9 Best Real Estate Accounting Software 2020

Real estate business accounting software helps agents, brokerage firms, landlords, and investors who buy, sell, or rent property keep track of their business finances. We evaluated industry-specific and general business programs on cost, features, and ease of use to find the top real estate accounting software options for you.

Top 9 Real Estate Accounting Software

Which Real Estate Accounting Software is Right for You?

QuickBooks Desktop: Best Overall Real Estate Accounting Software

QuickBooks Desktop is one of the best real estate accounting software for any type of real estate business, including fix and flippers, long-term investors, landlords, property managers, and owner-occupants as well as independent agents and brokerage firms. While not specifically for the real estate industry, it’s the most customizable QuickBooks product and can suit your real estate accounting needs. You can choose from several Desktop products.

QuickBooks Desktop Pricing and Features

QuickBooks Desktop is widely regarded as the top accounting software for small businesses, and the real estate industry is no different. QuickBooks is customizable and can be used for your real estate accounting needs. You can link your bank accounts, track deposits, and vehicle mileage, and run detailed profit and loss reports for each property.

QuickBooks Desktop comes in three versions and can be purchased for either a flat price or an annual subscription―referred to as Plus―that comes with yearly updates. If you purchase the software for a flat price, you will likely need to repurchase the latest version every three years as that is when QuickBooks will stop supporting older software.

QuickBooks Tiered Features

QuickBooks Pro

QuickBooks Pro is our recommended version for real estate companies requiring three or fewer users. Pro has all the features needed to manage your real estate business. However, you will need to upgrade to Premier if you need more than three users or Enterprise if you need more than five users.

QuickBooks Premier

The primary advantage of Premier over Pro is the ability to create sales orders and bills of materials, neither of which is necessary for most real estate companies. That said, a real estate company may choose Premier over Pro if it needs to give five users access to its data.

QuickBooks Pro Plus and Premier Plus

Pro and Premier can both be purchased as an annual subscription with the Plus option. We recommend taking advantage of the plus option if you want unlimited customer support because an annual customer support plan costs an additional $299.95 for Pro and Premier. That’s the same price as the QuickBooks Pro Plus subscription.

The Plus option also includes an automatic upgrade to the newest version of QuickBooks each year. Without Plus, you generally must purchase a new version of QuickBooks every three years because that’s when QuickBooks discontinues support and updating of products.

QuickBooks Enterprise

QuickBooks Enterprise is an outstanding accounting package with advanced inventory and pricing options, but most real estate companies don’t require these options. The primary reasons for a real estate company to upgrade to Enterprise is the increased number of users and a dedicated support manager.

What QuickBooks Desktop Is Missing

QuickBooks Desktop is not customized to manage a real estate business out of the box. This means you’ll be unable to depreciate your property or screen your tenants using the software. Another drawback is that isn’t cloud-based. It must be installed on your computer, although remote hosting is available for an additional fee. However, the beauty of using QuickBooks Desktop is that you can customize it to manage any type of real estate business, large or small.

Realtyzam: Best Software for Real Estate Agents

We chose Realtyzam as the best accounting software for real estate agents who are self-employed because it’s specifically designed to track costs for individual real estate sales and can print an overall profit and loss statement for tax returns. Realtyzam is easy to use because it downloads transactions automatically from your bank accounts and allows you to upload cash expenses by scanning receipts.

Realtyzam Pricing and Features

Realtyzam is a cloud-based real estate brokerage accounting software that anyone without an accounting background can use. In addition to keeping track of common income and expenses for real estate agents, the software has detailed reports that show average commissions, average expenses, and buyer/seller conversion rates, just to name a few.

Realtyzam Tiered Features

Realtyzam Free

The free version of Realtyzam is identical to the paid version and lasts at least 30 days. Unlike other trial offers, the free version continues after 30 days until you have either $5,000 in sales and expenses, or you sell three properties.

Realtyzam Basic

Realtyzam is a great program that makes it easy to track income and expenses by linking to your bank accounts and allowing you to scan receipts. You then categorize the bank transactions and scanned receipts within the program. The program starts at only $12 per month or $9.95 per month when billed annually.

What Realtyzam Is Missing

While Realtyzam has excellent features for real estate agents, it is missing a few features that are offered by its competitors. First, you cannot receive online payments, which is not an issue for agents who are only involved in real estate sales. Second, Realtyzam tracks income and expenses, but it does not track assets and liabilities, so it cannot generate a balance sheet.

