Each LLC gets its own bank account and its own set of books. Money that moves between them gets recorded as what it is: a loan, an owner contribution, or a distribution. When everything runs through one account, the LLCs exist on paper but the numbers don't line up with them.
Why separate books matter
Each LLC may file its own return. A single-member LLC usually shows up on your personal return, often on Schedule E for rentals. An LLC with more than one owner usually files its own partnership return, which is due March 15. Either way, your CPA needs the numbers for each one.
The protection an LLC is meant to give. Mixing money between LLCs, or between an LLC and your personal accounts, can weaken that protection. That's a legal question for your attorney, but the bookkeeping side is simple: keep each LLC's money in its own account.
You need to see each one. If one LLC holds 3 rentals and another holds your flips, you need to know how each is doing on its own.
The setup
A separate bank account, and ideally a separate card, for each LLC
A separate set of books for each LLC, or one file set up to report each LLC on its own
Each property assigned to the LLC that owns it
Loans recorded in the LLC that borrowed the money
When money moves between LLCs
It happens. One LLC covers a repair for another, or you move money from a rental LLC to fund a flip. Each transfer gets recorded on both sides:
A loan if the money is going to be paid back
A contribution and a distribution if you're moving money through yourself as the owner
What matters is that both LLCs show the same transfer the same way, so neither one looks better or worse than it is.
Shared costs
Some costs cover more than one LLC, like an umbrella insurance policy, accounting software, or your CPA's fee. These get split between the LLCs in a way you can explain, and the split stays the same from year to year.
Where to start
If you have more than one LLC and the money moves between them, tell us where your books stand. We'll go through it on a short discovery call.
REVI Bookkeeping works with house flippers and long-term rental landlords anywhere in the US.
