Real Estate
Commission volatility, trust account compliance, and agent split tracking for brokerages and property managers across South Florida.
The Industry
Real estate in South Florida means feast or famine cash flow. A broker closes three deals in March and deposits $90,000. April brings nothing. May brings one closing that falls through at the last minute. The income pattern makes tax planning nearly impossible and quarterly estimates feel like guesswork. Most real estate professionals just react to whatever lands in the bank account instead of managing their finances with any kind of forward visibility.
The complexity multiplies when you move beyond solo practice. Brokerages managing agent splits need to track who earned what on every transaction. Property management companies handle owner funds and tenant deposits that require strict segregation under Florida law. Escrow accounts have compliance requirements that create real liability if handled incorrectly. What started as a straightforward business becomes a financial operation that needs actual oversight.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Real estate brokerages with multiple agents, property management companies handling owner and tenant funds, commercial real estate firms, and established agents whose transaction volume has outgrown basic bookkeeping. Businesses across Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, and South Florida that need controller-level financial management.
What Makes It Complex
What Makes It Complex
Commission income that varies dramatically month to month. Agent splits and desk fee arrangements that differ by experience level and deal type. Trust and escrow accounts with Florida DBPR compliance requirements. Property management fees earned across dozens of properties with different owner payment terms. Transaction coordinators, marketing costs, and MLS fees that need proper allocation.
What We Handle
Controller oversight for real estate operations means reconciling trust accounts monthly with documentation that protects your license. We verify that escrow deposits match contract terms and that disbursements follow closing statements. For property managers, we ensure owner funds stay segregated from operating accounts and that security deposits are tracked as the liabilities they actually are. This is not basic bookkeeping. This is the financial oversight that prevents compliance problems before they start.
Commission tracking by agent shows who is producing and what the brokerage actually earns after splits. When you have fifteen agents at different split tiers and some deals involve referral fees or co-brokering arrangements, the accounting needs to capture all of it accurately. We handle the month-end close so your financials reflect real performance, not just bank deposits. Quarterly estimates get calculated based on actual commission patterns, not last year’s tax return.
Trust Account Oversight and Compliance
Trust Account Oversight and Compliance
Monthly reconciliation of escrow and trust accounts with full documentation. Segregation verification for property management companies handling owner funds and tenant deposits. Review of disbursements against closing statements and management agreements. The controller-level review that keeps your real estate license out of jeopardy.
Commission and Agent Tracking
Commission and Agent Tracking
Transaction-level tracking showing gross commission, agent split, referral fees, and net to brokerage. Year-end 1099 preparation for all agents. Desk fee and marketing co-op tracking. Visibility into which agents and deal types actually contribute to profitability after all costs are allocated.
What Goes Wrong
Trust account problems rarely announce themselves. A closing coordinator deposits earnest money into the wrong account. Nobody catches it for three months. By then the audit trail is a mess and you are explaining the discrepancy to the state. Property managers commingle operating funds with owner reserves because it is easier to manage one account. That shortcut becomes a licensing issue when an owner demands their funds and the account is short because you covered a slow receivables month.
Commission tracking breaks down as brokerages grow. The office manager uses a spreadsheet to track splits. An agent disputes their payout. Nobody can reconstruct which deals had referral fees and which had the modified split arrangement you offered during recruitment. Tax time arrives and the 1099s don’t match what agents expected because transactions were recorded inconsistently throughout the year. These are not bookkeeping errors. They are symptoms of financial operations that have outgrown the systems supporting them.
Trust and Escrow Violations
Trust and Escrow Violations
Deposits landing in wrong accounts without immediate correction. Disbursements made before closings are finalized. Security deposits treated as income instead of liabilities. Owner fund shortfalls covered temporarily from operating accounts. Small errors that compound into compliance problems requiring explanation to regulators.
Commission and Agent Disputes
Commission and Agent Disputes
Split calculations that do not match agent expectations because deal terms were not recorded properly. Referral fees and co-broke arrangements tracked inconsistently. Year-end 1099s that trigger agent complaints because reported amounts do not match their records. No clear picture of what the brokerage actually nets after agent payouts.
What Changes
Trust accounts get reconciled monthly with documentation you would be comfortable handing to an auditor. Escrow balances match your pending transaction files. Owner funds in property management show exactly what you are holding and for whom. The compliance anxiety that sits in the back of your mind goes away because someone is actually reviewing these accounts with the attention they require.
Financial visibility moves from reactive to strategic. You know what the brokerage earns net of agent splits by deal type and property category. You can evaluate whether that aggressive split you offered a producing agent is actually worth it. Quarterly estimates reflect your actual commission patterns so April does not bring a surprise tax bill. When you are ready to expand, acquire another brokerage, or bring on a partner, you have financials that support the conversation.
Compliance Confidence
Compliance Confidence
Trust and escrow accounts with monthly reconciliations and audit-ready documentation. Property management funds properly segregated with clear reporting to owners. Security deposits tracked as liabilities with tenant-level detail. The controller oversight that protects your real estate license and your reputation.
Strategic Financial Visibility
Strategic Financial Visibility
Net profitability by agent, deal type, and property category. Commission projections based on pending transactions. Cash flow planning that accounts for the natural volatility of real estate income. Financial statements that support bank relationships, growth decisions, and partnership discussions with actual verified numbers.
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