activity so ownership and results stay accurate across the structure.
How do you handle depreciation and 1031 exchanges?
We maintain a fixed-asset and depreciation schedule for each property — separating land from building and capitalizing improvements — so accumulated depreciation is accurate. On a 1031 exchange, we carry the deferred cost basis from the relinquished property into the replacement, keeping your records consistent through tax filing and eventual sale.
Can you produce reports my investors and lenders need?
Yes. Because the books are closed and current each month, we can produce balance sheets, property-level P&Ls, and statements that support distributions, capital accounts, and debt-service coverage. You hand partners and underwriters numbers that come straight from reconciled books rather than rebuilt estimates.
Do you file my taxes and entity returns?
Tax is handled through our licensed CPA partner network on the Summit ($1,000/mo) and Peak ($1,500/mo) plans, which add tax to your accounting. Each entity's return is its own engagement. Owner individual returns are available as a $100–$200/month add-on per return.
How fast are my books closed each month?
By the 10th business day of the following month, every month, across each entity we keep books for. Closing on a fixed cadence means you and your partners are making decisions on fresh numbers instead of data that's a quarter old.
Ready to get your books in order?
Book an intro and we'll show you exactly how Laya works for Real Estate.
Book an Intro