How Seacoast 2 Summit Spends 75% Less Time on Finance Work

When Chris Petzy, Founder and CEO of Seacoast 2 Summit, was managing 13 listings, he realized bookkeeping had become the bottleneck preventing him from taking on more homeowners. The administrative burden of tracking expenses, chasing receipts, and reconciling accounts was consuming so much time that growth felt impossible.

Today, Seacoast 2 Summit Vacation Rentals manages 120+ listings across New England with no revenue leaking while spending 75% less time on finance and admin work.

Operating across some of New England's most sought-after vacation markets—including New Hampshire's White Mountains, Hampton Beach, and Lakes Region, plus Massachusetts' North Shore and Central Vermont—Seacoast 2 Summit has built a reputation for exceptional service. They maintain a single-digit churn rate, well below industry standards, through organic referrals, owner retention, and strategic M&A.

The Challenge: Revenue Leakage and Admin Bottlenecks

Before Topkey, Seacoast 2 Summit faced the same challenges that plague most vacation rental operators.

Expense Tracking Breakdown

Before Topkey, Seacoast 2 Summit was bleeding revenue through a broken expense tracking system.

Chris explains the fundamental problem: "Biggest thing was leakage. Obviously lots of expenses day-to-day. Most of them should be billed back to homeowners and we're not tracking that appropriately. I see it on the P&L, it's too late at that point."

The breakdown was systematic: daily expenses weren't tracked at point of sale, issues only surfaced during P&L review when it was too late to bill back, and field staff receipts often got lost in vans. The result was $10-15K in monthly "question marks" around billable expenses.

Chris describes the frustration: "There were months where tens of thousands of dollars would be like question marking. Was that supposed to be billable? Should we be eating that? Now we don't have to ask that question anymore because everything's captured at the point of sale."

Administrative Burden Blocking Growth

The manual reconciliation process consumed enormous time. Every transaction required investigation: What is this expense? Where's the receipt? Which property? Which owner should be billed?

Chris recalls the tedious process: "You're having to go through every single transaction and say, okay, we don't have the receipt for this. What is this transaction? You don't have to do any of that guessing anymore, because there's all these required fields in Topkey to make sure that it is captured correctly the first time."

Without real-time tracking, scaling meant multiplying the chaos—more properties just meant more untracked expenses and bigger monthly reconciliation nightmares.

Loss of Financial Confidence

Without real-time visibility, Chris couldn't trust the P&L reflected true business performance. Homeowners weren't getting charged for expenses for 45-75 days instead of within the week, creating cash flow issues and strained owner relationships.

Transforming Financial Operations with Topkey

Seacoast 2 Summit works with Keystone Bookkeepers, their specialized accounting firm for vacation rental operations. When Chris and Ben at Keystone were looking for a solution to the expense management crisis, Ben's thorough evaluation of platforms in the market led him to Topkey.

Chris describes how the partnership began: "Him and I were talking about what the right expense management solution would be. And he is so good at R&D and looking at the different platforms—he really digs into everything. He reached out to you guys and started that partnership. We were one of the early adopters."

After implementing Topkey, Seacoast 2 Summit saw immediate improvements in their financial processes. The platform automated and streamlined key workflows that previously required manual effort.

1. Real-Time Expense Capture

Chris describes the simplicity of the new expense management workflow: "With Topkey, you get the receipt or the text right on the phone as a transaction happens, upload it, you're done. The simplicity, the ease for our field office team—they can just snap it and go. And then for me as the CEO or for the homeowner to be able to see that right within our PMS, that's the game changer."

Field staff use Topkey cards and receive an immediate text after each transaction. Before leaving the cashier, they snap a photo and attach it to the specific property and work order. The required fields in Topkey ensure complete capture at the point of expense—when all context is fresh and accurate.

2. Seamless Integration with Guesty and QuickBooks

The native Guesty integration means expenses automatically tag to the right properties and work orders. Topkey integrates directly with QuickBooks Online for accounting workflows, ensuring every expense flows seamlessly into the books.

Working with Keystone Bookkeepers—a Topkey preferred partner—meant the integration ecosystem was already optimized. Everything flows automatically—no context-switching, no manual data entry, no workflow gaps between systems.