Buildium: Best for Small- to Medium-sized Property Managers

Buildium is the best real estate accounting software for property management companies with around 200 units or less. It is a robust property management software designed for managing hundreds or even thousands of units. You can manage all aspects of leasing, maintenance and repair requests, and accounting with Buildium.

Buildium Pricing and Features

The features in Buildium are comparable to those in Propertyware, but Buildium comes at a much lower starting price of $47 per month for up to 20 units. However, the price increases very quickly from there and becomes more expensive than Propertyware when the units exceed approximately 200.

Buildium Tiered Features

Buildium Core

Buildium Core is a full-featured accounting and property management software for companies managing up to 150 units. Pricing starts at $47 per month for up to 20 units and gradually increases to $243 per month for 150 units. Electronic leases, online payments, and tenant screening are available for an additional fee.

Buildium Pro

Buildium Pro has all the features of Buildium Core but includes 30 electronic leases per month and free tenant screenings. Pro is available for small property management companies seeking additional features, but most companies should wait to upgrade to Pro until they reach 150 units. For 150 units, Pro is only $7 more per month than Core ($250 vs $243).

What Buildium Is Missing

A major downside of Buildium is the price. While it is reasonably affordable for businesses with less than 20 units, the price grows quickly for additional units. The flip-side is that large businesses can benefit from the tools available in Buildium. Each business needs to decide if the additional cost is worthwhile.

Propertyware: Best for Large Property Managers

Propertyware is a full-featured property management software that includes accounting features and excellent reporting capabilities similar to Buildium. For companies already using QuickBooks Online but are seeking property management features, Propertyware will integrate with your existing QuickBooks Online account.

Propertyware Pricing and Features

Propertyware is a powerful software for property managers. The starting price of $250 per month is too high for managers with only a few units but is comparable to the price of Buildium when the number of units reach around 200. There is also a one-time startup cost equal to twice the monthly charge.

Propertyware Tiered Features

Propertyware Basic

Propertyware Basic includes a full property management suite, accounting tools, customized reporting, and portals for both owners and tenants. The monthly cost is only $1 per unit, per month, but there is also a minimum monthly fee of $250, so Propertyware is only appropriate for larger companies. All versions of Propertyware also require a minimum implementation fee equal to twice the monthly fee.

Propertyware Plus

Propertyware Plus adds eSignature acceptance for leases and inspection software to help schedule and document unit inspections. The cost increases to $1.50 per unit, per month with a minimum monthly fee of $350.

Propertyware Premium

Propertyware Premium includes a module for planning and tracking maintenance projects as well as vendor portals. The price increases to $2 per unit, per month with a minimum monthly fee of $450.

What Propertyware Is Missing

Propertyware has an outstanding suite of features, but it does not have an affordable package for small real estate companies. A company with less than 250 units that selects Propertyware Basic still has to pay the full $250 per month plus a $500 setup fee.

QuickBooks Self- Employed: Best Real Estate Accounting Software for Solopreneurs

QuickBooks Self- Employed is the best real estate accounting software if you are self-employed or own rental units and want the ability to transfer your profit and loss information to your individual tax return. You can keep track of your commissions, expenses, and mileage for business easily―all from within the app.

QuickBooks Pricing and Features

QuickBooks Self-Employed is cloud-based software that can only be purchased for a monthly subscription. While there is only one version of QuickBooks Self-Employed, there is an option to bundle it with Intuit’s TurboTax.

QuickBooks Self-Employed Tiered Features

QuickBooks Self-Employed

QuickBooks Self-Employed will track income and expenses by property for only $15 per month. Bank and credit cards can be imported and classified automatically. The program is designed for self-employed, or Schedule C, taxpayers.

QuickBooks Self-Employed, TurboTax Bundle

QuickBooks Self-Employed can be bundled with TurboTax for $25 per month. The bundle allows you to transfer your business income and expenses to the Schedule C of your individual tax return automatically. In addition, you can pay quarterly estimated tax payments online.

