How do I configure ExpenseBot to track realtor expenses?

Tracking Realtor Expenses in ExpenseBot

ExpenseBot has a dedicated realtor flow that solves two problems generic expense trackers don't:

1. Realtor-specific expense groups. Realtors don't argue about whether to spend on marketing — they need to know which realtor-specific activities are eating their net commission. Five pre-built tags group expenses the way every realtor tax checklist (NAR, KW, Mercer, RealTrends) organizes the work.
2. A complete business P&L. The Realtor report includes every non-personal business expense, then highlights the five Realtor groups. It does not hide office rent, insurance, professional fees, or other costs just because they lack a Realtor tag.

Step 1 — Activate the 5-tag expense-group bundle

Activate from Settings → Set up ExpenseBot for what you track → Real Estate Agent → Activate, or pick the Realtor chip during onboarding. Both paths produce the same result:

• Five tags are created (idempotent — re-activating won't duplicate them)
• Existing custom tags are preserved
• One durable background scan proposes Realtor groups for matching, untagged recent expenses

Step 1a — Create from the Tag wizard (alternative)

If you prefer the tag-only path without activation:

1. Go to Settings → Manage Tags
2. Click ✨ Create a Tag with AI
3. Type something like: "realtor expenses — MLS, NAR dues, staging, closing gifts, CE courses"
4. The wizard detects realtor intent and offers to create five tags automatically:
   • Realtor – MLS — MLS fees, NAR/state board dues, E&O insurance, license renewal, lockbox (Supra, ShowingTime)
   • Realtor – Gifts — closing gifts, housewarming baskets, thank-you cards, holiday gifts (IRS $25/client/year limit)
   • Realtor – Listings — home staging, professional photography, drone footage, virtual tours, yard signs, open house supplies
   • Realtor – CE — continuing education courses, designations (GRI, CRS, ABR), conferences, coaching, training books
   • Realtor – Tech — CRM (Follow Up Boss, kvCORE), DocuSign, ShowingTime, Canva, scheduling apps
5. Hit Save — matching future receipts can use these groups, and the background scan fills matching, untagged receipts from the last 90 days. Existing custom tags are not overwritten.

Step 2 — Review expense groups as receipts arrive

Your existing forwarding flows (Gmail auto-scan, receipts@expensebot.ai forwarding, photo upload) all work the same. ExpenseBot can suggest one of the five groups from the receipt evidence. Review the result in Review expenses; your corrections remain authoritative.

Examples of what lands where:

• Vistaprint business cards → Realtor – Listings (print marketing)
• NAR annual dues → Realtor – MLS
• Williams Sonoma closing gift basket → Realtor – Gifts
• Inman News conference → Realtor – CE
• Follow Up Boss subscription → Realtor – Tech

If the AI misses a receipt: Add TAG:Realtor – Gifts (or any specific tag name) to the forwarding subject — this overrides AI matching. Useful for cash payments or receipts with generic merchant names.

Step 2a — First session checklist

After activation, the summary dialog shows what to do first:

1. Add your first expense — add a receipt or purchase now; Gmail scanning can keep capturing automatically
2. Review expenses — check, correct, and tag newly processed expenses at /review-expenses
3. Review mileage candidates — Calendar events that may be drives appear in the mileage tab; review them before they become the log
4. Name the recipient on each gift — in Review expenses, tag each gift with its recipient, for example Realtor – Gifts – Alice (it stays in your Realtor Gifts group and the limit checker reads the recipient from the tag). For forwarded receipts, add paidfor:Client Name.
5. Complete year-end reporting — when your tax period ends, run Year-End for accountant-ready totals at /my-year-end
6. Optional client or listing tracking — when deal-level grouping matters more than the Realtor group, use a Client or Listing tag, report by that tag, and use Bill Clients Back if the cost is reimbursable. ExpenseBot has one Tag column, so one row cannot carry both grouping choices at once.