3. Centralized Financial Management

Beyond expense capture, Topkey consolidates core financial workflows into one platform. Instead of managing separate banking relationships and logging into multiple systems for day-to-day operations, everything lives in one place.

Chris emphasizes the operational efficiency: "It's all centralized, it's one platform. You're not logging into five different places to manage your finances. Everything's right there."

4. Generating Cashflow Through Interest-Bearing¹ Accounts

The Topkey operating account earns interest^₁ on funds maintained for day-to-day operations. This turns working capital into a revenue-generating asset that helps offset software costs.

When asked about the financial benefits, Chris notes: "With the interest^₁ you earn through the operating account, you're actually able to offset the entire cost of the software because of the funds you keep in that account. So it's not just saving you time and capturing leakage—it's actually helping cover the cost."

These improvements meant Seacoast 2 Summit could process transactions faster, reduce errors, and ensure proper owner billing—all while saving significant time. The automation of these core processes laid the foundation for even greater efficiencies as the company continued to grow.

The Power of Working with Topkey Preferred Partners

One of the key reasons Topkey has been so successful for Seacoast 2 Summit is how seamlessly the platform works with their accounting firm.

Built for Seamless Collaboration

Topkey has a network of preferred bookkeeping and accounting partners who specialize in vacation rental financial operations. These partners understand both the STR industry and how to maximize the value of Topkey's platform for their clients.

For Seacoast 2 Summit, working with Keystone Bookkeepers—a Topkey preferred partner—meant they didn't have to manage integration issues or train their accounting team on new systems. The partnership was already established, and the workflows were already optimized.

Chris reflects on the importance of having the right team: "When you have a qualified bookkeeper who really knows how everything works together, things just move faster. It's not just the tools or just the person, it's having both pieces actually working together."

Taking Work Off the Operator's Plate

The partnership allows each party to focus on their strengths. Topkey handles the automation, real-time capture, and seamless integrations. Keystone manages the books and provides strategic financial guidance. And Chris can focus on growing the business and delivering exceptional experiences to guests and homeowners.

Chris describes what matters most to owners: "Having just the right people operating our business takes a lot of those items off our plate, so we can focus on the real value-added work that our homeowners care about—pricing and marketing."

The shift has been fundamental to how Seacoast 2 Summit delivers value to owners.

Chris emphasizes what owners really care about: "They don't care about us doing a bunch of admin work every single month. They want transparency into their property's financials, they want us filling their calendars and marketing their properties."

By eliminating the admin burden, the partnership frees Seacoast 2 Summit to focus on what actually drives owner retention and revenue growth.

Measurable Impact

Since implementing Topkey, Seacoast 2 Summit has seen dramatic improvements across every dimension of their financial operations.

75% Time Reduction

When asked about the time savings from implementing Topkey, Chris was direct: "Time, it's dropped 75%. Really. Because before you're having to go through every single transaction and say, okay, we don't have the receipt for this. What is this transaction? And you don't have to do any of that guessing anymore."

Tasks that previously consumed hours every week now take minutes. Chris reflects on the confidence this brings: "I have so much more confidence in our P&L that I don't have to go chase people down and waste their time. That confidence alone is worth it—but the time savings on top of that is just massive."

That 75% time reduction represents hours every week that can now be spent on revenue-generating activities: marketing properties, improving owner relationships, pursuing growth opportunities.

$10-15K Monthly Revenue Leakage Eliminated

With work orders processed across their portfolio daily, the potential for leakage was massive. Between $10-15K per month in expenses that were previously lost are now captured and properly charged back to owners.

Chris explains the transformation: "Was that supposed to be billable? Now we don't have to ask that question anymore because it's happening at the point of sale, the point of the expense. So for all those reasons, it's really saved a lot of time and money—like, a lot of money."

This isn't about raising management fees—it's simply capturing expenses that should have been billed all along.

Financial Confidence Restored

Chris describes the peace of mind this has created: "Now I know and trust that our P&L is showing true financials and not a lot of buried leakage that's eating away at our margins. That peace of mind—knowing the numbers are right—that's invaluable when you're trying to make strategic decisions about where to grow next."

For Seacoast 2 Summit, this represents not just time and money saved, but complete transformation in how they operate. Real-time visibility means Chris and homeowners see expenses as they happen. This transparency strengthens owner relationships and eliminates uncomfortable conversations about delayed charges.

