best expense tracking app

[Geri2]

Hi,

I'm looking for suggestions for aps to manage my expenses for tax purposes. Any input is appreciated. 

Thanks,

geri

[Lisa7]

@Geri2 I just use google spreadsheets. Not really that many expenses to track with airbnb. You can manually add them. 

I say this because everything else I've tried doesn't work. Banks don't allow a lot of integration for security purposes. Or there are apps that require you to input everything manually anyway.

If you're interested in more on the spreadsheets, I can tell you how I've set mine up.

[Larissa4]

I would love to see your spreadsheet if you are willing to share. I have felt the same way about the apps. I am just getting started and I am sorting through my start up costs

Larissa

[Lisa7]

@Larissa4 I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I simply use a spreadsheet with the following columns:

Date / Guest / Payout / Cleaner / Supplies / Mortgage

Payout = how much Airbnb sends you (+)

Cleaner = cost of your professional cleaner (-)

Supplies = things like sheets, towels, cleaning products, toilet paper, books, etc (-) ** You can add another column next to this to use for notes to specify what the item was. 

Mortgage = or rent (-)

This is not advice for tax purposes. You would have to check to see what your local tax rules say about allowable deductions.

This is simply so I can keep track of money going in/out. I update it maybe twice a month, downloading data from Airbnb and checking my credit-card statements.

Hope it helps.

[Stella393]

This is great! My husband and I are just starting out with a rental and I want us to have a simple but accurate way to track guests and dollars. Thank you!

[Superhost6]

Hi @Lisa7  I don't see the attached spreadsheet you added to your message.

[Catherine2121]

Hi Lisa! 

Any chance you could share your spreadsheet with me?

Thanks so much, 
Catherine 🙂 

[Karol22]

Spreadsheets are so painful. It might work for a single listing but it's prone to errors and required too much time for me to do manual data entry. I ended up managing a few more listings eventually, so I had my accountant set me up with QuickBooks over a year ago. She connected my Airbnb account with QuickBooks using an app called Bnbtally: https://www.bnbtally.com/ 

So far it's working great, though it's mainly for tracking all Airbnb income. However, they have a list of templates with chart of accounts which you can download into QuickBooks or Xero, but you can also copy the template for your spreadsheets. QuickBooks makes it easy to create bank rules which helps to automate most of the work when reconciling expenses. Here's a template for tracking all expenses...

Airbnb Costs Template: https://blog.bnbtally.com/airbnb-costs-and-chart-of-accounts-to-consider 

The templates are useful even if you don't end up using the software. Hope this helps!

[Ross32]

Hi Lisa,

I have just set up my Airbnb house and have quickly realised that I need some way of tracking income and expenses. I was thinking about a simople excel spreadsheet to track these expenses. Could you send me a sample of your set up please, I would appreciate your help 

Regards

Rossco

[Mariluz1]

I am interested in your method. Not commuter savey. Need to learn excel.

[Eva738]

Would you share with me as well? I'd really appreciate it!

[Harold75]

@Lisa7   I am not of fan of spreadsheets.  The more you input, accumulate and change data, the are greater chances of errors creeping in.   

[Chris11557]

That's how business is done. you have to track your information somehow. and spreadsheets are the optimal way. 

[Debra304]

Please let me know how you set up uyour own, need help with that, thanks Debbie

[Amy2236]

I have just started an Airbnb and would love to learn how you have set up your spreadsheet. Can you share that please. 

Thank you