Get a detailed explanation of most common Chart of Accounts for Airbnb income used by accountants and property managers. 

Discover Bnbtally's free Xero setup utility, which can import all of the Chart of Accounts discussed in this article.

The Chart of Accounts provided by the setup utility described in this article will cover Airbnb reservation income for Airbnb Owners, Rental Arbitrage operators and Property Managers. In this section, we'll explain each account in greater detail.

• Airbnb Income - Accommodation Fare: This mainly applies to those who either own the property listed on Airbnb or the property is considered rental arbitrage (rented and subleased on Airbnb). This represents the Accommodation Fare line item of each Airbnb reservation, which is equal to the number of nights multiplied by the average nightly rate for the reservation. Cleaning Fees and Host Fees are not included. It's important to track Accommodation Fare separate from these other fees because it's the best single measure of health for your Airbnb business.
• Airbnb Income - Property Mgmt Commission: This mainly applies to those who are property managers who list properties owned by others and receive a percent of each Airbnb reservation. Instead of using the "Airbnb Income - Accommodation Fare" code above, you would use this account code, which represents the Airbnb income allocated as Property Management commission income for your business. Again, Cleaning Fees and Host Fees are not included and should be tracked separately. When using this code, some property managers also use a Rents in Trust code to allocate any remaining amounts owed for later remitting to any owners (See "Owner Rents in Trust" under liability accounts below).
• Airbnb Income - Cleaning Fee: This represents the Cleaning Fee line item of each Airbnb reservation, which is equal to the Cleaning Fee amount set in each Airbnb listing. Tracking this separately not only allows you to see your Accommodation Fare or Property Mgmt Commission income more clearly, but it also gives you an idea of a maximum budget for later spending on turnover and cleaning costs for your Airbnb listings.
• Airbnb Income - Resolution Adjustment: This represents any Resolution Adjustment income events from Airbnb resolution claims for any particular reservation. A resolution adjustment event can take place when extra income is received from a guest for any damages or extra services provided, which should be classified separately from other sources of income. 

• Airbnb Refund - Accommodation Fare: For owned property or rental arbitrage, this represents any refunds of the Accommodation Fare due to the cancellation or shortening of any Airbnb reservations.
• Airbnb Refund - Property Mgmt Commissions: For property managers collecting commissions, this represents any refunds of the Property Management commission due to the cancellation or shortening of an Airbnb reservation.
• Airbnb Refund - Cleaning Fee: This represents any refunds of the Cleaning Fee due to the cancellation or shortening of an Airbnb reservation.
• Airbnb Refund - Resolution Adjustment: This represents any Resolution Adjustment refund events from Airbnb resolution claims for any particular reservation.

• Airbnb Service Fee: This represents the 3% Service Fee (in some jurisdictions it's 15%) charged by Airbnb for each reservation on the platform. It is also sometimes referred to as "Host Fee".

• Airbnb Taxes - Custom Taxes Payable: This code is of type Current Liability. In each Airbnb listing, you have the option to have Airbnb collect and remit occupancy taxes on your behalf, or you can choose to collect custom taxes and pay to the respective tax authority directly. If you've selected the Custom Tax option for any of your listings within Airbnb, you would use this account to allocate those taxes from Airbnb reservations for later remittance.
• Airbnb Taxes - Tax Withholdings: This is a special account that should not be used in most cases. Airbnb will withhold income tax from hosts who have not yet provided their Taxpayer information in their Airbnb profile (e.g. "Tax Withholding for US Income"). You should avoid these withholdings all together by completing your Airbnb profile Taxpayer information.
• Owner Rents in Trust: This code is of type Current Liability. This mainly applies to property managers who collect the entire reservation income on behalf of owners and then pay out to owners at a later date minus any commissions and expenses. This account is used to hold rents in trust and keep track of amounts owed to owners for remittance.

To import any or all of the above chart of accounts into your Xero organization, follow this link...

All of the Chart of Accounts discussed in this article can be imported automatically using Bnbtally's setup utility for Xero. Here's how to access this utility...

1. If you haven't already, Get Access to Bnbtally. It includes free use of this setup utility. No subscription or payment method is required.
2. Once registered, make sure to set up your connections so that Bnbtally can properly import the Chart of Accounts. You will need to connect at least one Xero account and at least one Airbnb Account.
3. Under the Connections tab, select any connection to edit. From there, you'll find a button labeled: SET UP XERO

Once selected, a window will pop up with a template Chart of Accounts used commonly by accountants and property managers with Airbnb listings. From here you can select each account type individually for importing into your Xero organization directly.

Connect multiple Airbnb Accounts to Xero for Automated Importing, Detailed Bookkeeping and Seamless Reconciliation.

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