These improvements have been particularly valuable as margins tighten across the industry. Chris reflects on the shift: "We used to ask: should we eat this expense? Should we try to bill it back even though it's been weeks? Now we don't have to make that choice. Everything's captured in real-time, everything's billed properly, and our margins are protected."

Strategic Growth Enabled by Automation

The transformation in financial operations has fundamentally changed what's possible for Seacoast 2 Summit.

Breaking Through the Growth Ceiling

The progression tells the story: at 13 listings, manual bookkeeping created a significant barrier to growth. Partnering with Keystone Bookkeepers enabled scaling to 50-60 listings by offloading the reconciliation work. Adding Topkey to the ecosystem enabled growth all the way to 120 listings—without adding headcount or the $60K+ salary that would have required.

The technology integration created efficiencies that compounded over time. As the portfolio grew, the per-unit administrative burden actually decreased rather than increased. This is the power of automation at scale.

From Admin Work to Strategic Work

With financial operations running smoothly in the background, Chris can focus on strategic priorities for 2026 and beyond.

When asked about his top priorities for the coming year, Chris outlined his focus: "Direct bookings, first of all. With Airbnb changing their OTA fee structure, we want to drive more direct marketing, direct bookings, and help our homeowners protect their margins most importantly. That's where we need to spend our time—not reconciling receipts."

This is time he simply didn't have when drowning in expense reconciliation and manual bookkeeping. The shift from administrative work to strategic work is what separates companies that scale from those that plateau.

Owner retention remains the number one priority. Chris explains their approach: "Retention is always number one thing for us. We've been less than single digit churn ever since we were founded. And that's above industry norms. When you can eliminate that admin work, you can focus on what actually adds value to owners."

The financial automation directly supports this goal. When owners see accurate, timely billing and transparent reporting, their confidence in the management company increases. When the property manager has more time to focus on marketing and pricing optimization, the owners see better results.

Partnership-Enabled Expansion

Chris describes their growth strategy: "Looking to grow through mergers, acquisitions, partnerships in the areas that we're already operating. There's so much opportunity out there right now. But we couldn't do any of that if we were still stuck in the weeds with manual bookkeeping."

This growth strategy is only possible because of the operational foundation that Topkey provides. Acquiring another property management company or onboarding a large number of new properties through referrals would have been logistically impossible with the old manual processes.

Now, Seacoast 2 Summit has the systems and partnerships in place to absorb growth without administrative chaos. The combination of Topkey's automation and Keystone's expertise has created a scalable foundation that can support continued expansion.

From Bookkeeping Bottleneck to Strategic Growth

The transformation at Seacoast 2 Summit represents what's possible when vacation rental operators get their financial operations right.

Chris had trouble growing past 13 listings because manual bookkeeping had become the constraint. The administrative burden wasn't just inconvenient—it was blocking revenue growth, eroding margins through leakage, and preventing him from delivering the value homeowners actually cared about.

Today, with 120 listings across New England, the business runs fundamentally differently. The results speak for themselves:

• 75% reduction in reconciliation time – dozens of hours every month freed up for revenue-generating activities instead of chasing receipts.‍
• $10-15K in monthly leakage recovered – expenses that used to disappear into "question marks" now flow to the bottom line.‍
• Interest-bearing^₁ operating account – helps offset platform costs, turning what could be just another expense into a revenue-generating asset.‍
• Complete financial confidence – real-time visibility into true P&L performance eliminates guesswork and enables strategic decision-making.

The shift didn't happen through brute force or adding headcount. It happened by implementing purpose-built tools designed for STR operations and partnering with specialists who understand both the industry and the technology.

"Now I know and trust that our P&L is showing true financials and not a lot of buried leakage that's eating away at our margins. That peace of mind—knowing the numbers are right—that's invaluable when you're trying to make strategic decisions about where to grow next." - Chris Petzy

That confidence—in the numbers, in the operations, in the ability to scale—is what separates property managers who plateau from those who build lasting, profitable businesses.

For operators still drowning in reconciliation work and watching revenue leak through broken expense tracking, Seacoast 2 Summit's story offers a clear path forward. The administrative bottlenecks that feel insurmountable today become manageable with the right systems and partnerships in place.

Schedule a demo with Topkey to see how the platform works for your financial operations.