5 Best Hotel Accounting Software

I evaluated each retail accounting system based on how well it supports real retail workflows, including inventory tracking, sales activity, and day-to-day financial management. I focused on what actually works in practice — how transactions flow, how inventory connects to accounting, and how easy it is to manage operations without extra tools.

• General features: I reviewed how each system handles core accounting tasks like general ledger, banking, accounts receivable, accounts payable, sales tax, and financial reporting. I gave more weight to platforms that deliver reliable, complete accounting without requiring workarounds.
• Retail-specific features: I examined tools that directly support retail operations, including inventory management, sales tax tracking, and POS integration. I prioritized systems that keep inventory and financial data aligned in real time.
• Pricing: I compared monthly costs, user limits, and feature availability across plans. I looked closely at whether key retail features are included in entry-level tiers or locked behind upgrades.
• Ease of use: I assessed how quickly a non-accountant can complete common tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and reporting. I focused on navigation clarity and how much setup is required to get started.
• Customer support: I reviewed available support channels, including phone, chat, email, and help documentation, to see how easily users can get assistance when needed.
• User reviews: I analyzed average ratings from trusted review platforms to understand how each system performs in real-world use.

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).

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.

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 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.

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.