The best hotel accounting software includes the ability to monitor income and expenses, produce basic financial reports, and manage revenue. It’s even better if it offers extra features, such as assisted bookkeeping services, payroll processing, and a bookkeeping engine to streamline reservation management.
That said, here are our top five best accounting software for hotels:
- Cloudbeds: Best overall hotel accounting software with an integrated booking engine
- QuickBooks Online: Best for small, independently owned hotels needing local bookkeeping assistance
- Nimble Property: Best for extensive hotel management features
- Hotelier Books: Best for limited-service hotels on a budget
- M3 Accounting Core: Best for hotel chains building new hotels
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Comparison of Best Hotel Accounting Software
Monthly Pricing | Number of Users | Booking Engine | Assisted Bookkeeping Available | Hotel Payroll | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Quote-based | Unlimited | ✓ | ✕ | Via third-party integration |
 | $99 for Plus $235 for Advanced | Up to 5 | ✕ | ✓ | Additional cost |
 | From $250 | Unlimited | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
 | From $169 | 1 | ✕ | ✓ | Via third-party integration |
 | Quote-based | Unlimited | ✕ | ✓ | Additional cost |
Cloudbeds: Best Overall Hotel Accounting Software With Integrated Booking Engine
Pros
- Only software on this list with a booking engine
- Can assign different roles and permissions to each user
- Data migration services available
- Professional support team based in the US and other parts of the world
Cons
- Requires accounting integration to produce financial statements
- No mobile app
- Pricing isn’t transparent
- Customer service is mainly online
- No free trial; can only test a demo account for 21 days
Cloudbeds’ prices aren’t disclosed on the provider’s website, and you need to contact the sales team to request a customized quote. Factors that affect prices include the type of property you manage and the add-on features needed (e.g., priority support and payment terminal integration).
Cloudbeds provides comprehensive hotel management features, including complete financial planning and reporting, housekeeping tools, and a dedicated hotel booking engine. It also provides a few built-in accounting features, such as bank reconciliation and fixed asset accounting. This eliminates the need to use separate software to handle different tasks, including billing and reservation management.
The platform has useful features, such as real-time reporting analytics and housekeeping organization functions, and strong hotel management tools, including a booking engine and pricing intelligence engine. The booking engine is a big plus for hoteliers since it can help them manage incoming bookings, organize hotel operations, and plan hotel workforce; this is the only tool on this list that has a built-in booking engine.
Cloudbeds’ accounting features are weak if used standalone, and the app relies on third-party accounting software integration for better accounting features, which would mean an additional subscription. Hotelier Books is a great alternative if you are looking for software with more powerful hotel accounting features and don’t need integration with third-party accounting software.
Cloudbeds could have aced our evaluation of hotel management features if it had built-in features for managing hotel staff payroll. Its native accounting functionalities are a bit limited, but it does integrate with QuickBooks Online to enable essential accounting features like online bill payment processing.
We couldn’t award it a higher mark in pricing as its costs aren’t publicly disclosed on the website. We would also have awarded it a higher score for customer service if it offered phone support like Nimble Property and Hotelier Books (discussed below).
QuickBooks Online Plus: Best for Small, Independently Owned Hotels Needing Local Bookkeeping Assistance
Pros
- Bookkeeping help readily available from an enormous network of independent ProAdvisors
- Powerful mobile app
- Wide selection of customizable financial reports
- Plus and Advanced tiers allow you to track by class and location
Cons
- Can’t contact phone support directly unless you upgrade to Advanced
- Can’t add more users without upgrading plan
- No hotel management features without integrations
- No dedicated account team
We recommend the Plus or Advanced plan because of the class and location tracking. However, the lower-priced plans might work for a single location without the need to separate income by classes:
- QuickBooks Online Simple Start: $35 per month for one user
- QuickBooks Online Essentials: $65 per month for three users
- QuickBooks Online Plus: $99 per month for five users
- QuickBooks Online Advanced: $235 per month for 25 users
New subscribers can choose between 50% off for the first three months or a 30-day free trial.
QuickBooks Online is our top-recommended small business accounting software and is a great option for small independently owned hotels that don’t necessarily need hotel features and want to find a local bookkeeper who can help on an as-needed basis. QuickBooks is by far the most popular small business accounting software in the United States and, as such, most bookkeepers are very familiar with it.
Although it lacks built-in hotel management features, QuickBooks Online has many integration options with point-of-sale (POS) systems and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. If hotel features are important to you, we recommend Cloudbeds for its booking engine or Nimble Property for its extensive hotel management features.
QuickBooks Online aced our pricing criterion because it’s the most affordable option among the software we reviewed. We would have awarded it a perfect mark for general accounting features as well if it could track fixed assets in the lower plans. For now, you have to upgrade to Advanced to be able to track and manage fixed assets like hotel equipment and vehicles.
Additionally, it didn’t do well in hotel management, which is understandable since it’s more of a general-purpose accounting software. For this, a specialized software like Cloudbeds is a good option. QuickBooks lost one point for customer support because you can’t contact phone support directly—you must request a callback unless you get the Advanced plan, which provides a direct line to phone assistance.
Nimble Property: Best for Extensive Hotel Management Features
Pros
- iOS and Android mobile app
- Scalable and customizable
- Can manage multiple properties
- Prompt and efficient support and service
Cons
- Pricing isn’t listed clearly on website
- No booking engine
- No free trial
- No receipt capture
The provider doesn’t disclose prices directly on its main pages, but a December 2021 Nimble Property blog entry mentions that plans start at $250 per month. This may have changed, so it’s best to contact Nimble Property directly to request the latest pricing information and a customized quote.
