Just closed my first SFR Rental deal! Looking for accounting software.

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Just closed my first SFR Rental deal! Looking for accounting software.

Frank Jiang
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 592 posts · 765 votes

Hello BP,

I have been a reader of the site for quite some time but I have not yet posted. This week, my wife and I closed on our first deal: SFR in Memphis, TN with a 2-year lease tenant already in place.

In my day job, I work as a financial analyst and I see the importance of keeping a tidy set of books.  I would like to get off to a good start with our family's rental business and keep the financial transactions tidy from the get go.  Currently I'm doing things in Google spreadsheets and I have a suspicion that this process isn't going to scale very well.

Does anyone have any good suggestions for accounting software for landlords?

Unnecessary but highly desirable would be the ability to automate monthly transactions for items such as prepaid insurance, prepaid taxes, depreciation expenses.

Thanks all for your help!

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Michael Seeker
Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
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Excel can do it all.  You have to do a bit more legwork up front to figure out how to categorize your expenses yourself (I just figured out the categories the first year I filed my taxes and have been using them ever since).  I could just as easily accommodate 1,000+ properties in my spreadsheets as I can the handful that I currently track.  Most tax professionals should be able to work with either QuickBooks or Excel...I don't think there are really any other competitive options especially for somebody just starting out.

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  • Curt DavisBusiness Member
    Flipper/Rehabber · Memphis, TN · Member since 2008 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
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    quick books if your dying to pay for something.  Google docs should be good co suffering you have one property.  If you get many more then go with the software. 

    Curt Davis - KAIZEN Realty538 Reviews
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  • David Torres
    Full Time Investor · Albuquerque, NM · Member since 2013 · 320 posts · 154 votes
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    @Frank Jiang I use quick books.  If you want to grow your business, I would recommend setting it up early and correctly.  Enlist the help of an experienced bookkeeper or accountant.  It will save you money in the long run.

    If you are only going to have a few units, you can easily maintain it in an excel spreadsheet.

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  • Ivan Oberon
    Real Estate Investor · Camarillo, CA · Member since 2014 · 119 posts · 41 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Frank Jiang:

    Hello BP,

    I have been a reader of the site for quite some time but I have not yet posted. This week, my wife and I closed on our first deal: SFR in Memphis, TN with a 2-year lease tenant already in place.

    In my day job, I work as a financial analyst and I see the importance of keeping a tidy set of books.  I would like to get off to a good start with our family's rental business and keep the financial transactions tidy from the get go.  Currently I'm doing things in Google spreadsheets and I have a suspicion that this process isn't going to scale very well.

    Does anyone have any good suggestions for accounting software for landlords?

    Unnecessary but highly desirable would be the ability to automate monthly transactions for items such as prepaid insurance, prepaid taxes, depreciation expenses.

    Thanks all for your help!

     Quick Books has an easy online version you could always start with that is only $10 a month. 

    0Reply
  • Michael Seeker
    Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y

    Excel can do it all.  You have to do a bit more legwork up front to figure out how to categorize your expenses yourself (I just figured out the categories the first year I filed my taxes and have been using them ever since).  I could just as easily accommodate 1,000+ properties in my spreadsheets as I can the handful that I currently track.  Most tax professionals should be able to work with either QuickBooks or Excel...I don't think there are really any other competitive options especially for somebody just starting out.

    1Reply
  • John Chapman
    Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2009 · 718 posts · 913 votes
    11y

    I am a huge fan of Buildium. It just added automatic bank reconciliation, it has a lot of the accounting features of quickbooks, and it has property management features (e.g. electronic rent collection, rental applications, etc.) However, it is way too expensive for only one SFR. (I wouldn't even waste my money on quickbooks at this point.) I used excel for years and it was only when I got in the teens in terms of number of units that I upgraded.

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  • John T.
    Rental Property Investor · Central U. S. A. · Member since 2013 · 296 posts · 149 votes
    11y

    I highly recommend QuickBooks. I used Excel for years, but recently my CPA set up QuickBooks for me and I really like it.

    As an alternative, one of my friends told me about: http://rentingwell.com/tour/ . He said that he uses it for keeping track of financials and that its really great for the money.

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  • Melodee Lucido
    Real Estate Investor · OR · Member since 2012 · 390 posts · 133 votes
    11y

    Hi Frank and welcome to the funnest crei place online! You're going to love it here.

    I like Quickbooks also!

    Best of success to you

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  • Ryan Swan
    Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2012 · 640 posts · 457 votes
    11y

    I just used Excel when I only had one rental and it was totally sufficient. When I started acquiring more rentals, I upgraded to Buildium.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Singapore · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    11y

    Quickbooks. 

    0Reply
  • Gita FaustBusiness Member
    Accountant · Richboro - Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2008 · 901 posts · 246 votes
    11y

    Consider using a software as an investment, just like investing in a property. Peace of mind, stress free tax time, reports anytime, easy to get loans and your financial ....

    I would recommend QuickBooks - reasonably priced and easy to use. As you grow if you do not get all the reports from one software, you can then research and switch.

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  • Frank Jiang
    OP
    Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 592 posts · 765 votes
    11y

    Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions and the warm welcome.  I was definitely considering Quickbooks but I'd never heard of Buildium before.  Hopefully this will be the first of many deals and I'll have the good problem of not being able to handle my own accounting.

    Thanks again all!

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