Not looking forward to calling Zillow tomorrow, as I’m sure I’ll get an endless supply of automated questions.

Another system to help automate all the emails so our email box aren't flooded.

QBO integrates with so many apps that you can almost fully automate your bookkeeping if you put some time into it.

They make it easy by automating the booking process including taking payments maintaining the calendar etc.

The management honestly is pretty straightforward and requires minimal time and we automate our check-in process so we don't have to be physically present. 

I upgraded to the gold version which allows me to include a lot of automation features.

There are platforms (one, in particular, I can think of) that will help you bring a certain level of automation to that rental management process (ie. automatically syndicating a single listing to 10+ major listing sites, thorough tenant screening with full background checks, digital lease creation, automated online rent collection, and maintenance tracking - all from within your account).

Assuming you can automate showings.

It's free, automated, easier for you (no checks to cash), safer for the tenant (no checks to get lost in the mail), and it would create a record that would function just like a receipt. 

Once you do decide to procure your first rental, definitely lean on the BiggerPockets community as a resource; I'll also say that it could be worth considering a shot at a software solution built for DIY landlords (1 - 15 units) to bring some automation to the rental management process (just to make things much much easier for you)!