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QuickBooks® Training Library

Vacation Rental Bookkeeping


Course
Quantity
For someone else
Gita Faust
Quantity
For someone else
Purchase for $40 or enter access code

AirBnb and VRBO have transformed the travel industry. Now you can make money by renting your home to families for vacations, or even rent just one room in your home to travelers. But how do you track that income and the associated expenses to make sure it’s worth the effort?

After Completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Define and track income from renting out your home

  • Explain how to split expenses between rental and personal

  • Describe and categorize rental expenses to the right accounts

 

What You’ll Learn: 

  • Listing your property with AirBnb or VRBO

  • What business formation is right for you

  • Integrating vacation rental websites with QuickBooks

  • Creating a chart of accounts for vacation and room rentals

  • Keeping receipts and other records

 

Vacation Rental Bookkeeping Course Description

Hotels and motels are so old school. These days travelers prefer to rent out full houses to gather with friends and family. So why not invest in a vacation home that other people can use while you’re not there?

And it doesn’t even need to be your whole house. Have an ADU? A basement with a separate entrance? Or even a guest room? Business travelers and adventurers will lay their head anywhere comfortable…why not get the extra income to help with your rent?!

The trick is how to account for the income and expenses so that you don’t get in trouble with Uncle Sam. Some rental agencies integrate with accounting software like QuickBooks Online, but it’s important that you understand how to track it all accurately.

In this course, we’ll look at the accounting requirements from business formation, to how to set up your chart of accounts, to tracking your receipts.

What costs count as Cost of Goods vs. overhead expenses? Do towels and sheets count as a business expense? What about your kitchen supplies and toilet paper? How do you account for supplies, cleaning, maintenance, and repairs, especially if you’re only renting part of your house? And how do you keep track if you have multiple properties or rooms for rent?

Instructor Gita Faust is the queen of Real Estate Accounting. This Vacation Rentals Essentials course contains the basics you need to get started. If you want more, including how to track all this in QuickBooks, attendees will receive a discount code towards her full program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Instructional Level

    Basic

     

    Course Length

    1 hour

     

    Course Credits

    Certificate of Completion

     

    Field of Study

    Accounting/Bookkeeping

     

    Delivery Method

    QAS/Self Study

     

    Suggested "Prerequisites"

     

    Who should take this class?

    • Bookkeepers and Accountants with eCommerce clients.

    • Business owners who take payments using PayPal, Square, and Etsy

    • Prior QuickBooks® Online experience

    Evergreen Access (Made to Stay Current)

    Your purchase is designed to stay useful long after you finish the course! As the software changes, we refresh the content so you’re not learning from outdated screens. You’ll also have access to the class discussion/Q&A so you can ask questions when real-life situations pop up. And because it’s lifetime access, you can revisit the videos, handouts, and materials anytime you need a quick refresher.

     

    Live Session + Replay Included

    If you can’t attend at the scheduled time, go ahead and enroll—your live registration includes free access to the on-demand replay. We record every live class and post an edited version to the course page within two weeks of the class date. Once it’s available, you’ll receive a notification inside your OWLS portal.

    While the replay is being published, you can download the notes/handouts and complete any quizzes or questionnaires so you’re ready to follow along when you watch.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Refunds & Cancellations

    Please view our Terms of Service, for information on refunds, cancellations, and complaint resolution. To request a refund, please contact us.
    Course Page Updated: March 2026

     

     

     

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    Here is the course outline:

    1. Download the Handout

    Download your class handout here

    1 section
    Download the handout here

    2. Vacation Rental Bookkeeping: Watch the Videos

    AirBnb and VRBO have transformed the travel industry. Now you can make money by renting your home to families for vacations, or even rent just one room in your home to travelers. But how do you track that income and the associated expenses to make sure it’s worth the effort?

    15 sections
    Intro and Agenda
    Evolution of Short Term Rentals
    Cost of Goods vs Expenses
    Allocating Expenses (ADU)
    Automate and Digitize
    Reservations Management Software
    Differentiate Between Property Management Co and Owner Investor
    A Quick Guide to Vacation Accounting
    Get Organized: Guests, Vendors, Banks, Reservations, Backups
    Track Money In and Money Out
    Taxable Status and Entity Types
    Hospitality Taxes
    Leveraging Your Profit Centers
    All Rentals are Not the Same
    Review Questions

    3. Vacation Rental Bookkeeping Quizzes

    Take these quizzes to demonstrate your mastery of the material. Pass each quiz with an 80% or higher to complete the Course, earn your Certificate, and win points!

    1 section
    Evaluation & Participation Survey
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