Organaizing finances- baselane vs Rentastic vs avail vs rentredi?
Rental Property Investor · Hartford, CT · Member since 2017 · 168 posts · 163 votes
I’m at the stage where I need to get my finances more organized. Previously I had one property and one bank account but now I have three- one just finished a rehab and the third the rehab is underway.
Two use a PM but the third is rent by the room an a PM won’t take it.
So- now I need to organize my expenses and have looked at avail, rentredi, apartments.com, Rentastic and baselane. Does anyone have any experience with any of these platforms? It seems some do more bookkeeping/banking, and some are better for leases etc. Rentredi seems to do it all but the reviews for it say there are a lot of bugs and a lot of hidden fees.
Would appreciate honest feedback for the best way to get and stay organized!
Thanks,
Heidi
Hi, @Heidi Kenefick. I'm a big fan of Avail.co. I've been using them for a few years now. From one platform, I can market my units, manage leases, collect payments, and manage property maintenance. It's great for managing at the property/unit level, but unfortunately, falls short on managing finances big picture once you add more property. For a while now, I had layered in Stessa.com for finances: expense management, tax prep, reporting, etc. The one gap I've found from using these two platforms is banking accounts--managing security deposits, transactions/expenses per units, etc.
In searching for a new solution, I came across baselane.com and it seems to solve for most of the functionalities offered by Stessa+Avail.co. Plus the banking feature which I think is SUPER helpful. Going to give it a try myself.
Hope this helps and best of luck!
Regarding Baselane, does anyone know when they will have an app for landlords and tenants? I'm considering Baselane for banking and accounting. I'm thinking apartments.com for marketing, leasing and maintenance requests. Has anyone used a similar setup? Would love to hear about experiences with apartments.com and Baselane. TIA
Joe, What did you end up using?
Regarding Baselane, does anyone know when they will have an app for landlords and tenants? I'm considering Baselane for banking and accounting. I'm thinking apartments.com for marketing, leasing and maintenance requests. Has anyone used a similar setup? Would love to hear about experiences with apartments.com and Baselane. TIA
Joe, What did you end up using?
I used apartments.com for marketing. I plan to use it for maintenance requests, too, but so far no maintenance issues. Unless they fixed it, apartments.com was having trouble with criminal background checks. They could not provide reports. I will probably use something different next time . . . maybe work directly with Transunion.
I'm using Baselane for accounting and rent collection. They still do not have an app, although they claim to be developing an app. They pay a minimal interest (around 4%) on account balances, and you can categorize transactions (much like Quicken if you're familiar with it). You can also have as many subaccounts as needed. I have one main business account, and then an account for each property (only one property at this time). The property account has a Deposit subaccount so I can track/hold refundable funds separately. The rent collection seems to work well. In addition to rent, you can setup late fees and other fees to be collected. I have non-english speaking tenants, and they registered the tenant portal to pay by ACH (so no fee). It's fairly easy for small portfolios. I like it so far.
Baselane can help you get your finances more organized and is great for all rental types, including by the room. I use the software for my portfolio that consists of MTRs, STRs, and I have a property I rent MTR but by the room. I used a few other softwares before landing on Baselane which I chose due to the user friendly interface, integrated banking and bookkeeping, and the property management features. Baselane is also free!
Regarding Baselane, does anyone know when they will have an app for landlords and tenants? I'm considering Baselane for banking and accounting. I'm thinking apartments.com for marketing, leasing and maintenance requests. Has anyone used a similar setup? Would love to hear about experiences with apartments.com and Baselane. TIA
Joe, What did you end up using?
I used apartments.com for marketing. I plan to use it for maintenance requests, too, but so far no maintenance issues. Unless they fixed it, apartments.com was having trouble with criminal background checks. They could not provide reports. I will probably use something different next time . . . maybe work directly with Transunion.
I'm using Baselane for accounting and rent collection. They still do not have an app, although they claim to be developing an app. They pay a minimal interest (around 4%) on account balances, and you can categorize transactions (much like Quicken if you're familiar with it). You can also have as many subaccounts as needed. I have one main business account, and then an account for each property (only one property at this time). The property account has a Deposit subaccount so I can track/hold refundable funds separately. The rent collection seems to work well. In addition to rent, you can setup late fees and other fees to be collected. I have non-english speaking tenants, and they registered the tenant portal to pay by ACH (so no fee). It's fairly easy for small portfolios. I like it so far.
