STR Payout Reconciliation Guide (Airbnb/VRBO): Step-by-Step
STR bookkeeping breaks when payouts are recorded as one lump deposit. To keep your financials accurate, you need to separate gross revenue from platform fees, cleaning income, refunds/adjustments, and occupancy taxes (when applicable). This guide gives you a repeatable STR payout reconciliation method that works in QuickBooks Online or Stessa, so your property-level P&L and balance sheet reflect reality.
Last updated: January 10, 2026
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Behind on your books: Catch-Up & Cleanup
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Table of Contents
Why STR payouts get mis-recorded
Most STR hosts accidentally misstate revenue because platforms pay you net, but your books need gross economics to be meaningful:
- Gross booking revenue (what the guest paid)
- Platform/hosting fees
- Cleaning income (if separately charged/paid to you)
- Refunds and adjustments
- Taxes collected/remitted (varies by jurisdiction and platform)
What’s inside an Airbnb/VRBO payout
| Component | What it represents | Where it shows up |
| Gross booking revenue | Guest charges for stays | Platform earnings / transaction report |
| Hosting/platform fees | Platform service fees | Platform report + payout breakdown |
| Cleaning income | Cleaning fee income (if applicable) | Platform report; sometimes bundled |
| Refunds/adjustments | Cancellations, damage claims, disputes | Platform adjustments |
| Taxes | Occupancy/sales taxes collected and/or remitted | Platform tax report / payout detail |
| Net payout | What hits your bank | Bank deposit |
STR payout reconciliation: step-by-step method (works in any system)
- Choose your tracking level (simple vs detailed)
- Simple method (most owners): monthly summary by platform + property
- Detailed method: per-reservation entries (usually only needed if your CPA or lender requires it)
- Pick one “source of truth” report
- Use the platform’s export/report consistently (Airbnb/VRBO), not a mix of screenshots and bank deposits.
- Record gross revenue correctly
- Your goal is that your books show gross revenue and separate fees, not only the net deposit.
- Match deposits to payouts (reconcile)
- Tie each bank deposit back to the payout(s) in the platform report.
- Handle taxes intentionally. Decide whether taxes are:
- Collected and remitted by the platform, or
- Collected and you remit, or
- Not collected (you track/pay another way)
- If you’re unsure, your CPA should confirm the correct treatment for your locality.
QuickBooks Online workflow (recommended for stronger controls)
Option A: Clearing account method (cleanest)
- Create a bank-type account: “Airbnb Clearing” (and/or “VRBO Clearing”).
- Post payout activity into the clearing account as:
- Gross revenue (income)
- Platform fees (expense)
- Adjustments/refunds (income reductions or expense, depending on treatment)
- Taxes (liability if you remit; otherwise informational tracking)
- When the net deposit hits your real bank account, record the deposit as a transfer from the clearing account.
- Reconcile the clearing account to confirm nothing is “stuck” unmatched.
Option B: Split deposit method (simpler, but easier to drift)
- Record the bank deposit and split the lines into gross revenue / fees / taxes. This is workable, but clearing accounts usually scale better.
Stessa workflow (simple and effective for many owners)
- Ensure your bank feed/import is consistent.
- For each payout deposit, apply a consistent split:
- Income component(s)
- Fee component(s)
- Adjustments/refunds
- Tax handling (tracked intentionally)
- If you manage multiple properties, confirm each deposit is assigned to the correct property so your property-level reporting stays meaningful.
Occupancy taxes (how to track without chaos)
Your goal is to avoid mixing taxes with revenue. Common approaches:
- If you remit: record collected tax to a liability bucket until paid.
- If the platform remits: you may still track taxes for reporting, but the accounting treatment can differ depending on how the payout report is presented.
Occupancy tax rules vary by location and platform; confirm your treatment with your tax professional and your local rules. See how AirBnB handles occupancy taxes.
Common mistakes (and quick fixes)
- Recording net deposits as revenue → switch to gross revenue + separate fees.
- Double-counting revenue (deposit + platform report) → choose one method and stick to it.
- Ignoring refunds/adjustments → reconcile to platform totals monthly.
- No property-level assignment → assign each payout to the correct property every time (this is the foundation of your reporting promise).
When to hire help
Consider outsourcing if:
- Payouts take more than 1–2 hours/month to untangle,
- Your CPA keeps questioning STR revenue/fees,
- You manage multiple units and want reliable NOI by property,
- You’re behind multiple months and need catch-up cleanup.
Links
FAQ
Do I need to track every reservation separately?
Not always. Many owners do a monthly summary per property and platform. Detailed reservation-level tracking is useful when required for lending, partners, or complex reporting.
Should cleaning fees be income or pass-through?
It depends on whether the cleaning fee is paid to you or collected and paid directly to cleaners. The consistent rule: reflect the economics that actually apply to your business and document the approach.
What if I use a property manager or channel manager?
You’ll typically reconcile the manager statement or channel report to deposits, ensuring management fees, repairs, and owner draws are correctly categorized.
What’s the simplest way to avoid errors?
Use one method consistently, reconcile monthly, and keep gross revenue and fees separate.
What is the simplest STR payout reconciliation method?
The simplest method is a monthly summary approach using a clearing account (or clearing category) so your books show gross revenue and fees separately, while deposits still match the bank.