One of the key advantages of using Stessa over other general-purpose accounting programs is that it's purpose-built for real estate. It's easy to accurately categorize your income and expense transactions with our built-in list of categories, which then easily map to Stessa's key reports. They also line up nicely with the IRS Schedule E categories.

Use the list below for quick reference or cut and paste the top-level or the sub-category (but not both) into an optional "Category" column in your CSV data file before importing. When you upload a CSV file with the categories already populated, Stessa will automatically categorize the transactions for you.
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Here's the list of all real estate income and expense categories available on Stessa:

  Rents
  Section 8 Rents
  Short Term Rents
  Application Fees
  Late Fees
  Pet Fees
  Laundry
  Storage
  Parking
  Tenant Pass-Throughs

Stessa Interest
  Misc Interest Received
Stessa Cash Back 

Insurance Proceeds
  Cleaning & Other Upsells
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  Advertising
  Background & Credit Checks
  Travel
  Mileage
  Meals
  Office Supplies & Postage
  Software Subscriptions
  HOA Dues
  Bank Fees
  Education
  Gifts
  Licenses
  Rent Concessions
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  Legal
  Accounting
  Court Fees
  Eviction Fees
  Inspections
  Surveys
  Appraisals
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  Rental Dwelling
  Rental Condo
  Flood
  Hurricane
  Earthquake
  Liability

Umbrella
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  Property Management
  Service Calls
  Leasing Commissions
  Booking & Platform Fees
  Fund Management
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  Cleaning & Janitorial
  Painting
  Electrical Repairs
  Plumbing Repairs
  HVAC Repairs
  Appliance Repairs
  Roof Repairs
  Door & Window Repairs
  Other Repairs
  Security, Locks & Keys
  Pest
  Gardening & Landscaping

Pool & Spa
  Snow Removal
  R&M Supplies
  R&M Permits & Inspections
  Labor
  Linens, Soaps, & Other Consumables
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  Property Taxes
  Special Assessments
  City, State, & Local Taxes
  Short Term Occupancy Taxes
  Federal Taxes
  Tax Licenses & Registrations
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  Gas
  Electric
  Gas & Electric
  Garbage & Recycling
  Telephone, Cable & Internet
  Water & Sewer
  Heating Oil
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  Mortgage Payments
  Mortgage Interest
  Mortgage Principal

Proceeds & Payoffs
  Other Loan Payment
  Other Interest
  Other Principal
  Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
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New Roof

New Acquisitions
  New Appliances
  New HVAC
  New Flooring & Carpet
  New Doors & Windows
  New Landscaping
  New Plumbing & Electrical
  New Furniture & Equipment
  Remodeling
  Closing Costs
  Loan Costs
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  Security Deposit Interest
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  Credit Card Payments
  Owner Distributions
  Owner Contributions
  General Escrow Payments
  Property Tax Escrows
  Insurance Escrows
  PMI Escrows
  HOA Escrows
  Down Payments
  Sale Proceeds
  Taxes to Remit
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Note that "Transfers" are used for reference purposes only and are deliberately excluded from all financial reports and dashboard metrics.

Note that you're welcome to use top-level categories if you can't find a perfect sub-category or simply prefer to keep things simple. For Security Deposits specifically, receipt and return of funds should always be categorized to the top-level "Security Deposits" category since the sub-category is for interest (earned and paid) only.

If you can't make any of Stessa's existing transaction categories work for you, use the blue circle at lower right to suggest a new one. While custom categories are not supported, we do sometimes add new ones based on user requests.
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