I received a lot of responses to my article on the Let’s Talk Passive Investing blog, where I discussed how important accounting is to park operations and what passive investors should know about their General Partners’ accounting teams and processes. Many reached out with specific questions about how I structure my accounting processes.
It had me yet again thinking about all the mistakes I made early on. Despite all the podcasts and articles I consumed, everyone either generalized or glossed over the subject. This left me guessing as I blindly tried to figure it out while buying my first park. Over two years, I made countless mistakes, wasting both time and money. Every quarter and year-end was like a nightmare. I felt lost and overwhelmed every time I dealt with accounting, and my accounting team (if you can call it that) was in constant disarray.
Even now, I still get stressed thinking about how chaotic those first two years were. Trying to blindly build out processes, create reporting systems, and integrate a team was a nightmare that could have been avoided if someone had shown me a clear guide to follow.
Fast forward four bookkeepers and three CPAs later—now, I finally have the right team and processes to lead us through the rest of our mobile home park journey.
The Team
As a Mobile Home/RV Park Operator, I always remind myself and my vendors that we are a team. When operating a park, it could be a plumber, an AC technician, a handyman, or a community manager that rounds out the park’s operational team. I look at them as an extension of us, a team member working toward the same goal. But when it comes to capital raising and running the corporate side of things, the team shifts from blue-collar to white-collar. It includes lawyers, CPAs, bookkeepers, administrators, and the executive team—all working together to make things happen.
One thing I didn’t realize early on was just how important accountants are to the team.
“Accountant” is a broad term, but for this article, I’m referring specifically to a CPA and a bookkeeper. Back when I started, I thought I had everything handled. If you’d asked me, I would have confidently said, “I’ve got a good team.” But I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I had a $4/hour VA bookkeeper handling a few of my old LLCs from a previous investment business, but honestly, we did most of the heavy lifting ourselves. And our CPA? They were there, but I had no clue how complex things were going to get or how critical it was to have the right CPA on the team.
Bookkeeper Qualifications
Our first bookkeeper was that $4/hour general bookkeeper who didn’t fully understand property management accounting or the relationships between the management company and the holding entities. We used them for a few months before quickly realizing they weren’t a good fit.
We placed an ad on Upwork looking for someone with property management experience, knowledge of handling multiple entities, and proficiency in managing interrelated books. We found someone at $6/hour who seemed to check all the boxes—at least, at first glance.
However, we soon learned they had overstated their qualifications. Although they’d done property management accounting, it was as part of a larger organization where they only touched a few aspects of the process. They couldn’t make meaningful suggestions or corrections. Instead, they waited for me to catch mistakes, and their work was more about following instructions than taking initiative. Plus, they were only part-time, which meant everything was late, and the time they worked was spent on corrections rather than progress.
By the time tax season rolled around, the books were a mess. We handed our CPA a quagmire of a financial situation, kinda like handing him a shoe box of receipts. Needless to say, the first year’s reporting was both chaotic and inaccurate.
Building a Better System
After that, we finally understood what we truly needed:
- Someone with property management experience
- Leadership skills and the confidence to make suggestions
- Understanding of interrelated company accounting
- Experience with multiple sets of books
- Familiarity with both property management software and QuickBooks
- Full-time availability
We placed a new ad, interviewed dozens of candidates, and eventually found someone for $8/hour who seemed like a good fit. They had property management experience and were available full-time. We were preparing to close on our second park (68 lots, including RV spaces), and I knew we needed someone to help us build better systems and processes. The goal was to close out each month and year-end efficiently, without repeating the mistakes of the previous year.
However, despite being full-time, the bookkeeper didn’t improve our books the way I had hoped. We still weren’t closing out the month efficiently, and I had no formal review process in place. They reached their limit, and once again, I found myself hiring the wrong person.
The Right Hire
Dealing with all these bad hires, the delays in reporting, inability to see my financial performance was frustrating. In my next attempt, I approached the hiring process with a much clearer understanding. I created an organization chart, outlined our accounting and tax processes, and made a list of all the issues we faced. Using Dan Sullivan’s “Who Not How” framework, I detailed an “Impact Filter” for the role.
After interviewing a dozen candidates, we narrowed it down to four and conducted final interviews with my Operations Manager. We settled on someone who had extensive experience leading a team of bookkeepers. She was $18/hour—$5/hour over our budget—but we were under contract for our third park, and I knew the income from that park would cover the additional cost. More importantly, I knew having a qualified team member was critical to our success.
At first, I hesitated. This candidate talked over me, pointed out what I was doing wrong, and gave me suggestions before even looking at the books. I was leaning toward another candidate who was more passive and agreeable. But my Operations Manager reminded me that I needed someone who could challenge me—someone who could confidently correct me and take charge. It was the best advice I ever received.
