It’s no secret that rental property management is a complex business. Between collecting rent, managing maintenance requests, and dealing with tenant issues, it can be difficult to keep track of all the details.
That’s where rental property accounting software comes in. Of course, it can simplify your accounting, with features such as a chart of accounts, 1099 efiling, and automated entries. But did you know it can also help you manage payments from owners and residents and help you when tax time rolls around?
In this blog post (and in the video below), we’ll look at 10 of the best accounting software solutions for landlords and property managers and which one is right for you. But before we get to that, let’s dive into some of the essential features any rental property accounting software solution should have.
Key Features to Look for in Rental Property Accounting Software
The best rental property accounting software includes income tracking, automated bank reconciliation, tax preparation tools, online payment processing, fund accounting, easy integrations, and strong support. These features help you manage property finances efficiently while staying compliant and saving time.
#1: Automated Bank Reconciliation
As one property manager told us, “There’s no way we could do as many accounts as efficiently as we are without [an] auto-rec feature.”
Instead of pouring through your chart of accounts line by line to match it up with bank statements, use an accounting software that includes auto-reconciliation. The software will match up dollar amounts for you. At the end of the month, quarter, or year, you’ll only have to pay attention to the items that did not match.
#2: Rental Property Chart of Accounts
There are plenty of generic accounting software solutions available—QuickBooks® comes to mind—and they work pretty well—up to a point.
Landlords and property managers need purpose-driven rental property accounting software that includes a chart of accounts customized for the needs of their business.
Not only are you handling your own books, but you’re keeping track of multiple accounts for your owners, accepting and paying out rent, holding deposits, and keeping track of your bottom line. You need a chart of accounts that includes fields and entries that capture all of that information.
#3: 1099 eFiling
It’s the beginning of a new year. You’re just getting back on track after the chaos of the holidays. Do you really want to deal with filling out, filing and sending physical 1099s?
Rental property accounting software for property managers should should be able to:
- Generate 1099s for all of your owners and vendors automatically
- Send digital copies
- Print and postmark hard copies
#4: Online Rent Payments
More and more, renters want to take care of communications and transactions online—and property managers want an easier way to keep track of all that money.
Online payments that are recorded in your rental property accounting software automatically save time and hassle for everyone. Tenants can make a secure payment, or set up recurring payments, from anywhere and reduce late or lost payments. Property managers can reduce time spent chasing down late payments, and owners can get their money more quickly.
#5: Accounts Payable
A good rental property accounting software solution should also handle your accounts payable. Money going to vendors and employees should be easy to track and pay out on time every month.
#6: Fund Accounting
If you manage associations, fund accounting capabilities are key. Making sure there is enough money in the reserve and operating funds and checking that resident fees are on time is a key part of keeping an association running smoothly.
Property management accounting software should be set up to handle fund accounting and to automate much of the process for you.
We’ve covered what your rental property accounting software should look like. So what is the best rental property accounting software?
Let’s take a look at some of our top picks.
#1: Buildium: Best All-in-One Rental Property Accounting Software
Buildium® is a comprehensive property management software that serves landlords and property managers of all sizes, property types, and growth stages. Buildium is purpose-built with accounting tools to support single-family, multifamily, mixed portfolios, and community association managers.
Features
Buildium has a number of features built specifically for property managers:
- Property-specific templates: Allocate transactions to properties, units, owners, or vendors
- Automated bank reconciliation: Auto-rec feature saves hours of manual work
- Integrated payments: Collect rent and pay vendors in one place with transaction records
- Built-in calculators: Automatic payment tracking for recurring charges
- Digital tools: Digital leasing and payment capabilities included
Pricing
Buildium offers three tiers of pricing. All plans include:
- Accounting
- Maintenance
- Task Management
- Violations
- Online Portals
- Resident & Board Member Communications
The three tiers are customized to meet the needs of property management businesses and landlords in different phases of growth:
- Essential: Starting at $62/month, Essential includes Buildium’s core features and is geared toward property management companies and landlords who are looking for accounting and task management tools.
- Growth: Starting at $192/month, Growth is the plan for property managers and landlords looking to grow without worrying about scaling costs. It includes reduced incoming ACH, unlimited eSignatures, and actionable insights in Analytics Hub.
- Premium: Starting at $400/month, this plan is meant for property management firms who want to build more automation into their workflows and increase efficiencies. It includes everything in Growth, unlimited incoming ACH (fees waived), plus access to Buildium’s Open API and Priority Support.
#2: OneSite: Great Property Management Accounting Software for Large Property Managers
RealPage® Accounting, integrated into RealPage OneSite®, is well-suited for corporate property management companies with larger portfolios and is particularly useful if you manage affordable housing or multifamily properties.
