Curious what system folks are using (& enjoying) to track multiple properties
Specialist · Memphis, TN · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 3 votes
Curious what system folks are using (& enjoying) to track multiple properties
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Denise SuppleeBusiness Member
Realtor · Willow Grove, PA · Member since 2017 · 991 posts · 647 votesHi @Niah Jamerson, Stessa is a solid option for the income, expense, and cash flow tracking you're describing. You could also check Rentredi I know they partner with biggerpockets so might be a good option.
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- Member since 2026 · 29 posts · 9 votes2w
At your size the software matters less than the system behind it. Spreadsheets and a shared photo folder work fine for a few units. Things break when volume grows: rent tracking, maintenance photos, and vendor follow-ups live in five places and nobody knows the current truth. For short-term rentals the bar is higher. Guests expect replies in minutes and turnovers on the same day. When that becomes your whole week, the real question is whether to keep self-managing or hire a manager. If you hire, look past the headline fee. Ask what it includes, who owns the listing and reviews if you leave, and how long the contract locks you in. I run a short-term rental management company, and the owners who stay happy are the ones who asked those questions first.
- Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 0 votes2w
The distinction between “everything is in Excel” and “I’m entering everything twice” seems important here. Before switching systems, I’d list the specific entries you repeat: rent received, recurring expenses, repair costs, and planned versus actual maintenance.
For each property, I’d want to see monthly income, expenses, and net cash flow together, with each repair linked to its cost and receipt. That would make it easier to tell whether a new tool actually removes work or just gives the spreadsheet a nicer screen.
Which manual step is taking you the most time right now: entering transactions, finding old repair records, or building the month-by-month view?
- Member since 2026 · 113 posts · 30 votes1w
The tool matters less than the habits. One place per property for lease, deposit, and key dates, one ledger for rent in and expenses out, and a monthly check that the ledger matches the bank. A spreadsheet works fine at small scale. Add software when the monthly tie-out starts taking too long.
Hi @Niah Jamerson,
Excel is fine until you need something out of it at tax time, usually a repair from March.
Quick flag before you pick: most tools people recommend (Stessa included) are expense trackers, not accounting systems. They show income and expenses per property, but rarely give you a real balance sheet or anything clean to hand a CPA. So you export to CSV and re-categorize anyway. Excel with extra steps.
What's worked for me is QuickBooks Online set up so the Chart of Accounts mirrors how the return gets filed. Rent, repairs, advertising land in the right bucket as you go instead of getting translated later. And keep repairs their own account rather than burying them in "maintenance/misc" — that's exactly why you're digging around six months later. Manual entry is solvable without giving up spreadsheets. Bank feeds pull transactions automatically, and budget-vs-actual is a native report, so planned and spent live in one place.
Honest caveat: QBO has a learning curve and a monthly cost. If you've got two small doors and hate software, Stessa's free tier may genuinely be enough. Don't buy complexity you won't use.
- Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 0 votes1d
Quote from @Niah Jamerson:
Curious how everyone's managing multiple properties & what system you're using, & actually enjoy using.
I self-manage a few right now and it all lives in an Excel sheet I built myself. It works fine, but I'm manually entering everything, which is getting old.
What I'd love is something that holds expenses, income & cash flow per property month over month without me entering every detail by hand. Ideally I'd have repairs tracked in the same place, since that's always what I end up digging for later, & budgeting for repairs built in so what I planned to spend & what I actually spent aren't sitting in two different spots.
I was thinking about Stessa but there are so many options out there. I'm tempted to just stick with Excel, but figured I'd ask what's actually working for everyone else!
Thanks!
I run a small document-processing service, so I'm biased, but if your sheet works, I'd keep it and cut the typing instead. Download your bank and card transactions as a CSV each month and paste them into a raw tab. Then use a lookup on the payee to fill in the property and category, so you only type the exceptions. A separate account or card for each property makes the lookup almost automatic. It breaks down when one payee covers several houses, so those still need a manual look. How many properties are in the sheet, and are you entering receipts too, or just bank activity?
- Investor · Calgary, AB · Member since 2021 · 16 posts · 5 votes20h
I’d love for you to try the rental tracking app I built :)
My portfolio recently got to 27 units and I was getting backlash from my CPA (my dad) for being so disorganized and having paperwork missing.
I created an app that stores all property specific documents for each property and lets the owner file them away accordingly. There are a ton more features as well.
It’s best to get started as early as possible with a great bookkeeping system as it’s inevitable you will continue to grow. I waited too long to get a proper system and my business was not reaching its full potential.
If you’d be open to checking it out I’d really appreciate it. If you’d want to send me a DM I could arrange a time to walk you through it.
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