Service 03 · Property Transaction Support
Buy or sell with the accounting handled carefully.
When a property changes hands, the figures behind it matter. We work through the numbers with you — allocating costs correctly, explaining the capital and revenue treatment plainly, and making sure the records are clean for your tax return.
What this service delivers
A clear, complete accounting record for every property transaction
Buying or selling a property generates a concentration of financial activity that doesn't happen in the ordinary run of rental income and expenses. Purchase costs, legal fees, stamp duty, survey costs, refurbishment work, sale proceeds, agent commissions — each of these needs to land in the right place in your records. This service makes sure they do, and explains the reasoning behind each allocation in plain terms.
Full cost allocation
Every purchase or sale cost placed correctly — capital, revenue, or otherwise.
Capital vs revenue explained
Plain explanations of how each cost is treated and why, not just a figure in a column.
Tax-return ready records
A complete transaction file your accountant can work from directly at year-end.
Where things tend to go wrong
Transaction costs have a way of ending up in the wrong place
A property purchase or sale involves a concentrated cluster of costs that don't look like ordinary income and expenditure. Legal fees, stamp duty or transfer taxes, survey costs, broker commissions, remedial works carried out before a sale — each of these sits somewhere specific in the accounts, and the distinction between capital and revenue treatment can have real tax consequences.
Without careful attention at the time, these costs often end up lumped together or placed in a general expenses account where they don't belong. By the time someone reviews the records — usually at year-end — the detail is harder to reconstruct and the opportunity to record things correctly has passed.
Common situations we help with
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First purchase — setting up the records correctly from the beginning
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Refurbishment work carried out at acquisition — understanding what's capital and what isn't
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Disposing of a property — recording proceeds, costs of sale, and the resulting position cleanly
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Transactions within a portfolio — where costs span more than one entity or property
Our approach
Working through the transaction cost by cost, in plain language
We go through the full set of transaction costs with you — the completion statement, legal invoices, survey fees, any works carried out — and allocate each to the correct accounting treatment. Where there's a distinction between capital and revenue that's worth understanding, we explain it clearly rather than simply making the entry and moving on.
The output is a complete, documented transaction record: the property's opening cost basis on acquisition, or the disposal record on a sale, with every cost allocated and the reasoning noted. This gives your accountant something solid to work from — and gives you a clear picture of what happened financially around the transaction.
Every cost accounted for
We work from the completion statement and supporting invoices — nothing is left in a general account because it was unclear where it belonged.
Capital versus revenue, explained
We don't just make the entry — we explain the treatment in terms that are useful to understand, not just to comply with.
Integrated with ongoing records
If you use our bookkeeping service, the transaction flows directly into the property ledger. If not, we produce a standalone file that fits into whatever records you already maintain.
One transaction at a time
This service is priced per transaction, so you can engage us for a single purchase or sale without committing to an ongoing arrangement.
A useful distinction
Capital and revenue — why it matters, in plain terms
One of the questions that comes up most often around property transactions is the difference between capital expenditure and revenue expenditure. It's a distinction with real consequences, and one that isn't always explained clearly. Here's how we think about it.
Capital expenditure
Costs that form part of the acquisition price of the asset — or that improve it in a lasting way. These are added to the cost basis of the property and are relevant when calculating a gain on disposal.
- Purchase price and stamp duty
- Legal and conveyancing fees on acquisition
- Structural improvements and extensions
- Survey and valuation fees at purchase
Revenue expenditure
Costs incurred in the course of holding and maintaining the property — keeping it in its existing condition rather than improving it. These are deducted against rental income in the period they arise.
- Routine repairs and maintenance
- Redecoration between tenancies
- Replacement of like-for-like fittings
- Ongoing management and letting fees
The boundary between these categories isn't always clear-cut — particularly around refurbishment work carried out close to acquisition. That's exactly the kind of question this service is designed to work through with you.
What working together looks like
A contained, structured process around each transaction
Unlike ongoing bookkeeping, transaction support is time-bounded — there's a start point, a defined body of work, and a clear output. Here's how the process typically runs.
