Getting Started with DeductFlow: Quick-Start Guide for STR Hosts

You can have DeductFlow fully configured and tracking your short-term rental's income, expenses, mileage, hours, and depreciation in about 30 minutes. This guide walks through every setup step—from creating your account to giving your CPA read-only access—so you never miss a deductible dollar.

Setup Time Estimate

The 8-Step Setup

1. 1

   Create Your Account

   Visit deductflow.com/app and click Start Free Trial. Enter your email and create a password. Verify your email address via the confirmation link. The 7-day free trial gives you full access to all Pro features—no credit card required to start.

   ~2 minutes
2. 2

   Add Your First Property

   Navigate to Properties > Add Property. You'll need:

   • Property address — Full address for identification
   • Purchase date — Your closing date (check your settlement statement)
   • Purchase price — Total cost including closing costs
   • Land value — Estimate from property tax assessment (usually 15–25% of total)
   • Nickname — Optional friendly name for the dashboard

   This establishes your depreciation basis and creates the property anchor for all future expenses, income, and hour entries. Save the property profile.

   ~3 minutes
3. 3

   Connect Your Income Source

   Navigate to Income > Import Income. Download your transaction history CSV from Airbnb (Earnings → Transaction History), Vrbo (Financials → Statements), or your other platform. Upload the CSV, select your platform from the dropdown, and review the automatic column mapping.

   Click Confirm Import to bring in your income records. Your income is now visible in DeductFlow, reconcilable against your 1099-K.

   ~5 minutes
4. 4

   Add Your First Expense

   Navigate to Expenses > Add Expense. Add a recent purchase:

   • Amount, date, and vendor name
   • Category (e.g., Cleaning & Turnover, Supplies, Insurance)
   • Property assignment
   • Receipt photo (optional but recommended)

   This gets you familiar with the expense entry flow. After the initial setup, you can also connect a bank account or credit card to import transactions automatically for faster ongoing categorization.

   ~2 minutes
5. 5

   Log Your First Mileage Trip

   Download the DeductFlow mobile companion from the App Store or Google Play. Sign in with your account credentials. Navigate to Mileage and tap Start Trip.

   Drive to your property, a supply store, or anywhere you go for STR business. When you arrive, tap End Trip and add the business purpose and property. You've logged your first deductible mile at $0.725/mile (2026 IRS rate).

   ~3 minutes
6. 6

   Start an Hours Timer for Material Participation

   In the mobile app, navigate to Hours and tap Start Timer. Select:

   • Activity type — Guest Communication, Maintenance Supervision, Cleaning Supervision, Booking Management, Financial Admin, etc.
   • Property — Which STR this time was spent managing

   Start the timer when you begin a qualifying activity. Stop it when you finish. This is your contemporaneous material participation record—the documentation the IRS would want to see if they examined your Schedule C loss deduction.

   ~2 minutes
7. 7

   Set Up Depreciation for Your Property

   Navigate to Assets > Add Property as Asset. Confirm:

   • Purchase price and land/building split from Step 2
   • Placed-in-service date (closing date)
   • Business use percentage (100% for a dedicated STR)

   DeductFlow calculates your 39-year MACRS depreciation automatically. For a $600,000 purchase (after 20% land deduction = $480,000 building), first-year depreciation is approximately $8,182.

   Then add any major furniture or appliances as separate 5-year assets. A $5,000 furniture purchase with 40% bonus depreciation generates $2,000 in first-year deductions plus $600 in regular MACRS.

   ~8 minutes
8. 8

   Invite Your CPA for Access

   Navigate to Settings > Team Access > Invite CPA. Enter your CPA's email address. They receive an invitation to create a read-only CPA access account at no charge.

   With CPA access, your accountant can:

   • View all reports (Schedule C, mileage, depreciation, 1099 summary)
   • Filter by date range and property
   • Download any export directly
   • Review transactions without asking you for files

   This eliminates the annual email chain of "can you send me your receipts?" and reduces the time your CPA spends preparing your return.

   ~2 minutes

Your First 30 Days: Building the Habit