I will only have one rental property coming up, and I was wondering what software or methods do you suggest for keeping track and record of payments, expenses, income, and maintenance, preferably something that is cheap or free since I only have one rental?

@Paul D.

Most of the time if you just do a search on BP you can find what you're looking for. Here's a list of some forums with posts. Landlord Forums

You could try out some of the free sites like Pendo rent or Rentec Direct. 

Pendo Rent

Rentec Direct

I run excel spreadsheets for each property I own.  I can pass it along when I'm back in the office next week.

For one rental I would just use an excel spreadsheet. There's no need to pay for any sophisticated programs for just one rental.

Originally posted by @Paul D. :

I will only have one rental property coming up, and I was wondering what software or methods do you suggest for keeping track and record of payments, expenses, income, and maintenance, preferably something that is cheap or free since I only have one rental?

 Hi Paul, I just used an Excel spreadsheet and I managed 25 units as a resident manager.

These books are great.  The CA landlord book was my bible.  I bought the landlord tax write offs book for my daughter:

http://www.nolo.com/products/landlord-tenant/landl...

The landlord book is easy to understand about CA laws, including fair housing, tenant screening, etc., and it also includes all the forms you could ever need.

Congrats on your rental!

Great advice above. Along with a good Excel sheet, I would also recommend Trello for process management. It's free and can grow with you. You can have a card for each tenant and move them around on lists for move-in, move-out, rent collection etc. And you can keep all your notes, contact info, and other stuff in there. It works on your phone the same as on computer.

Very handy and totally custom. I would take one of these spreadsheets that you like and keep it in Trello. Then you'll have all your landlord stuff in one place. I might do a screen video to show this. Seeing is believing. 

Disclaimer: I currently use Yardi and Propertyware. Both are too large and unnecessary for you, but with a spreadsheet and Trello I have ran a lot of other projects. Currently using Trello to track rent collection for a 400+ unit office while transitioning software.

Originally posted by @Steve M. :

I run excel spreadsheets for each property I own.  I can pass it along when I'm back in the office next week.

Yes I would appreciate that! I'm not too savvy with Excel (I have never really used it) so a template would be great. Thank you

Excel makes the most sense unless you can find a free tool; with that said my wife and I own Tenant Watch which offers background checking solutions / tools for landlords to enable them to pull the most comprehensive background checks on your potential applicants.  

Ensuring you know the most about the person(s) you are planning to rent and having the appropriate info in file for them is very important; should you have to pursue an eviction.   

I would make sure you find the best possible solution which would partner with you to help reduce your risk in this area.  Avoid the large repositories offering just the automated data results.  Tenant Watch partner's with you coming along side of you with the knowledge you need to become a better landlord for your investment and the communities you rent within.

I use Rentec. It is free up to 10 units. I am pretty good with excel and use that for all my property analysis, but I do like Rentec. 

Rentec

I agree with most of the others. Excel is a great tool. Different landlords in different areas have different expenses so I found it most helpful to just create my own and modify it as expense types change

@Garth Gissel

I have checked rentecdirect.com however the only thing free I see is a free 30 day trial. After that the web site says they charge $15 a month for 1-10 units.

Originally posted by @Paul D. :

@Garth Gissel

I have checked rentecdirect.com however the only thing free I see is a free 30 day trial. After that the web site says they charge $15 a month for 1-10 units.

 The Basic is free. I just cut and pasted this from their site. I am not affiliated with them. Just a client.  LOL

There is an edition that meets your needs.

Rentec Direct has three editions to give you the specific features you need. Just getting started as a landlord, enjoy Rentec Basic absolutely free. Landlords and apartment managers, look no further than Rentec Pro. And for the professional property managers and homeowners associations, Rentec PM has all the features you need.

Thanks Garth