Real estate Accounting

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Alex Pelletier
Member since 2022 · 47 posts · 47 votes
3y

QBO is great but expensive, overkill, and probably not best for getting insights into your business's performance. I'd also look into real estate-specific tools that might help a lot with set-up, compliant accounting, and better financial insights. Some of these include Stessa, REIHub, and others (feel free to DM to learn more).

I like Stessa for its simplicity and ease of getting real insights into the growth or expenses related to my various properties. With a tool like those listed, you can more easily integrate accounting into your rent collection and property management solutions. Good luck! QBO is not a bad option, just might be expensive and a bit robust depending on how your business is set up. 

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  • Randy Rodenhouse
    Investor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2011 · 606 posts · 413 votes
    3y

    I have been using Quickbooks (QB) for over 10 years and it has worked all for me.  I have rentals, mortgage notes, I do private lending and consulting and it works for all of it.  I am using QB online service now.  

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  • Ashish AcharyaBusiness Member
    CPA, CFP®, PFS · FL · Member since 2017 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Elmer Wayne Fisher:

    Any recommendations on an efficient platform to use for real estate accounting like quickbooks etc. ?


     QuickBooks works well. 

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  • Todd Lennig
    Accountant · NY · Member since 2019 · 99 posts · 69 votes
    3y

    my bookkeeping clients that invest in real estate (buy and holds, flippers, wholesaling) all use QBO.  If you have multiple properties you will want to go with the QBO Plus level that gives you access to classes.  If you are just starting out you can get away with one of the lower versions. Happy to answer any questions you have or anyone else.  Feel free to email. 

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  • Antonette El Baz
    Accountant · Member since 2023 · 48 posts · 30 votes
    3y

    Hey there! I totally agree with the other commenters that QuickBooks Online (QBO) is a fantastic choice for real estate accounting. That's all I use with my clients. It's a user-friendly platform that offers a wide range of features tailored to the needs of the real estate industry. With QBO, you can easily track your income and expenses, manage your rental properties, generate reports, and even collaborate with your accountant or bookkeeper.

    One of the things I love about QBO is its accessibility - you can access it from anywhere, anytime using your computer or mobile device. This is especially handy for real estate professionals who are always on the go. Plus, it integrates with other popular real estate tools like property management software, making your accounting tasks even more streamlined.

    The reporting capabilities of QBO are also top-notch. You can generate customized reports to gain insights into your financials, track your profitability, and make informed business decisions. The platform also offers a variety of automation features, such as recurring transactions and bank feeds, which can save you time and effort in managing your books.

    Overall, I highly recommend QBO for real estate accounting. Give it a try!

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  • Bill B.
    Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    3y

    If you have less than 20 properties Quickbook’s little brother quicken is $50 and it’s overkill. 

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  • Alex Pelletier
    Member since 2022 · 47 posts · 47 votes
    3y

    QBO is great but expensive, overkill, and probably not best for getting insights into your business's performance. I'd also look into real estate-specific tools that might help a lot with set-up, compliant accounting, and better financial insights. Some of these include Stessa, REIHub, and others (feel free to DM to learn more).

    I like Stessa for its simplicity and ease of getting real insights into the growth or expenses related to my various properties. With a tool like those listed, you can more easily integrate accounting into your rent collection and property management solutions. Good luck! QBO is not a bad option, just might be expensive and a bit robust depending on how your business is set up. 

    1Reply
  • Jason MalabuteBusiness Member
    Accountant · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 899 votes
    1y

    You could also look into Xero as an alternative. It’s often seen as a more flexible option than QBO.

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  • Stephen Nelson
    Accountant , CPA, MBA in Finance, MS in Taxation · Redmond, WA · Member since 2025 · 172 posts · 135 votes
    1y

    Let me first disclose that I wrote QuickBooks for Dummies, receive royalties from each copy of the book that sells, and so have at least the appearance of a conflict of interest.

    One important qualification: I wrote the version of the book that's been selling for three decades on the desktop versions. So not the online version which is what I think we're talking about here. (Someone mentioned Quicken. I also wrote Quicken for Dummies.)

    With that background for context, here's my assessment: I think QuickBooks Online is a good accounting software choice as compared to other less powerful and mature accounting software like Xero and Freshbooks etc. It's very robust and will scale well and let you do accounting from anywhere. The popularity of the program means your accountant and a bookkeeper will surely know how to use it--and that the program is more likely to "exist" and be maintained than smaller niche solutions. Finally, as compared to earlier desktop versions of QuickBooks and also Quicken (which was and is what my books are about), you can add your tax accountant as a user to your QuickBooks Online subscription. That makes it really easy for her or him to help you out with quick fixes and answer mechanical questions. 

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  • Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member
    Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    1y

    I would also add quickbooks online is a good one but you have to set it up The right way. If you need P&L only and it's non house hack, stessa can work well

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  • Cameron Jones
    Accountant · New York (Remote) · Member since 2025 · 20 posts · 17 votes
    1y

    Stessa can be pretty good if you're a very simple investor but it's very limited. if you need vendor tracking with/for 1099, this won't work. Stress doesn't have payroll support (likely not an issue for rentals). Stessa has pre built chart of accounts, so you're stuck with what it gives you. Stessa cannot handle journal entries to capture depreciation and amortization, so your have to do this externally.

    QuickBooks has all of the above and robust reporting, but lacks the PM/landlord features. 

    Quickbooks is best for REI, in conjunction with a PM software.

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