Frequently Asked Questions
Properties & Portfolio
Section titled “Properties & Portfolio”What types of properties does RealBooks support?
Section titled “What types of properties does RealBooks support?”RealBooks supports virtually every type of investment property:
- Single-family rentals (SFR) — The most common property type on the platform
- Multifamily — Duplexes, triplexes, quads, and large apartment complexes
- Commercial — Office, retail, industrial, warehouse, self-storage
- Mixed-use — Properties with both residential and commercial components
- Short-term rentals — Airbnb, VRBO, and vacation properties
- Land — Vacant lots, development parcels, agricultural land
- Mobile homes and manufactured housing
- Fix-and-flip properties — Track acquisition, rehab costs, and sale
If your property type isn’t in the standard list, select “Other” and use custom attributes to tag it however you need.
How many properties can I manage?
Section titled “How many properties can I manage?”That depends on your plan:
| Plan | Assets Included | Entities Included | Additional Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bird Dog | 3 | 1 | $10/asset/mo |
| Rehabber | 10 | 2 | $10/asset/mo |
| DIY’er | 25 | 3 | $10/asset/mo |
| Mogul | 50 | 5 | $10/asset/mo |
| Executive | Unlimited | Unlimited | Included |
There’s no hard upper limit on any paid plan — you can add as many assets as you need.
Can I track properties I’ve already sold?
Section titled “Can I track properties I’ve already sold?”Yes. Sold properties remain in your account with their full transaction history, expense records, and depreciation data. This is important for capital gains calculations (Schedule D) and maintaining accurate records.
Does RealBooks support commercial and residential in the same account?
Section titled “Does RealBooks support commercial and residential in the same account?”Yes. You can mix property types freely. Commercial properties use a 39-year depreciation schedule, while residential uses 27.5 years — RealBooks applies the correct schedule based on the property type you select.
Data & Import
Section titled “Data & Import”Can I import data from QuickBooks?
Section titled “Can I import data from QuickBooks?”RealBooks doesn’t have a direct QuickBooks import button, but there are practical ways to bring your data over:
- Export from QuickBooks as CSV — Export your chart of accounts, transactions, and property records as CSV files
- Upload bank statements — Go to Settings > Import and upload CSV or PDF bank statements. RealBooks imports the transactions and PennyAI categorizes them
- Manual setup — Add your entities, properties, and loan details manually. This typically takes 15-30 minutes per property
For investors with large portfolios migrating from QuickBooks, contact hello@realbooks.io — we can help with the transition.
Can I import historical bank transactions?
Section titled “Can I import historical bank transactions?”Yes. Upload bank or credit card statements (CSV or PDF) from Settings > Import. RealBooks parses the transactions and PennyAI categorizes them. This works for any period your bank provides statements for — typically 1-7 years depending on your institution.
Bank linking only captures transactions from the date you connect forward, so historical import is the way to backfill prior data.
Can I import data from spreadsheets?
Section titled “Can I import data from spreadsheets?”For transactions: export your spreadsheet as CSV and upload it through Settings > Import.
For properties and entities: these are set up manually through the interface. If you have a large portfolio in a spreadsheet, reach out to hello@realbooks.io for bulk import assistance.
Can I export my data out of RealBooks?
Section titled “Can I export my data out of RealBooks?”Yes. All reports, tax schedules, and transaction data can be exported as PDF or CSV at any time. You own your data.
AI & Automation
Section titled “AI & Automation”What are the three AI agents and what does each one do?
Section titled “What are the three AI agents and what does each one do?”RealBooks includes three specialized AI agents:
- Penny — Handles the bookkeeping layer. Categorizes imported transactions, processes receipt photos, reads HUD-1 settlement statements, extracts loan terms from closing documents, and answers plain-language questions about your finances.
- Dollar Bill — Your AI Asset & Project Builder. Tell Dollar Bill about a new acquisition or rehab in plain English and he creates the property record, builds a room-by-room project plan, and generates a geolocation-accurate rehab cost estimate. No form-filling required.
- Uncle Sam — Your AI tax strategist. He monitors your books for missed deductions, optimizes depreciation schedules, tracks your tax position year-round, and runs a pre-filing checklist before your IRS schedules go to your CPA.
Penny is available (in limited form) on Bird Dog. Dollar Bill and Uncle Sam require Rehabber or above.
What can Dollar Bill help me with?
Section titled “What can Dollar Bill help me with?”Dollar Bill handles two things: asset creation and project planning with AI estimates.
For a new acquisition, describe it in plain English — Dollar Bill creates the full property record (address, entity, purchase details, property type) without any form-filling.
