Real Estate Property Accountant & Operations Specialist
Remote · Full-Time · U.S. Hours (9:00 AM–6:00 PM PST)
About the Role
This is a rare bookkeeping role where you actually own the books. No layers of approval for every entry, no being one of ten people touching the same ledger. You'll be the single person responsible for the financial health of a real, multi-state real estate portfolio, and the work you do will be visible to ownership every month.
The client is a privately held real estate company managing retail, office/flex, and multifamily properties across five states (California, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, and Oregon). They've outsourced their bookkeeping for years and are ready to bring it home to one sharp, dependable person who treats the numbers like their own.
About 80% of the role is financial: QuickBooks Online, full-cycle AP/AR, and CAM/NNN billing across every entity in the portfolio. The other 20% is hands-on property management support. The ideal hire is a bookkeeper first, but the kind who's happy to step out from behind the spreadsheet and help keep operations moving when the portfolio needs it.
If you take pride in clean ledgers, reconciliations that tie out to the penny, and invoices that go out on time without anyone chasing you, this is built for you.
Why You'll Want This Role
- Real ownership. You run the financial function, not a slice of it. QuickBooks is yours.
- Direct line to decision-makers. Your reports go straight to ownership. Your work is seen.
- Variety. Commercial NNN, retail, and multifamily — plus enough property operations work to keep it interesting.
- A team that values follow-through. They want someone who closes open items without being chased, and they reward it.
- Modern stack. QuickBooks Online, Bill.com, and active use of AI tools to work faster and smarter.
Schedule
- Full-time, dedicated role — not a part-time or ad-hoc engagement.
- 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM PST, 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday.
- Remote-first, with regular check-ins and daily team calls during active projects.
- Reachable and responsive for real-time, same-day communication throughout the workday.
What You'll Do
Financial Operations (~80%)
This is the heart of the role. You own all financial administration for the portfolio in QuickBooks Online and run full-cycle AP/AR across every property and entity, with minimal supervision.
QuickBooks Online — System of Record
- Own the QuickBooks Online file(s) for all entities — chart of accounts, classes/locations, recurring transactions, and clean monthly closes.
- Manage recurring rent invoicing and automated late fees (e.g., flat $75 fees with defined grace periods), correct invoice-date and template issues, and audit recurring templates across ~10 properties and 120+ tenants.
- Apply tenant credits and overpayments correctly (CAM credits, security-deposit offsets, check overpayments left as account credits) before marking invoices paid.
- Keep QuickBooks reconciled to bank activity and to the property management system, and ensure reports tie out cleanly for ownership, lenders, and the tax preparer.
Accounts Receivable & Tenant Billing
- Generate and send monthly rent invoices for all tenants across all properties and entities.
- Manage Bill.com auto-charge settings and ACH pull schedules — know exactly when funds pull from tenants versus when they land, and configure accordingly.
- Reconcile and post incoming payments; reconcile tenant ledgers monthly and flag any tenant where billed, collected, and expected don't match.
- Track outstanding balances, follow up with tenants, and issue formal demand notices when directed.
- Handle billing inquiries from national retail tenants and local operators alike.
Accounts Payable
- Review, code, and process vendor invoices via Bill.com and Melio (electric, pest control, landscaping, HVAC, insurance, etc.); reconcile timing and fees between platforms and avoid duplicate payments.
- Flag any invoice over $1,000 for owner approval before processing.
- Maintain vendor files and W-9 records, and confirm insurance certificates stay current.
- Resolve Bill.com sync conflicts within 24 hours, and keep an active payment method on file at all times.
CAM Reconciliations & NNN Billing
- Prepare annual CAM reconciliation statements for all NNN tenants at each property; calculate pro-rata share for taxes, insurance, and CAM based on lease GLA and tenant SF.
- Take ownership of the harder reconciliations, including multi-year recalcs.
- Track and correctly apply CAM caps; flag any capped lease before sending reconciliations.
- Update mid-year CAM estimates when actuals diverge materially, and respond to national-tenant CAM audit requests with supporting documentation.
- Maintain year-by-year CAM expense ledgers per property and ensure reconciliations are sent annually — proactively initiating for any property where they've never been sent.
Financial Reporting & Compliance
- Prepare monthly financial summaries per property/entity for ownership review.
- Support annual lender reporting with financial data.
- Coordinate with the tax preparer on annual financials, categorized expenses, and documentation; support payroll oversight (Gusto) for on-site staff.
- Maintain complete, organized records of invoices, remittances, reconciliations, and payment histories in Google Drive.
Property Management Billing Data
- Set up new tenant accounts in the property management system with the correct rent schedule, escalations, CAM estimates, and security deposit.
- Update ledgers when lease terms change, payments are adjusted, or credits are applied, and cross-reference against Bill.com / QuickBooks monthly to keep everything in sync.
Property Operations Support (~20%)
When you're not on the books, you support the property operations lead directly on tenant relations, leasing, vendor coordination, and active matters across the portfolio (with a current focus on the multifamily property in Oregon). Your job is to absorb the operational and administrative load so nothing falls through the cracks.
- Help manage the leasing pipeline — applicant intake, screening coordination, waitlist, and keeping prospect records current.
- Support tenant communications and inbox triage: respond to or route day-to-day inquiries, log open items with status and next action, and escalate lease/legal matters.
- Coordinate vendors and maintenance — schedule recurring work, route work orders to on-site contacts, obtain competing bids, and follow up until work orders close.
- Assist with insurance and compliance — inspection scheduling and photos, certificate tracking, and supporting active claims by organizing evidence and tracking deadlines.
- Coordinate documents and e-signatures (leases, fee agreements, estoppels) through the property management system, DocuSeal, or Adobe Sign, and circulate meeting recaps and follow-ups.
- Support new-tenant onboarding alongside billing: welcome packages, payment instructions, portal setup, and commencement-date handoff to the financial side of this role.
What You Bring
Must-haves
- 2+ years of bookkeeping experience; commercial real estate (NNN / retail / office) and CAM reconciliation experience strongly preferred.
- Able to read a commercial lease and pull out CAM / tax / insurance billing obligations on your own.
- Demonstrated expertise in QuickBooks Online — recurring invoicing, AP/AR, reconciliations, credits/overpayments, and clean monthly closes across multiple entities.
- Proven experience owning full-cycle AP/AR across a multi-entity or portfolio environment.
- Proficient with Bill.com — auto-charge, ACH timing, sync conflicts, and payment reconciliation.
- Able to work U.S. hours with consistent, reliable communication.
- Comfortable stepping into property management support — tenant relations, vendor coordination, and leasing administration — as a secondary function.
- Sharp attention to detail and sound judgment: you won't issue refunds or delete charges without understanding the full ledger context.
- Strong written communication; you can draft professional tenant and vendor correspondence independently.
Bonus points
- Hands-on experience with Yardi, AppFolio, or comparable property management software.
- Familiarity with Melio, ePayPolicy, Gusto, and Google Workspace.
- Fluency with AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT) to draft communications and abstract leases — the client uses AI actively and wants someone who does too.
Important Notes About the Contract
- This role is on an indepent contractor agreement contract
- Fully remote and you're responsible for internet and equipment
- Payments are provided direct to your own account without any deductions; any statutory responsibilities are your own