8 Best Real Estate Accounting Software of 2024

With how vital accounting is to property management, you can’t mess around with a hodge-podge of complicated Excel spreadsheets.

That’s why accounting software specifically designed for real estate can be a large help to real estate businesses by improving financial management.

Whether you’re a team of property managers or a solo owner managing a few properties, real estate accounting software does all kinds of things for you such as:

• Make rent collection easier
• Greatly reduce stress related to tax time (everything’s organized, always)
• Run key reports that offer actionable insights
• Easily pay vendors
• And more

Whether you’re new to real estate accounting or simply looking to brush up on your knowledge, we put together a fantastic review that goes over the best of the best.

The list is split between general accounting software and all-in-one property management software.

3 Best General Accounting Software for Real Estate In 2024

General accounting software is designed for a broad audience, not specifically for the real estate industry. It helps everyone manage their balance sheets, track income and expenses, and run accounting reports.

However, real estate owners often need to separate property accounting from business accounting. These tasks are unique to real estate and are typically beyond the scope of general accounting software.

That said, here's general accounting solutions that offer some of the most comprehensive accounting features available:

• Best for general features: QuickBooks
• Best for personal accounting: Quicken
• Best for free plan: Wave

Best for General Features: QuickBooks

Pros: Well known across the industry.

Cons: Not an all-in-one solution.

QuickBooks is the go-to accounting software for real estate agents, investors, and professionals—but you didn’t need us to tell you that. It has every accounting feature you need and then some, and everything you need to grow as your portfolio grows.

While QuickBooks excels in accounting features, it may not be tailored specifically for property accounting, which can pose challenges for property owners and property managers using it as their sole accounting solution.

Additionally, QuickBooks lacks the comprehensive property management features found in dedicated software. However, there are effective workarounds, and for those with larger portfolios, QuickBooks is indispensable for its robust accounting capabilities.

Features include:

• Expense tracking by class and location
• Comprehensive reporting tools
• Bill pay and management
• Automatic monthly payments (if you integrate with QuickBooks Payments)

Pricing

QuickBooks Simple Start plan comes in at $30 per month, with a caveat.

To get several key features you’ll likely want and need (e.g., bill pay), you’ll need to upgrade to the Advanced plan at $200 per month, making QuickBooks Online pricey compared to many dedicated property accounting software options.

Best for Personal Accounting: Quicken

Pros: Great features for personal accounting.

Cons: Does not offer property management features.

Like QuickBooks, Quicken is a dedicated accounting software with a good number of features, such as tracking profit and loss by property.

It’s not as robust as QuickBooks, and it's designed more for personal accounting. However, it might be a good option for property owners with only a couple properties.

If you have a small portfolio and need a simple solution that also allows you to handle your personal accounting simultaneously, it’s an affordable option.

Features include:

• Expense tracking
• Basic reporting
• Rental agreements
• Personal accounting tools

Pricing

Quicken’s starter Simplifi plan costs $3.99 per month, though you won't get the property management features you need. For that, you’ll need to pick up the Home & Business edition. That comes in at $9.99 monthly and is only offered for Windows operating systems.

Best for Free Plan: Wave

Pros: Free plan with good accounting features.

Cons: Limited features, specially for property managers and property owners.

Wave is another dedicated accounting tool worth mentioning, particularly for those looking for a free or low-cost option.

You’ll need to make sacrifices, as you won’t be able to get certain premium features like reporting by property, which other options would give you. But you get a decent list of other features for a low price.

Features include:

• Online rent payments (if you use the connected Wave Payments service)
• Multiple payment methods, such as credit card and ACH
• Invoicing and invoice tracking

Pricing

Wave offers a 100% free plan with no strings attached. You’ll have limited features, but it’s a great start if you have a small portfolio or a limited budget and just need something to get started.

5 Best Real Estate Accounting Software In 2024

While property accounting software may have fewer general accounting features, it’s specifically designed to meet the unique needs of property managers, owners, and investors. These software options offer custom features tailored to property accounting, making them highly effective for the real estate business.

Depending on your specific needs and requirements, you might need a more comprehensive accounting solution. In such cases, integrating with QuickBooks becomes essential. While uncommon among property accounting software, our best all-in-one choice offers this integration.

Here are five specialized real estate accounting software that address these needs with comprehensive features designed specifically for property management.

