Free Vacation Rental Chart of Accounts Template

How to Use This Chart of Accounts Template

‍A clean Chart of Accounts is essential for accurate financials in a vacation rental business — but generic COA templates don’t work for STRs.

This template is built specifically for vacation rental and short-term rental managers, with STR-ready categories, clear descriptions, and standardized numbering. Use it to structure your accounting system, keep transactions categorized properly, and maintain clean financials as you scale.

To get started: Make a copy of this Google Sheet (File → Make a copy) and tailor it to your business.

‍Overview: What This Chart of Accounts Template Is Designed to Do

This Chart of Accounts (COA) is built specifically for vacation rental and short-term rental property managers. It provides a complete accounting structure — with trust accounting, PMS timing differences, OTA payouts, and owner statement requirements built directly into the chart.

This template helps you:

• Set up accurate operating and trust accounts
• Map PMS activity to the correct GL accounts
• Reconcile revenue, payouts, and owner balances properly
• Prevent misclassification of guest/owner funds
• Standardize reporting across properties, entities, and departments

To get started:

1. Download the template
2. Make a copy (File → Make a copy in Google Sheets)
3. Customize the naming and numbering to fit your business

1. What This Template Includes

‍A. Asset Accounts (1000–1999): Bank Accounts, Receivables & Clearing Accounts‍

Your STR business requires separate operating and trust bank accounts, plus multiple clearing accounts to reconcile OTA payouts, PMS revenue data, and card transactions.

This section includes:

• Operating bank accounts (Checking/Savings)
• Trust accounts for guest funds, owner funds, and security deposits
• Accounts receivable from guests, OTAs, and owners
• PMS/OTA/card clearing accounts to resolve timing differences
• Prepaids and inventory
• Fixed assets and depreciation

Your action items:

• Connect each physical bank account to the matching GL account
• Reconcile trust accounts separately every month
• Use PMS/OTA clearing accounts as temporary buckets until payouts/postings match
• Assign all deposits to the correct trust vs operating account‍

B. Liability Accounts (2000–2999): Trust Balances, Taxes, Payables & Unearned Revenue‍

This section is critical because STR property managers handle large amounts of money that do not belong to the company.

Includes:

• Vendor payables
• Credit card payables
• Sales, lodging, and tourism taxes
• Owner revenue payable
• Owner reserves
• Refundable guest deposits
• Damage waivers
• Unearned guest revenue (prepaid bookings)
• Unearned management fees
• Owner statement adjustment account (corrections)
• Chargebacks and refunds payable

Your action items:

• Map PMS trust balances to the correct payable accounts
• Match guest deposits, prepaid bookings, and tax amounts separately
• Use Owner Revenue Payable as your clearing account for owner portion of revenue
• Record all owner-facing corrections in Owner Statement Adjustments
• Reconcile all trust liabilities against bank balances monthly‍

C. Equity Accounts (3000–3999): Owner Contributions, Draws & Retained Earnings‍

This section supports financial reporting for your management company.

Includes:

• Owner contributions
• Member distributions
• Retained earnings
• Opening balance equity

Your action items:

• Ensure distributions flow only from equity—not expenses
• Keep retained earnings untouched except during year-end closing‍

‍D. Income Accounts (4000–4999): Company Revenue Only‍

This section makes sure your books reflect management company income, not owner income.

Includes:

• Management fees
• Cleaning fee revenue (company portion only)
• Maintenance markup revenue
• Guest service fees (pet, parking, amenities)
• Reservation & admin fees
• Credit card surcharge revenue
• Refunds & discounts as a contra-revenue account

Your action items:

• Only record management company income here
• Never record gross rent as income
• Ensure each revenue type maps to your PMS fee structures
• Use the refunds/discounts account to keep revenue clean and auditable‍

E. Cost of Goods Sold (5000–5999): Stay-Level Costs‍

These categories capture direct per-stay expenses that determine true profitability of your operations.

Includes:

• Cleaning & turnover labor
• Laundry
• Guest supplies
• Maintenance materials
• Owner pass-through vendor costs
• OTA commissions
• Payment processing fees

Your action items:

• Classify anything directly tied to a reservation here
• Map PMS expense automations appropriately
• Use pass-through accounts for expenses billed back to owners‍

F. Operating Expenses (6000–7999): Overhead Costs‍

These support general operations, payroll, vendor relationships, and administration.

Includes:

• Operations & admin payroll
• Payroll taxes & benefits
• PMS, accounting, channel manager, and ops software
• Advertising & marketing
• Sales commissions
• Legal, accounting, and other professional fees
• Rent, utilities, insurance
• Licenses & permits
• Training
• Bad debt
• Travel, meals, vehicles
• Repairs for office/facility
• Bank & merchant fees
• Other income/expense: interest, taxes, depreciation

Your action items:

• Keep overhead separate from stay-level COGS
• Use consistent coding to train your team and avoid errors
• Tie software accounts to your tech stack for auditability

‍2. Customization Guidelines

‍Your COA should reflect your business operations. The template allows you to:

• Rename accounts to match internal language
• Add new accounts for unique workflows
• Remove accounts you don’t use
• Follow standard numbering conventions

This customization ensures the COA remains intuitive and easy for your team and accountants to follow.

‍3. Input Into Your Accounting Software

‍After customizing the template, enter your Chart of Accounts into your accounting system, such as:

• QuickBooks Online / Desktop
• Xero
• NetSuite
• Sage Intacct

If you already have an established general ledger, match account numbers for continuity.

‍4. Ongoing Maintenance & Accountant Checklist

Your COA should evolve, but stay consistent.

Monthly:

• Reconcile all operating and trust accounts
• Clear PMS/OTA/card clearing accounts
• Review owner payable balances
• Check unearned revenue and prepaid deposits

Quarterly:

• Review unused accounts
• Update descriptions
• Confirm tax accounts match jurisdiction rates

Annually:

• Close retained earnings
• Review software and subscription categories
• Archive legacy accounts

‍Summary & Recommended Use

This STR-specific Chart of Accounts gives property managers:

• A clean, compliant accounting foundation
• Clear separation of trust vs operating funds
• Accurate PMS-to-accounting reconciliation
• Consistent categorization across properties and departments
• Reliable owner statements and financial reporting

How to use it effectively:

1. Make a copy of the spreadsheet
2. Customize account names and numbers
3. Add branding if needed
4. Import into your accounting system
5. Train your team on proper coding
6. Review and update periodically

This COA ensures financial clarity, compliance, and scalability as your portfolio grows.

Questions or Need Help?

If you need support or want help automating this process, email: info@topkey.io.