For Self-Managing Landlords, What Accounting Software do you Use?

Question

I am curious which accounting and bookkeeping packages smaller landlords prefer to use? I have started using Tenant Cloud and have a paid subscription, but I'm having trouble with the accounting reports and bookkeeping. In particular, I'm working on year end financials and can't generate a Profit and Loss statement from their canned reports or a balance sheet.

What other accounting systems do my fellow BiggerPockets colleagues prefer to use for smaller landlords. I only have 5 units and this is my first purchase so I'm managing the property myself for now, but will probably find a property manager in the next year or so. Any thoughts on accounting and bookkeeping platforms that are preferred for smaller businesses? Anyone using TenantCloud successfully to run these reports? How about Quickbooks, however, it seems pretty pricey? Has anyone tried Xero? I could really use some help to make a decision to stick with TenantCloud or to get a stronger package and hear Pros vs. Cons.

Happy New Year to all who have read this far and thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

Alex Kirkendall · Answer

Hello!

I use RentRedi + Stessa. Rent Redi handles rent collection, maintenance requests, applications, and lease signing. Stessa handles all the financial reports and expense tracking. I link both Stessa and Rent Redi to my real estate checking account. Then, when a rent payment is made by I tenant through Rent Redi, it is also automatically synced in Stessa since it’s linked to the bank account where I received the money.

See some info attached and let me know if you have more specific question.

Note on application comparison: This comparison was made in May of 2021, so it’s possible that features and costs have changed on specific apps.

Rachid Abadli · Answer

I tried QuickBooks for about 6 months and it was overkill for 4 residential units. The chart of accounts setup alone took me a weekend, and half the categories didn't apply to landlording.

What I found works better is property management software that has accounting built in rather than accounting software that you try to adapt for properties. The difference is that PM software already thinks in terms of properties → units → leases → charges, which is exactly how landlord accounting works.

My main criteria were:

• Automatic categorization by property and unit
• Tracks rent received vs. charged (not just deposits)
• Handles security deposits as liabilities (California requires this)
• Exports clean enough for my CPA at tax time

Anyone else find that general accounting software just doesn't fit the landlord use case well?

Jasmine Delves · Answer

Some property-management apps have Xero/QuickBooks integration so you can sync all transactions, suppliers, tenants, upload receipts, etc.

Xero and QuickBooks are great general accounting software options on their own but they aren't built for landlords so lack some of the features you'd want to help you manage your properties. So definitely look into more industry-specific platforms. This way, you can simplify your accounting, as well as screen tenants, create reports, etc. Some also allow you to give view-only access to your accountant too, so they can see your reports as well.

Hope that helps!

For Self-Managing Landlords, What Accounting Software do you Use?

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