Our list of the best hotel accounting software includes both industry-specific and general accounting software options. If you go with a popular general accounting product, be sure it has options for hospitality-related integrations.
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Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
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Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has more than fifteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
NerdWallet's content is
fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans.
It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
the information is as clear and complete as possible. Learn more by checking
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Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
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business loan selections.
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NerdWallet's small-business loans content, including ratings,
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We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
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financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
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So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
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General accounting software may be able to meet your hotel accounting software needs if you own a boutique hotel or a small chain of hotels, particularly if the software includes options for third-party integrations with property management and other hotel-specific applications. There are also hotel accounting and management software solutions that have been purposefully designed for the hospitality industry and can meet most or all of your business needs within a single product.
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Check out our list of the best hotel accounting software, which includes both industry-specific and general accounting software options.
Easy to share information with your accountant and to find QuickBooks experts and online resources if needed.
More than 750 app integrations.
Robust feature set includes record-keeping, reporting, invoicing and inventory management, plus a capable mobile app.
Chat and phone support available Monday through Saturday in all plans.
Cons
Expensive compared with the competition.
Frequent price increases and a tendency toward upselling.
Limited account users with each plan.
QuickBooks Online is an industry leader in the accounting field, thanks to its strong feature set, scalability and ability to accommodate small businesses with more complex financial needs. With millions of users worldwide, your accountant will likely be familiar with it.
Easy to share information with your accountant and to find QuickBooks experts and online resources if needed.
More than 750 app integrations.
Robust feature set includes record-keeping, reporting, invoicing and inventory management, plus a capable mobile app.
Chat and phone support available Monday through Saturday in all plans.
Cons
Expensive compared with the competition.
Frequent price increases and a tendency toward upselling.
Limited account users with each plan.
QuickBooks Online is an industry leader in the accounting field, thanks to its strong feature set, scalability and ability to accommodate small businesses with more complex financial needs. With millions of users worldwide, your accountant will likely be familiar with it.
Automation features streamline financial processes.
Customizable reports and dashboard enhance business insights.
Consolidates many functions, like billing, invoicing, cash flow management payroll and HR, within a single product.
Cons
Quote-based pricing makes it difficult to compare with competitors.
Not suitable for small businesses that don’t plan to grow.
Sage Intacct is cloud-based accounting software that can be tailored to fit businesses in a variety of industries. It includes more automation features, like automated revenue recognition, than some of its competitors and is tailored to organizations that plan to expand.
Automation features streamline financial processes.
Customizable reports and dashboard enhance business insights.
Consolidates many functions, like billing, invoicing, cash flow management payroll and HR, within a single product.
Cons
Quote-based pricing makes it difficult to compare with competitors.
Not suitable for small businesses that don’t plan to grow.
Sage Intacct is cloud-based accounting software that can be tailored to fit businesses in a variety of industries. It includes more automation features, like automated revenue recognition, than some of its competitors and is tailored to organizations that plan to expand.
Feature set includes an excellent mobile app and suite of reports, capable invoicing features, plus automated bill and receipt capture through Hubdoc.
Simple layout and easy to use.
Cons
No inbound phone customer support (callbacks are available, though).
Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
Must subscribe to the highest-tier Established plan to claim expenses.
Xero allows unlimited users at every subscription tier, a valuable feature for businesses where several users may need at least limited access to the system to run reports or analyze performance. Xero also has a customizable analytics dashboard that lets each user rearrange or hide panels.
Feature set includes an excellent mobile app and suite of reports, capable invoicing features, plus automated bill and receipt capture through Hubdoc.
Simple layout and easy to use.
Cons
No inbound phone customer support (callbacks are available, though).
Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices to five and 20 per month, respectively.
Must subscribe to the highest-tier Established plan to claim expenses.
Xero allows unlimited users at every subscription tier, a valuable feature for businesses where several users may need at least limited access to the system to run reports or analyze performance. Xero also has a customizable analytics dashboard that lets each user rearrange or hide panels.
Designed specifically for the hospitality industry.
Additional software options for labor management and business insights.
Accounting functions included in software — no accounting integrations needed.
Offers teams of accountants to handle part or all of your hotel accounting (at an additional cost).
Implementation, training and ongoing support available.
Cons
Lack of pricing transparency.
Built by hoteliers for hoteliers, M3 accounting software is an all-in-one accounting solution specifically for hotels. You can manage the accounting for your entire property portfolio with this one software, including time tracking, invoicing, bank reconciliation, financial management and more.
