The Problem with QuickBooks
SUMMIT Swiss was experiencing the same accounting obstacles that many short-term rental managers face: reconciling payments across Airbnb, Booking.com, and direct bookings (each with different payment schedules and fee structures), generating accurate owner statements for multiple properties, tracking revenue splits and expenses, maintaining trust accounting compliance, and allocating expenses to the right properties.
On top of this, Switzerland’s unique tax system made standard solutions like QuickBooks unsuitable. “We tried it so many times,” Camila says. Determined to ensure every cent was accounted for, Camila was doing everything manually, all while juggling property operations.
Despite searching for an effective accounting solution since day one, nothing fit their specific needs until they discovered VRTrust on the Lodgify marketplace.
Trading Confusion for Clarity
The deciding factor was simple: clear and simple reconciliations. “This payment came in and it belongs to this reservation,” Camila explains. “When there is money missing, VRTrust makes it easy to see.”
Going from manual accounting to using a comprehensive accounting software was a big change for SUMMIT Swiss, but the VRTrust team’s support made all the difference. “Since we didn’t really have an accounting system before, it felt very new,” Camila recalls. Working one-on-one with an implementation specialist, Camila learned not just how to use the software, but how to think about vacation rental accounting systematically. Particularly valuable was VRTrust’s ability to directly upload booking financial reports.
“It was very self-explanatory and very easy. It saves a lot of time since you don’t have to search for 1,000 hours,” Camila notes. What once required manual data entry and reconciliation now happened automatically, freeing Camila to focus on growing the business.
A Solid Foundation for Growth
The transformation was immediate and measurable. SUMMIT Swiss now tracks every cent with precision—critical when processing thousands of Swiss Francs in tourist taxes quarterly. More importantly, solid accounting became the foundation for aggressive growth. With plans to double revenue within a year, Camila now has the confidence to scale.
“We want to be a sustainable and scalable business. Accounting is the base that has to be solid in order to grow.”
The system also revealed operational insights like identifying when Booking.com files didn’t capture tourist taxes and tracking whether workers properly charged fees. “VRTrust is really hitting all the points we need in the vacation rental industry,” Camila emphasizes.
Looking Forward
“From having nothing, it’s amazing. Since there are no other accounting systems for the industry, there’s no comparison. You guys are doing an excellent job.”
Today, Camila logs into VRTrust to review and publish owner statements each month, planning to eventually offload all of the financial tasks as the business grows. For vacation rental managers facing similar challenges, SUMMIT Swiss proves that the right accounting foundation transforms growth from scary to sustainable.
