TL;DR: Guesty now offers QLD-compliant trust accounting built directly into its property management platform. Purpose-built for the Australian and New Zealand market — with audit-ready reports, GST-inclusive pricing, ABA payouts, and Merchant Warrior integration — the feature unifies your financial and operational workflows in one place. Developed with local audit experts and backed by support teams in Sydney and the Gold Coast.
If you manage short-term rentals in Australia or New Zealand, you’ve had to make a choice: a PMS with the operational power to accelerate your business, or one with the local trust accounting to keep your books compliant. The two rarely came in the same package.
That trade-off is over. QLD-compliant trust accounting is now built directly into Guesty — the same platform that runs your operations, distribution, guest communication, and revenue management. Your financials and your operations finally share one source of truth.
No more reconciling between systems. No more choosing compliance over capability. The most powerful PMS in the industry now handles your local trust accounting too.
What is trust accounting, and why does it matter for short-term rental managers?
Trust accounting is the legally mandated practice of keeping owner funds separate from your own business revenue. In Australia — governed by legislation like Queensland’s Agents Financial Administration Act 2014, which regulates how agents establish, manage, and audit their trust accounts — licensed property managers must maintain strict records of every dollar that flows through trust accounts. That includes guest payments, owner disbursements, commissions, and expenses.
Get it wrong, and you’re not just dealing with angry owners. Failure to comply can result in penalties, fines, or licence suspension. The stakes are high, and the margin for error is zero.
For short-term rental operators juggling dozens or hundreds of properties across multiple channels, the complexity multiplies fast. Australia’s short-term rental market is valued at approximately AUD 3.4 billion and is projected to reach AUD 6.4 billion by 2030. As of February 2026, STR listings alone reached 170,000 across Australia. Every one of those bookings generates transactions that need to be tracked, categorised, and reported in regulatory format — accurately and on time.
How does Guesty Trust Accounting work?
Guesty Trust Accounting is embedded directly into the platform, so your financial data and operational data live in the same system. No exports, no imports, no reconciliation between disconnected tools.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Close month-end in minutes, not days. Automated journal entries, locked accounting periods, and pre-built reports in regulatory format eliminate manual data wrangling
- Generate audit-ready reports on demand. Pre-formatted for QLD compliance requirements — no reformatting, no last-minute scrambles before submission. In Queensland, the audit period runs 1 April to 31 March, with reports due by 31 May — that deadline moves fast when you’re formatting manually
- Handle GST automatically. Set prices with GST already included using inclusive pricing — tax is extracted automatically for accurate financial reporting. Compliant receipts are issued on every transaction, no manual breakdowns or calculation errors.
- Process payments through Merchant Warrior. Track guest transactions with full account visibility — all within the same platform
- Pay owners in bulk via ABA files. Generate ABA files for bulk payouts without manual transfers or individual entry. Upload once, all payouts done
AI-powered reconciliation and full expense management are coming soon.
What’s included in Guesty Trust Accounting?
| Capability | What it does |
| Posting journal | Tracks and organises every financial transaction automatically |
| Business model and commission setup | Configures your revenue agreements with property owners |
| Locked accounting periods | Prevents changes to finalised periods for audit compliance |
| Bank reconciliation | Matches bank statements against your records within the platform |
| Ready-to-use audit report package | Pre-built trust accounting reports in the required regulatory format, making month-end close, reconciliation, and audit submissions faster and more reliable |
| Owner statements | Delivers customised monthly statements and tailored earnings reports |
| Guest invoices | Generates and sends invoices with full tax breakdowns |
| ABA payouts | Creates bulk payment files for Australian banking systems |
| Merchant Warrior integration | Processes guest payments with full transaction visibility |
| GST-inclusive pricing | Extracts tax automatically from gross amounts for accurate reporting |
| Compliant receipts | Issues AU-compliant receipts on every transaction |
| Expense management (coming soon) | Full expense tracking and task association within the platform |
| AI reconciliation (coming soon) | Automated matching of bank transactions against your records |
Why was this built specifically for Australia and New Zealand?
This isn’t a global accounting module with a few regional settings toggled on. Guesty’s trust accounting solution was developed in collaboration with one of Australia’s top trust accounting audit firms, combining nearly 30 years of local expertise with global product development capabilities.
That expertise matters because every state handles trust accounting differently. NSW and Victoria run their audit period from 1 July to 30 June with reports due by 30 September, while Queensland operates on a 1 April to 31 March cycle with reports due by 31 May, and Western Australia runs a calendar year with a 31 March deadline. Guesty is built to meet QLD trust accounting compliance — one of the most demanding regulatory frameworks in the region. From ABA file generation to pre-formatted audit report packages, every ANZ-specific feature is built to match how compliance actually works on the ground.
And when you need support, it’s local. Guesty operates offices in Sydney and the Gold Coast, staffed by teams who know your market, your banks, and your regulations.
Who is Guesty Trust Accounting for?
Whether you’re managing a handful of properties or scaling a portfolio across multiple states, trust accounting compliance doesn’t change — but the complexity does. The operational load on property managers is heavier than it’s ever been. Adding manual trust accounting to that mix is a recipe for burnout and missed deadlines.
Five beach houses on the Gold Coast or 500 apartments across three cities — the compliance standard is the same. The difference is whether your systems can keep up. When your trust accounting lives inside the same platform that runs your operations, month-end stops being a fire drill and your audit trail stays intact without the manual grind.
Frequently asked questions
Is Guesty Trust Accounting compliant with QLD regulations?
Yes. The feature was built specifically to meet Queensland trust accounting compliance standards, developed in partnership with Australian auditors who specialise in these requirements.
Does Guesty Trust Accounting handle GST?
Yes. Set your prices as GST-inclusive, and the system automatically extracts the tax component for accurate financial reporting. Compliant receipts are generated on every transaction.
Can I pay property owners in bulk?
Yes. Generate ABA files directly within Guesty for bulk owner payouts — no manual bank transfers or individual entries required.
What payment processor does Guesty Trust Accounting support?
Guesty integrates with Merchant Warrior for guest payment processing, with full BSB and account visibility tracked within the platform.
Is AI reconciliation available yet?
AI-powered reconciliation is coming soon and will automate the matching of bank transactions against your records. Full expense management is also on the roadmap.
Where are Guesty’s ANZ support teams located?
Guesty has local offices in Sydney and the Gold Coast, with support teams who understand the Australian and New Zealand market.
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