Software for accounting / tax

[Chris Gillam]

What software are you using to track expenses for accounting and tax?

[Roy Cleeves]

Quickbooks

[Max Emory]

@Chris Gillam, I'm a Bookkeeper and Real Estate Investor. I recommend QuickBooks Online (at least Plus):

1) QBO can be set up/manipulated to track flips and rentals separately as well as each property and entity individually all under one subscription.

2) QBO has a better bank feed system than other software due to their secure relationship with a ton of banks. Some other software are made specifically for tenant management but it can be done in QBO if needed (minus maintenance requests, etc).

I hope this helps!

[Chris Baxter]

Tracking expenses is pretty easy.... you can do it yourself in a spreadsheet.  Aren't you interested in the whole picture (NOI, ROI, etc...)

[Chuck M.]

I agree with @Chris Baxter. If you build your own models in Excel - you can use it in combination with Quickbooks or another bookkeeping package.

We use Excel to provide instant access to things like an up-to-date personal net worth statement, balance sheets, and for ratio analysis across our portfolio at any point in time.

Business partners and lenders both appreciate having access to the info in the format that they prefer so we keep worksheets for each in their preferred format cross-linked to our cash flow tabs.

[Simon W.]

Originally posted by @Chris Gillam:

What software are you using to track expenses for accounting and tax?

I have my own software for some of my clients, and also I have Quickbooks Online Plus for my other clients. My clients like that they get a discount for the QBO from me (certified proadvisor). But I have to say QBO plus is pretty decent. 

People who say to use excel, it works, but at some point you will outgrow that and pretty fast. 

[Chris Gillam]

Thanks all, I was also looking at Stessa if anyone has any experience with that?

[Max Emory]

@Chris Gillam, I used Stessa for 2.5 years. It's great if you just have a few properties and don't plan to grow but Stessa doesn't facilitate growth. Stessa has issues with their bank feed breaking connection frequently (every day) so there is an unnecessary amount of manual data entry (once you get tired of constantly reconnecting and just go full manual). 

[Simon W.]

Originally posted by @Chris Gillam:

Thanks all, I was also looking at Stessa if anyone has any experience with that?

 My client uses Stessa, but I only log in to get transactions to see where they fit in. I feel like the accounting/financials are lacking. 

[Basit Siddiqi]

@Chris Gillam

I recommend Quickbooks Desktop.

Quickbooks online(Plus) will run you $75 a month.
Quickbooks desktop will cost around $200 and last about 3-4 years.

There are DYI tax softwares out there(Turbotax / HR Block) but the accuracy of the return is dependent on some knowledge of the tax code and your ability to answer questions properly. You may be better off working with a CPA.

Best of luck.

[Lucas Pariset]

Hi Chris! I personally use Lendlord to do this type of tasks. Its a portfolio management software that is pretty easy to use and to master, and for me its a lot better than Stessa. You can track all type of metrics (NOI,ROI, Cash on Cash, Yiel %, ...), track your tenants and everything :) You can upload your spreadsheet from excel to the platform.

[Chris Gillam]

Thanks all - I've hired a property manager who deals with all the tenant facing issues and provides monthly statements, so my needs here are pretty light. 

[Matt Eklund]

I use Stessa. It’s free and I’ve been using it for years. There is a Pro paid for version that unlocks some reporting capabilities, but the free version is probably good enough for the basics. The one I used before Stessa was https://realestatetools.com/property-tracker/ . It was really good to, but expensive. Both of these are specific to real estate and are built for the non accountant to easily use from day one.

[Alex Pelletier]

I am biased as I helped build the product, but Azibo's new accounting offering is completely free and has really nice reporting capabilities, with flexible rent rolls, P/L reports for each property or group of properties, and a Schedule E.