Features
OneSite’s accounting software features include:
- Financial close management: Automate month- and year-end closings
- Job cost and replacement reserves: Track capital expenditures down to the unit level
- Budgeting tools: Reduce costs and improve accuracy
- Corporate accounting tools: Designed for larger, more complex property management businesses
Pricing
OneSite doesn’t publish pricing on their website. For rates, you’ll have to contact them directly.
#3: Propertyware: Great Rental Property Accounting Software with Complete Flexibility
Propertyware® is a fully customizable rental property management tool. Landlords and property managers have control of every aspect of their business and properties—including their books. The software was designed by single-family rental property managers specifically for that market.
Features
Propertyware allows property managers to run their books on either an accrual or cash basis. It includes:
- Portfolio-level accounting
- Customizable fields and reports
- Automated accounts receivable and accounts payable
- The ability to calculate and collect fees
- Automated reconciliations
- Integration with QuickBooks
- Accurate maintenance job mapping and costing
Pricing
Propertyware has three pricing tiers:
- Basic: $1 per unit per month, with a $250 minimum
- Plus: $1.50 per unit per month, with a $350 minimum
- Premium: $2 per unit per month, with a $450 minimum
#4: QuickBooks: Notable Generic Accounting Software
QuickBooks® is a well-known accounting tool, but is not specifically designed for property management. Businesses of all sizes and industries use it for its array of accounting features.
Features
QuickBooks offers all the basic features you need to run your accounting. That includes
- A chart of accounts to record all transactions
- Invoice templates and customizable tagging and coding
- Billing and automatic payment recognition through the platform
- 1099 eFiling
- A host of analytics and tools to help you keep track of the health of your business
All of their features are meant to cover a wide range of businesses, so you might find that some tools don’t quite cover the needs of a property manager. You can explore a side-by-side comparison of Buildium and QuickBooks here.
Pricing
QuickBooks offers four pricing tiers:
- Simple Start: $17.50/month with core features including receipt capture, general reports, income and expenses, mileage tracking, and invoice and payments
- Essentials: $32.50/month adds bill management, three users, entering employee time, and connecting three sales channels
- Plus: $49.50/month adds unlimited sales channels, inventory, and project profitability
- Advanced: $117.50/month includes automation, premium apps, analytics, batch invoices, and a dedicated account team
#5: TenantCloud: Good Rental Property Accounting Software for Landlords
TenantCloud® contains some useful features for landlords to handle their own accounting and even branch out into other parts of property management, such as listing rentals and finding and screening tenants. Because of this, smaller property managers might also benefit from TenantCloud’s add-on options.
Features
TenantCloud includes some other standard rental property software features for leasing, listing management, maintenance, and applicant screenings. You can also enable credit and debit card payments and autopay for your tenants.
For more specific accounting tools, however, you’ll need to upgrade to more expensive plans. These higher-tier packages include tax report creation and the ability to sync with Quickbooks, and the ability to set up ACH payments. Keep in mind that this last feature is available in starting plans of other solutions on this list, such as Buildium.
If you want to upgrade your payment features you can add these à la carte options to your plan:
- Roommates: Screen, approve, and generate a lease for each roommate with split payment collection
- Rentability Report: Compare listings and rent trends in your market for $19.95 per report
- Rent Reporting: Add tenant payments to credit reports for $6.95 per lease per month
Pricing
TenantCloud is available in four pricing tiers:
- Starter: $15.60/month with lead gen, lead tracking, e-signature, and accounting reports
- Growth: $29.30/month adds lease tools, lead tracking CRM, owner portals, and property message boards
- Pro: $50.40/month adds tax reports, application customizations, Google calendar sync, and Quickbooks sync
- Business: Custom pricing with team and task management tools and auto-refresh for listings
Ticketing support is accessible through the Starter plan, while phone support is only offered in the Pro plan.
#6: Building Engines: Feature-Rich Commercial Property Accounting Software
If you’re a commercial property manager, Building Engines® is a good option to explore. Their software is designed specifically for offices, retail spaces, and other commercial buildings.
Features
Building Engines’ Prism platform includes a long list of features for commercial property accounting:
- Payment dashboards: Keep payments and invoices organized
- Certificates of insurance tracking through Prism Insurance
- Billable services: Track commercial property billable services
- Auto-invoicing: Work orders, conference rooms, loading docs, and other amenities
Beyond accounting, you can monitor HVAC inventory, use vendor and bid management tools, activate self-service reservations, and supply your team with mobile tools for inspections and maintenance work.
Pricing
Building Engines only offers custom pricing based on customers’ property type and use case. You can reach out to request a quote on their site.
#7: ResMan: Good Multifamily Rental Property Accounting Software
ResMan® is effective for property managers, investors, and owners typically with multifamily and affordable housing portfolios. Their solution lets you manage units while taking care of daily operations and finding ways to grow your business.
