Can You Use QuickBooks as Rental Property Management Software?

November 29, 2021

how do i use quickbooks for rental property bookkeeping

With its robust features and user-friendly interface, QuickBooks can help property managers and property owners efficiently manage their finances. Property management software for landlords combines all the benefits of an accounting system with other features you need to manage rental property. In addition to accuracy and ease of use, rental property accounting systems help make your business look much more professional. First, when rents are received and expenses are paid, a landlord or property manager must ensure that income and expenses are being posted to the correct Property Class and credited to the right Customer.

how do i use quickbooks for rental property bookkeeping

You can use the Direct Connect Option by enrolling for the Direct Connect service which will allow you access to the small business online banking option at bankofamerica.com. This feature allows you to share bills, payments, information, and much more. But there are several steps included when creating two different companies along with a user will require to jump back and forth between organizations while reconciling or posting transactions.

Using Landlord Studio Instead of QuickBooks for Rental Property Management

In contrast, rental property management is made simpler by industry-specific capabilities found in property management software. Because QuickBooks is practically a household name, many real estate investors wonder if QuickBooks can be used by rental property bookkeeping landlords for rental property accounting. In fact, the company recently explained how to set up rentals in QuickBooks Desktop. Hemlane is an all-in-one rental property management solution for owners, real estate agents, and property managers.

How is rent recorded?

Rent Expense Under the Accrual Basis of Accounting

Under the accrual basis of accounting, if rent is paid in advance (which is frequently the case), it is initially recorded as an asset in the prepaid expenses account, and is then recognized as an expense in the period in which the business occupies the space.

You can easily pull a P&L report and filter by property or unit on a monthly, seasonal or YTD basis as needed. Furthermore, using Dancing Numbers saves a lot of your time and money which you can otherwise invest in the growth and expansion of your business. It is free from any human errors, works automatically, and has a brilliant user-friendly interface and a lot more. We hope that this article has resolves your queries about using and creating QuickBooks for rental properties.

Everything You Need for Your Rental Property Books

That is why a hybrid approach to using QuickBooks alongside another real estate-specific tool is a great strategy. Desktop versions of Quickbooks will allow you to set up company and customer files as various properties. This will allow you to handle tasks such as collecting rent from tenants and paying property owners and management companies, on top of any fees involved in property maintenance.

QuickBooks was launched nearly 40 years ago, and has become a household name. Because the software is well known, many investors wonder how to set up rental properties in QuickBooks Online. This is important because it gives you a better understanding of your property’s performance and ROI.

Compare REI Hub & QuickBooks for Rental Properties

Tracking variable expenses – Variable expenses that you pass through to tenants, such as utilities or other related costs can be tracked within QuickBooks. By tracking these appropriately within QuickBooks on a building-by-building basis, you have the data you need to appropriately pass these expenses through to tenants. Everything goes through one account for each property, and each property has its own bank account. The bank account for every property needs to have the same balance as its corresponding liability account. The only exception will be unpaid invoices, where the rental amounts are mapped to the liability account. Start simplifying every aspect of your property management experience today using a platform designed to be user friendly with automated features to give you optimize your workload.

  • You’ll have to configure sub-classes if you have a multifamily property or add additional class categories if you own multiple investment homes.
  • Any messages you send through the portal will go straight to your Account Manager.
  • DoorLoop is a fantastic choice for a fast-growing company that is looking to expand to more properties and units.
  • Hemlane is an all-in-one rental property management solution for owners, real estate agents, and property managers.
  • Another way of accounting for your rental income is the “accrual method,” which means you report your income when it’s earned and not when it’s received.
  • And the best thing is that he or she will also be on hand during the tax season, when you will need to prepare and file your paperwork, and they can make sure you get the most benefits as a business owner.

Property managers collect rent, vet tenants, and handle maintenance, providing peace of mind and outstanding value. Additionally, our accountant view feature allows you to invite your accountant to view your accounts and run any of your financial reporting. This not only makes tax time easier, but by giving your accountant the tools to review your business financials you enable them to better help you achieve your long-term financial goals. QuickBooks is the best accounting software for small business owners, entrepreneurs and freelancers. It’s easy to use, giving you access to your financial information in one place.