For rehabs, describe the scope of work and Dollar Bill builds a room-by-room project with a line-item cost estimate calibrated to your market using regional labor and material data. That estimate converts directly into a live project budget you track against as work proceeds.
Dollar Bill is available on Rehabber and above. See the Dollar Bill AI guide for full details.
What does Uncle Sam do that my CPA doesn’t?
Section titled “What does Uncle Sam do that my CPA doesn’t?”Uncle Sam works throughout the year on your books — your CPA works at filing time. They’re complementary, not competing.
Uncle Sam monitors your transactions for missed deductions (mileage, home office, loan origination fees), flags depreciation opportunities, tracks your year-to-date tax position, and surfaces year-end planning moves before December 31. He also runs a pre-filing checklist that catches uncategorized transactions, incomplete property data, and categorization errors before your schedules reach your CPA.
Your CPA uses the clean, organized output Uncle Sam helped prepare — which typically means fewer billable hours and fewer back-and-forth questions.
Uncle Sam is available on Rehabber and above. See the Uncle Sam AI guide for full details.
How does the AI categorize expenses?
Section titled “How does the AI categorize expenses?”PennyAI categorizes expenses using a combination of:
- Vendor recognition — It identifies the merchant (e.g., Home Depot, State Farm, your local utility company) and maps it to a likely category
- Transaction patterns — It looks at the amount, timing, and frequency to refine its guess
- Your correction history — Every time you approve or correct a categorization, PennyAI learns. If you always assign Lowe’s purchases to “Repairs & Maintenance” on a specific property, it starts doing that automatically
- Property context — If you’re actively working on a rehab project, PennyAI factors that in when assigning new expenses
PennyAI suggestions are always just that — suggestions. Nothing is finalized until you approve it. Most investors see 80-90% accuracy within the first month, improving over time.
How accurate is PennyAI?
Section titled “How accurate is PennyAI?”Accuracy depends on your transaction patterns and how consistently you correct early suggestions:
- Week 1-2: 50-70% accuracy as PennyAI learns your vendors and patterns
- Month 1: 70-85% accuracy with regular use and corrections
- Month 2+: 80-90%+ accuracy for recurring vendors and categories
The more properties and transactions you have, the more patterns PennyAI can learn from. Investors with simple, consistent spending patterns see higher accuracy faster.
Does PennyAI work with receipt photos?
Section titled “Does PennyAI work with receipt photos?”Yes. Take a photo of a receipt (or upload an image) and PennyAI extracts:
- Vendor name
- Total amount
- Date
- Individual line items (when legible)
- Suggested category and property assignment
It works best with printed receipts on clean backgrounds. Handwritten receipts work too, but accuracy depends on legibility. See the Tracking Expenses guide for tips on getting the best results.
Is my financial data used to train AI models?
Section titled “Is my financial data used to train AI models?”No. Your financial data is used exclusively for your account’s PennyAI processing. It is never shared with other users, used to train external models, or sold to third parties.
Can I turn off AI and do everything manually?
Section titled “Can I turn off AI and do everything manually?”Yes. PennyAI suggestions are entirely optional. You can categorize every transaction by hand, enter all property details manually, and generate reports without AI assistance. Most investors prefer the automation, but it’s not required.
Security & Privacy
Section titled “Security & Privacy”Is my financial data secure?
Section titled “Is my financial data secure?”Yes. RealBooks takes security seriously:
- Encryption in transit — All data between your browser and RealBooks servers is encrypted using TLS (the same standard used by banks)
- Encryption at rest — Your data is encrypted on our servers. Even in the unlikely event of a breach, the raw data would be unreadable
- Bank-grade connection — Bank linking uses a secure third-party provider (the same infrastructure used by major financial apps). RealBooks never stores your banking username or password
- Role-based access — Team members only see what their role allows. Viewers can’t edit; Managers can’t change settings
- No credential storage — When you link a bank account, authentication happens directly with your bank through a secure window. Your credentials are never passed through RealBooks
Where is my data stored?
Section titled “Where is my data stored?”RealBooks data is stored on secure, encrypted servers in the United States.
Who can access my data?
Section titled “Who can access my data?”Only you and anyone you’ve explicitly invited to your workspace (with the role you assigned). RealBooks staff do not access customer financial data unless you specifically request support assistance and grant permission.
What happens to my data if I cancel?
Section titled “What happens to my data if I cancel?”Your data remains accessible for a grace period after cancellation, allowing you to export everything. After the grace period, data is securely deleted. We recommend exporting all reports before canceling.
Is RealBooks SOC 2 compliant?
