.svg){kind=icon}
Property management accounting software has come a long way since QuickBooks.
Nowadays, property managers and landlords need a more customized solution to handle the increasing demands of managing properties at scale.
You could be either of the following:
- Starting out and looking for a good accounting alternative that’s designed for rental property management
- Established to the point where the typical accounting software has become a hindrance instead of an asset
The good news is, there are dedicated solutions available now that offer the unique tools you need not only to manage your rental property accounting but also to optimize, streamline, and even automate many other tasks.
But before we get into that, let’s talk about what those unique accounting features are that property managers and landlords need.
How Do You Do Bookkeeping for a Rental Property?
Property managers, real estate investors, and landlords have unique accounting needs, particularly when managing the financials of their properties.
Here are some of those unique bookkeeping practices:
- Setting up individual accounts for each property
- Implementing a system to collect and track rent payments
- Adopting a procedure for income and expense tracking
- Following a process for tracking parking and HOA
- Managing two separate accounts simultaneously (ideally): one for your property management services (e.g., paying for maintenance and collecting rent payments) and one for the property management business itself (e.g., paying payroll and utilities)
A notable rental property accounting tools like DoorLoop can help you with much more than you may expect.
DoorLoop is an all-in-one property management software and real estate accounting software with everything you need to manage your property accounting.
With DoorLoop, you get not only a full suite of property accounting features but also a complete set of property management features to help make managing your properties simpler and easier.
Features include:
- Automatic bank account syncing with Plaid
- Full chart of accounts
- Bill pay and tracking
- Tenant portal that offers online rent payments, payment history, and a simple way to communicate with your tenants on maintenance requests
- Owner portal that allows you to run key reports and print checks
Although QuickBooks is not designed for managing properties, DoorLoop offers a convenient integration with QuickBooks. With this, you can feel confident and become a well-rounded property manager.
Schedule a free demo of DoorLoop to see what it can do for you.
Is QuickBooks a Good Rental Property Accounting Software?
You might notice that we don’t include QuickBooks or any other dedicated accounting software on this list.
That’s not because you can’t use QuickBooks for property management accounting. In fact, if you only have a few properties and you’re just beginning, either as a property manager or owner/investor, QuickBooks might be a good place to start.
The problem is that, as you grow, you’ll quickly notice that QuickBooks isn’t designed for managing rental properties.
Sure, you can find large property management companies that use QuickBooks. After all, as far as dedicated accounting solutions go, QuickBooks is the most robust.
But QuickBooks has its limitations when it comes to the unique needs of property management, many of which require workarounds that are inconvenient and time-consuming.
That’s why in 2024, QuickBooks isn’t necessarily the best option for your rental property management or even just accounting anymore.
It has been years since the birth of the digital space and accounting software in general. In that time, software as a whole has developed at a rapid pace, while QuickBooks hasn’t—specifically for property managers.
That brings up an important point: those developments haven’t just been in the accounting arena.
Nowadays, rental property accounting software like DoorLoop offers much more than just the accounting features you need to manage rental properties.
They offer features like a tenant portal that allows you to communicate with your tenants in real-time about maintenance requests, marketing tools to list your properties and units, automation tools like automatic rent payments, and way more.
It’s not only accounting that you get, but you also get an entire suite of features to help you manage your rental properties from A to Z.
So, to answer the question: Yes, you can use QuickBooks for rental property accounting. However, it’s not an ideal option unless you’re just starting and testing the industry.
Features and Benefits
So far, we’ve touched on a few of the features and benefits you get from rental property accounting software.
Now, let’s break down everything you can expect when using a dedicated rental property management tool.
Keep in mind that which of these features you have access to will depend on the software and what it offers. This is just a general list:
- Tenant portals allow tenants to communicate directly with you on maintenance requests and perform other tasks.
- Work order management enable you to track, edit, and complete orders and pay vendors all from within the software itself.
- Customizable lease forms and improved documentation help streamline processes.
- Marketing tools, websites, and resident screening make the entire process of getting new quality tenants easier.
- Tenant and property databases allow you to keep each entity separate (a common workaround necessary in QuickBooks).
- Automated rent payments make collection payments easy.
- Accounting features like multiple bank accounts and a chart of accounts keep things like rent payments and deposits separate and organized.
And this is just scratching the surface.
Considering all discussed, good rental property software can do a lot for your business:
- Streamline separate systems into one unified whole
- Automate basic tasks like collecting rent and listing units
- Save both time and money
So, let’s talk about some of the best rental property accounting software options out there.
