I know there is software I can pay for that will help cut time with lead gen, but I feel that route may not help me learn as much as a beginner.I just wanted some feedback from the community on how you all would approach starting out.

What are some software and apps that you guys have found helpful to manage your business(s)?

I use facebook, but I turn off commenting because there are so many keyboard warriors just posting useless nonsense.If you use a property management software like TenantCloud (free for 75 units), they will publish your available rental on dozens of different sites with the click of a button.

This was a value add facility (we fixed the gate, added software, got rid of a meth-head, etc.

What is the best software for accounting purposes?

If you use PM, they will provide the accounting for you, they're usually using software like Buildium,manageproperties,etc.

@David Esslinger - I am in the same boat as @Chris Walko, we just charge a move-in fee now and don't do a deposit because it can be very hard to keep track of and then when you miss it up you have the "professional tenants" that will come after you.We self-manage here in Chicago and use a property management software www.hemlane.com which works great.

A great software that you can look into is Tenant cloud.

So far I'm impressed with the software. 

It doesn't need to be an account owned by an LLC it can still be in your personal name.Its also probably worth investing the time into learning an accounting software like QuickBooks as you will probably grow out of your spreadsheet method quickly.Good luck!