Switching accounting systems can feel like a big project. In practice, setting up VRTrust is straightforward when you know the key dates up front and complete these steps in order.
This article walks through what each step involves. VRTrust has a built-in onboarding checklist to help you through these steps in order, provides suggestions, and tracks progress across your team.
For teams migrating from our legacy platform to VRTrust, the onboarding process may look different. Refer to our guide on Migrating to VRTrust
Before You Get Started
Our team handles most of the setup and configuration, while your involvement helps keep things moving. We’ll need your help with a few key connections, providing the right data, and reviewing everything before launch.
Two important dates will guide your onboarding timeline: your Go-Live date and the due date for your first owner statements.
Your Go-Live Date
Your Go-Live date (also called your system start date) is the day VRTrust becomes your system of record for trust funds, owner balances, and statements. Anything before that date comes in as opening balances.
Go-Live is almost always the first day of a month.
Your previous system keeps producing statements for every month before Go-Live.
Learn more in Go-Live Planning in VRTrust.
When You Can Publish Your First Owner Statements
Your first VRTrust owner statements cover your first full month after Go-Live and are published once that month is closed. For example, if you go live November 1, your first VRTrust statements cover November and are published in early December. Your October statements still go out from your previous system.
Let us know on your first call when your owner statements are normally due each month. We'll build your onboarding milestones backward from that date.
What Our Team Does vs. What We Need From You
Our team will:
Set up your owners, listings, fees and commissions, and owner statement templates using the data you send (typically about two weeks once we have everything)
Use your prior owner statements to check our setup and bring in your historical statements
Help you enter and review opening balances
Create a dedicated Slack channel for your team with your timeline and milestone dates
Run your onboarding calls and weekly check-ins, and teach your team the monthly close process
We need you to:
Make your system connections and send the requested data before Call 1
Come to each call with the prior week's action items complete
Review and confirm our setup, and respond to questions promptly
Set aside time each week for onboarding tasks, especially around your first month-end close
Onboarding Calls
Every new team gets a scheduled call plan. We book your calls at the start, plus weekly check-ins, so there's a clear touchpoint every week until you're live.
Before Call 1: Customer Prep (aim to finish within about 5 business days of signing up)
Connect your systems: PMS, payment processor, Airbnb, bank account(s), and any external accounting software (QuickBooks Online, Xero, etc.)
Confirm your revenue reporting method (check-in/check-out or pro-rata)
Send us your prior months' owner statements for all listings
Send your owner list: names, emails, EINs, and which listings each owner owns (with ownership percentages)
Complete a first pass of the Fees & Commissions Setup Form (linked in your Slack channel)
Need help with connections? Reach out to our support team via Slack, or use the in-app help chat for immediate answers.
Call 1: Setup Review & Opening Balances (about one week after prep is complete)
Goal: confirm the build so your first VRTrust statement ties out to your prior records.
Call 2: System Go-Live (on or shortly after your Go-Live date)
Goal: get comfortable running VRTrust day to day.
Call 3: Final Check-In & Transfer to Support (shortly after your first month-end close)
Goal: close out your first month and hand off to ongoing support.
After your third onboarding call, onboarding is complete and our support team takes over through in-app chat.
Keeping Your Go-Live on Track
Your Slack channel is home base. Your timeline, milestone dates, and call notes live there, so check it first for what's next.
Delays can impact the onboarding timeline. We can only configure VRTrust once we have your connections and data. If required items aren't received in time, we may need to pause onboarding and move your Go-Live to the following month, which also moves your first owner statements back a month.
Onboarding has a defined end date. Our goal is to get you through your first published statements and closed books, then transition you to ongoing support.
Statements will tie out, but may look different. We'll customize your template to fit how you present statements today, but layouts won't always match your previous system line for line.
Switching PMS at the same time? VRTrust is configured from your PMS data, so your new PMS should be set up with listings, owners, and historical reservations first. If your new PMS goes live mid-month, plan for VRTrust to be fully configured shortly after, not the same day.
Step 1: Connect Your Systems
Connect the tools you already use: your property management system, Airbnb, your payment processor, and your bank (via Plaid). Once connected, reservations, payouts, and bank transactions start flowing into VRTrust automatically, so you're not entering the same data twice.
Step 2: Add Owners and Listings
Add your property owners and their listings into VRTrust. Each listing needs an active ownership period on file so that transactions, payouts, and statements attribute correctly to the right owner. Take a moment to double-check ownership start dates and member splits before moving on, since these drive downstream accounting accuracy.
Step 3: Map Your Chart of Accounts and Reporting Preferences
Set up your chart of accounts: the categories (like management fees, maintenance, or payout distributions) that every transaction and statement line will reference. Once your accounts are in place, choose your default revenue reporting preferences.
Step 4: Configure Fees & Commissions
Set up your management commission structure and any recurring or per-reservation fees: flat rates, tiered rates, channel-specific markups, or conditional rules. Once configured, VRTrust calculates these automatically on every reservation going forward.
Step 5: Customize Your Owner Statement Template
Map your general ledger accounts to your owner statement template so revenue, expenses, taxes, and fees land in the right place for every owner, formatted the way you present statements today, or customized to your liking.
Step 6: Set Your Opening Balances
Before VRTrust takes over day-to-day accounting, enter your current trust, operating, and owner balances as of your Go-Live date. This keeps your books accurate from day one and makes sure every reconciliation ties out correctly going forward. You can enter these manually or import them in bulk via CSV.
Step 7: Upload Historical Owner Statements
Send us your prior months' owner statements for all listings before Call 1. We use them two ways: to check that your fees, commissions, and owner splits are set up correctly, and to bring your historical statements into VRTrust so past reporting lives alongside your new statements.
Step 8: Review First Owner Statements
At the end of your first full month after Go-Live, work through the month-end checklist, then review your draft owner statements before publishing. Check that fees and commissions, owner splits, expenses, and opening balances (shown in the Owner Statement Summary box) look right. Our team reviews these with you, and any open questions are resolved on your Final Check-In call. Once statements are published, close the month by setting your Books Closed Date.
Step 9: Invite Your Owners
Once your accounts are mapped, invite property owners to the Owner Portal. They'll see statements, payouts, and balances in one place, without you having to email PDFs back and forth.
How Long Does Setup Take?
From sign-up to publishing your first owner statements and closing your books, most implementations are fully live within 4-6 weeks. This includes time required for core setup, reviewing your first owner statements, and training your team on the system. Timing can vary based on the size and complexity of your portfolio, such as multiple entities, custom fee structures, or a PMS switch, and on how quickly we receive what we need from you.
Need Help?
During onboarding, post questions in your team's Slack channel. Anytime, you can reach our support team using the in-app chat window. We respond as quickly as possible to every message.