How do you handle your books when a PM manages your portfolio?

[Nathan Biller]

I have a handful of properties which are all managed by the same property manager. They use Rent Manager, and I'm able to log in and view all the standard reports as well as a complete general ledger detail. However, I pay the mortgage (principal and interest) as well as property taxes and insurance myself. My low-tech solution has been Excel, and I typically wait until tax time to compile complete financial statements. I'm curious what other investors do? Does your PM pay all the bills to provide complete financial statements? Should I be looking at QuickBooks or another solution? Seems redundant to duplicate all the accounting in another system, but I would really prefer to have a complete set of books each month.

Or if you have properties that are more dispersed and use multiple Property Managers where do you consolidate everything?

Thanks for any feedback you might be willing to offer!