Baselane is a top property management and rent payment service software for landlords, property managers, and investors with portfolios of any size, earning a 4.48 out of 5 rating. We derived the score based on 35 essential factors for property management software, including customer reviews, pricing, ease of use, and features like online rent collection, tenant screening, accounting, and banking. Our expert Baselane review and evaluation found it to be an excellent option for investors, landlords, and property managers who want a free online rent collection service with bonus features, like property metrics.
Pros
- Tenant portal
- Affordable pricing
- Mobile-friendly
Cons
- No partial payment option
- No landlord-generated leases
- No rental applications
Recommended For
- Landlords and property managers who want free rent collection, accounting, and Baselane banking
- Tenant-paid renter’s insurance
- Access to optional financial services
Not Recommended For
- Landlords and property managers who want to manage applications and leases online
- Landlords who are not tech-savvy
- Sending and managing maintenance requests
- Free Baselane rent collection, bookkeeping, and business banking
- FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)-insured up to $250,000
- Baselane fees of 2.99% for rent processing
- Fees for affiliate services
- Baselane earns interest on business banking merchant fees
Although there are limited customer Baselane reviews online, the excellent reporting features and rent payment services have received high marks. Landlords and property managers value the platform’s simple financial management capabilities and user-friendly interface. A feature that stands out for many customers is the simplicity of producing comprehensive financial reports.
- Trustpilot: 3.9 out of 5 rating based on 14 reviews
- Facebook: 3.4 out of 5 rating based on 6 reviews
- G2: 4.8 out of 5 rating based on 5 reviews
Negative Baselane reviews showed that the platform has a bit of a learning curve and can be confusing. Other reviewers said they had difficulty reaching customer support when they needed help. One reviewer stated that the dashboard isn’t intuitive and struggled with adding and removing properties. If you want highly rated property management software for its ease of use, check out Avail.
We highly recommend Baselane for tenant screening, rent collection, and financial management of your rental property. It’s an excellent resource for landlords and property managers who want a free platform for their bookkeeping, rent collection, and business banking platform. Baselane can keep these services free of charge because it makes money through its affiliate relationships, rent payment services, and merchant fees through the Baselane Visa debit card. Baselane rent payment fees are 2.99% per transaction. The company shares part of its interest and merchant fees with its users, who can earn up to 4.25% annual percentage yield (APY) on all balances and receive 5% cashback. Additionally, its referral program allows users to earn $100 when their referral collects rent into their Baselane accounts. The referral also earns $100.
Though it offers services for new and experienced real estate investors, because of its limited features, it would better serve new landlords and property managers with small portfolios. Baselane could improve by providing rental property maintenance features so landlords and property managers can schedule routine maintenance and unexpected repairs. It also would be nice for landlords to collect partial payments. Another helpful feature would be offering landlords a dedicated place within the dashboard to share vacancies to generate leads.
- Read our finance experts’ Baselane bank reviews in Baselane Business Checking Review 2023.
Baselane Alternatives
Software |  |  |  |  |
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Best For | Automatic reminders | Streamlining property financials | Rent collection and tenant screening tools | A variety of rent payment options |
Key Features |
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Pricing | $0 to $7 per unit | Starting at $15 per month | Starting at $45 per month | Starting at $59 per month |
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Price for plans: Free
Baselane has no monthly fees. As mentioned, it makes money from rent collection, affiliate relationships, and online banking. Landlords pay 2.99% per rent collection transaction when payments are processed within their Baselane bank account. There are no plans. You can immediately sign up and use its banking, rent collection, and bookkeeping tools.
A look at Baselane’s features (Source: Baselane)
Baselane Add-ons
- Hassle-free loans: Instant quote and receive funds within 10 days, no income verification, loans from $55,000 to $2 million, and 75% loan-to-value for purchases.
- Limited Liability Company (LLC) formation service: Available in some states, $29 fee to set up your LLC, plus state filing fees.
- Rental property insurance: Instant rental property insurance powered by Baselane’s affiliate partner, Obie. You can save up to 25% in two to three minutes.
- Free account
- 2.99% rent collection fee
- Free bank account
- Visa debit card with up to 5% cashback
- Built-in bookkeeping
- Transaction tracking
Baselane received a lower score for its general features because it is missing a few elements that some of its top competitors have, such as online applications and leases. However, this is because the software is primarily intended for banking, rent collections, and managing finances, for which it is top-of-the-line software.
Baselane’s features support landlords and property managers with its financial and analytics tools. Users can see their bank balances and collected rent from its main dashboard to track which tenants have paid and who is past due. It provides a bank account balance snapshot with credits, debits, and total balance over a monthly period.
Baselane dashboard with bookkeeping overview (Source: Baselane)
Baselane is one of the best rent collection and property management software for its affordability and simplified dashboard. Once you create your free account, add your properties, and link your bank accounts, you can start collecting rent with a low transaction fee, track your property’s transactions, and use the Baselane Visa debit card with its low 4.25% APY.
Baselane provides various features, from cash flow analytics to property metrics with return on investment (ROI), capitalization rate (cap rate), and cash-on-cash return. Plus, it provides tax reporting tools for your convenience. It also includes tenant screening and a dedicated page for tenants.