What QuickBooks Self-Employed Is Missing

While QuickBooks Self-Employed is not a property management software, it can be used to track income and expenses for a solo investor, independent real estate agent or a fix and flipper. QuickBooks self-employed is not a double-entry accounting system, meaning it cannot print a balance sheet, which is often required of corporations and partnerships. As the name implies, it is designed only for self-employed taxpayers.

QuickBooks Online: Cloud-based Alternative to QuickBooks Desktop

QuickBooks Online is our top overall recommended accounting software and is the best accounting software for real estate agents and brokerage firms that want a QuickBooks solution in the cloud. This lets you check your real estate income and expenses from anywhere and gives you a few advantages over Desktop in that you can integrate a wide array of applications designed specifically for QuickBooks Online.

QuickBooks Pricing and Features

QuickBooks Online is used by many certified public accountants (CPAs) and goes beyond the basic accounting features that you need to run a business. It’s easy enough to use yourself, but it also has a wide network of QuickBooks Pro Advisors to help you with all of your real estate accounting needs. QuickBooks Online is offered in four different versions.

QuickBooks Online Tiered Features

QuickBooks Online Simple Start

QuickBooks Online Simple Start is a solid platform for sending invoices, receiving payments, and tracking income and expenses. You can print businesswide financial statements, but Simple Start does not allow you to print reports by individual properties.

QuickBooks Online Essentials

QuickBooks Online Essentials adds the ability to input, track, and pay bills via printed checks. The inclusion of unpaid bills allows financial statements to be printed on the accrual vs cash method of accounting if needed. However, like Simple Start, the Essentials version cannot print profit and loss statements separated by properties.

QuickBooks Online Plus

QuickBooks Online Plus includes the ability to print profit and loss (P&L) statements by property. This is a crucial function for many property managers, so most property managers should forego the Simple Start and Essentials versions for the more powerful QuickBooks Online Plus.

QuickBooks Online Advanced

QuickBooks Online Advanced offers the ability to pay bills electronically through the program. It also includes custom fields that can greatly enhance the flexibility of a large number of reporting options. Custom fields can be tricky and require QuickBooks expertise, but that is acceptable because QuickBooks Online Advanced comes with a dedicated customer support representative.

The right version of QuickBooks Online for you is going to depend on your level of needs. If you manage only one or two properties, then you might not need reports by property, and Simple Start might be adequate. If you manage many properties or sell many properties every year, then you need at least the Plus version to produce reports by property. Advanced is the right version for people that want a dedicated support representative.

What QuickBooks Online Is Missing

QuickBooks Online is not as robust as QuickBooks Desktop, so you may encounter a few limitations, like its inability to create customized reports for each of your properties in the Simple Start and Essentials versions. You also won’t be able to depreciate your properties in the program, but the ability to connect a quickly growing list of applications from outside developers to your QuickBooks Online account can give you access to features QuickBooks desktop doesn’t have.

Xero: Real Estate Accounting Alternative to QuickBooks Online

Xero is a solid accounting software alternative to QuickBooks Online. It has all the main features that you get with QuickBooks Online, including the ability to print profit and loss by property when purchasing the Xero Established version, which is $10 cheaper per month than the similar QuickBooks Online Plus.

Xero Pricing and Features

Xero includes all of the standard features you would expect real estate accounting software to have, such as integrations with other real estate apps like the property management software Re-Leased. Additionally, Xero can track income and expenses on a per-property or per-listing basis.

Xero Tiered Features

Xero Early

Xero Early is for very small businesses with less than five invoices and five bills per month. It includes all the features you would expect of accounting software, including the ability to connect bank accounts and track bills. However, you cannot print profit and loss by unit with the Early version.

Xero Growing

Xero Growing has all the same features as Xero Early but has unlimited transactions. Both Early and Growing include unlimited online customer support. You can open a “case” online, and they will call you if it is necessary. As with the Early plan, Xero Growing cannot print profit and loss by property or unit.

Xero Established

Xero Established adds several tools that are valuable to property management companies. Established can print profit and loss by property and includes the ability to scan receipts and record expenses via a mobile app.

What Xero Is Missing

Similar to QuickBooks, Xero is not specifically designed for real estate, so it does not come with the property management tools that Buildium and Propertyware include. This means there will be setup work required. Moreover, while there are apps designed to integrate with Xero, QuickBooks Online dominates the cloud-based accounting market and, therefore, developers tend to target QuickBooks Online with their new apps.