Step 3 — Run your reports at tax time

Once activated, dedicated realtor reports appear under My Reports. All run as a two-step preview, so you see the answer in-app before deciding whether to spawn a Google Sheet:

• Realtor Business P&L — pick a tax year, click Preview, and see gross income, every non-personal business expense, net commission, and the highlighted Realtor groups (MLS, Gifts, Listings, CE, Tech). US users see Schedule C references. Canadian self-employed users who confirm that status see T2125 references; commissioned employees and other countries get a neutral business P&L.
• Realtor Gift Limit Checker — pick a tax year, click Preview, and see red chips for any recipient over the gift-limit cap, plus your deductible vs non-deductible split. Generate spawns the audit spreadsheet for your accountant.

For a complete country-level year-end filing, use the Year-End Tax Report at /my-year-end. ExpenseBot organizes evidence and estimates; it does not decide employment status or replace a tax professional.

You can still run the generic tag-based reports anytime:

• Complete business P&L: My Reports → Realtor Business P&L
• Single category (e.g., how much did I spend on closing gifts this year?): Report by Tag → "Realtor – Gifts"
• Cross-check with mileage: Your mileage tracker stays separate and maps to its own Schedule C line (Car and truck expenses)

Each "Realtor –" expense group maps to a general tax-filing category:

Your country's tax form (Schedule C, T2125, etc.) uses these same categories. Consult your accountant for your country's specific line numbers and limits.

Why five categories instead of one "Realtor" tag?

One "Realtor" tag gives you "$18,000 spent" — useful for nobody. Five tags let you actually see where the money goes: "Am I spending too much on staging? Is my CRM subscription paying for itself?" Every top realtor tax-deduction checklist (NAR, KW Outfront, RealTrends, Mercer Advisors, ReceiptLyzer) groups realtor work into these same five buckets. Every vendor type belongs in exactly one.

Why not a "Marketing" tag?

ExpenseBot already has an Expense Account called "Advertising and Marketing" that maps to Schedule C Line 8. Adding a "Realtor – Marketing" tag would duplicate the same dimension and split your data. Listing-specific marketing (staging, photography, yard signs) goes into Realtor – Listings; generic branding (business cards, website hosting, Facebook ads) keeps the Advertising Account with a "Business" tag.

What about mileage?

Mileage has its own dedicated tracker in ExpenseBot. Calendar events that may be drives appear as mileage candidates in the mileage tab — review them to build your log. Mileage maps to vehicle expenses in your country's filing. No realtor mileage tag is needed.

What if I already have a "Realtor" tag?

No problem. The wizard only creates tags you don't already have. Your existing tag keeps working alongside the new ones.

Does this work for commercial agents, property managers, or real estate investors?

Commercial agents — yes, the same five tags apply.

Property managers and agents who also own rentals need per-property tracking on Schedule E (US) or T776 (Canada), which is separate from your commission income on Schedule C / T2125. That is shipped — you no longer need to wait for it. Turn on rental tracking and the Rental Property Report handles per-property income and expenses alongside your realtor sheet. See the rental property tracker.

Full realtor deduction reference — every category, the record each one needs, and where ExpenseBot gets it: ExpenseBot for real estate agents.

Works for any service profession

The same category-split approach works for:

• Wedding expenses — 5 tags covering attire, venue, vendors, stationery, honeymoon (already shipped)
• Home renovation — contractor, materials, appliances
• Baby expenses — nursery, medical, gear

For realtor-specific features (5-tag bundle mapped to Schedule C), the wizard only triggers when it detects realtor intent in your description.

Correct and rerun Realtor reports

Use Review expenses to change a category, mark Personal/Omit, or apply the exact Realtor tag. The Business P&L includes all non-personal business expenses and highlights the five Realtor groups; the Gift Review also needs recipient evidence in Paid for or Notes. Return to the report and run Preview again, then generate a new snapshot.