Click on each of the arrows below to learn more about the advanced features of Baselane:
- Real-time cash flow analytics and statement
- Revenue, operating expenses, and capital expenditures breakdown
- Charts and graphs snapshots
With Baselane analytics and reporting features, you can see your rental property’s real-time performance, including cash flow, profit and loss (P&L), capital expenditures, operating expenses, and transfers. Easily consolidate your rental property’s financials from your business banking and external accounts in one convenient place.
Analytics in the Baselane dashboard (Source: Baselane)
The analytics and reporting features remove the hassle of keeping multiple spreadsheets and updating them frequently. Landlords and property managers can save over 20 hours per month by automating their finances, which they can evaluate in convenient real-time reports within the Baselane dashboard.
- Full credit reports with rental history and background checks
- Also includes:
- ResidentScore
- Credit report
- Criminal report
- Income insights
- Eviction reports
- Tenant verification
You can start screening tenants from the Baselane dashboard, which redirects you to the TransUnion site (where you can sign up for free). Comprehensive reports provide everything landlords need to know about prospective tenants. TransUnion created ResidentScore to give landlords insights into lease outcomes based on credit, demographic, and eviction data to predict the high risk of tenant default.
Examples of TransUnion SmartMove tenant screening reports (Source: TransUnion)
This is an excellent feature for landlords and property managers. Proper tenant screening can lessen the risk of payment default, property damage, interference with other tenants’ quiet enjoyment, scams, and difficulties, leading to loss of time and money through expenses, repairs, and tenant evictions.
- Includes data on the purchase price, appreciation, and current market value
- Soon-to-be-added features include:
- Net operating income (NOI)
- Return on equity (ROE)
- Cap rate
- Cash-on-cash return
Review your property’s key performance indicators (KPIs) from the property metrics page. See how much your property has increased in value with its appreciation and current market value data. Evaluate performance with NOI, ROE, cap rate, and cash-on-cash return to ensure the property remains a solid investment (these latter features are in the works and will be added soon).
Property metrics from the Baselane dashboard (Source: Baselane)
Investors benefit from having quick and easy access to how their investment properties are performing so they can know if it’s time to increase rents and add other sources of revenue to their properties, like coin-operated laundry, vending machines, paid parking, and capital improvements.
- Tenant portal to track and pay rent and fees
- Landlord access to current and past tenants on the tenant page
- Auto-reminders and late fees
- Fast payments to bank account
Baselane provides a dedicated tenant page for landlords to access former and current tenant records. Tenants have their portal to view current and paid rent, with notices when due. Payments are deposited in your bank account within two to three days. It’s easy to set up, and landlords and tenants receive auto-reminders when rent is due.
Landlord app for paying and tracking rent payments (Source: Baselane)
With the online rent payment system and its convenient tenant page, landlords no longer have to chase tenants for the rent and fees or process payments from platforms like CashApp and Venmo. Viewing former tenants is useful when a previous renter reapplies for another unit. Landlords can review their payment history and other information to decide whether to rent to them again.
Baselane is an easy-to-use platform. The dashboard is uncluttered, and entering data is simple. The online rent payment services allow tenants to sign up for their accounts and set up auto-pay for their rent within five minutes. Landlords simply set up the payment information from their lease, invite their tenants to enroll, and the rent is deposited automatically into their Baselane bank accounts in as little as two to three days.
Baselane’s easy-to-use platform (Source: Baselane)
The dashboard offers several options to contact Baselane, including 24/7 live chat and call scheduling through its in-app messenger. The Baselane offices are open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, or you can email them. There’s also an option to book a live video demo with the company’s onboarding specialists by clicking the “Request a Demo” link at the top of the website page.
Baselane chat feature is accessible from your dashboard. (Source: Baselane)
How We Evaluated Baselane
The best property management software provides landlords, property managers, and real estate investors with the convenience of tools that can manage, track, and analyze their properties while allowing them to screen their tenants and perform business banking, all from one easy-to-use platform. We also considered Baselane landlord reviews of its products and features.
We researched property management software based on the following criteria:
30% of Overall Score
Based on various rental payment features that help landlords and property managers simplify rent collection, improve cash flow, and secure rent transactions.
25% of Overall Score
Pricing is based on the cost structure, a la carte options, and availability of online rent payment services for landlords and tenants.
10% of Overall Score
It consists of various property management features like online payment collection and tenant screening for each tier to meet the specific needs of the property owners and tenants.
10% of Overall Score
Based on how easy it is to navigate the provider interface and if it provides hassle-free transactions and communication between property owners and tenants.
10% of Overall Score
Based on customer feedback for each platform, the functionalities that are most useful for property managers, and areas that need further improvement.
10% of Overall Score
Our team’s expertise in the field and firsthand experience with the providers allow us to evaluate the standout features, value for the money, and ease of use for rent payment service software.
5% of Overall Score
We looked into the convenience and attainability of customer service for technical and customer support.
Bottom Line
Baselane is an excellent option for landlords, investors, and property managers who want the convenience of online rent payment with free accounting and banking services. It’s a top-rated property management software for its affordability, convenience, and additional features. The add-on options for discounted property insurance, loans with favorable rates, and tenant access to rental insurance save money for property owners and tenants alike.