Section titled “Is RealBooks SOC 2 compliant?”Contact hello@realbooks.io for current compliance certifications and security documentation.
Pricing & Plans
Section titled “Pricing & Plans”Is there a free plan?
Section titled “Is there a free plan?”Yes — sort of. The Bird Dog plan is completely free for your first 12 months. It includes 1 entity, 3 assets, and access to core features including asset management, expense tracking, project management, and standard reporting. No credit card required. After 12 months it moves to $50/month.
What’s the difference between the plans?
Section titled “What’s the difference between the plans?”The main differences are:
| Bird Dog ($50/mo) | Rehabber ($100/mo) | DIY’er ($200/mo) | Mogul ($300/mo) | Executive (Custom) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entities | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Assets | 3 | 10 | 25 | 50 | Unlimited |
| Penny AI | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dollar Bill AI | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Uncle Sam AI | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Sync | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ad Hoc Reporting | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| User Management | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Attributes | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IRS Schedule Creation | Add-on | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CPA Reports | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cost Seg Report | Add-on ($399) | Add-on ($299) | Add-on ($299) | Add-on ($299) | Included |
Bird Dog is free for the first 12 months, then $50/month. All paid plans (Rehabber, DIY’er, Mogul) include 3 months free on sign-up. See the full feature comparison on the pricing page.
Can I change plans anytime?
Section titled “Can I change plans anytime?”Yes. Upgrade or downgrade from Settings > Billing. Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades take effect at the start of your next billing cycle.
How do add-on entities and assets work?
Section titled “How do add-on entities and assets work?”Each plan includes a set number of entities and assets. If you need more:
- Additional entities: $50/entity/month
- Additional assets: $10/asset/month
Add-ons are prorated and can be added or removed anytime from Settings > Billing.
Is there an annual billing discount?
Section titled “Is there an annual billing discount?”Yes. Paying annually is equivalent to 10 monthly payments — you get 2 months free, roughly a 17% discount. For example, the Rehabber plan is $100/month or $1,000/year.
Tax & Reporting
Section titled “Tax & Reporting”What tax forms does RealBooks generate?
Section titled “What tax forms does RealBooks generate?”RealBooks generates these IRS schedules and forms:
- Schedule C — Business income and expenses (self-employment / business activity)
- Schedule D — Capital gains and losses (property sales)
- Schedule E — Rental income and expenses (filed per entity)
- Form 4562 — Depreciation and amortization
- Form 8582 — Passive activity loss limitations
- Form 8949 — Sales and dispositions of capital assets
Schedule C, D, and E are available as add-ons on the Bird Dog plan and included on all higher plans. Form 4562, 8582, and 8949 are included on DIY’er and above.
See the full Tax Reporting guide for details on each form.
Does RealBooks file my taxes?
Section titled “Does RealBooks file my taxes?”No. RealBooks generates the schedules and calculates the numbers, but it doesn’t file returns with the IRS. You or your CPA use the generated reports to prepare and file your tax return.
Can my CPA access RealBooks directly?
Section titled “Can my CPA access RealBooks directly?”Yes. Invite your CPA with a Viewer role from Settings > User Management. They can log in, pull reports, and review your data without needing you to export and email files.
Does RealBooks handle state taxes?
Section titled “Does RealBooks handle state taxes?”RealBooks generates federal IRS schedules. State-specific forms and requirements are handled by your CPA using the same underlying data. The expense records and property details in RealBooks are available for any state reporting needs.
What about 1031 exchanges?
Section titled “What about 1031 exchanges?”RealBooks tracks the properties and financials involved in an exchange, but 1031 transactions have specific legal requirements (timelines, Qualified Intermediary, identification rules) that should be managed by your QI and CPA. The capital gains data from RealBooks feeds into that process.
Account & Support
Section titled “Account & Support”How do I get help?
Section titled “How do I get help?”- This documentation — Browse guides, feature docs, and this FAQ
- Email — hello@realbooks.io (response within one business day)
- Contact form — realbooks.io/contact
Can I invite team members?
Section titled “Can I invite team members?”Yes, on paid plans. Go to Settings > User Management to invite team members with Owner, Manager, or Viewer roles. See Account Setup for details on what each role can do.
Does RealBooks have a mobile app?
Section titled “Does RealBooks have a mobile app?”Yes. RealBooks has native apps for iOS and Android available from the App Store and Google Play. The mobile app supports receipt capture, expense tracking, project monitoring, and report viewing on the go. See the Mobile App guide for setup instructions.
What browsers are supported?
Section titled “What browsers are supported?”RealBooks works in all modern browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. We recommend keeping your browser up to date for the best experience.