What programs do you use for bookkeeping?

[Aubrey H.]

My husband and I have been renting properties for about one and a half years. As we are growing, we realize we need to have a better accounting/bookkeeping system then the one we started out with (an excel sheet). 

What have you used and what are the pros and cons?

[Nathan Gesner]

@Aubrey H. you should look into the many software programs available for Landlords. Two of the more popular systems are www.cozy.co and www.tenantcloud.com

You can use the magnifying glass in the upper-right corner of your screen to search for Cozy and TenantCloud and you'll see people talking about them a lot. You can also search google for "Landlord software" or "property management software" and see what comes up.

Cozy and TenantCloud are free or you pay a small fee of around $10 a month. It includes tracking your tenant leases, maintenance, income, expenses, and even handles advertising your units. My software costs me almost $500 a month and I was pretty impressed with what TenantCloud could do for free!

My recommendation is to try out 2-3 different programs. Load properties and tenants into the software. When rent comes in or you add a charge or you move a tenant out or you enter a maintenance request, do the exact same action in all the software programs to get a feel for who does it better. Run reports to see which ones are easier to read. You should be able to pick one after a few weeks of testing.