Comparing rental property tracking systems - what actually works?

Question

I have been trying to figure out which works best before buying my first property.

This is what I observe:

Excel spreadsheets - free but time consuming

QuickBooks - $30/month but too complex

Stessa - free version is good enough but runs out of steam soon

Other landlord software - from $20-40/month with mixed reviews

What's irking me is that the majority of these tools either make you feel like a huge property management company or as if you're not very tech-savvy. There has to be something in the middle, right?

Actually been dabbling with creating something myself (doing software development when not researching real estate transactions). Nothing fancy, just targeted at the things that really do matter for small landlords without all the extras.

For others who already do this:

How much time do you spend on bookkeeping each month?

What functionality is really important vs marketing mumbo-jumbo?

Did your needs drastically change as you moved from 1 to 3 or more properties?

If anyone feels like swinging by and seeing what I'm up to or has suggestions for what's missing in current tools, hit me up.

Could use some real life advice from people who have navigated tax season with rental homes.

Would like to have this cleared up prior to stressing next April like so many people are talking about.

Clayton Silva · Answer

Turbo tenant.  Big fan, been using it for years. You only pay for leases (one time cost) and you can pass the service fee to the tenant.

Peter Mckernan · Answer

I thought all the same thing, how can I save and no do the work.. Well, first I did the work and the work was in quicken and then to quickbooks by myself. I learned a ton and now know what to look for when I need to look at something in those two platforms. The one thing that I went to because the more time you have getting another property, doing repair requests and all the other stuff that comes with land lording I gave it to a book keeper. A couple of properties in quickbooks are only costing me $100.00 a quarter, so $400.00 a year. That's easy and gives you way less stress.

Learn the system that all people, accountants, CPAs and all are going to use which is quickbooks so you know it and it can be transferred easy when you are ready to move from self managing to bookkeeper to accountant.

Bill B. · Answer

This is asked monthly if not weekly. You can use quicken (Quickbooks little brother). It’s overkill until you get to 1o properties, and will handle 20+ easily. But it’s only $50/year. And that’s only if you want to auto download all banking and credit card transactions. Otherwise it’s free after purchase. It’s meant for personal budgeting as well so it’s super simple to set up and yet can give you reports by income or expense category, property, or time span. I’ve done 12-15 properties for 20+ years and a bad month takes an hour. Otherwise it’s 30 minutes give or take.

Carini Rochester · Answer

I think you've hit on a real need in real estate investing.

Functionality? A good starting point would be a usable chart of accounts (right out of the box) that closely follows the IRS's schedule E. The chart of accounts must be revisable as needed to add bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, etc. The ability to clone last month's transactions with revisions as needed. The ability to run reports, P&L, balance sheet. The ability to budget and compare actual to budget. Track multiple units in a given property.

Did needs drastically change? Needs changed gradually with each added property. Fourth property was 4 units. That was more drastic.

I keep track of one, three unit property on a program (free) called Manager. https://www.manager.io/    My wife keeps track of our other 5 properties on Quickbooks. Manager had no out-of-the-box chart of accounts for REI. I googled, read one afternoon and invented my own chart of accounts that I have used for years, with subtle changes as needed.

That's excellent that you have the knowledge and experience to create the software! For me it is excellent that I don't. You can do it for me :)

Elealeh Fulmaran · Answer

Keep it simple: 30–60 minutes a month if you update as you go.

What matters: track income/expenses by property, attach receipts, separate repairs vs CapEx, bank feed or easy import, P&L by property, Schedule E export, mileage.

Setup: separate checking/card for rentals, one folder per property per year, a monthly “close” checklist to reconcile and tag.

Needs from 1 to 3+ doors: same basics—just more volume; discipline beats features.

Mohamed Omer · Answer

Okay thanks for the response.

Comparing rental property tracking systems - what actually works?

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