As I had explained in my previous post for tip 2 for 9 Must-Have Tips for Running your Vacation Rental like a Business –
A vacation rental is both a fun place to stay and an investment opportunity. And a part of that responsibility is ensuring that you run your business smoothly. When you own a vacation rental, you want to have good cash flow, avoid tax penalties, stay organized, have a great presentation, minimize risk and ensure your customers are satisfied.
I want to continue to try and provide you with all the info you may need to help guide you through the jungle of beach vacation property rental pitfalls.
Tip 3
Ready. Set. HURDLR!
For most of you reading this, your vacation rental is classified as a passive income business. That means that you will only write off the expenses against passive income (i.e. your vacation rental income). Setting up a dedicated checking account is more important than just making your accountant happy, it also allows you to properly classify your expenses. The options for accounting and budget tracking tools are seemingly endless like Mint, Fudget, BillGuard, YNAB and more.
For my vacation rental, I now use an app I love called Hurdlr that offers ‘simple financials for entrepreneurs’. The app connects directly to your bank account. The application then syncs transactions providing you with notifications to categorize and log each expense. The best part? You can do all of this right from your mobile device and the app is free to use! As you enter in data, the application learns what transactions to associate with specific categories. You can easily modify any necessary changes. You can also take a photo of your receipts, save and attach to your transaction. A much more efficient strategy than stuffing them in your shoe box!