Within a month, our new bookkeeper had unraveled our mistakes and laid out a game plan. We requested filing extensions for the year, informed our Limited Partners about the delay in K-1s, and spent the next four months redoing all of our books. By summer, we had clean, organized books, and we had turned the corner.
CPA Qualifications
In today’s virtual world, finding a CPA is easier than ever, with plenty of online firms offering flat-rate or hourly services. But the truth is, not all CPAs are created equal.
Our first CPA handled tax reporting well enough, but we also hired them for bookkeeping, which ended up being a disaster. On my earlier businesses I had paid $400 per month for bookkeeping services for each entity and anywhere from $625 to $1,000 for year-end tax reporting. While these prices were fair, their service and communication were lacking. It felt like double work—our books were consistently inaccurate, and it was nearly impossible to get questions answered. Every time we had an issue, our account was handed off to someone new, and it seemed like no one really understood our business. When it came to unique tax situations or strategies, I struggled to get a timely or relevant response.
After realizing this wasn’t working, we went online and found a CPA firm that was tied to a well-known real estate investor. My initial thought was that if they could handle his books, they could certainly handle mine. Unfortunately, I was wrong. This CPA firm funneled us into their sales system, where they continuously tried to upsell us on bookkeeping and advisory services. I had initially agreed to a $5,000 retainer for tax reporting, but when the time came to review the tax reports, they refused to release them without payment. We were paying $2,000 per entity, on top of the $5,000, regardless of how much activity was taking place in each entity.
When I finally got the tax documents, they were full of errors—equity didn’t match up, income didn’t align with our rent collections, and the balance sheet didn’t reflect our investment correctly. Even after sending countless documents, I was handed off to a VA overseas they outsourced their work too!!! To make matters worse, they refused to give me the workbooks detailing how they arrived at their figures, claiming it was their “work product.” This was a stark contrast to our first CPA, who always provided detailed workbooks and entries to reconcile our books with the tax figures.
I knew I had to find someone who understood rental properties, multi-family, and property management. I wanted a CPA who didn’t outsource their work to overseas VAs, someone who could handle K-1s, partner distributions, and be there for advisory calls when needed. After months of searching, I finally found a CPA who fit the bill. They weren’t trying to upsell us on bookkeeping or advisory services, and their fees were reasonable—about half of what the previous firm had charged, but more than the first CPA I had.
This CPA was initially not willing to release the tax documents without payment upfront. I then raised my concerns and how I wanted to review them together, they agreed. We were able to review everything together, and they provided detailed workbooks for all tax-related entries, allowing us to true up our books. It was a refreshing change from our previous experience, and it gave me confidence that we finally had the right CPA on our team.
What Does It Look Like Now?
Today, my approach to accounting has drastically improved from where I started. We have established clear processes, regular updates, and a strong communication loop that allows us to operate efficiently. Here’s what it looks like now:
Meetings
Cleaning up our earlier mess took a lot of extra time and meetings, but now we’re on a set rhythm. I meet with our bookkeeper a couple of times each week. Tuesdays are for quick check-ins—discussing that week’s work, reviewing any issues, and checking on larger projects. By Friday, we go over the week’s completed work, and I provide feedback for adjustments. I review everything over the weekend so the next week’s work is clear and ready to go.
Month-end is more intensive. Before the month closes, I receive an export of all expenses, along with the cash account it was paid from and the general ledger it was booked to. This way, we can spot and correct any issues before closing the month. After that, we export reports into excel workbooks from both Rent Manager and QuickBooks, review them, and close the books for each property. The same process applies to each quarter, though we aim to complete it within the first 10 days, allowing 5 days for corrections before the 15th final Close-out.
Our bookkeeper also stays in constant communication with our in-house team, handling inquiries and reviewing charges as they come in. For bigger tax questions, we loop in our CPA immediately, preventing any issues from lingering or piling up like they did in the past.
Weekly Cash Flow Tracking
One of the changes we recently made is adding weekly cash flow reports to our reporting reviews. This allows us to track the cash for each property at a granular level and plan for upcoming projects. Given the challenges of managing tenant turnover and the repairs for our park-owned homes, this weekly breakdown became critical for managing cash flow and budgeting for improvements.
Company Structure & Software
To simplify our operations, we’ve set up two different sets of books for each property: one within the management company and another within the holding entity. Then our Property Management company has its own set of books.
- Management Company (Corporate Side): The management company operates all properties, handling rent collection, bill payments, and charges, while holding security deposits. We use QuickBooks to track management fees, administrative expenses, legal fees, and employee wages.