Baselane doesn't currently have an app but I find most of the features that I am using (the banking, bookkeeping, and rent collection) features are mobile enabled and easy to use on my iPhone.
I'm set up to collect rents, bank, and bookkeep with Baselane. For maintenance requests and other PM features I built my own set up using Monday.
Hey @Heidi Kenefick, for your master accounting software I recommend QuickBooks Online. But, you'll need to get with an REI-savvy bookkeeper/firm to help you set it up since it's not an REI-specific software. We've found it's more capable than others when it comes to integrations, reporting capabilities, and efficiencies.
The software you've mentioned will be better for the PM activities (property-specific transactions) than keeping up with your financials as a whole. Having a "master" accounting software allows you to blend all property-specific info with general business info to see your full financial picture. This is how our bookkeeping Clients operate and it works.
I've heard good things about Rentredi and Rentastic for PM. I haven't heard of Baselane.
I'm happy to help if you have any other questions or want to discuss any of this further.
I started using RentRedi this year and found it super helpful after transitioning from spreadsheets and Google drive docs and using docusign for leasing re-ups. There have been a few things that I feel like they could clean up, but it seems like they work hard at updating it to provide a lot of value.
I signed up for Baselane today after switching from Mercury for my business account (LLC). I am a little concerned that they are newer, and also the wire thing someone mentioned. But from what I have seen it has a lot of useful accounting tools that should make my life significantly easier, and ultimately that's what my intent is. If you shoot me a message in a couple months I don't mind posting an update.
I currently own 5 properties, but am looking to pick up another 2-3 this year, so scalability is important for me.
I started using RentRedi this year and found it super helpful after transitioning from spreadsheets and Google drive docs and using docusign for leasing re-ups. There have been a few things that I feel like they could clean up, but it seems like they work hard at updating it to provide a lot of value.
I signed up for Baselane today after switching from Mercury for my business account (LLC). I am a little concerned that they are newer, and also the wire thing someone mentioned. But from what I have seen it has a lot of useful accounting tools that should make my life significantly easier, and ultimately that's what my intent is. If you shoot me a message in a couple months I don't mind posting an update.
I currently own 5 properties, but am looking to pick up another 2-3 this year, so scalability is important for me.
Hi,
I wanted to check what is your assessment on Baselane banking?
thank you.
I've used Avail in the past, but switched to Baselane last year. I did like some features of Avail as far as using it for developing the lease and collecting rent but that left me with too many other functions I had to handle elsewhere. And not being able to issue the deposit refund via Avail was the final straw for me. With Baselane I have the ability to do everything from initial vetting of the tenant to drawing up the lease to collecting rent (and issuing deposit refunds!), plus all of the banking and bookkeeping features. It's much, much easier to have all of this available in one place. And it's helping me keep my transactions organized so I'm prepared for tax season. That alone was the biggest improvement for my business practices and allowed me to take all of my bookkeeping in-house and eliminate the expense I was shelling out for a bookkeeper.
I've used Avail in the past, but switched to Baselane last year. I did like some features of Avail as far as using it for developing the lease and collecting rent but that left me with too many other functions I had to handle elsewhere. And not being able to issue the deposit refund via Avail was the final straw for me. With Baselane I have the ability to do everything from initial vetting of the tenant to drawing up the lease to collecting rent (and issuing deposit refunds!), plus all of the banking and bookkeeping features. It's much, much easier to have all of this available in one place. And it's helping me keep my transactions organized so I'm prepared for tax season. That alone was the biggest improvement for my business practices and allowed me to take all of my bookkeeping in-house and eliminate the expense I was shelling out for a bookkeeper.
This is helpful. Thank you.
I've used Avail in the past, but switched to Baselane last year. I did like some features of Avail as far as using it for developing the lease and collecting rent but that left me with too many other functions I had to handle elsewhere. And not being able to issue the deposit refund via Avail was the final straw for me. With Baselane I have the ability to do everything from initial vetting of the tenant to drawing up the lease to collecting rent (and issuing deposit refunds!), plus all of the banking and bookkeeping features. It's much, much easier to have all of this available in one place. And it's helping me keep my transactions organized so I'm prepared for tax season. That alone was the biggest improvement for my business practices and allowed me to take all of my bookkeeping in-house and eliminate the expense I was shelling out for a bookkeeper.
