What tools do you use to manage multiple properties?

Question

Hey!New to biggerpockets and looking into purchasing my first rental investment property. Curious what tools people use to manage multiple properties. Specifically:- Do you have a separate checking account for your investment needs (i.e., paying mortgage, paying property manager, paying for repairs / rehab, paying taxes, paying HOA, receiving rental payments, etc.)- Do you use any landlord tools to manage tenant background checks, applications, lease documentation, security deposit and monthly payments?- How do you track your cashflow, profitability analysis, ROI analysis, etc? MS Excel or are there any other tools out there that are better / more specific to rental investment properties?- Do you use any specific tools to file your taxes?Know my questions cover a lot of topics, but trying to get a lay of the land.Thanks!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Congratulations on your first BiggerPockets post!

I'll give you some bank account advice below.

There are free tools available for managing rentals and they can help you track your profits. They allow you to market your rentals on multiple sites with the push of a button, run applications, start a lease, collect rent online, track maintenance, run financial reports, and more. Check out TenantCloud, Avail, Apartments.com, and others. Keep in mind you will never find perfect software! Just find something that is easy to use and handles most of the work.

You need two accounts: checking and savings. If the properties are split into more than one LLC, then each LLC will need its own accounts.

Checking: collect all income here, then use it to pay bills. Pay the mortgage. Pay for maintenance. If you are setting aside funds for capex, taxes, insurance, or other expenses that don't occur monthly, transfer those funds to Savings each month and hold them there until it's time to spend them. You will receive the security deposit in Checking but then transfer it to Savings.

Savings: Hold the deposit here so it's separate from operating funds. You can also hold money for maintenance, capex, taxes, insurance, or other projected expenses. When a tenant moves out, transfer the deposit back to Checking so it's ready to apply towards expenses or to refund to the Tenant.

If you end up with excess funds in the Checking account, I recommend you transfer it to a third account that is specifically designated for future investments. That ensures you don't spend it on other things and that you know exactly how much you have available to spend on the next purchase. If it's mixed in with your deposits and reserve funds, you may accidentally spend money you shouldn't have.