Outsourced Accounting & Tax for Real Estate & Construction
Real estate accounts for 50.7% of all U.S. partnership filings, per the IRS Statistics of Income Division – the largest of any sector. Trained U.S.-led offshore teams arrive ready on 1031 exchanges, depreciation schedules, and multi-entity property accounting before day one, for property businesses and the firms that serve them.
Built by a CPA who came up in real estate tax. Accountably was founded by a Washington-licensed CPA whose background is a dedicated real-estate tax practice, so the person designing your team has signed the 1065s and sat the review cycle, not learned property accounting from a manual.
Real estate clients are the most complex to serve. And the hardest to staff for.
87% of CFOs report a consistent accounting talent deficit, per the CFO Pulse Survey – and CPA roles take 73 days to fill. Finding staff trained in 1031 exchanges, cost segregation, lease accounting, and multi-state SALT is harder still. Meanwhile, 43% of real estate professionals cite taxes as a major challenge (National Association of Realtors).
Can't Find Real Estate Accountants
Accounting graduates fell 6.6% year-over-year per the AICPA, and 56% of CPA firms already outsource to fill gaps. U.S. specialists with 1031 exchange, cost segregation, and partnership allocation experience command top salaries – when you can find them at all.
Partner Time Trapped in Review
Public accounting turnover runs 15–22% annually, with 84% voluntary per IPA data. A 50-person firm loses $400–600K/year in replacement costs. Each departure forces partners to relearn property portfolios, lease terms, and depreciation schedules while buried in QC loops.
Spreadsheet Errors & Escrow Risk
94% of business spreadsheets contain errors, per Frontiers of Computer Science. In real estate, mismanagement of escrow funds can violate state regulations and lead to fines, legal action, or license suspension. The stakes for accuracy are exceptionally high.
Turning Away Real Estate Clients
The global real estate market reached $4.13 trillion in 2024 and is projected to hit $5.85 trillion by 2030, per Grand View Research. U.S. commercial transaction volumes alone are projected at $387 billion in 2025. Without capacity, you're declining the fastest-growing client segment.
Real estate & construction accounting, executed at scale
Every service below is delivered with real estate–specific SOPs, property-level workflows, and multi-layer QC.
Property Bookkeeping
Property-level accounting for developers, managers, and investors. With the median month-end close at 6.4 calendar days per APQC, our workflows compress that timeline for multi-property portfolios.
- Rent roll reconciliation
- Escrow account management
- Multi-property GL management
Depreciation & 1031 Exchanges
Residential properties depreciate over 27.5 years and commercial over 39 years, with recapture taxed at a flat 25% per IRS rules. We track the full lifecycle – from cost segregation to exchange compliance.
- Depreciation schedule management
- 1031 exchange tracking & reporting
- Cost segregation support
Financial Reporting
Finance teams spend 72 business days per year on reconciliations, per Numeric. For firms managing multi-entity portfolios, we deliver investor-ready packages with full property-level visibility.
- Monthly financial packages
- Multi-entity consolidation
- Property-level P&L reporting
Tax Preparation
S-Corps filed 6.08 million returns and partnerships filed 5.1 million in FY2024, per the IRS Data Book. Real estate limited partnerships handle 35.4% of all pass-through income despite being only 9.6% of partnerships – disproportionately complex and high-value.
- 1065 partnership & K-1 prep
- 1120S real estate S-Corp returns
- Multi-state SALT compliance
Construction Accounting
Construction firms face unique revenue recognition rules, job costing requirements, and progress billing. We support percentage-of-completion and completed-contract methods with structured workpapers.
- Job cost tracking & WIP schedules
- AIA billing support
- Retainage & lien waiver tracking
CAS & Advisory Support
Firms with industry niches report 38% higher CAS revenue and 51% higher net revenue per client, per the CPA.com/AICPA CAS Benchmark Survey. We free your team for advisory while handling production.
- Monthly financial packages
- Cash flow forecasting support
- Client onboarding & cleanup
Real estate and construction accounting, where it differs
Two related industries, two very different sets of rules. Both reward getting the entity-level and project-level detail right, and punish getting it wrong.
Property-level books and CAM
Each property or entity carries its own ledger, and many investors hold dozens through separate LLCs. On commercial property, CAM reconciliations, recovering common-area costs from tenants, are an annual flashpoint, so property management accounting has to keep owner books, tenant ledgers, and CAM pools straight all year.
Construction job costing and WIP
A contractor's profit lives at the job level. Costs are tracked per project, and the work-in-progress schedule, comparing costs incurred to estimated cost at completion, is the report bonding companies and lenders read first. A weak WIP hides overruns until it is too late to fix them.