• Best all-in-one software: DoorLoop
• Best for an affordable plan: TenantCloud
• Best for inclusive features: Buildium
• Best for accounting features: AppFolio
• Best for simple features: Rentroom

Best All-In-One Software: DoorLoop

Pros: All-in-one software with its own accounting features and a QuickBooks integration.

Cons: No free trial.

DoorLoop is an all-in-one property management software with everything you need to manage your property accounting and other property management software tools.

In fact, you get not only a full suite of property accounting features but also a complete set of property management features to help make managing your properties simpler and easier.

Plus, a rarity among property management software, DoorLoop offers a convenient QuickBooks Online integration that’s incredibly easy to set up.

Literally—it takes minutes. Here, don’t take our word for it:

DoorLoop uses Plaid to sync with your bank account, automatically importing your income and expenses. Then, it automatically categorizes everything within DoorLoop.

Features include:

• Automatic bank account syncing with Plaid
• Convenient QuickBooks Online integration
• Full chart of accounts
• Bill pay and tracking
• Tenant portal that offers online rent payments, payment history, and a simple way to communicate with your tenants on maintenance requests
• Owner portal that allows you to run key reports and print checks
• And more

Pricing

DoorLoop starts at just $59 per month for up to 20 units.

Schedule a free demo with DoorLoop to see what it can do for you.

Best for An Affordable Plan: TenantCloud

TenantCloud is an affordable property management software that helps you manage the financial health of your business.

Pros: Affordable pricing plans.

Cons: Offers basic features.

TenantCloud offers fewer and less robust features than most dedicated tools on this list.

However, it makes up for it with one most affordable pricing plans.

Includes:

• Financial reporting
• Insurance reminders
• Maintenance request management
• Vendor payments
• Cloud-based platform

Pricing

The Starter plan costs $15 per month. While lacking in many areas, it offers several useful features such as maintenance request management, online rent payments, and some basic accounting tools. For more features, you can upgrade to the Growth plan for $50 per month. You can have an unlimited number of listings under any of TenantCloud's plans.

Best for Inclusive Features: Buildium

Pros: All-in-one solution with robust features.

Cons: Does not offer a QuickBooks integration as of July 2024.

Buildium makes the list for its great number of features, including a robust set of accounting tools like online rent payments, expense tracking, and automatic expense allocation.  However, they do not offer a QuickBooks integration.

Features include, but are not limited to:

• Online rent payments
• Bill pay and payment tracking
• Decent reporting tools
• Expense tracking

Pricing

Please visit Buildium’s website to see their latest prices and packages.

Best for Accounting Features: AppFolio

Pros: Intuitive user interface and large set of accounting features.

Cons: Does not offer a QuickBooks integration as of July 2024.

AppFolio is a similar offering to Buildium, though with a combination of unique pros and cons.

AppFolio has a large set of accounting features, including smart bill entry, automated late fees, and good reporting tools. If you have a large portfolio and you don’t need QuickBooks, it could be a good option for you.

However, it’s definitely on the pricey end if you have fewer than around 200 properties. Plus, like Buildium, it doesn’t offer a QuickBooks Online integration, which really holds back its potential as an effective property accounting tool.

Features include:

• Automatic rent payments
• Smart bill entry
• Automated late fees
• Security deposit account holding

Pricing

AppFolio uses a pure per-unit, per-month pricing model at between $1.40 and $3.00 per unit depending on the plan.

However, AppFolio gets pricey when you factor in its $280 and $900 monthly minimums, which also depend on the plan. That means if you have fewer than 250 properties, you’re overpaying for the same features you can get from other options for less.

Best for Simple Features: Rentroom

Pros: Intuitive platform.

Cons: Limited reporting features.

Rentroom is a complete property management tool geared toward rental properties. The software is easy to use and has a convenient cash reconciliation function and other unique community features.

The only downside is that Rentroom’s reporting feature isn't as comprehensive. This is a crucial feature for basic accounting, thus larger property management businesses will have a hard time using Rentroom.

Features include:

• Work order management, including tenant maintenance requests from right within the software
• Online rent collection, including reminders
• Tenant portal
• Basic accounting features, such as cash reconciliation (but limited reporting)

Pricing

Rentroom starts at $49.00 per month for up to 15 tenants. If you have more tenants or need more features, you can upgrade to its other plans for $74.99, $149.99, or $249.99 per month based on your needs.

Best Choice

Although biased, we think you'd love DoorLoop! The entire software is made by a development team full of real estate professionals and it's sure to meet all your real estate accounting needs. Schedule a free demo with DoorLoop.

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