Freshbooks: Real Estate Accounting Software for Unlimited Transactions at a Low Price

Freshbooks is cloud-based accounting software that can be used in any business. While it’s not specifically designed for real estate businesses, it allows unlimited transactions at a price most small businesses can afford.

Freshbooks Pricing and Features

All versions of Freshbooks allow you to record unlimited transactions. Freshbooks does not track your bills outstanding, or accounts payable, so it is not recommended for companies that use the accrual vs cash method of accounting. Freshbooks comes in three versions that are lower priced than QuickBooks Online and Xero but may not have all the same features.

Freshbooks Tiered Features

Freshbooks Lite

Freshbooks Lite comes with all the accounting features you would expect, except the ability to track unpaid bills. Lite is designed for self-employed people with five or fewer clients and does not provide a balance sheet that is often required of corporations and partnerships. You can email customized invoices to your customers and track the invoices until payment is received.

Freshbooks Plus

Freshbooks Plus increases the maximum number of clients to 50. It is a true double-entry accounting system, so it can produce a complete set of financial statements, including a balance sheet.

Freshbooks Premium

Freshbooks Premium has the same features as Pro but increases the maximum number of clients to 500. As with Lite and Plus, Premium has unlimited customer support, including over the telephone.

Freshbooks Select

Companies with more than 500 clients must use Freshbooks Select. You must contact Freshbooks to receive a custom price quote on the Select tier, so presumably, the monthly price varies with the number of clients. Select has the same features as Premium but has the major advantage of having a dedicated account manager to provide customer service.

What Freshbooks Is Missing

Freshbooks is missing the ability to track unpaid bills. However, the other accounting features are solid in that you can track revenue and expenses with custom accounts. The Lite version is not a double-entry accounting system, so it does not generate a balance sheet. Freshbooks is not designed specifically for real estate companies, so it does not have features such as depreciation, tenant screening, or tracking income and expenses by unit.

Wave: Best Free Real Estate Accounting Software

Wave is our recommended software for landlords who are looking for a free rental property accounting software. It allows you to track income and expenses and prints basic financial statements, including a statement of profit and loss. However, the reports are not very flexible and cannot be customized, other than specifying the reporting period.

Wave Pricing and Features

Wave includes all the basic bookkeeping features you would expect of accounting software, including the ability to send invoices and collect payments as well as track bills received and then issue payment. However, it isn’t designed specifically for real estate, so it doesn’t include any of the features of property management software. Wave only has one version, and it is completely free.

Wave makes money by selling additional services to its customers, such as credit card processing and payroll. However, all the other software reviewed here also charge extra for these services.

What Wave Is Missing

Wave’s financial reports are not customizable to track income and expenses by property. There are also no advanced features like tenant screening, tracking tenant deposits, or tracking vehicle miles. It does a good job of tracking invoices and bills and printing the resulting financial statements, but it doesn’t do much else.

How We Determined the Best Real Estate Accounting Software

The best real estate accounting software is one that allows a real estate investor or broker the ability to separate their real estate and personal expenses and income. It should also allow real estate businesses―both large and small―the ability to track and manage their properties online.

Our evaluation of real estate accounting software is first based on the features most real estate businesses need:

• Affordable for most real estate businesses and investors
• Seamless integration of both property management and accounting functions
• Receive online rental payments
• Can separate profit and loss by property or sale
• Track vehicle mileage automatically

We also took into account key features that you would expect to find in any accounting software:

• Income and expense tracking
• Multiple users access
• Detailed tracking and reporting
• Connect bank and credit card accounts to software
• Customer support

Finally, we spoke with Gita Faust of Fast Trac Consulting. Author of a number of books about QuickBooks for real estate businesses, Faust is known as a “guru” when it comes to real estate accounting. She gave us key insights that allowed us to make the best determination regarding which type of real estate accounting software is best for you.

Bottom Line

We have provided you with our top nine picks for the best real estate accounting software. If you’re a real estate agent looking for software that doesn’t require any customization to get going and is affordable, go with Realtyzam. Property managers looking for industry-specific tools should look at both Buildium and Propertyware to determine which is right for them.

If you’re looking for fully customizable accounting software that will be able to handle any variety of real estate selling, managing, and investing, go with QuickBooks Desktop. Sign up for a free trial to get your business up and running in no time.

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