All Forum Posts by: Connie Chan

@Nick Macklin for four properties, I would recommend using Tellus. It’s a mobile app so you can take photos of receipts and categorize them and save to the cloud. It then automatically generates ledger, cash flow, p&l statement that can be viewed by unit, property or all together. The categories are all landlord specific so it maps to tax deductible categories. I use it with my mom and husband and manage with them. So mom can snap a photo of a receipt at Home Depot and I can see it too.

@Jeff Fountain I use an app called Tellus. It does free ACH payments and for credit card there is a 3% fee to the renter, free for landlord. I haven’t seen any services that don’t have a fee for the renter and landlord, am curious If others have. I like the Tellus app since it’s made for landlords so it has options like late fees, auto-pay, blocking partial payments, etc.

@Leslie Mangrum I just told my tenants over email that I was planning to switch payments and communication to Tellus (I was using checks before) and they were totally OK with it. Now they're happy because the checks were annoying to remember for them. 

@Jacob Rogers that sounds high to me as well. I’d get a few more quotes... it is general work so a lot of handymen could probably handle even.

@Leslie Mangrum online for sure. Tenants will pay more on time... I use an app called Tellus.

@Matt Daley I think Tellus works very well too and probably has all of the features you'll need. I think if you're dealing one day with hundreds of units you might to use something like Appfolio. But the costs of that really don't make sense until you're dealing with a ton, ton of properties. 

@Leslie Mangrum I use Tellus too, it's really helpful for newbies because it means you'll get organized from the get go! adding receipts is pretty easy using their mobile app. I think expense tracking is the hardest part of staying organized. 

you can use it for rent collection, chat and listings too. 

@Caten Murphy If you want a mobile app check out Tellus. It handles the tasks you mentioned and it's free. The feature about it that I like the most is the multi user support. You can assign a coowner or a property manager and work together (kind of like google docs for property management). I use it with my mom and husband so the 3 of us can stay in sync on receipts, notes, etc. 

@Account Closed congrats on adding so many units soon! Agree spreadsheets is tough -- it's basically impossible to do on the phone. Also hard to collaborate with other property managers or owners (I comanage with my mom and husband).

My suggestion is to try an app called Tellus. I use it for my rentals and it handles the stuff you mentioned. 

has a Mobile App where i can input repair orders or notes easily, -- yup. the app makes it REALLY easy to track stuff and input on the go. 

track upgrades repairs and updates for each unit - if you mean expense management? I use it to input receipts and you can also set notes.

Easily input rent payments and also process ETF payments (I still have some elderly that prefer cash or paper check) -- Yes, it collects rent for you with ACH but you can also manually input for the tenants that stick with cash.

general accounting of expenses and income -- yes

generate or export data and reports since i love data and numbers -- yes but it's not automatic. I tried the export function and their customer support sends it to you within a few hours. 

general ease of use -- my mom in her 60's is on it and she doesn't seem to have problems. she sometimes messages support when she can't figure it out.

tenant portal for those that want access to digital copies of their leases, view payments, or send repair requests -- the tenants have an app too. 

I should say that I don't have 50 units which is what you will be managing with within a few months. My neighbor is a property manager and she said if you plan on having hundreds of rentals appfolio is probably a good choice. She was doing 50 units and couldn't justify the cost. 

@Joshua Biondi word of mouth usually gets me the best rates but I have also had some success actually using thumbtack. You can chat with several via texting before having to spend time with them on the phone or in real life to decide if they are a good fit.