Bookkeeping for real estate agents and teams
Gross commission income reconciled (not just the net after split), per-deal cost tracking so you see true profit on every transaction, referral agent 1099s handled, and S-Corp payroll set up correctly — clean books that grow with your production volume.
We work with real estate agents, team leads, and small brokerages on commission reconciliation, per-deal cost tracking, referral 1099 compliance, and S-Corp payroll — so you know your true profit per transaction and your books are always ready for your CPA. Austin, TX.
QuickBooks Online · Gusto · Ramp — professional liability insured — month-to-month, 30-day notice
Pick a time right here — no prep required.
Real estate agents don't run on the net deposit — they run on gross commission, deal-level cost control, and tax structure. Recording commissions wrong, missing referral 1099 obligations, or running S-Corp payroll incorrectly are where agents lose money quietly and find out at tax time. Most bookkeepers have never handled any of it.
What changes with TurnkeyCFO
Every service below is built for how real estate agents and teams actually operate — closings, commissions, referrals, and deal costs.
Accurate categorization of commission income, brokerage splits, marketing costs, TC fees, dues, MLS subscriptions, and all operating expenses. Full monthly close with P&L and balance sheet — so you know where the money went and which month was actually your best.
Every closing reconciled — gross commission income recorded as revenue, brokerage split expensed separately, and net deposit matched to your bank statement. Your income statement reflects your true production volume, not just what hit your account after the split.
Each deal tracked as its own project in QuickBooks — photography, staging, marketing spend, transaction coordinator fees, and any other direct costs allocated to that transaction. At close you see gross commission, split, direct costs, and true net profit. Replicate the winners. Fix the losers.
Referral payments of $600 or more to individuals outside a brokerage-to-brokerage arrangement generally require a 1099-MISC. We track referral payments from the first check, collect W-9s before payment, and file by January 31 — so you're never scrambling in January or facing IRS backup withholding requirements.
If your CPA has elected S-Corp status, we set up payroll in Gusto with a documented reasonable compensation salary, run payroll correctly, and record owner distributions separately from salary. Quarterly payroll tax filings reconciled. Your CPA reviews annually — we handle the ongoing execution.
We produce the quarterly income summaries your CPA needs to calculate estimated tax payments — so you're never caught short in April. Commission-heavy income with irregular closings makes quarterly estimates critical; we give your CPA the clean numbers they need to get them right.
Commission income by month, gross vs net production, marketing cost per deal, year-to-date vs prior year comparison, and cash flow forecast — updated monthly so you're managing your business with real numbers, not memory of your last closing.
Tax filings, S-Corp elections, and legal matters — coordinated with your CPA or attorney. TurnkeyCFO does not provide tax or legal advice; we keep your books filing-ready and support the process end-to-end.
The day-to-day realities most bookkeepers have never touched. We have.
The net deposit is not your revenue — it's revenue minus what the brokerage took.
Recording only the net deposit understates gross income, distorts your S-Corp reasonable compensation baseline, and makes benchmarking impossible. Gross commission income belongs in revenue. The brokerage split belongs in commission expense. This distinction matters to your CPA, your lender, and the IRS.
You can't improve what you can't see — and "marketing expense" is not visibility.
Professional photography, staging, drone shots, digital ads, mailers, transaction coordinator fees, and showing expenses all vary by deal. Lumping them as overhead hides the deals that cost $3,000 to close vs the ones that cost $800. Job costing by transaction lets you price more aggressively on the right listings and stop subsidizing the wrong ones.
Referral agents you pay directly likely need a 1099-MISC — not a handshake and a wire.
If you pay a referral fee directly to an individual agent (outside a brokerage-to-brokerage arrangement) of $600 or more in a calendar year, you generally have a 1099-MISC filing obligation. W-9 required at first payment. Missing 1099s trigger potential IRS backup withholding requirements on future payments — 24% withheld from referral checks until resolved.
Earnest money you hold is never your income — until it's forfeited to you.
Earnest money held in a trust account belongs to the buyer or seller pending closing conditions. It's not your cash, not your revenue, and should not appear in your operating bank account or P&L. If earnest money is forfeited to you under the contract, that's income — but only then. We set up your accounts so trust funds never pollute your operating statements.
The IRS requires S-Corp owners who work in the business to take a "reasonable salary."
An S-Corp election creates payroll tax savings only if you pay yourself a reasonable salary — the IRS actively audits S-Corps with minimal or no salary and reclassifies distributions as wages, creating back payroll taxes and penalties. We set up Gusto payroll, document your salary rationale in the books, and make sure distributions are correctly segregated from compensation.
The home office deduction is real — but it requires clean documentation to survive audit.
If you use a dedicated, exclusive space in your home for business, the home office deduction can reduce your taxable income meaningfully. Your CPA claims it on your return; we document the annual expenses (rent or mortgage interest, utilities, repairs) in a format that supports the deduction if questioned. Clean records make a legitimate deduction defensible.
Simple, fast, and designed to work around your showing schedule.
We learn your brokerage structure, production volume, entity type, referral relationships, and where the books are currently breaking down — so we set up right the first time.
Gross commission income, brokerage split expense, per-deal project codes, referral agent tracking, and S-Corp payroll structure — all built before we touch a transaction.
Full close every month with per-deal profit summary, quarterly income summary for estimated tax support, and a dashboard showing your true production metrics — not just what hit your bank.
No — we work alongside your CPA. We keep books clean and filing-ready year-round so your CPA can file without a month of cleanup. If you need a CPA who understands real estate agent S-Corps and Schedule C businesses, we can refer one.
Gross commission is your revenue. The brokerage split is a commission expense. Recording only the net understates your income and hides the true cost of your brokerage relationship. We always record gross commission and expense the split separately.
We set up QuickBooks job costing by transaction so photography, staging, marketing, and TC fees are allocated to each deal. At close, you see gross commission, split, direct costs, and true net profit — for every transaction.
Yes, if you paid a referral agent $600 or more during the year via a direct referral agreement, you likely have a 1099-MISC obligation. We track referral payments from the first check and file by January 31.
We don't provide tax advice, but we work with many real estate agents who operate as S-Corps and handle payroll, distributions, and bookkeeping correctly. Your CPA makes the S-Corp election decision — we execute the setup the moment they say go.
Earnest money held in a trust or escrow account is not your money — it belongs to the buyer or seller until closing conditions are met. It should never appear in your operating accounts or income. We ensure your books exclude it from revenue and operating cash balance.
Everything lives in QuickBooks Online, Gusto, and Ramp — enterprise-grade platforms with role-scoped access. Credentials are never shared by email and we maintain professional liability insurance.
Month-to-month, 30-day notice. No multi-year contracts. We keep clients because the work is good, not because the paperwork traps them.
Get your instant estimate, then book a 15-minute call to talk through fit and scope. No pressure, no sales pitch.