You share the transaction documents
Completion statement, solicitor's invoice, any survey or valuation fees, and invoices for works carried out at or around the time of the transaction. We work from whatever you have.
We review and prepare a cost allocation draft
Each cost reviewed and allocated to the correct treatment — capital or revenue — with notes on any items where the treatment needs explanation or where a judgment call has been made.
We walk through it with you
A short conversation to go through the allocation, answer any questions about the treatment decisions, and make sure you understand what the records show and why.
Final transaction record delivered
A complete, documented transaction file — the opening cost basis or disposal record, with all costs allocated and reasoning noted — ready to pass to your accountant or integrate into your ongoing records.
The investment
Per-transaction pricing — no retainer required
This service is priced per transaction. You don't need to be an ongoing client to use it, and there's no commitment beyond the transaction itself. If you buy and sell regularly, we'll agree a straightforward arrangement that reflects that.
Property Transaction Support
Per purchase or sale transaction
- Full review of transaction documents and completion statement
- Cost allocation — capital and revenue treatment for each item
- Plain-language notes on treatment decisions
- Walk-through conversation to answer your questions
- Completed transaction file for your accountant
- Integration into your property ledger if using our bookkeeping service
For transactions involving complex structures — multiple entities, shared ownership, or development work — we'll confirm the fee before starting. The base price covers a standard residential acquisition or disposal.
If you'd like ongoing records maintained as well, this service pairs naturally with our Landlord & Rental Bookkeeping service, which picks up where the transaction file leaves off.
How we approach this work
Getting the transaction on record correctly — and understanding why it matters
The way a property transaction is recorded has consequences that only become visible later — at the time of a subsequent sale, during a tax review, or when lenders or investors ask for a clear picture of the asset's cost history. Getting it right at the point of the transaction is considerably less effort than reconstructing it afterwards, and the records that result are worth having.
What you have at the end
A documented cost basis for the property — every acquisition cost allocated and noted — that forms the starting point for all future records relating to that holding.
What changes at year-end
Your accountant receives a clear transaction file, not a pile of completion statements and invoices to work through. The time that saves — and the accuracy it supports — is a practical benefit from the first tax return onwards.
When to engage us
Ideally at or shortly after completion — while the documents are fresh and any queries about costs are easier to resolve. We can also work retrospectively if a transaction was recorded loosely at the time.
Typical turnaround
Most transaction files are completed within five to seven working days of receiving the full set of documents. More complex transactions may take a little longer; we'll let you know at the outset.
Our commitment
A contained engagement with a clear output — and no ongoing obligation
Because this service is per-transaction, there's no open-ended commitment on your part. You send us the documents, we do the work, you receive the file. If you have questions about the treatment of a particular cost after the file is delivered, we'll answer them — that's part of what you're paying for. And if you decide to use other services afterwards, that's a separate conversation, not assumed.
Fee confirmed before we start
Once we've understood the transaction, we confirm the fee in writing before any work begins. You decide whether to proceed.
No ongoing commitment required
This service stands alone. There's no requirement to take up any other service, now or in the future.
Follow-up questions included
If the delivered file raises questions about how a cost was treated, we'll answer them. The engagement doesn't end at delivery.
Getting started
From first contact to completed transaction file
Send us a brief description of the transaction
A purchase or a sale, the approximate figures involved, and whether the property is held personally or through a company or other structure. That's enough to get started.
We confirm scope and fee
Within one business day we'll confirm whether this is a standard transaction or one that warrants a different fee, and set out clearly what we'll produce.
You send the documents, we begin the work
Completion statement, legal invoices, survey fees, works invoices — whatever you have. We'll let you know if anything is missing before we start rather than after.
Transaction file delivered and walked through
Typically within five to seven working days. We'll go through it with you briefly to make sure the allocations are clear, and answer any questions before closing the engagement.
Property Transaction Support · $390 USD / transaction
Have a property transaction that needs careful accounting?
Tell us a little about what you're buying or selling. We'll come back with a clear outline of what this service would cover for your situation.
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