Percentage-of-completion and retainage
Long construction contracts usually recognize revenue by percentage of completion, not when cash arrives, and retainage withheld until the job is done sits in its own receivable. Getting the timing and the retainage tracking right is what keeps the income statement honest mid-project.
Depreciation, cost segregation, and 1031
Real estate runs on depreciation strategy: cost segregation accelerates deductions, and 1031 exchanges defer gains when one property rolls into another. We keep the fixed-asset detail clean so these moves are available when the tax plan calls for them. Confirm current rules with your tax advisor.
We work inside your software
Our teams train on your tech stack during onboarding – no migration needed.
QuickBooks Online
Certified TeamYardi Voyager
Trained TeamAppFolio
Trained TeamBuildium
Trained TeamProcore
Trained Team
Sage Intacct
Certified Team
Xero
Certified Team+ Any Other
We'll TrainReal estate expertise built into every layer
We don't rotate generic accountants into your real estate engagements. Here's how we train and how we protect.
Tax Code Mapping
We study your real estate tax landscape – 1031 exchanges, PTETs, QBI deductions, multi-state nexus – before onboarding begins. Congress has averaged 369 tax code changes per year since 2000, per the Tax Foundation.
Sector-Trained Teams
Our accountants receive real estate–specific training covering depreciation rules, partnership allocations, construction job costing, and property-level accounting across office, logistics, retail, and residential asset classes.
Custom Real Estate SOPs
Every engagement gets real estate–tuned workflows for depreciation tracking, escrow management, 1031 documentation, and intercompany eliminations across multi-entity structures.
Industry QC Checklists
94% of business spreadsheets contain errors, per Frontiers of Computer Science. In real estate, a single depreciation or escrow error compounds across entities. Our multi-layer QC catches them before your review.
Client Data Protocols
Real estate portfolios contain sensitive financial data – lease terms, investor details, bank accounts. All team members are trained on confidentiality procedures and data handling before accessing any client files.
SOC 2 + Zero Local Storage
Role-based access, encrypted connections, VPN-secured environments. No client data stored on local devices – ever. Audit logs track every file interaction.
NDA-Backed Confidentiality
Every engagement backed by non-disclosure agreements. Background-verified staff with per-engagement access controls protect your financial data.
Continuity Planning
Real estate accounting requires continuity – each new hire must relearn property portfolios, lease terms, and depreciation schedules. Our backup plans ensure zero disruption if a team member exits.
Your real estate team in 3 weeks
A structured onboarding process built for real estate's unique complexity.
Real Estate Discovery
We map your property types, entity structures, tax needs, and software stack.
Team Selection
Accountants with real estate vertical training, 1031 familiarity, and partnership expertise.
SOP & Workflow Setup
Real estate–specific SOPs, depreciation protocols, and QC checklists documented and trained.
Pilot & Scale
Start with a small batch – see the quality and accuracy before scaling capacity.
U.S. real estate hire vs. Accountably
Outsourcing real estate bookkeeping runs $300–$1,200/month per Profitjets, while a virtual CFO for large portfolios costs $1,500–$3,500/month. Accountably adds structured capacity with documented SOPs, multi-tier review, and SOC 2 aligned controls. Here's how Accountably compares to a full-time U.S. hire:
| Feature | U.S. Real Estate Hire | Accountably |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Cost per Staff | $85–120K (loaded) | $28–36K |
| Real Estate–Specific Training | 3–6 months ramp-up | Pre-trained, 3 weeks |
| 1031 / Depreciation Expertise | Varies by hire | Built into delivery |
| Multi-Layer QC | Partner review only | 4-tier QC before you see it |
| Backup Coverage | None | Always-on backup |
| Seasonal Scaling | Hire/fire cycle | Scale up or down in days |
| Annual Savings (per staff) | – | $50–85K+ |
A 3-person real estate team = $150–255K+ in annual savings. That's capacity freed for advisory, not overhead.
Real results from real estate–focused firms
Redstone CPA Group scales real estate practice by 55%
Serving 60+ real estate partnerships across Texas, Florida, and Colorado, Redstone was declining developer clients during tax season. Within 6 months of partnering with Accountably, they expanded capacity while cutting delivery costs – managing over 200 K-1s per season with structured offshore support.
"Our biggest concern was 1031 exchange accuracy and multi-state compliance. Accountably's team understood partnership allocations and depreciation schedules from day one. Six months in, our review time dropped by 40%."
What real estate–focused firms say
From property managers to developers and construction firms – firms trust us with their most complex clients.
"We manage 80+ real estate partnerships with 28.8 million partner-level data points to track. Accountably's team handles K-1 prep and waterfall calculations better than our last two hires combined."
James Whitfield, CPA
Managing Partner, Whitfield & Associates
"Multi-state SALT compliance was killing us. With nearly 40 states creating pass-through entity taxes, we needed a team that could keep up. Accountably passed our compliance review on the first attempt."
