Accounting and Property/Tenant Management Software
Dave DonahuePro Member
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2022 · 7 posts · 2 votesAccounting and Property/Tenant Management Software
Most Popular Reply
Financial Advisor · San Antonio Texas · Member since 2022 · 100 posts · 53 votes
4yIf you don't have many units then Avail is decent. It's $5/month/property. If you don't like it then you didn't spend a bunch of money on it. So far, it's been pretty user friendly.
11 Replies
- 4yRandall AlanPro MemberInvestor · Lakeland, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
Quote from @Dave Donahue:
I'm trying to figure out the best route going forward regarding accounting software a d tenant/property management software. I'd like to choose the best solution that allows for scalability. So far it's looking like Quickbooks Online is a great accounting option but it doesn't do much for property and tenant management.
What services do you all use?
We absolutely love RENTEC Direct.
It is one stop shopping for us. It has a tenant facing portal with individual logins for tenants to pay rent and report maintenance requests. Collects and tracks rent - including when the payments fail NSF, Etc). Automatically deposits funds into our account the next day (even though the ACH wont settle until day 3-4.) THEY DONT TAKE A PERCENTAGE of your payments!! Tracks leases, and sends docusign like renewals that tenant can sign on their phone or computer. It markets our properties… offers tenant screening, full blown accounting, scales to allow you to PM for other owners. Great reporting capabilities, and the list goes on and on. Costs us a few dollars per door per month. It’s my number one favorite tool I couldn’t really function without.
Hope it helps!
Randy
- 4yDaniel HymanBusiness MemberCPA · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
Landlord Studio is software that combines the accounting and PM side. Check it out.
My Online Accountant572 Reviews - Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2022 · 7 posts · 2 votes4y
Quote from @Randall Alan:
Quote from @Dave Donahue:
I'm trying to figure out the best route going forward regarding accounting software a d tenant/property management software. I'd like to choose the best solution that allows for scalability. So far it's looking like Quickbooks Online is a great accounting option but it doesn't do much for property and tenant management.
What services do you all use?
We absolutely love RENTEC Direct.
It is one stop shopping for us. It has a tenant facing portal with individual logins for tenants to pay rent and report maintenance requests. Collects and tracks rent - including when the payments fail NSF, Etc). Automatically deposits funds into our account the next day (even though the ACH wont settle until day 3-4.) THEY DONT TAKE A PERCENTAGE of your payments!! Tracks leases, and sends docusign like renewals that tenant can sign on their phone or computer. It markets our properties… offers tenant screening, full blown accounting, scales to allow you to PM for other owners. Great reporting capabilities, and the list goes on and on. Costs us a few dollars per door per month. It’s my number one favorite tool I couldn’t really function without.
Hope it helps!
Randy
Thanks Randy. After spending the past two weeks watching every YouTube video I could find on all of the platforms, Rentec Direct does look like the best bang for the buck. I registered tonight and am stoked to get everything set up. Just in time for a closing next week!
- Member since 2022 · 11 posts · 2 votes4y
Quote from @Dave Donahue:
Quote from @Randall Alan:
Quote from @Dave Donahue:
I'm trying to figure out the best route going forward regarding accounting software a d tenant/property management software. I'd like to choose the best solution that allows for scalability. So far it's looking like Quickbooks Online is a great accounting option but it doesn't do much for property and tenant management.
What services do you all use?
We absolutely love RENTEC Direct.
It is one stop shopping for us. It has a tenant facing portal with individual logins for tenants to pay rent and report maintenance requests. Collects and tracks rent - including when the payments fail NSF, Etc). Automatically deposits funds into our account the next day (even though the ACH wont settle until day 3-4.) THEY DONT TAKE A PERCENTAGE of your payments!! Tracks leases, and sends docusign like renewals that tenant can sign on their phone or computer. It markets our properties… offers tenant screening, full blown accounting, scales to allow you to PM for other owners. Great reporting capabilities, and the list goes on and on. Costs us a few dollars per door per month. It’s my number one favorite tool I couldn’t really function without.
Hope it helps!
Randy
Thanks Randy. After spending the past two weeks watching every YouTube video I could find on all of the platforms, Rentec Direct does look like the best bang for the buck. I registered tonight and am stoked to get everything set up. Just in time for a closing next week!
hows it going so far?
- Financial Advisor · San Antonio Texas · Member since 2022 · 100 posts · 53 votes4y
If you don't have many units then Avail is decent. It's $5/month/property. If you don't like it then you didn't spend a bunch of money on it. So far, it's been pretty user friendly.
- Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 1 vote4y
I use QuickBooks desktop now and it gets the job done. There is only one thing I wish it did better on the accounting front. Since I use a property manager and get one or more deposits per month with a number of individual income and expense line items the only way to do splits is by manually typing them in. I'd love to do a CSV type import but that's only possible on the accounting version, which I don't have.
Stessa is the one I wanted to love the most but it can't reconcile bank account transactions / journal entries to save it's life. Say you have a $1,000 deposit that's $900 rent and $100 property management. In QuickBooks I can split them under that transaction and review that deposit as it was any time in the future. Reports also will show that rent and management costs in the correct locations. In Stessa you can manually split that same synced transaction but then you have two new entries where there used to be one. You can't go back and review the original transaction, it's just plain gone. So if you fat finger something you get to play detective on where you went wrong.
I thought I was nuts from the way support was telling me that this is normal and no one wants that. There's a thread on their forum called "Linked bank account reconciliation" under the Wishlist section from Jan of 2020, with other people asking for the same thing.
Making that kind of mistake is just too easy for my lazy fingers so until they stop exploding split transactions I'll just keep them around for the nicely generated REO and other basic reports, not for the detailed accounting.
Maybe I'm missing something but Rentastic looked to be the same way when I tried it last. They looked so similar at first that I thought one was owned by the other and they just changed the UI a tiny bit and altered the colors.
If Stessa ever ups their developer budget under Roofstock and adds a more robust reconciliation process I think they would have a blockbuster.
...or maybe I'm doing this all wrong and they are already perfect.
- Investor · Youngstown, OH · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes1y
Stessa and Baselane are what I see recommended most often. For my own portfolio, I use RentRedi for PM/TM and Wave for accounting.
- Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes1y
Software is a common question on BiggerPockets. Here are some things to consider:
- Most investors don't need software until they have 5-10 rentals. You only need a place to track tenant information, payment history, maintenance, etc. You can easily do this on a spreadsheet, and it will take less time to track than finding and learning new software. If the software is not simplifying your life or making you more accurate, you shouldn't use it. Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.
- Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports. Do you need all this for a couple of rentals?
- There is no perfect software out there. Every system you try will have flaws, or you may salivate over a feature that appears in other software.
Some familiar names are mentioned frequently: Stessa, Apartments.com, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Innago, RentManager, Avail, Rentec Direct, Doorloop, etc.
I recommend conducting thorough research on each app online to understand their offerings, pricing, etc. Create a simple spreadsheet or written list to compare the features of each and identify the ones that align with your requirements. Try to narrow down your options to the top 3-4. Once you have a shortlist, sign up for an account with each one and test them extensively to see how they function. Perform the same task in each app to ensure a fair comparison.
- Load a property with pictures and details.
- Market that property.
- See what your marketing looks like from the public's perspective.
- Submit a fake application to see how easy the process is.
- Run a credit/screening report on yourself.
- Enter a maintenance request, assign a vendor, and attach a fake invoice.
- Enter charges to the tenant's ledger.
- Enter recurring charges and automatic late fees.
- Sign documents electronically.
- Run owner reports.
After testing a few apps, one should clearly stand out. It's important to choose that one and commit to using it. Remember, no system is perfect, so avoid the temptation of constantly chasing after the next shiny object. You should only consider switching when your current software has a significant flaw or lacks features that force you to spend excessive time on workarounds. At that point, it's worth researching and finding a solution that better meets your needs.
The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews - Accountant · 100% Remote · Member since 2019 · 495 posts · 216 votes1y
@Dave Donahue, what software did you end up going with?
For PM software, there's a ton out there so it will depend on the size of your portfolio and what features you want included. I'd research all the different ones people have listed here.
For an accounting software, once you have more than a few properties, you'll want to consider software. But, excel is totally fine in the beginning (in addition to your PM software to capture transactions outside of the properties).
We use QuickBooks Online exclusively for all of our REI Clients. I use it for my personal portfolio as well. We've found it has superior reporting features, integration features, and is overall more efficient to work within than other REI-specific software.
The downside is QBO is not set up for REI so you'll need to do that or work with an expert to ensure it is set up for your business appropriately. That's the key component that is usually missing when I hear other entrepreneurs/investors say they don't like QBO.
Something else to keep in mind is your entity structure and how your entities file tax returns. As a general rule, each entity that files a separate tax return (partnership, s-corp, c-corp, etc) will need its own QBO subscription. If entities are disregarded, you can keep up with more than 1 in a single QBO account using the location/business feature to keep track of them separately. This will save you on subscription costs.
I know you posted your question 3 years ago so I'm curious what you went with and how things have progressed!
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