The first accounting system that works as hard as you do.
There is now a 24/7 accounting system for the 24/7 real estate professional. Xero fits with the real estate work style because it’s mobile, accessible and always up-to-date.
- Unlimited free access to a sample company
- Pay when you setup your company
Property is one of our favourite national pastimes. But for real estate agents it really is your life – you’re either selling, buying, developing, managing, investing, looking at, or dreaming about it. You can now access an accounting package to suit all your industry needs and provide you with a platform to manage your accounts easily and more profitably.
How the typical real estate agent works.
The agency or office provides administration and centralised real estate services for you and the other agents. This agency charges you for carparks, advertising and other shared services. Every month the office gives each agent a breakdown of earned commissions; these are paid to you monthly.
There are also other expenses, such as vehicle costs, entertainment, home office, home computer, national or overseas conferences, or career development. As well as this you may have an assistant or share an assistant with another agent. You do a GST return every two months, spending a frustrating night or two getting the books together.
How Xero helps you:
It’s mobile
Real estate is a mobile industry. You’re often working on the road, on the phone, or in the car, so your systems should be mobile too.
Xero is an online accounting package, meaning you don’t have to work from just one desktop computer. Instead you can log in from anywhere there’s an internet connection, any time. So you’re always working on relevant up-to-date data and can stay on top of your financials at the office, at home or on the road.
Access from anywhere at any time
Real estate is truly a 24-hours-a-day-7-days-a-week industry. All those weekends spent at open days, visiting vendors at night to present offers, counter-offers, subject to sale clauses, as well as trying to drum up new business. It’s competitive, especially in the current market climate.
Often you work with your spouse, or have an assistant. Xero is the ideal product for this type of collaboration. Your individual Xero login records who has done what in Xero so you don’t have to constantly phone your colleague, spouse or assistant to ask what’s been done in your accounting system – it’s all there to see with the notes and history.
Plus your invited advisers or accountant can quickly see what they need to see, to make sure your business is running well and you are on top of the books.
Saves you time
Realistically, when was the last time you had the whole day off? Xero customers say their accounting admin time is quartered since they’ve switched to Xero, enabling them to have more family time and fun.
How often have you sat at an open day and literally had no one in and nothing to do? Next time, take your laptop with you, log in and happily sit there and catch up on your accounting with Xero.
It’s online, just like you
We all know where New Zealanders look for homes to buy – it’s online, and your accounting should be too. Don’t get left behind, instead gain a competitive edge while saving money and time.
Minimises data entry
Once you receive your itemised list of expenses and commissions from the agency, you or your assistant quickly enter those into Xero.
We have worked hard behind the scenes building relationships with essential professional partners. Xero is integrated with leading real estate management software like My Desktop and Real NZ Software.
Another way to save you from data entry is Xero’s automated bank statements imported daily from major banks, so you never have to manually enter transactions. No need then to re-enter your financial information from one system into another.
Use the same system as your customers
Real estate agents are often also property investors, and work closely with property managers too. Xero understands the tools you use – we have built functionality into Xero specifically for the property industry.
See how Xero works for property managers and property investors.
Catch all your expenses
Your financial information is normally supplied from your real estate office and rekeyed into your personal system or passed onto your assistant or bookkeeper. Being self-employed, it is essential you capture all your expenses as they occur, this will increase your income which is especially important operating in today’s tough market.
Using Xero’s Expense Claims you or your assistant can enter in any additional expenses you incur running your business, like car parking or coffees, to ensure you get the benefit of all those incidental expenses. Plus there’s always a history or notes function attached to each claim so you know exactly what you are claiming on.
Watch: Using Expense Claims in Xero
Keep connected to your contacts
Good real estate agents don’t just sell clients one home – they aim to sell them their next home and any investment properties. Keep all your clients that you onsell to in Xero’s contacts system, and stay in touch with closely-aligned industries and your clients.
