Best software to use for book keeping

[Warren Romig]

I plan on having 50 units by the end of the year..what's the best/most simple software to use for bookkeeping?

[Andrew S.]

Originally posted by @Warren Romig:

I plan on having 50 units by the end of the year..what's the best/most simple software to use for bookkeeping?

 Quickbooks

calling @Nancy Neville

[Christian Costa]

Quickbooks is good and powerful but I believe there are property management specific software that make the bookkeeping process more RE specific 

[Fred Heller]

Quickbooks is not good for property management companies. There are some property management functions, like trust accounts, that it is simply not equipped to handle.

I use PropertyWare, which is pretty thorough. They also have a marketing section which allows you to store all the info and then market your vacant units with one click. What I don't like about it is it's pretty clunky and hard to understand at first.

Buildium is pretty good. It's user friendly and not very expensive. I think you pay something like $40 for the first 30 doors, another $40 for the next 30 doors, etc.

There's also a cloud-based service called TenantCloud.com. I've played around with it, and it's pretty simple. It also has the advantage of being free.

The most popular programs, Appfolio and Yardi, are good but very expensive. They have minimum fees of somewhere in the $200/month range. I wouldn't consider these until you have hundreds of doors.

[Tyler Zindars]

Again, I think it is a matter of perspective on your bigger plans in terms of properties managed or owned. It takes time to learn some of these programs. I use appfolio and I don't have any where near 200 units. You should evaluate different software programs to see what works the best for you. Getting property management specific software will absolutely save you time and money in the long run. The sooner you have the systems in place the easier it is to expand your business.

[Carl Willis]

Easy Property Management.   Unlimited units and tenants in either a single owner or multi-owner version.  License would run $119.  They also offer a free download for evaluation purposes.  http://landlordpropertymanagementsoftware.com/

[Nicholas B.]

Originally posted by @Tyler Zindars:

Again, I think it is a matter of perspective on your bigger plans in terms of properties managed or owned. It takes time to learn some of these programs. I use appfolio and I don't have any where near 200 units. You should evaluate different software programs to see what works the best for you. Getting property management specific software will absolutely save you time and money in the long run. The sooner you have the systems in place the easier it is to expand your business.

 Hi Tyler, Could you give me an idea of how many units you do own/manage? I've been seriously considering Appfolio with only 30 units that I own/manage due to the fact that it has everything I'm looking for and I will never outgrow it. Still, it's been hard to justify at $250/month so I've been stuck with Propertyware which I can't wait to move from.

[Gita Faust]

@Fred Heller Let me know your concerns about Trust Accounting aka Escrow in QuickBooks.

[Jose Ramos]

@Tyler Zindars your comment is on point. I've worked with many property managers across the US in my role of Business Development at Buildium and having a good systems foundation from the very start is essential for long term success. A full property management solution that goes beyond accounting can do some great things like help you reduce the number of unnecessary calls from tenants and owners while scaling your business. @Warren Romig and @Nicholas B. if I'd be more than happy to answer any questions regarding Buildium. Here is a great article from BP on bookkeeping. 

[Gita Faust]

@Jose Ramos So agree to get the foundation right from the start. 

[David Chwaszczewski]

@Warren Romig  I use Landlordstation It works for managing properties i own and only costs $10 per month. I don't know how well it will work if you are managing other investors properties as i would think you would want better reporting tools.  Mostly keeps track of all the basics (applications, repair requests, tenant info, online payments).

Also i use quicken for MAC to keep the accounting for my rentals.  Just find something that you like and stick with it until you need to be more detailed with reporting.

[Leah Clayton Sutton]

Quickbooks is a safe bet, very user friendly if you are maintaining the books yourself.