Property management month-end close checklist

• Bank statements for every operating and trust account
• Credit card statements
• PMS reports: owner ledgers, resident or tenant ledgers, deposit register, owner statement drafts
• Channel payout reports from Airbnb, Vrbo or other booking platforms, if you manage short-term rentals
• Vendor bills and maintenance invoices for the month
• Any management agreement changes that affect fees, markups or reserves

• Reconcile each operating and trust account to the bank statement ending balance
• Match every PMS deposit to a bank deposit, and every bank deposit to a PMS source
• List uncleared checks and deposits and investigate anything older than 30 days
• Flag any operating expenses paid from a trust account, or owner funds sitting in an operating account, for review under your trust-account procedures
• Save the reconciliation report for each account with the month's support

Trust-account requirements vary by jurisdiction. Follow the applicable state and licensing requirements together with your broker's and qualified advisor's procedures. This checklist covers the accounting steps; it is not legal or compliance advice.

A three-way reconciliation checks that three independent numbers agree: the adjusted bank balance, the trust account balance in your books, and the total of all individual owner and resident ledgers. When all three agree, every dollar in the account is attributed to someone. When they don't, the difference is a problem to explain before the period closes, not a plug to post.

How often trust accounts must be reconciled, and in what form the reconciliation is kept, depends on the rules in your jurisdiction. Monthly is a sensible minimum for the close itself.

1. 1

   Adjusted bank balance

   Statement ending balance, plus deposits in transit, minus outstanding checks.

2. 2

   Book balance

   The trust cash balance in your PMS or general ledger at month-end.

3. 3

   Ledger total

   The sum of every owner and resident ledger balance held in that account.

• Rent, fees and other income posted for every property
• Channel payouts broken into gross revenue, channel fees and adjustments
• Refunds, cancellations and concessions recorded in the correct period
• Late fees and other charges applied consistently with your policies

• Every bill for the month entered and assigned to the right property and owner
• Maintenance markups calculated as the management agreement allows
• Recurring charges such as utilities, HOA dues and insurance posted
• Unpaid bills reviewed so owner distributions don't leave the account short

• Owner reserve balances at the agreed level
• Security deposits held as a liability, not recorded as income, and handled as your leases and local rules require
• Prepaid rent carried forward to the month it relates to
• Negative owner balances listed with a plan to resolve them

Only prepare statements once cash is reconciled and owner balances are right. Review each statement before release: opening balance, collections, fees, bills, reserves and the distribution amount. The owner statement review checklist covers this step in detail.

• Review every balance sheet account for balances that shouldn't be there
• Compare the profit and loss with the prior month and explain large changes
• Record every unresolved item in an open-items log with an owner and a due date
• Set the closing date in QuickBooks Online so the period can't change silently
• Deliver the month-end reporting package