The 10 Best Rental Property Accounting Software of 2024
There are a lot of different types of property management software out there in addition to standard all-encompassing property management software:
That’s why, when choosing which is the right property management software for your business, you need to look for a solution that specializes in rental property management.
Each of the tools below specializes in rental property management or has a robust set of features ideal for managing rentals.
Let’s get started.
1. DoorLoop
DoorLoop is the best accounting software, dedicated, full-service rental property management software tool that offers everything you need to streamline and optimize your rental property management or investing business.
Made to be highly intuitive and easy to use, DoorLoop includes a full suite of features designed by property managers for property managers.
Features include:
- Everything you need for your property accounting, including custom reports and a variety of payment methods like ACH and credit cards
- Remote work order management that lets you handle maintenance requests, assign vendors to a job, edit a work order, and communicate directly with tenants from within the software
- Built-in CRM and tenant portal that allow you to collect rent, offer renters' insurance, and accept applications
- Owner portal that gives access to reports and even allows you to print checks
- Marketing features that allow you to list properties and even do tenant screening within the software
Save yourself time and hassle by centralizing your processes with easy documentation, automation, work order management, and robust accounting features.
DoorLoop Pricing
DoorLoop’s full-service rental property accounting software has no training or support fees whatsoever. Prices start as low as $59/month for your first 20 units. DoorLoop has a calculator to help you determine which plan is best for you based on your business needs as well.
2. Rent Manager
Rent Manager is a dedicated rental property management software with a robust set of features. It has good accessibility, cloud-based desktop and mobile app versions, and solid customization settings.
The software's feature set makes it a good fit for beginners and more advanced users alike, but it gates certain features behind higher pay tiers and doesn't offer transparent pricing plans.
Features include:
- Custom reporting
- Automated rent payments
- Custom training and data migration
- Automatic bank reconciliation
- A large number of integrations
Rent Manager Pricing
Rent Manager offers pricing options for each version of its software, including a cloud-based and desktop version based on per-unit pricing.
However, the company doesn't list its pricing publicly, so you’ll need to contact Rent Manager to get more information.
3. Hemlane
Hemlane is designed for rental property management and offers unique features, such as being able to match you with local agents. If you’re uniquely concerned with placement, Hemlane is worth considering for its leasing tools.
However, it’s one of the most expensive options on this list, so you’re paying more for those extra features.
Features include:
- Good leasing tools, such as tenant screening
- Other useful local support features
- Work order management
- Online rent payments
Hemlane Pricing
Hemlane’s pricing starts somewhat affordable but quickly escalates at a $2 per unit pricing model.
Its Basic plan starts at $30 per month with $2 per unit additional after the first. That means if you manage even 20 units, Hemlane will be $70 per month.
The premium-tier Complete plan starts at $60 per month but costs $32 per property after the first.
Hemlane’s enterprise pricing model comes partly due to its unique on-location support features, which other rental property software solutions don’t offer.
Chances are, these might not be useful to you. However, for those who find such local support invaluable or necessary, Hemlane is worth considering.
4. TenantCloud
TenantCloud is one of the most affordable tools on this list.
However, depending on what features you’re looking for, you’ll find TenantCloud lacking many useful features that come standard in other tools, unless you move up to one of their premium plans.
Features include:
- Reporting
- Work order management
- Online rent payments
- Insurance reminders
- Vendor payments
TenantCloud Pricing
TenantCloud's lowest-level paid tier costs $15 per month for basic features. Its Growth plan costs $40 per month.
5. Rentec Direct
Rentec Direct is a long-time player with all-around solid features, a mobile app, and multi-user access.
Its feature list is one the most robust of any tool on this list, but it’s also less intuitive, and the interface feels a bit dated and hard to navigate.
Features include:
- Mobile app
- Work order management with tenant maintenance requests and vendor payments
- Tenant screening and lead tracking
- Built-in tenant communication, including SMS text and email
- Robust reporting
Rentec Direct Pricing
Rentec Direct has competitive pricing, with its basic Rentec PRO plan starting at $45 per month, though it only covers 10 units.
Additional units won’t cost you much, though. For 50 units it costs just $65 per month, and 500 units cost $550 per month.
In addition to its basic pricing tier, Rentec Direct offers a tenant screening add-on for between $7 per month with its Basic Screening Package and $15 for the Premium Screening Package.
6. Buildium
Buildium has a good balance of features, ease of use, and affordable pricing, making it an all-around pick. The company also has great training and online support.
The only caveat to Buildium's pricing is that it's designed for portfolios of 50 or more units. So, if you have less than that, you might be overpaying.
