FYI for all the landlords out there - I have found a good software program for doing property management. I recently migrated from a somewhat fancy Excel spreadsheet I created (lol) to this…and its really cool. I bought it for $89 off Ebay, and it will work with an unlimited # of rentals.
Although not officially “property management” software, I’ve been using Quickbooks for about 7 years. It came in very handy last year when audited by the IRS to give my accountant a copy of the Quickbooks data base because it was software she was already proficient with and she could run reports and follow transactions easily to prepare for the audit.
If set up correctly Quickbooks can keep separate records on each property while still allowing you to see the overall financial health of the business.
Even though I am fairly happy with Quickbooks, I would like to transition to GnuCash (open source double entry accounting software) so I can finally get rid of the last Windows machine on my network.
Quickbooks is superb when it comes to being good accounting software, I agree. But it is reeeeeeeally not fun to use as property management software. =) LOL! I tried it that way, and couldn’t stand it. I need something to remind me when leases are nearly up, need to be able to transfer tenants between properties (e.g. from a 2 bedroom to a 3 bedroom) and see a history of that, among other things … that would be impossible or very painful to do in Quickbooks.
I still like Appfolio and Buildium. Both are relatively cheap, easy to use, and fairly robust.
I use buildium. It sets up a website for advertising and makes professional ads for craigslist, is relatively cheap, and the cloud based portal allows me to log in whereever I am. That’s a big deal for me.
Great posts here - I have a few clients in my outsourcing business that are landlords and we maintain excel sheets for them - Would be a lot easier even with a quickbooks solution! 
I have found that the best bang for your buck is RentPost.com. It is very easy to use and has the best value out of all the programs I have seen. Has allowed me to manage my properties much more efficiently.
I didn’t realize software was necessary to install air conditioners and replace flooring.
Accounting software?
Run background checks using various websites.
I use a software called Trexglobal and you can pay for lifetime subscription and its in increments like 10 properties at a time. I have the 30 pack and its pretty comprehensive
Hi motivatedceo,
Great and valuable information.
Property management software is useful to maintain a portfolio of various properties.
Thanks!!
i also want to try but the mentioned link is not working.
Your rememberer must work better than mine. I have to train my tenants, that if it’s not filled out as a maintenance ticket it isn’t something I am thinking about. They either need to fill out the ticket online themselves, or make sure they receive an emailed copy of the ticket request if they say something to me in passing or on the phone. This is the only way it happens.
I use Appfolio. It does take some getting used at first but the ability to take rental apps, sign leases, pay rent, etc. online makes it easy. It is not cheap if you don’t have a decent amount of units t about $3,000 per year but that covers 100 units. For my 30 units, it’s worth the approx. $8 per month per unit just by the fact that tenants can pay via checking transfer for free, pay cash at any 7-11, Ace Cash Express, or CVS for a $3.99 fee, or even pay with credit or debit card but the fee is $27 for that. I then use the regular Quicken software, I think the premium version for the accounting part. Appfolio does have the ability to use it for accounting as well but I’ve always used Quicken and feel better to continue my system.
Appfolio for sure. Great software and it’s very easy to use.
Appfolio is good property management software. I found it to be easy to learn and use.
You can sign up for a demo on their website.
I know this post is a little old, but I hear landlords talking about this topic all the time. I used appfolio for a while with a property management company I used to work for. While there was a decent cost to it, I found it extremely helpful in so many ways, particularly for lease creation, marketing leads for rentals, communication with tenants (through their texting service), and maintenance requests/tracking.
But if anyone is looking for free software, Cozy works well for small-scale landlording. It allows you to receive payments, market rentals, and take maintenance tickets. There’s not much depth to the free functions, but if you don’t have many properties or are just getting started, I would highly recommend Cozy.
Although not officially “property management” software, I’ve been using Quickbooks for about 7 years. It came in very handy last year when audited by the IRS to give my accountant a copy of the Quickbooks data base because it was software she was already proficient with and she could run reports and follow transactions easily to prepare for the audit.
I heard that RentPost.com was good as well but never tried it. I personally used super basic invoicing software (zoho) to remind tenants of payments and then they can actually make payment as well through a payment portal I have setup to run cards automatically (for a fee) or process out of checking. Then, I have a form online to submit requests for repairs - but I am not dealing in large scale so that works easily and quickly for me. I am sure if you are working on a large scale, property management can entail a lot more that needs to be more organized.
Thanks for sharing!