This is helpful. Thank you.
You're welcome!
I'm using Avail.co for leases + rent collection but the accounting features really lack and my CPA is asking for more specifics on everything. Time to get serious with the books. Was curious if anyone had a final solution to help on the accounting side of everything.
I use QBO for my other company (marketing agency) but hate it and it's not built for RE. I'm thinking I'll try out stressa and baselane for a week together and pick one. Is there any other solution I'm missing?
What software did you end up going with? Are you happy with it?
Hey @Heidi Kenefick, for your master accounting software I recommend QuickBooks Online. But, you'll need to get with an REI-savvy bookkeeper/firm to help you set it up since it's not an REI-specific software. We've found it's more capable than others when it comes to integrations, reporting capabilities, and efficiencies.
The software you've mentioned will be better for the PM activities (property-specific transactions) than keeping up with your financials as a whole. Having a "master" accounting software allows you to blend all property-specific info with general business info to see your full financial picture. This is how our bookkeeping Clients operate and it works.
I've heard good things about Rentredi and Rentastic for PM. I haven't heard of Baselane.
I'm happy to help if you have any other questions or want to discuss any of this further.
Hello Max. Ive been using QBO for about 6 years for my properties (I have professional PM so I don't need the management software.) The Rentastic (and other RE focused systems) do seem way more simple, and user friendly than QBO. Im trained enough myself at this point in QBO, but my bookeeper still does the more complex entries (Loans, capital balances, reconciliation, etc) I just do the data entries for expenses.
The cost is really expensive for QBO. I spend $90 a month for one LLC, and $50 for another. That's $1680 per year for QBO, plus my Bookeeper at another $500 a month to log monthly statements, break down loan payments, and reconcile. Thats $7700 a year NOT including my accountant/Tax prep.
I do feel QBO kinda traps you into the system (Like Apple products, haha) becuase it is the "Go-To" for Bookeepers and Accountants. I feel that if I did switch to another software platform like Rentastic, I would have to get a new team, or expect them to learn a new system.
What's your thoughts? Thanks for any help.
Hey @Heidi Kenefick, for your master accounting software I recommend QuickBooks Online. But, you'll need to get with an REI-savvy bookkeeper/firm to help you set it up since it's not an REI-specific software. We've found it's more capable than others when it comes to integrations, reporting capabilities, and efficiencies.
The software you've mentioned will be better for the PM activities (property-specific transactions) than keeping up with your financials as a whole. Having a "master" accounting software allows you to blend all property-specific info with general business info to see your full financial picture. This is how our bookkeeping Clients operate and it works.
I've heard good things about Rentredi and Rentastic for PM. I haven't heard of Baselane.
I'm happy to help if you have any other questions or want to discuss any of this further.
Hello Max. Ive been using QBO for about 6 years for my properties (I have professional PM so I don't need the management software.) The Rentastic (and other RE focused systems) do seem way more simple, and user friendly than QBO. Im trained enough myself at this point in QBO, but my bookeeper still does the more complex entries (Loans, capital balances, reconciliation, etc) I just do the data entries for expenses.
The cost is really expensive for QBO. I spend $90 a month for one LLC, and $50 for another. That's $1680 per year for QBO, plus my Bookeeper at another $500 a month to log monthly statements, break down loan payments, and reconcile. Thats $7700 a year NOT including my accountant/Tax prep.
I do feel QBO kinda traps you into the system (Like Apple products, haha) becuase it is the "Go-To" for Bookeepers and Accountants. I feel that if I did switch to another software platform like Rentastic, I would have to get a new team, or expect them to learn a new system.
What's your thoughts? Thanks for any help.
Hey @Justin R., it's a pain to transition software no matter what you're coming from or going to. I do agree that QBO is expensive. They've increased the price several times in the last few years.
And, yes, your bookkeeper will have to learn the new software if they aren't familiar with it. Or, you can find a bookkeeper who is already familiar with the software.