Features include:
- Online rent payments
- Custom reporting tools
- Automated monthly bank reconciliation
- A large number of integrations, such as Zillow and Apartments.com
Buildium Pricing
Buildium’s Essential tier starts at $52 per month. Larger portfolios can opt for the Growth plan, which starts at $166 per month, or the Premium plan, which starts at $479.
7. Propertyware
Propertyware is a complete property management software with powerful accounting features like custom reporting, custom field options, and automatic payment reminders.
It offers some of the most detailed and comprehensive reporting features on this list too.
It’s not designed for portfolios below 250 units, though, so the pricing will be high if you have less than that.
Features include:
- Good accounting, including custom reporting
- Work order management
- Email communication options for both tenants and owners
- Owner portal and reports
Propertyware Pricing
Propertyware’s pricing model is a bit different. Instead of a per-unit pricing model or flat fee, the company uses a per-unit model with a monthly minimum.
It's also on the pricey side, with the most basic plan being $1 per unit with a $250 minimum. In other words, unless you have upwards of 250 properties, Propertyware might not be a great fit.
Propertyware also has a one-time onboarding fee, equal to x2 your monthly price. So, if you’re on the basic $250 plan, you’d pay $500 one time for onboarding.
8. Rentroom
Rentroom is a complete property management tool geared toward rental properties. The software is easy to use and has a convenient cash reconciliation function and other unique community features.
The only downside is that Rentroom’s reporting feature is lacking. This is a crucial feature for basic accounting, so larger property management businesses will have a hard time using Rentroom.
Features include:
- Work order management, including tenant maintenance requests from right within the software
- Online rent collection, including reminders
- Tenant portal
- Basic accounting features like cash reconciliation (but limited reporting)
Rentroom Pricing
Rentroom starts at $49.99 per month for up to 15 tenants. If you have more tenants or need more features, you'll have to upgrade to its higher-tier plans that start at $74.99 per month.
9. SimplifyEm
SimplifyEm is a property management software geared toward small- to mid-sized businesses. Its communication and reminders features are particularly lauded as making the process of creating invoices and collecting and tracking payments easier.
It lacks some of the more comprehensive accounting features you might need. Still, like most of the tools on this list, it also integrates with dedicated accounting software like QuickBooks for more functionality.
Features include:
- Scheduling and reminders
- Lease tracking
- Work order and vendor management
- Document tracking
- Community features like group email reminders and alerts
SimplifyEm Pricing
SimplifyEm’s pricing model is based on the number of units you have. Its lowest plan begins at $35 per month for up to 10 units and then $110 for up to 100 units per month. This increases all the way up to$2,010 per month for 2,000 units.
10. Rentmoji
Rentmoji is a cloud-based rental property management solution geared toward small- and mid-sized businesses.
It's known for having a sleek interface that’s easy to use, a great mobile app, and a large number of integrations.
Users report lacking the ability to customize key features, but they say Rentmoji's customer service is great.
Features include:
- Mobile app that allows you to track maintenance requests and rent payments and tenants to pay their rent
- Automated rent payments
- Work order management and vendor portal that allows users to track maintenance tasks
- A large number of integrations
Rentmoji Pricing
Rentmoji’s pricing isn’t public, so you’ll need to schedule a demo to get more information and see if it’s a fit.
Property Accounting Software
Whether you need robust accounting features built with property managers and landlords in mind or you're looking for a full suite of tools to optimize your entire operation, DoorLoop has your back.
Let DoorLoop help streamline your operation by bringing everything together into one easy-to-use platform.
Both highly intuitive and easy to use, DoorLoop has everything you need to manage your rental properties with ease.
It includes the following robust accounting features and more:
- Automated rent payments
- Multiple payment options like ACH and credit cards
- Bill pay
- Chart of accounts
- Custom reporting
DoorLoop also has a full suite of additional features to help you optimize your entire process:
- Built-in CRM and tenant portal that allows tenants to pay rent, check on the status of maintenance orders, and purchase renters' insurance
- Complete work order management, including creating work orders, assigning maintenance requests to vendors, tracking their completion, and even communicating directly with tenants
- Owner portal where you can print checks and send them reports
- Marketing features like automatic listings and tenant screening that make filling vacant units easier than ever
Altogether, DoorLoop is an all-in-one platform for managing your entire portfolio from A to Z.
The best part? DoorLoop has no training or support fees. DoorLoop’s complete rental property management software starts as low as $49/month for your first 20 units... no credit card needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
.svg)
