Rental Property Investor · Algona, IA · Member since 2015 · 43 posts · 33 votes
Has anyone tried using Stessa? It seems like they offer quite a bit for free but since they were just acquired I'm wondering if costs will increase. I plugged in my basic info and it generated a nice dashboard. I would love to hear feedback/thoughts from others. Thanks!
Rental Property Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2017 · 29 posts · 26 votes
7y
Regarding linking your bank account.
This is an optional step. You can read about their security from their website, but I can understand if you don't want to do this. It really only makes sense if you have a huge portfolio.
If your getting started, I recommend using the import feature.
You can build an import file for each of your properties. Go to your banks website and download the transactions as a table that you open up into Excel. Clean up the data as below:
Consolidate the data into four (4) columns only.Date, Amount, Payee, Description. Columns should be in this order and with these specific column headers in row 1.
Then, re-save as a .csv format.
Do the same from your property managers website for your Rents and Expenses.
If you manage your propeties in Excel, your already a step ahead. Just reformat the data and save.
Once the import is complete, you will need to go through each transaction and verify that it is catagoried correctly.
I am still tweeking and playing around with Stessa, but more than likely I'm going to switch over from propertytracker.com.
The next item I'm going to be working on is recording my mortgage payments correctly. When they import from the bank, they come in as the full payment. Which is principle, interest and escrow. The proper way to record this is to then split that amount, using their split tool, into those respective categories. Otherwise the escrow amount is counted as an expense and then the bank pays Tax or Insurance out of escrow, that is an expense too. So it double dips. Splitting the transaction into categories solves this problem. https://support.stessa.com/articles/2671184-split-categorize-mortgage-payments
Also, make sure you get the ProForma right for each property. The actuals (left column) come in from your transactions, but the right column is manually inputed by you. (Proforma)
Rental Property Investor · Algona, IA · Member since 2015 · 43 posts · 33 votes
7y
Hi Ben,
I only used them to setup the initial page that I posted above. I didn't connect in my banking accounts. It seems like FREE or $50 a month is a good deal; however, this could change since they were recently acquired by JLL. The company hasn't been around long enough and I can't seem to find much for reviews. They do seem to have good tech support. I've received several emails detailing how to take the next steps and link in bank accounts.
Let me know if you end up using them and it works out for you. I haven't yet made the leap away from my Excel spreadsheets. They've been working fine for my 4 properties.
Rental Property Investor · Anchorage, AK · Member since 2018 · 34 posts · 26 votes
7y
we are using stessa too and like the way that we can enter in transactions via the app.
there are some bugs in the filters I have noticed, but for the most part it works pretty well. We are looking for a web-based software to oversee our 6 units.
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 2 votes
7y
@Brandon McLean - I believe you will need to update the rent roll for the unit with at least the move in date and the lease expiration date to update the Vacant/Occupied flag for the property.
Developer · Decatur, GA · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
Hi Stessa users - I'm giving it a try too. I would love to ditch my spreadsheets. I wish Cozy.co had purchased Stessa. That would have been a great combination.
Jackson, MS · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 6 votes
7y
I started entering my info but stopped once it asked me to link my bank accounts. I don't feel comfortable doing that. Maybe, if I read more reliable reviews in the future, I will consider using the service. I'm with you, @Margie Kohlhaas, I only have one, so Excel is fine for now.
Rental Property Investor · Lincoln, CA · Member since 2018 · 28 posts · 18 votes
7y
Hi Margie Kohlhaas I have 9 SFR and just came across Stessa a few days ago. I entered all my property info and transactions for the year manually, as I too am uncomfortable with on line banking. So far I am loving it and the simplicity of use! No frustrating learning curve. Well maybe just a few minutes figuring out how to change from vacant to occupied. But once I got that figured out...smooth sailing! It is pretty darn awesome!!!
