Overview
This guide walks you through your first 30 minutes on Valzotra — from creating your account to having a fully operational system for tracking your short-term rental business. By the end, you will have a property set up, understand where everything lives, and be ready to start building the records that matter at tax time.
Step 1: Create your account
- Go to valzotra.com and click Sign up.
- Enter your email and create a password.
- Confirm your email by clicking the verification link.
- Set your name and timezone in your profile.
You start with a 14-day free trial that includes all features. No credit card required.
→ Full details: Creating Your Account
Step 2: Add your first property
- Click Add property from the Properties page.
- Enter the property name and address.
- Walk through the onboarding wizard — Valzotra can generate an arrival guide for your guests using AI if you provide basic details about the property.
- Upload a thumbnail photo (optional but recommended — it appears throughout the app).
Comply and Host plans include 1 property. Portfolio includes 2, with more available via Property Packs.
→ Full details: Adding a Property · Onboarding & AI Guide
Step 3: Start tracking expenses
Every receipt, every vendor payment, every property cost — log it here. This is your primary record for Schedule E deductions.
- Go to Financials → Expenses and click Add expense.
- Enter the amount, date, vendor, and category.
- Assign it to your property.
- Optionally attach a receipt photo — on Host and Portfolio plans, the AI can extract details from the image automatically.
The categories map directly to IRS Schedule E line items, so you are building audit-ready records from day one.
→ Full details: Expenses Overview · Expense Categories
Step 4: Log your first work hours
If you plan to claim Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) or material participation, your work log is the single most important record. Start logging today — even small tasks count.
- Go to Financials → Work Logs and click Log work.
- Select the activity category (management, maintenance, cleaning, guest communication, etc.).
- Enter the hours and date.
- Add a brief description of what you did.
The IRS expects contemporaneous records — entries made at or near the time the work was done. A log created months later is weaker than one created the same day.
→ Full details: Work Logs Overview · Activity Types
Step 5: Log business mileage
Every trip to the property, supply run, or vendor meeting is deductible mileage. The IRS standard rate for 2026 makes this one of the easiest deductions to claim — if you have a log.
- Go to Financials → Mileage and click Log mileage.
- Enter the date, miles, origin, destination, and purpose.
- Assign it to a property.
→ Full details: Mileage Tracking Overview
Step 6: Understand the compliance dashboard
Once you have some data flowing in, check the Compliance section. It pulls your work hours, expenses, mileage, and revenue into a single view that shows:
- REPS progress — how close you are to the 750-hour threshold
- Material participation status — whether you pass the 500-hour or 100-hour tests
- Schedule E readiness — a checklist of what the IRS expects to see
This is not a tax filing tool — it is a documentation organizer. Work with your tax professional using the records Valzotra helps you keep.
→ Full details: Compliance Overview · REPS Guide
What to do next
You now have the foundation in place. Here is where to go from here, roughly in order of importance:
| Task | When | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Log revenue from bookings | As payouts arrive | Revenue Overview |
| Set up checklist templates | Before your next turnover | Checklists Overview |
| Invite team members | If you have cleaners or co-hosts | Team Overview |
| Invite your first guest | When a reservation is confirmed | Inviting a Guest |
| Review plan options | Before your trial ends | Plans Overview |
| Set up damage tracking | After your first guest stay | Damage Overview |
FAQ
How long does setup take? Most hosts are fully set up in 15–30 minutes. Adding your first property and logging a few expenses is all it takes to get started.
Do I need to set everything up at once? No. Start with the property and expense tracking. Add work logs when you do property work. The other features (checklists, team, guest portal, damage tracking) can wait until you need them.
What if I already have data in spreadsheets? You can enter historical data manually. There is no bulk import in v1, but each entry takes less than a minute. Start with the current month and backfill when you have time.
Is my data safe? Yes. Valzotra uses encryption in transit and at rest, row-level security for tenant isolation, and Stripe for payment processing. See Security & Privacy for details.
Where do I get help? You are reading it. Every feature has a documentation article linked from within the app. If you need something that is not covered here, reach out through the in-app messaging or email support.