Accountants for property management and real estate agencies
A property management business looks simple from the outside: management fees in, wages out. Inside, it is a trust account that has to reconcile to the cent every month, sales and management income that behave differently, franchise fees and levies, and a rent roll that is often the largest asset the owner will ever sell. A general small business accountant can lodge the returns. Getting the structure, the reporting and the eventual sale right takes a team that understands how agencies make and keep money.
New Wave works with property management businesses and real estate agencies across the Gold Coast and Australia, from a principal building a first rent roll to franchise and multi-office groups. Owners who also hold investment property, or who are planning to buy another agency, get the business and the personal side handled by the same team.
The questions agency owners bring us
Trust accounting and the general ledger
The trust account belongs to your clients, but the business carries the compliance risk. We keep the operating books clean alongside it: management fees, letting fees and disbursements coded consistently, so the profit and loss reflects the agency rather than money passing through, and so the annual trust account audit is not the first time anyone looks closely.
What the rent roll is actually earning
Revenue per managed property, cost per property manager, how many doors each person carries and what the book is losing in churn each year. These are the numbers a buyer will use to value the rent roll, and the same numbers tell you whether to hire, raise fees or let a low-value segment go.
Structure before a sale
Whether the rent roll sits in the right entity, whether the small business CGT concessions are likely to be available, and what needs to change years, not weeks, before a sale. The concessions have strict tests on turnover, net assets and how long the asset has been held, so the planning has to start early. Detail on the business structuring page.
Buying a rent roll or another agency
Valuation support, due diligence on the book and the trust account, the retention clause, and how to fund and structure the purchase so the acquired business sits in the right entity from day one. See due diligence for a business purchase.
Short-term rental and management rights
Holiday letting, short-term rental management and management rights businesses carry their own mix of caretaking agreements, letting income and GST questions. We handle the tax, BAS and reporting for these businesses and the structure around them.
What the work looks like
- A designated team covering the agency, the owner’s personal position and the family entities, on one monthly package agreed up front.
- Bookkeeping in Xero that keeps operating income and trust money cleanly separated, with monthly reporting by income stream and by property manager.
- Tax planning in May with real numbers, not a tax return in October.
- Annual structure review with the sale or the next acquisition in mind.
- Advisory when you are ready to buy a rent roll, open an office or sell.
Who we work with
Independent and franchised property management businesses, residential sales agencies with a management arm, short-term rental managers and management rights operators, across the Gold Coast, Brisbane and interstate. Many work with us entirely by video.
Getting started
Book a FREE discovery call, 30 minutes with a New Wave team member. Bring your last set of financials and a rough idea of where you want the business to be in three years. If it is a fit, a proposal follows within the week with the monthly package set out.