Rental softwares Quickbooks
Member since 2022 · 11 posts · 7 votes
Rental softwares Quickbooks
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Hey @Zach Logan, if you want to track rentals with QBO you'll need the QBO Plus subscription. Then, you can use the class feature or customer feature to track each individual rental. If you have multiple entities, I recommend using the location/business feature to track each "disregarded" entity within 1 QBO.
Bookkeeping for REI companies (especially rental property companies) is super nuanced. For example, for rental properties, lots of the categorization depends on the REI's specific tax strategy regarding what we're capitalizing versus what we're immediately deducting. It's heavily dependent on what the tax code allows and who is interpreting the tax code. There's room for flexibility depending on the desired tax strategy.
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.
If you want to discuss any of this further, I'm happy to answer questions and help walk you through it.
Oh, our FB group "Bookkeepers for Real Estate Investors" may be helpful to you as well. It's all about this stuff and active daily.
Best of luck!
6 Replies
- 1yCliff BennerBusiness MemberAccountant · Denver, CO · Member since 2020 · 394 posts · 183 votes
For my clients in Real Estate, they have to use the QBO Plus subscription. This allows us to code every transaction to a Class to track that property all year round and be prepared at Tax Time to have financials broken out for each property to be reported. Upgrading will allow you to use the same App to track mileage though.
Using a QBO Accountant allows them to create a new QBO account for you to get a continuous 30% discount they could pass along, otherwise you can upgrade yourself and probably get a discount for a year until the price jumps up to the normal cost.
I have heard of Baselane, netsuite, freebooks, but because of my 9-5 I don't have the capacity to learn new softwares and stick to QBO.
Benner Stride52 Reviews - Accountant · NY · Member since 2025 · 39 posts · 41 votes1y
QBO won't work well for rentals. It needs to be customized and it's clunky. Use REI Hub. I've done extensive research on this and am about to publish on a blog on this very topic.
Hey @Zach Logan, if you want to track rentals with QBO you'll need the QBO Plus subscription. Then, you can use the class feature or customer feature to track each individual rental. If you have multiple entities, I recommend using the location/business feature to track each "disregarded" entity within 1 QBO.
Bookkeeping for REI companies (especially rental property companies) is super nuanced. For example, for rental properties, lots of the categorization depends on the REI's specific tax strategy regarding what we're capitalizing versus what we're immediately deducting. It's heavily dependent on what the tax code allows and who is interpreting the tax code. There's room for flexibility depending on the desired tax strategy.
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.
If you want to discuss any of this further, I'm happy to answer questions and help walk you through it.
Oh, our FB group "Bookkeepers for Real Estate Investors" may be helpful to you as well. It's all about this stuff and active daily.
Best of luck!
- 1yJason MalabuteBusiness MemberAccountant · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 916 votes
If you want to use QuickBooks Online for rentals, you’ll need the Plus version so you can track each property separately with class or customer features, and for multiple entities you can use the location/business feature. Bookkeeping for rental properties can get tricky since how you categorize expenses depends heavily on your tax strategy, but QBO offers the flexibility needed. I use QBO exclusively for my real estate clients and my own portfolio because its integrations and features make it more efficient than other software. The main catch is that it isn’t tailored for real estate investors out of the box, so you’ll either need to set it up carefully or get help from someone who knows how to structure it right. Also, remember that each entity filing a separate tax return generally needs its own subscription, but if entities are disregarded you can track multiple ones within a single account to save costs.
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