Multiple Property Utility Management

[Mohammad Iqbal]

Good afternoon,

I manage quite a few multi-family properties in Chicago and keeping track of utility bills across all properties can be a hassle. While tenants pay their own electric and gas, keeping track of multiple building's electric, water bill etc. has become time-consuming. Does anyone have any suggestions or software solutions they like to use to manage property utility bills? 

[John Warren]

@Mohammad Iqbal it sounds like you are getting close to needing a management software that handles rent collection, accounts receivable, maintenance, etc. Once you have 50 units most people I know use AppFolio. Buildium is also a well known platform. There are a few others as well. 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Mohammad Iqbal:

You have to work through it. I manage around 400 rentals and process around 80 utility bills a month. There's no easy way but you can use property management software to help you keep track of them.

At a bare minimum, you can create a form that lists each property and each utility bill. As they come in, you check a box. As the payment goes out, you check a box. That would at least help you track receipt and payment so a bill isn't missed.

[Carlos Ptriawan]

Quote from @Mohammad Iqbal:

Good afternoon,

I manage quite a few multi-family properties in Chicago and keeping track of utility bills across all properties can be a hassle. While tenants pay their own electric and gas, keeping track of multiple building's electric, water bill etc. has become time-consuming. Does anyone have any suggestions or software solutions they like to use to manage property utility bills? 

 how it could become a problem, you could create a sub account checking account and do auto pay.

[Paul De Luca]

Quote from @Mohammad Iqbal:

Good afternoon,

I manage quite a few multi-family properties in Chicago and keeping track of utility bills across all properties can be a hassle. While tenants pay their own electric and gas, keeping track of multiple building's electric, water bill etc. has become time-consuming. Does anyone have any suggestions or software solutions they like to use to manage property utility bills? 

 Stessa is free and you can use it to track all your utility bills. If you have the bills on autopay then you would just have to up upload the utility bills. Depends on how many properties you're managing but long term you're probably better off using a comprehensive management software like the ones mentioned above.

[Vicki X.]

Quote from @Mohammad Iqbal:

Good afternoon,

I manage quite a few multi-family properties in Chicago and keeping track of utility bills across all properties can be a hassle. While tenants pay their own electric and gas, keeping track of multiple building's electric, water bill etc. has become time-consuming. Does anyone have any suggestions or software solutions they like to use to manage property utility bills? 

@Mohammad Iqbal Do you pay the total bill every month from your operating account? Or do the tenants pay directly so there's no cost/gain for you? If the former, rental accounting software would be useful. 

Azibo, Stessa, REIhub are good rental accounting options that offer income/expense tracking, financial reports and tax reports (Schedule E).
Azibo and Stessa offer business bank accounts and some property management features. REIHub is purely accounting. Think about the features that matter most for you and decide.
Cost wise, Azibo is free. Stessa has the free and premium versions. REIHub is paid.
Azibo and REIHub support double entry accounting. Stessa doesn’t as of today.

Some investors and many CPAs use Quickbooks too. But it’s not as friendly as it’s not designed for real estate and could quickly get pricy.

I’m familiar with these tools so DM me if you need additional info. Hope it helps!