You own doors, not a spreadsheet habit.
We do monthly bookkeeping for rental property owners with your business tax return included, and it starts with a free 30-minute call. Most investors can tell you what the portfolio grossed. Far fewer can tell you which property is quietly losing money while the others cover for it. That is the problem we solve.
Do you handle depreciation and cost segregation for rentals?
We handle depreciation: each property is set up and depreciated on your return, and repairs are separated from improvements as we go. We do not perform cost segregation studies. If your portfolio would benefit from one, we will say so and work alongside the firm that does the study, then put its results on your return.
Sound familiar?
The questions that keep investors up at night.
You know what the portfolio brought in. You could not say which single property actually made money last year.
Every property runs through one bank account, so nothing can be untangled without a weekend and a spreadsheet.
You are not sure whether the new roof was a repair you deduct now or an improvement you depreciate for years.
Security deposits sit in the same account as rent, so your cash balance looks better than it is.
Your CPA sees the year for the first time in March, and by then every decision has already been made.
What we actually do
Honest scope, built for how portfolios actually run.
Books kept per property
Rent, mortgage interest, insurance, taxes, repairs and management fees tracked against the specific door that produced them. That is what turns a portfolio total into a decision you can act on.
The classifications that cost money
Repairs versus improvements, deposits held as a liability rather than income, escrow split out from principal and interest. Handled as we go, and the judgement calls flagged while you can still weigh in.
Honest about scope
We keep the books and file the returns. We do not perform cost segregation studies, appraisals, or audited statements. If your situation needs one, we will say so and work alongside whoever does it.
Renting by the night rather than the year? Short-term rentals follow a different set of rules, and we keep those books too. See short-term rentals.
Several entities, joint ownership, a property that moved mid-year: bring it to the fit call. We would rather tell you honestly than take on work we cannot do well.
A portfolio that cash flows overall can still hold a property that is bleeding. You should know which is which.The Smoky Mountain way.
Based in East Tennessee
Knoxville-based. Remote-friendly. Wherever the doors are.
We are based in Knoxville and work with investors across East Tennessee and remotely nationwide. Property visits are not part of the job. Your books are, wherever you are buying.
Own cabins or short-term rentals? See our short-term rental accounting page and the local guides for Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville.
Who we’re for, and who we’re not for.
A good fit: Owner-run real estate investors with rental portfolios that have outgrown doing the books themselves or a high-volume online bookkeeping service, and want a CPA who knows their numbers.
Not a fit: companies that need an audit or reviewed financial statements, venture-backed companies, or multi-entity international groups, or anyone who needs a cost segregation study or appraisal done in house (we work alongside whoever does it). We would rather tell you on the first call than three months in.
We are based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and serve these businesses remotely across the US, not only in Knoxville.
Answers before you ask.
Do you track each property separately?
Yes. Every property gets its own tracking in QuickBooks so income, expenses and mortgage interest land against the door that produced them. A portfolio reported as one lump tells you the portfolio made money; it does not tell you which property is carrying the others.
Can you handle multiple LLCs?
Yes. Investors commonly hold properties across several entities. Each set of books stays separate and clean, and the returns are prepared by the same people who kept them, so nothing has to be reconstructed in April.
Do you prepare the tax returns too?
Yes. Business and personal returns, including Schedule E for rentals and partnership returns where properties are held jointly. Every monthly plan includes the business return.
What about repairs versus improvements?
This is the classification that costs investors the most when it is wrong, because it decides whether a cost is deducted now or depreciated over years. We categorise it as we go and flag the judgement calls rather than guessing in March.
Do you do cost segregation studies?
No. That is specialist engineering work and we do not pretend otherwise. We keep the books and file the returns, and we will work alongside whoever performs the study.
Get the Rental Property Bookkeeping Checklist.
The monthly routine two CPAs use to keep investor books clean: per-property tracking, repairs versus improvements, deposits and escrow handled right. Free, one email, no hoops.
Read: CPA-reviewed bookkeeping for real estate investors and agents →
How to account for real estate transactions: buying, improving and selling →
Pricing
One package, three levels
Every monthly plan includes bookkeeping and your business and personal tax return. What you pay depends on how many properties and accounts you run, so we quote it after we have looked.
Ready to know which door actually pays?
Book a free fit call. We will talk through how your portfolio is set up and tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.
Rather not book a call? Email brooks@smokymountaincpas.com. Brooks answers every one.