For each property, we maintain separate bank accounts in the management company’s name (e.g., “XYZ Property—Operating Account”), with security deposits held in a dedicated cash account. The rent collected isn’t reflected on the income statement but is recorded on the balance sheet for each property. At the end of each quarter, we transfer any relevant income, and detail on expenses, from the management company to the respective holding entity.
- Property Level Accounting: Using Rent Manager, we track all cash income and expenses associated with each property in real time. This includes rent, fees, and operational expenses. Rent Manager also helps us track performance down to the lot level, including work orders, vendor charges, and tenant information. It’s crucial for calculating free cash flow, which we use to determine partner distributions. Any cost over the operational income or required from our Capital Reserves held in the Property, LLC will be invoiced to the Property, LLC for payment.
- Property LLC (Holding Entity): The LLC holds the balance sheet, mortgage, partner equity, and capital reserves for each property. All operational data is transferred from Rent Manager into QuickBooks each month, allowing us to maintain accurate records for tax purposes. This system enables us to see our true operational cash flow, even factoring in debt payments and capital improvements.
This dual-book system ensures that the operational performance and the tax-related financials are separate, keeping everything clean and transparent for us and our investors.
Tracking Activity Per Lot and Tenant
By using Rent Manager, we can track everything down to the lot. Each work order includes details about the expense, maintenance performed, and vendor used. We also track all tenant-related information, lease terms, and market rents. This allows us to generate detailed reports, which we use to communicate with our investors.
With Slack for team communication and CompanyCam for project photos, we have created a fully integrated system to document and manage each property from acquisition to sale. These tools are essential for keeping everything in sync across departments and ensuring that no task slips through the cracks.
Books Prepped Timeline
Thanks to these streamlined processes, we can now reconcile Rent Manager by the 5th or 6th of the month and have QuickBooks ready for review by the 10th. This ensures that any partner financial requests can be fulfilled by the 15th, something we struggled with before. It’s a far cry from the chaos we experienced in our early years, and it’s the kind of stability that allows us to grow confidently.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, if I could do it all again, I’d like to say I would skip the trial-and-error phase and start with the right team. Hiring would have been more intentional. I’d be more prepared, ask better questions, and not cheap out on talent—because the cheapest option usually isn’t the right one. I learned that through hard knocks with both bookkeepers and CPAs.
Take my CPA experience as an example. They weren’t the most expensive, but they were worth every penny because they communicated well and felt like a real part of the team. I learned that during interviews, it’s not about who says all the right things or agrees with everything I say—it’s about who challenges my thinking and forces me to be better. These are the people who move the needle.
Measuring success isn’t just about hitting deadlines. It’s about setting clear expectations and holding the team accountable. I needed to learn that lesson the hard way. If you’re asking yourself, “Can I get my financials to an investor in 24-48 hours?” and the answer is no, you’ve got some work to do.
Mentorship is a big part of this journey too. I wish I had found someone early on who was willing to share the inside scoop on how they run their back-office processes, so I wouldn’t have had to figure it out by trial and error. Communication, defined roles, and clear timelines became essential pillars of success for me. These are the things I focus on now when I grade my team’s performance.
I’ll be honest—it took a lot of learning and growing as a leader to get where I am today. But man, I wish someone had told me what type of bookkeeper and CPA I needed when I started. It would’ve saved a lot of headaches. It’s not just about getting your books done; it’s about getting them done quickly, accurately, and in a way that doesn’t lead to delayed K-1s or frustrated partners.
Too many operators think they can carry over their residential investment accounting teams into a commercial or syndication space. But that just leads to a mess down the road—I know because I did it. I was lucky my limited partners didn’t question the mess of our first park, but I learned the importance of accounting the hard way. Now, I have a huge respect for this side of the business.
And here’s the thing: delayed K-1s and lack of transparency in the books are common among many operators. In fact many Limited Partners accept it as norm, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Accounting may not be sexy, but it isn’t just another department—it’s the backbone of your operation. If it’s not right, nothing else will be. Trust me!
I have got a big goal for this business—100 parks with our limited partners. Not because of the money or growth, but because of what it will mean for our operations. Just think what it would take to manage that many communities. The leader I would need to become and strong team next to me with top-notch processes and systems. That’s why I’m so focused on building a solid foundation now, one that can grow with us. And with the team we’ve built and the lessons we’ve learned, I’m more confident than ever that we’ll get there.
If you want to talk about my accounting process in more detail, who I chose as CPA, or just Park Operations in general, use this link to set up a Zoom Call with me. Let’s Talk!
-The MHP Operator
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as financial advice. I am not a licensed financial advisor, lawyer, or CPA, and you should consult with a licensed professional before making any legal or investment decisions.
