Melio Review: Pricing, Features & Alternatives

I evaluated real estate accounting software using a weighted rubric that reflects the needs of landlords, real estate agents, investors, and property managers.

• Pricing (10%): I considered the cost for one, three, and five users, free trials or money-back guarantees, monthly plan availability, and discounts for new customers.
• Accounting features (25%): I reviewed whether each platform supports double-entry accounting, chart of accounts customization, multiple users, vendor and customer records, unpaid bill tracking, invoice creation, recurring invoices, check printing, bank connections, bank reconciliation, balance sheets, profit and loss statements, A/R and A/P aging, general ledger reports, trial balance reports, adjusting journal entries, and accountant access.
• Real estate-specific features (20%): I evaluated whether the software can separate profit and loss by property or sale, track vehicle mileage, allocate common area expenses, receive online payments, provide a tenant portal, and manage maintenance workflows.
• Customer support (15%): I considered overall support availability, formal training or onboarding, outbound phone support, inbound phone support, chatbot support, live chat, email support, user communities, self-help resources, and the availability of independent bookkeepers familiar with the platform.
• Ease of use (20%): I reviewed user feedback related to usability, dashboard readability, dashboard customization, interface design, whether users can open new transactions from the dashboard, overall ease of use, cloud-based access, and Mac compatibility.

• Those seeking a standalone A/P solution: You will find Melio, one of our best A/P software, as a good standalone A/P solution because of its free option and minimal transaction fees. It’s ideal for users who don’t process a lot of transactions per month but still need exclusive A/P software to track all bills efficiently.
• QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks, and Xero users: You can integrate Melio with those accounting software, which lets you sync vendor payments and access Melio’s convenient invoicing solutions.
• Businesses struggling with cash flow: Melio lets you pay with a credit card, then it’ll send a check to your vendor. Paying with a credit card and delaying when the funds leave your account allows you to extend your float and may also earn you extra points, miles, or cash back.
• Businesses issuing 1099s: If you need to send 1099s to your vendors, Melio makes this process seamless. You can access the 1099 report from your dashboard, which you can classify and export to a CSV file. Use this information to complete your 1099 form or export the file to your accountant.
• Businesses paying international vendors: Businesses can pay their vendors in USD in Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and other areas (see Melio’s list of countries open to international payments). While many competitors charge up to $50 for international transactions, Melio charges only $20. Note that international wires are unavailable in other currencies.

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From your Melio dashboard, you can easily pay all of your vendors, including those in other countries (see Melio’s list of countries open to international payments)—and they don’t even need to have a Melio account to accept payment.

You can send international bank transfers in USD for a flat fee of $20, no matter the payment amount. Melio also allows you to make multiple payments to international and domestic vendors simultaneously.

You can make payments via bank transfer or credit card and even have business checks sent on your behalf to arrive in five to seven business days. Expedited payment processing allows for fast checks to arrive within three business days or a same-day bank transfer for a 1% fee, up to $30.

Other features include paying multiple bills or splitting a single bill into several payments. You can also set up recurring payments for bills you pay regularly.

Melio syncs with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, FreshBooks, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for A/R functions, which include the ability to send payment requests and autoreconcile incoming payments. It syncs with QuickBooks Online for A/P functions, eliminating dual data entry with an automatic two-way sync for all your bills and bill payments.

You can use Melio to pay contractors and generate a report that will assist you or your accountant with processing 1099 forms if you have paid them more than $600 in a year. You can easily classify and export a CSV file of this information for quick access.

Melio allows you to add your team members and set up approval workflows so that you can stay on top of who is managing which payments. You can invite other people from your business, your accountant, or your bookkeeper for free and set up their roles so that you can review and approve payments before they’re sent.

Melio offers three ways to add a bill: upload the file, enter the details manually, or sync with QuickBooks Online. If you opt to upload the invoice, you can select a PDF or JPG file from your computer or phone. Melio’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology will read the file automatically and fill in the relevant information to schedule the payment.