Nimble Property has many features that make it a good accounting software for hotel businesses wanting access to special hotel management tools. The door lock system, for example, allows you to grant different levels of access to your property.
Meanwhile, you can use the key performance indicator (KPI) dashboard to view financial metrics and set budgets. You even have the option to outsource your books to a dedicated bookkeeper. However, you may want to pick Cloudbeds instead for its booking engine and accounting software integration, as these two are not present in Nimble Property.
The software supports basic accounting, but it has some missing features, like the ability to track fixed assets and manage refundable deposits or advances from reservations—which you can find in QuickBooks Online. We also docked a few points for hotel management due to gaps, including the lack of hotel service costing and analysis and room reservation management. All these essential features can be found in Cloudbeds.
Additionally, Nimble Property didn’t score higher in customer support because it doesn’t provide live chat assistance and its online resources are a bit limited. Also, it’s not the most affordable option on our list, but we still gave it a decent score to give credit to its transparent pricing.
Hotelier Books: Best for Limited-service Hotels on a Budget
Pros
- Prices are affordable and transparent
- Inventory tracking
- Assisted bookkeeping services (additional fee)
- Payroll and tax management (with Nimble Property module)
Cons
- No mobile app
- Doesn’t support multiple users
- No free trial
- No CRM integration
Hotelier Books is available in four subscription options:
- Limited Service: $169 per month ($149 per month if billed annually) for fewer than 50 rooms on a limited-service property
- Limited Service +: $199 per month ($179 per month if billed annually) for 50 or more rooms on a limited-service property
- Full Service: $249 per month ($229 per month if billed annually) for full-service properties
- Enterprise: Custom-priced; ideal for multiple hotels
There’s no free trial available, and you must commit to a demo before signing up.
Hotelier Books’ features make the platform ideal for limited-service, small-scale hotel business owners to manage accounting for their properties and gain access to business insights. The software is easy to set up and manage, and you can outsource your books to one of the provider’s dedicated bookkeepers.
Though Hotelier Books has powerful accounting features for hotels, it doesn’t have strong hotel management features, such as managing hotel bookings and tracking hotel room availability. Cloudbeds is a good alternative since it has better hotel management features and can integrate with third-party accounting software to supplement its limited built-in accounting features.
If pricing is an important factor to you, then Hotelier Books is worth considering. It’s slightly more expensive than QuickBooks Online, but it’s the most affordable among all the hotel-specific management software on this list. It also excels in general accounting, with only a few limitations, such as the inability to pay bills electronically.
However, it fell a bit short in hotel management, as there are no features for hotel operations, housekeeping, and reservation management. Its customer support could also improve by offering live chat and expanding its online resources.
M3 Accounting: Best for Hotel Chains Building New Hotels
Pros
- Strong support service options
- Track construction project costs and set up budgets
- Option to manage your own books or outsource to an M3 accountant
- Insight and Labor modules let you streamline other functions
Cons
- Pricing isn’t transparent
- No mobile app for Accounting; only Labor and Insight
- Steep learning curve
- No free trial
Request a free demo to receive information about M3 Accounting’s pricing for both the software and support services. A free trial is currently unavailable.
M3 Accounting is an excellent choice for hotel chains building new hotels because of its strong budgeting and analytics tools. This includes the ability to create and manage up to three budgets simultaneously and track costs associated with each construction project. Also, it offers comprehensive tools to manage the accounting for your entire property portfolio, including time tracking, A/P and A/R management, and reporting.
The software would’ve aced our hotel management criterion if it had built-in payroll and reservation management features. You need integrations to enable these features, which add to the overall cost. We recommend looking into Cloudbeds for better hotel management features than M3 Accounting—plus, it can integrate with accounting software that can account for construction costs.
M3 Accounting took a hit for general accounting, primarily because it doesn’t allow you to connect your bank and credit card accounts. It also scored poorly for pricing, as the costs aren’t disclosed, which means it can be potentially expensive. Furthermore, it could have done better in customer support if there was an option to seek support through live chat.
How We Evaluated the Best Accounting Software for Hotels
We evaluated and selected the best hotel accounting software based on the following scoring rubric.
10% of Overall Score
We placed more emphasis on providers that have a transparent pricing structure. However, we don’t discredit providers that would like to keep their pricing confidential or that offer a custom pricing model.
35% of Overall Score
The best hotel accounting software should have enough accounting features to cater to a hotelier’s daily accounting needs. We considered the following subcriteria: general features, A/P, A/R, fixed assets, inventory, and basic financial reporting.
25% of Overall Score
While our focus is hotel accounting, having hotel management features included in the software is a big plus. Therefore, we award points to providers that include those features, such as hotel booking, housekeeping, hotel financial planning, and revenue management.
20% of Overall Score
We’d like to see multiple support channels that enable users to contact the provider by phone, email, or live chat in case of problems. If direct contact is unavailable, there must be alternatives like a detailed knowledge base or help center and chatbot for quick assistance.
10% of Overall Score
We gathered average user review ratings from popular third-party sites.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Good hotel accounting software should have features like accounts payable and receivable, payroll management, financial reporting, budgeting, and cash management.
The cost of hotel accounting software varies depending on the size of the hotel, the number of users, and the level of customization required. On average, good hotel accounting software costs about $250 per month.
Yes, many hotel accounting software has the capability to handle multiple properties and currencies, making it easier for hotel chains and franchises to manage their financials.
Bottom Line
Cloudbeds is the overall best accounting software for hotels because it combines strong accounting features with a booking and a price intelligence engine. The booking engine helps you accept bookings, while the price intelligence engine helps you stay competitive in pricing. We hope this guide helps you in picking the right hotel accounting software given your needs.