recommended simple bookeeping software?

Question

Hey all, I am a small landlord w 10 doors. Held in various LLCs. I've been using QB desktop for mac for several years, but getting squeezed out and forced to the online version.

I'm not opposed to an online service as I'm traveling more and that would be easier to access, but I've heard horror stories (plus super expensive) to go with QB online.

I've been looking at Xero--does anyone have experience with this? How different is it from QB? I can't find any tutorials on Xero without having to first set up an account.

Jake Baker · Answer

@Lynn Quire

QBO is the most popular software in the industry, and most Tax Preparers are familiar with it, which makes tax season easier if they need to make adjustments for you. Many on the forums will advise against QBO. It can feel like feature overload, yes, but the main reason is that it is not initially set up for a Real Estate business like other “real estate-specific” accounting software. It takes a certain level of accounting and QBO knowledge to set it up correctly. Best to have a real estate bookkeeper set that up for you. As @Aaron Zimmerman alluded to, you don't need QBO if you don't require a balance sheet. Stessa, Baselane, etc will do. If you are looking to scale and eventually outsource your bookkeeping, most firms only support QBO or Xero.

Aaron Zimmerman · Answer

Do you need to produce a balance sheet and profit and loss? If yes, I'd recommend going with quickbooks online or xero. If just profit and loss, you could go with something like stessa.

William Whitley · Answer

I work with investors using QBO Plus or Advanced. Some have 15 doors and some as many as 50 doors or more across multiple entities. If it is customized correctly, QBO Plus or Advanced can be a very powerful tool in managing the financials of your portfolio.

Jason Malabute · Answer

I’d still recommend QuickBooks Online Plus and using the class feature.

For a portfolio like yours, the biggest advantage is that you can keep everything in one file and track each property (or each LLC) using classes. That way you can run a P&L by property, by LLC, or combined, without juggling multiple QuickBooks files.

Lynn Quire · Answer

Thank you to everyone--I truly appreciate all the input. I decided to go with Xero--it's much cheaper than QB or QB Online. QB online is ending the ability to use classes to distinguish properties in the basic subscription. Xero lets you do it using Categories at all levels.

I researched Wave, but an advisor told me that if I'm not paying for a product, then my data IS the product---maybe I'm paranoid but security is worth paying for in only my opinion.

Just started moving things over today, but so far so good!

Jay Toluganti · Answer

I started with QB online. Never knew they had desktop versin till recently. Online version is great except they keep increasing prices everymonth. Rightnow, trying out Waveapps.com as its free and simple interface.

Kath Goldman · Answer

I have a number of landlord clients who use both, and Xero tends to work quite well for investors with multiple LLCs because the interface is straightforward and access control is easier to manage when several entities are involved. My suggestion would be to try the demo environment or a short trial first and mirror one property’s books there ad most can tell pretty quickly whether the workflow fits their reporting and reconciliation style before fully migrating.

Account Closed · Answer

I went through this transition recently, and while QuickBooks Online is more expensive, it integrates well with banks, Gusto, and most CPAs are very comfortable with it. Xero has a clean interface and is often slightly cheaper, but you’ll want to confirm your accountant is familiar with it since reporting formats differ. If your focus is strictly rentals, tools like Stessa or Buildium are also worth looking at, depending on how hands-on you want your accounting to be.

Markus Shobe · Answer

Xero can work and yes I understand Quickbooks prices are getting ridiculous. You can break expenses and income down by property like you can in Quickbooks and connect accounts to it as well.

Yanik Parsch · Answer

Hey Lynn — totally get the frustration of being pushed off desktop software, especially when you’re traveling more and want something accessible without the hassle.

I moved a lot of the rental bookkeeping over to Baselane’s platform for my units, and it’s made tracking income/expenses by property much simpler without needing to manage all the manual stuff in QuickBooks. It’s online, so I can check things from wherever I am, and pulling clean reports has been way easier than I expected coming from desktop.

I haven’t used Xero personally, but what worked best for me was switching to something that automatically ties transactions to each property — it’s cut down on setup time and makes reporting more intuitive than wrestling with general accounting software.

recommended simple bookeeping software?

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