Features
ResMan includes a suite of accounting, budgeting, maintenance, and reporting features built specifically for multifamily rental property management. Their accounting tools include:
- On-platform reporting and bank reconciliation
- Inventory and renovation tracking at the item level
- An automated accounts receivable process
- Real-time invoice approvals with central online processing
- Online payments with auto-pay
- Daily gross potential rent processing (GPR)
ResMan also includes compliance tools such as HUD certification validation and tax credit programs for affordable housing management.
Pricing
ResMan does not have set pricing options available on their site. You’ll have to reach out directly to their sales team to receive a custom quote.
#8: MRI Living: Established Rental Property Software with Accounting and Leasing Features
Like ResMan, MRI Living® caters to multifamily property managers. It is one of three main platforms the company offers (the others being MRI Work® for commercial properties and MRI Agora®, a business intelligence tool).
Features
With MRI Living’s accounting features, you can manage accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, P&L and balance sheet production from one platform. You’ll also have access to a centralized accounting database with search and reporting capabilities.
MRI Living also helps simplify the lead-to-lease process:
- Schedule appointments by website, chat, email or phone
- Screen potential applicants through an integration with CheckpointID before setting up a tour
- Set up a secure, digital application and signing process
- Automate communication across email, text, and phone with the Callmax feature
- Collect and process payments online through your preferred payment channel using RentPayment
Pricing
MRI doesn’t publish pricing information on their website. You’ll have to book a consultation with their team to get specific pricing details.
#9: Rent Manager: Customizable Rental Property Accounting Software
Rent Manager® by London Computer Systems offers both offline and online versions of their software. Their offline offering, Rent Manager Standalone, installs directly onto a computer’s local drive. Rent Manager Online (RMO) is a SaaS platform for access on the go.
Features
Rent Manager works for a range of property management company sizes and portfolio types with standard features including accounting, communication tools, performance reporting, leasing, and maintenance.
Key accounting features include:
- Double-entry accounting system for cash and accrual accounting simultaneously
- Electronic bank reconciliation
- Vendor accounts with contact details, past communication, and payment history
Pricing
Rent Manager has three tiers with their own pricing:
- Basic: $1 per unit per month ($200 minimum, 2x implementation fee) with unlimited users, live support, resident screenings, and mobile app
- Plus: $1.50 per unit per month ($300 minimum, 2x implementation fee) adds Call Center access, two-way texting, rmAppSuite Pro, and bank syncing
- Premium: $50 per unit per month ($500 minimum, 2x implementation fee) adds maintenance scheduling, video inspections, and customer success support
Rent Manager’s Open API is available as an add-on for all plans for an additional fee.
#10: PropertyMe: Rental Property Software with Specialized Trust Accounting Features
PropertyMe® is a rental property management solution focusing on both accounting and tenant and owner communication.
Features
While PropertyMe has basic listing, inspection, and bill management features, the software mainly focuses on accounting. You can store files, statements, and bank transaction data in the platform for reference and reporting.
Key capabilities include:
- Single or bulk disbursements with automated reminders
- Automated bank account reconciliation
- Autopay for admin, management, and letting fees
- Sales agreement and statement creation for property sales
Pricing
PropertyMe’s pricing is split into three tiers, charged based on properties in 100-property increments:
- Basic: $172.50/month for up to 100 properties ($900 onboarding) with trust accounting, reporting, transaction imports, messages, job management, and mobile app
- Standard: $310.50/month for up to 200 properties ($900 onboarding) adds recurring invoices, bank feeds, automation studio, business insights, and key management
- Premium: $414/month for up to 200 properties ($900 onboarding) adds PropertyMe API and Customer Success Manager service
Note: Onboarding fees increase to $1,348 for 400+ properties and $1,800 for 900+ properties.
Quick Comparison: Top Rental Property Accounting Software
| Software | Best For | Starting Price | Key Strength | Auto Bank Rec | 1099 eFiling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buildium | All property types | $62/month | All-in-one solution | ✓ | ✓ |
| OneSite | Large portfolios | Custom | Corporate accounting | ✓ | ✓ |
| Propertyware | Single-family | $250/month | Complete flexibility | ✓ | ✓ |
| QuickBooks | General business | $17.50/month | Familiar interface | ✓ | ✓ |
| TenantCloud | Property owners | $15.60/month | Affordable entry point | Pro tier+ | Pro tier+ |
This table highlights starting features and pricing for our top picks. Visit each platform’s website for complete pricing details and feature lists.
Which Rental Property Accounting Software Should You Choose?
As you’ve probably realized, there’s a lot of software options out there to help you handle rental property accounting. If you want a solution that seamlessly connects your bookkeeping and reporting with the rest of your operations, a comprehensive platform like Buildium is a smart choice.
You can give Buildium’s software a spin for 14 days for free, (or sign up for a guided demo) without having to enter any payment details. And, if you want to learn about other ways you can simplify rental property accounting, take a look at Buildium’s resources on the topic.
