Best Bookkeeping program for Real Estate Investors?

Question

Hey fellow BPers! Interested to see what program you all use to keep your books? I have heard good things about QuickBooks, however obviously they are not RE centric, and I've heard you need a little bit of accounting background to get the most out of it.

Currently I use excel. Yes, yes, I know it can be a bit inefficient, which is why I am posing the question! Thanks in advance.

Tyrell Perry · Answer

TenantCloud. It's built for real estate accounting.

Jill F. · Answer

We use (and like) Buildium.

Alex S. · Answer

https://www.avail.co/i/Nezd

Hideyuki Gojima · Answer

When you choose your bookkeeping program, you should choose the software that suits your needs the best. There are so many softwares out there that add so many features that you do not even need.

If you have only one property, you may not even need a software. Excel is such a powerful tool.

If you only need accounting software, you should check out accounting softwares that are best suited for your needs.

If you like to manage your tenants with a software, you should check out property management softwares. Some of them have accounting features as well. If it is the best, you should use both accounting software and a property management software.

Jorge A. Aguilar · Answer

Hi @David Campbell

Everyone else brings great points. If I was in your shoes, the question I would be asking myself is  - When my investing business takeoff and I can no longer do the accounting - how easy is it to leverage the software? In other words, it is easy to find someone that knows how to use the software without you having to teach them?

Think about your business 1,2 or 3 years from now. Which software best maps out to that scenario? I can tell you that once you make a selection it's going to be a pain to transfer information from one software to another OR it's going to cost you a lot of money.

Gita Faust · Answer

Two software - property management and financial management.

Think for not only one property, but for the future before you make a decision.

Here are a few questions you need to ask when someone says it is an accounting software as well:

- Can you view Balance Sheet by Property

- Track loans and mortgages - on which report?

- Can you reconcile bank and credit card accounts?

- Can you budget and forecast by each property?

- Would you be able to review the Cash Flow report?

- Can you view your reports on Accrual and Cash basis?

- Is everything entered as a Journal Entry or Double Entry system?

Just asking is not enough, you have to go and view the report and see if it works?

Before you get into a software - ask them to view the reports.

David Campbell · Answer

Thanks @Alex S. and @Jill F. !!!!!

Best Bookkeeping program for Real Estate Investors?

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