McAfee's Bookkeeping

09/04/2026

Quick question for our Maine contractors: is your bank feed's "For Review" tab a quick weekly check, or a backlog you dread opening?

Today on the blog, we're switching gears from last month's "signs you need a bookkeeper" series to something different: five real QuickBooks habits — Bank Rules, receipt capture, a reconciliation routine — that keep your own books organized without eating your weekends.

New on the blog: 5 QuickBooks habits that keep a trades business organized all year.

Weekly bank feed reviews, Bank Rules, receipt capture, and more — five practical QuickBooks Online habits for Maine contractors managing their own books.

08/31/2026

Labor Day weekend is almost here — the unofficial end of the busy season for a lot of Maine's contractors, hosts, and landlords alike.

Before it fully wraps, ask yourself the question that matters more than "how busy was I": what did the season actually make you, after everything it cost to run it? Busy and profitable aren't always the same thing — and the only way to know for sure is in the numbers, not the feeling.

Here's to closing out summer with clarity, not just relief that it's over.

08/28/2026

To close out this month's series: whether you're a contractor, an STR host, or a landlord, deciding whether to outsource your bookkeeping usually comes down to four kinds of cost — and most business owners only ever price out one of them (the fee).

Today's post walks through a simple framework — time cost, error cost, opportunity cost, and stress cost — so you can weigh the real decision, not just the sticker price.

New on the blog: the outsourcing question — a simple framework for any Maine small business.

Time cost, error cost, opportunity cost, stress cost — a simple framework for any Maine contractor, STR host, or landlord weighing whether to outsource bookkeeping.

08/26/2026

Quick QuickBooks tip for Maine landlords: if security deposits are landing in your income account, here's the fix — takes about 5 minutes.

1. Go to Settings → Chart of Accounts → New.
2. Account type: Other Current Liabilities. Detail type: Trust Accounts – Liabilities.
3. Name it something clear, like "Security Deposits Held."
4. When a deposit comes in, record it to this account — not to rental income. When you return it (or keep part of it for damage), it comes back out of this same account.

Now your bank balance and your books both tell the truth: that money was never really yours to spend.

Want help getting your accounts set up correctly? Let's talk.

08/24/2026

A friendly heads-up for Maine contractors, STR hosts, and landlords: Q3 estimated taxes are due September 15 — three weeks from today.

If your books are current, this is a five-minute check: pull your profit so far, compare it to what you've already paid in, and you'll know exactly where you stand. If they're not current, three weeks is still enough time to get caught up before the deadline is breathing down your neck.

Either way, better to know now than to find out on September 14.

08/21/2026

If you're a Maine landlord and your portfolio has grown, quick question: could you say right now exactly how much security deposit money you're holding across all your properties — and whose it is?

That's one of five signs on the blog today that a growing rental portfolio might have outgrown its original bookkeeping system. What worked cleanly for one property often starts to strain by three or four.

New on the blog: when one rental becomes five — signs your landlord bookkeeping needs help.

Deposits getting tangled? Tax time means weeks of reconstruction? Five signs a growing Maine rental portfolio has outgrown its bookkeeping system.

08/19/2026

Quick QuickBooks Online tip for Maine STR hosts with more than one listing: Classes let you see profit per property without separate books for each one.

1. Click the gear icon → Account and Settings → Advanced → turn on "Track classes."

2. Go to Lists → All Lists → Classes → New, and create one class per property (e.g., "123 Main St," "Lakeview Cottage").

3. Every time you enter income or an expense, assign it to the right property's class.

4. Run a Profit and Loss by Class report anytime to see exactly how each property is performing, side by side.

This is the single fastest way to find out which property is actually your best earner — not just your busiest.

Want help getting your properties set up this way? Let's talk.

08/17/2026

If you're a Maine landlord, late summer usually means one thing: another wave of lease turnovers as fall move-ins approach.

This is exactly when past turnovers catch up with people — deposits that were never fully reconciled, repair costs that got mixed in with regular expenses, security deposit statements that never quite got sent. Each one is a small loose end, but they add up fast heading into a new lease cycle.

Before the next tenant moves in, it's worth making sure the last one is fully squared away.

08/14/2026

For our Maine STR hosts with more than one listing: do your platform payouts and your bank account actually line up cleanly, or does reconciling a month of bookings feel more like a project than a quick check?

That's one of five signs on the blog today that it might be time to hand your books to someone else. It's not about doing anything wrong — a host outgrowing a spreadsheet is usually a host whose business is working.

New on the blog: is it time to hand off your STR books? 5 signs to watch for.

Payouts not matching your bank? Lodging tax a monthly scramble? Five signs Maine short-term rental hosts might be ready to hand off the books.