Berlin, Berlin · Member since 2017 · 13 posts · 3 votes
7y
I am also thinking of using Stessa. Does anyone know what the cost is to use the app?? Also, has anyone used the app called Housters?? Seems to be pretty user friendly. I want to have an app to track my properties rather than using Excel. Thanks for any input.. Have a great day!
Rental Property Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2017 · 29 posts · 26 votes
7y
Regarding linking your bank account.
This is an optional step. You can read about their security from their website, but I can understand if you don't want to do this. It really only makes sense if you have a huge portfolio.
If your getting started, I recommend using the import feature.
You can build an import file for each of your properties. Go to your banks website and download the transactions as a table that you open up into Excel. Clean up the data as below:
Consolidate the data into four (4) columns only.Date, Amount, Payee, Description. Columns should be in this order and with these specific column headers in row 1.
Then, re-save as a .csv format.
Do the same from your property managers website for your Rents and Expenses.
If you manage your propeties in Excel, your already a step ahead. Just reformat the data and save.
Once the import is complete, you will need to go through each transaction and verify that it is catagoried correctly.
I am still tweeking and playing around with Stessa, but more than likely I'm going to switch over from propertytracker.com.
The next item I'm going to be working on is recording my mortgage payments correctly. When they import from the bank, they come in as the full payment. Which is principle, interest and escrow. The proper way to record this is to then split that amount, using their split tool, into those respective categories. Otherwise the escrow amount is counted as an expense and then the bank pays Tax or Insurance out of escrow, that is an expense too. So it double dips. Splitting the transaction into categories solves this problem. https://support.stessa.com/articles/2671184-split-categorize-mortgage-payments
Also, make sure you get the ProForma right for each property. The actuals (left column) come in from your transactions, but the right column is manually inputed by you. (Proforma)
Rental Property Investor · KY · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 537 votes
7y
@Doug Schorr
I just started using it today. So far, so good for the most part. I’m very surprised about people and linking banking. I’ve been using Personal Capital for years and never had any issues and I imagine Stessa, Mint, and the rest of them all have similar security. I believe they’re only able to use and automatic screen-scraping and can’t do any sort of transactions (which would likely require two-factor authentication, at a minimum, anyway, and likely much more).
I went ahead and added a few reserve numbers that I usually include in my BP rental analysis and my spreadsheets (like vacancy, cap-ex reserve [even though they have a place for actual cap-ex, I still input cap-ex reserve and maintenance numbers all in maintenance]). I also input vacancy in the Admin & Other field to get a sense of TRUE cash flow (even though their formula doesn’t factor cap-ex or vacancy in the monthly cash flow). I feel the need to account for it somewhere.
Chattanooga · Member since 2019 · 18 posts · 12 votes
7y
I've been looking for good software that is compatible to track rehab/flip properties along with rehab/hold properties and would be able to keep them seperate if each were done through separate legal entities. Would Stessa work well for this or am I getting too complex for these types of data tracking software
Property Manager · Miami, FL · Member since 2018 · 13 posts · 6 votes
7y
Just finished a demo from Cozy - it looks pretty straight forward. Now I'm debating between Stessa and Cozy. Anyone with experience on both platforms that can provide an overall comparison?
Rental Property Investor · Plano, TX · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 5 votes
7y
I'm evaluating Stessa as well as Tenant Cloud.
Make sure you read terms and conditions, and that you are comfortable with these. With Stessa you are granting them power of attorney
"...you hereby grant Stessa and Service Provider a limited power of attorney, and you hereby appoint Stessa and Service Provider as your true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for you and in your name, place and stead, in any and all capacities,..."
I'm also not sure how they use your data, bank account info, etc. They have access to all of this.
Other than privacy so far both look like decent offerings.
Thank you for pointing that out, Michael! I messaged Stessa to comment that I was interested in their service until I read this paragraph of their terms. I indicated that that would need to be much less open-ended on their part except in committing to the ways they would *not* be using the authority in question. Hopefully, they will tighten up that language to foster more customer trust.
Meanwhile, I am super intrigued by Tenant Cloud. I've signed up and am exploring the service.