QuickBooks for Rental Property is an accounting software that helps you keep up with your rental property management by
giving you access to all the information you need in one place. While rental income technically qualifies as passive income, it requires considerable time investment on your side. If you want to run a successful real estate business that generates a steady income, you need to be actively involved in it from day one. This means marketing your property, staying on top of real estate trends, communicating with your tenants, keeping a regular maintenance schedule, and staying on top of your bookkeeping and taxes. When first starting out in the rental business, landlords often use one of the low cost bookkeeping software products without the limitations affecting them much. QuickBooks® or other products work for a limited number of rental properties.

AppFolio is a great fit for both residential and commercial property management, making it one of the best overall options no matter what type of properties you’re working with. The tool has one of the most modern looking interfaces around and provides sleek marketing tools that help post vacancies to your website and sync with 3rd party hosting sites. You can also easily establish rent increases based on the terms of the lease, quickly resolve maintenance issues, and more. When you create invoice payments for rent collection, tenants do not have a client portal they can log into to view their monthly rent statement and make a payment. Furthermore, tenants won’t have the ability to do non-financial-related tasks, such as view their lease terms or submit a maintenance request (work order).

QuickBooks Tips for Real Estate Rental Property Businesses

And what initiatives can you implement to increase revenue and maximize profitability? Learn how to create an amazing resident experience as well as streamline your tenant onboarding process, welcome new tenants effectively, maximize tenant retention, going above and beyond, and more. As a landlord, your focus should be on providing top-notch services to your clients and growing your business. Even if QuickBooks can accommodate the number of properties and accounts, performance issues can arise when dealing with large data sets. One of the most prominent pitfalls of QuickBooks is that it lacks industry-specific features, which we will describe more in-depth below. You can use QuickBooks’ finance charge feature to calculate and add the late fees to their invoices.

  • If you need more help or have specific questions about using the portal, you can reach out to your Account Manager any time for a screen share.
  • This process is easier if you have a bank account dedicated solely to your rental property.
  • DoorLoop provides dedicated customer support to assist property managers with any questions or issues that may arise while using the software.
  • Learn how to launch your property management business, including how to set up your company documentation, put together a business plan, do competitor research, set up your accounting, and more.
  • Creating a company name makes it easier to keep your accounts organized, especially if you have multiple rental properties.
  • This article explores how to setup and use QuickBooks for your rental property accounting as well as if it is appropriate for landlords.
  • A rental property business will also want to track their own business transactions, such as the income and expenses incurred from managing the properties on behalf of the owners.

RentRedi is a robust full-featured property management software that has partnered with REI Hub to provide accounting features designed specifically for landlords. You can easily pull a Schedule E report for each property with no additional configuration. Along with QuickBooks integration, DoorLoop offers a full accounting suite, including bank account sync and reconciliation.

“My accountant… was impressed!”

Many landlords use accounting software to make it easier to manage their finances after buying a rental home. QuickBooks is a popular option because it’s relatively easy to use and a trusted name in the industry with over 40 years of experience. If you or your accountant still want to use QuickBooks, you can integrate it with a property management software tool.

  • Just like any business venture, you need to be able to track the monetary success (and failures) of your rental properties with a good accounting system.
  • In contrast, rental property management is made simpler by industry-specific capabilities found in property management software.
  • Rentec Direct offers a custom rental website, a complete accounting system, tenant screening, free online rent payments, electronic file management, and more.
  • Here are a few reasons why landlords should use property management software instead of QuickBooks for rental property accounting.
  • QuickBooks may offer some of the most widely used accounting solutions for small businesses, but this comes at the expense of not offering industry-specific capabilities when it comes to managing rentals.
  • While rental income technically qualifies as passive income, it requires considerable time investment on your side.
  • By synchronizing transactions from your bank account, landlords can reconcile and assign income and expenses to their properties.

If so, it’s important to keep detailed records of the transaction in order to accurately report your income and expenses on your tax return. Avery Carl was named one of Wall Street Journal’s Top 100 and Newsweek’s Top 500 agents in 2020. She and her team at The Short Term Shop focus exclusively on Vacation Rental and Short Term Rental Clients, having closed well over 1 billion dollars in real estate sales. Avery has sold over $300 million in Short Term/Vacation Rentals since 2017.