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

A real estate agent’s costs are distinctive: a lot of driving, a lot of marketing spend that sometimes gets reimbursed by vendors, franchise fees to a brand, and commission income that arrives in lumps. This is a New Zealand real estate chart of accounts for Xero built around those, as a readable reference CSV and a Xero import CSV.

Vehicle costs and the three methods

Agents drive constantly, so the chart gives vehicle running costs its own account. Inland Revenue allows three ways to claim: keep a logbook to establish the business-use percentage of actual costs, claim a flat 25% of running costs without a logbook, or use the kilometre rate. A high-mileage agent usually keeps a logbook to claim the true business proportion. Whichever method applies, the account holds the running costs at 15% GST in one place, ready for the apportionment, instead of leaving fuel and servicing scattered through general overheads. Fringe benefit tax is a separate question that arises where a company car is available for an employee’s private use, so a sole-trader agent apportioning private use and an agency providing a vehicle are treated differently, even though the running costs gather in the same account.

Marketing, listings and the reimbursement trap

Marketing is the agent’s biggest discretionary cost, and the chart puts marketing and listing costs and signage in dedicated accounts, both standard-rated at 15%. There is a New Zealand twist worth coding for: where a vendor reimburses you for marketing spend, that recovery is income, not a reduction of the cost. The note prompts you to track on-charged marketing on both sides rather than netting it off, which keeps your turnover, and your GST output, correct.

Commission and franchise fees

Commission is the income line, a taxable supply at 15% when you are registered, and registration is compulsory once turnover passes NZ$60,000. Many agents work under a brand, so the chart adds franchise and brand fees for the fees paid to an agency group or franchisor, standard-rated and deductible. Keeping franchise fees separate makes the cost of the brand relationship visible rather than absorbed into general expenses.

Home office

Agents often run admin from home, so the home office account defaults to 15% GST on Expenses with No GST as an alternative, because some components 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 shows its class, default Xero GST code, the alternatives, and a note. The vehicle, marketing, signage and franchise accounts are the real estate additions.
2. In Xero go to Accounting, then Chart of accounts, then Import, and upload the CSV into a demo organisation first.
3. Confirm the New Zealand GST rates exist in your organisation.
4. Set a rule for recording vendor-reimbursed marketing as income so the on-charge is never netted against the cost.

The recurring work is coding each cost to the right account as the bills and reimbursements flow:

• Hubdoc brings recurring marketing and supplier invoices into the file.
• ExpenseFlow reads each receipt and bill, codes vehicle, marketing and franchise costs to the right account at 15% GST, and posts it into Xero, so on-charged marketing and apportioned vehicle costs stay clean.
• Dext applies supplier rules for repeat advertising and signage suppliers.

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

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