Karen Nguyen
Director of Operations, Summit RE Advisors
"We went from turning away construction clients to actively pursuing them. Accountably gave us the capacity and confidence to grow our real estate niche – CAS revenue is up 38% this year."
Robert Vasquez, CPA
Partner, Cornerstone Property CPAs
Real estate–specific questions
Common questions from firms serving real estate and construction clients.
How do you handle 1031 exchanges and depreciation schedules?
Our teams are trained on the full 1031 exchange lifecycle – identification, closing, boot calculations, and deferred gain tracking. For depreciation, we manage residential (27.5-year), commercial (39-year), and cost segregation schedules. Recapture is taxed at a flat 25% per IRS rules, so accuracy is non-negotiable.
Can you handle multi-state real estate tax filings?
Yes. Nearly 40 states have created pass-through entity taxes per Meaden & Moore, and 21 states plus D.C. have no withholding thresholds per Wolters Kluwer. Remote work creates new nexus obligations – one employee in a state can trigger filings. Our teams manage SALT compliance across your entire portfolio.
Do you work with real estate partnerships and LLCs?
This is our core competency. Per the IRS Statistics of Income Division, real estate partnerships account for 50.7% of all filings with 28.8 million partners, and LLCs make up 72.7% of all partnerships. We handle 1065 returns, K-1 preparation, capital account maintenance, and waterfall calculations.
What real estate software do you work with?
We train on whatever software you use – Yardi, AppFolio, Buildium, MRI Software, and Procore for property and construction management. On the accounting side: QuickBooks, Xero, Sage Intacct, and all major tax platforms including UltraTax, CCH Axcess, Lacerte, and Drake.
What if I've had a bad offshore experience before?
Most bad experiences come from generic staff with no real estate training. Each new hire has to relearn property portfolios, lease terms, and depreciation schedules from scratch – that's why turnover costs firms $400–600K/year per IPA data. Our 30-day pilot guarantee lets you test risk-free.
How do you handle property-level accounting and month-end close?
The median month-end close takes 6.4 calendar days per APQC, and finance teams spend 72 business days per year on reconciliations per Numeric. For real estate firms managing multiple properties, we streamline property-level accounting, intercompany transactions, and consolidated reporting.
Built by a CPA who came up in real estate tax
Most offshore partners learned real estate from a manual. Ours was built from inside the work.
Accountably was founded and is run by a Washington-licensed CPA with 7+ years inside US firms, PwC first, then a dedicated real-estate tax practice, then a full-service firm, rising from reviewer to manager to advisory. The person designing your real estate team has signed the returns, sat the review cycle, and felt April from the partner's chair.
That real-estate-tax background is the moat. Lease accounting and CAM reconciliations, percentage-of-completion and WIP, cost segregation, depreciation recapture, and 1031 exchanges were not learned for a pitch deck. They were the day job. When your file lands, it is read by people trained to a standard set by someone who has actually carried this work.
Every file clears four-stage review
A resume tells you who was hired. The review tells you what reaches your desk. On real estate work, where one depreciation or escrow error compounds across entities, that is the part that matters.
1. Preparer
A sector-trained accountant builds the rent rolls, WIP schedules, depreciation detail, and partnership allocations on your SOPs and inside your software.
2. Senior Review
A senior checks the property-level and project-level mechanics, CAM pools, retainage, percentage-of-completion timing, intercompany eliminations.
3. Quality Review
An independent quality pass runs the industry QC checklist against the file, catching the errors that compound across a multi-entity portfolio.
4. Final Review
A final review confirms the work is clean and consistent before it reaches your team, so your partners spend their time on judgment, not cleanup.
What you keep, what we carry
Offshore fails on trust, not talent, because your name is on every return. So the split is explicit from day one.
You keep
- The signature and the filed return.
- Final judgment on positions, elections, and the cost-segregation and 1031 calls.
- The client relationship and every partner-level decision.
- Approval before anything goes out the door.
We carry
- Preparation of the property-level books, WIP schedules, and returns.
- Structured, review-ready workpapers tied to source documents.
- The full four-stage review before the file reaches you.
- Continuity on rolloff, we shadow and hand over through the notice period so the workflow never takes a hit.
Start with a 40-hour proof pilot
Proof before your name is on the line. Hand us a fixed 40-hour block of your own real estate or construction work, depreciation schedules, a CAM reconciliation, a WIP review, a set of K-1s. We prepare it on your SOPs and run it through the full four-stage review. You grade real work against your standard before a live client file is ever on the line.
Scale your real estate accounting without the risk
Get a tailored assessment for your real estate and construction workload. We'll show you exactly what we can handle, how we'd fit into your workflow, and what results to expect.