NZ Real Estate Chart of Accounts for QuickBooks: Vehicle, Marketing + Commission

Real estate has a recognisable cost shape: heavy vehicle use, large and sometimes reimbursed marketing spend, franchise fees to a brand, and commission income that lands in lumps. This is a New Zealand real estate chart of accounts for QuickBooks Online built around those features, as a readable reference CSV plus an import CSV for the structure.

Set up GST first

QuickBooks Online does not provision New Zealand GST codes automatically, so you begin by turning on GST under Taxes, creating the GST agency, and adding the rates (GST on Income, GST on Expenses, Zero Rated and No GST). The chart-of-accounts import builds the structure, and you assign the codes from the CSV afterwards, because the import has no tax column.

Vehicle costs and the three methods

Agents are on the road constantly, so vehicle running costs is its own account. Inland Revenue allows three approaches: a logbook to establish the business-use percentage of actual costs, a flat 25% of running costs without a logbook, or the kilometre rate. A high-mileage agent usually keeps a logbook to claim the genuine business proportion. The account collects running costs at 15% GST in one place so the apportionment is straightforward, rather than leaving fuel and servicing spread through overheads.

Marketing, listings and reimbursements

Marketing is the biggest discretionary spend, so marketing and listing costs and signage are dedicated accounts, both standard-rated at 15%. The New Zealand point to code for: when a vendor reimburses your marketing, that recovery is income, not a reduction of the cost. The note prompts tracking on-charged marketing on both sides instead of netting it off, which keeps turnover and GST output right.

Commission and franchise fees

Commission is the taxable income line at 15% when registered, with registration compulsory once turnover passes NZ$60,000. Agents who work under a brand carry franchise and brand fees to an agency group or franchisor, standard-rated and deductible, and keeping them separate shows the true cost of the brand relationship. Open homes, auction-day costs and display-board rental are all standard-rated marketing inputs, so route them through the marketing account rather than sundry expenses; that keeps the cost of winning and running a listing measurable across the year.

Home office

Agents often handle admin from home, so the home office account defaults to GST on Expenses with No GST as an alternative, because some parts of a home office claim carry no GST. You apportion by floor area and time, or use Inland Revenue’s square-metre rate.

How to use it

1. Open the CSV: each account is mapped to its QuickBooks GST code, with alternatives and a note.
2. In QuickBooks Online go to Settings, then Import data, then Chart of Accounts, and upload the CSV for the structure.
3. Turn on GST, create the New Zealand rates, then bulk-assign the codes from the CSV.
4. Set a rule for recording vendor-reimbursed marketing as income so the on-charge is never netted against the cost.

Coding each cost correctly as bills and reimbursements flow is the ongoing work:

• Dext extracts GST and supplier from photographed bills.
• ExpenseFlow reads each receipt and bill, codes vehicle, marketing and franchise costs to the right account at 15% GST, and posts it into QuickBooks Online, so on-charged marketing and apportioned vehicle costs stay clean.
• Hubdoc brings recurring marketing and supplier invoices into the file.

Commission income can be lumpy, so plan for provisional tax once profitable, payable in instalments when residual income tax for the previous year exceeds $5,000.

On Xero instead? See the NZ real estate chart of accounts for Xero. For the detail on vehicle methods and provisional tax, see the New Zealand real estate expenses guide.