M3
Best for Overall hotel accounting software
Promotion
N/A
Pros
Designed specifically for the hospitality industry.
Additional software options for labor management and business insights.
Accounting functions included in software — no accounting integrations needed.
Offers teams of accountants to handle part or all of your hotel accounting (at an additional cost).
Implementation, training and ongoing support available.
Cons
Lack of pricing transparency.
Built by hoteliers for hoteliers, M3 accounting software is an all-in-one accounting solution specifically for hotels. You can manage the accounting for your entire property portfolio with this one software, including time tracking, invoicing, bank reconciliation, financial management and more.
Cloudbeds
Best for Hotel management software for small hotels
Promotion
N/A
Pros
Designed specifically for the hospitality industry.
Includes a full suite of features and functions for end-to-end property management.
Offers a marketplace with dozens of third-party software integrations.
Customer support includes 1:1 onboarding, 24/7 live chat and email and online knowledgebase.
Cons
Lack of pricing transparency.
Requires integration with third-party software for accounting functionality.
Cloudbeds is an all-in-one property management, booking and channel management system that boasts ease of use as one of its primary features — a must-have in order to keep your operations running smoothly.
Cloudbeds
Best for Hotel management software for small hotels
Promotion
N/A
Pros
Designed specifically for the hospitality industry.
Includes a full suite of features and functions for end-to-end property management.
Offers a marketplace with dozens of third-party software integrations.
Customer support includes 1:1 onboarding, 24/7 live chat and email and online knowledgebase.
Cons
Lack of pricing transparency.
Requires integration with third-party software for accounting functionality.
Cloudbeds is an all-in-one property management, booking and channel management system that boasts ease of use as one of its primary features — a must-have in order to keep your operations running smoothly.
NerdWallet’s picks for the best hotel accounting software
M3
Best overall hotel accounting software
Price: Quote-based.
Why we like it: M3 integrates with dozens of property management systems, meaning chances are very good it will be a “plug and play” solution for your accounting needs. Not having to change your property management system — or use a clunky integration workaround — saves you time, effort and stress.
What really makes M3 stand out are its options for support services. M3 provides implementation support and training for hoteliers with an accounting team on staff. But if you don’t want to manage business accountants in-house, M3 has a full-time accounting staff available to handle the accounting for you. These hotel accounting specialists make sure your books are always up to date and in compliance with the latest revenue recognition and other requirements.
Cloudbeds
Best hotel management software for small hotels
Price: Quote-based.
Why we like it: Cloudbeds is cloud-based software that allows you to manage multiple properties all from one dashboard. It also serves as a booking platform and offers tools to help you manage guest profiles, business operations, revenue and distribution.
Although Cloudbeds can give you revenue insights, it does not include accounting functions and reports within its software. For those, you’ll need to integrate Cloudbeds with outside accounting software. Cloudbeds offers integrations with QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct and Xero. These integrations may require a third software service such as Omniboost or The Percentage to link the accounting software to Cloudbeds. Note that these integrations often come with their own separate subscription costs.
Why we like it: Although QuickBooks Online was not designed specifically for the hospitality and hotel industry, as some others on this list are, that shouldn’t dissuade you from choosing it for your boutique hotel. The power you get from the reporting combined with the ease of use of QuickBooks Online will likely offset the inconvenience of searching and setting up any necessary property management and other hotel-related software integrations. And particularly if you own a single hotel, you may not have need for additional software beyond a tried-and-true accounting product that your bookkeeper or accountant is sure to be familiar with.
QuickBooks Online Plus allows you to set up class and location tracking — must-have features for managing the various profit centers in your hotel. You can also track inventory in Plus, which is critical to keeping your costs under control. With QuickBooks Online Advanced, you can expand your user capacity to up to 25 unique users, each with customized access. Advanced also comes with top-tier support, unlimited class tracking and chart of accounts capabilities plus online training courses for your staff. Read our QuickBooks Online review.
Why we like it: Xero, like QuickBooks Online, is general accounting software that wasn’t specifically designed for hospitality and hotel management. It does, however, have a number of relevant features that, coupled with its affordable pricing plans, can make it a good option for small hotel chains.
Relevant and notable features include Xero’s contact management tool, which enables you to build and store profiles of your guests, their transactions and your communications with them; an analytics platform that provides a financial overview in an easy-to-read dashboard plus an in-depth look at cash flow, overall financial health and other business insights (available only with the Plus plan); and a direct integration with Gusto’s payroll software, which includes a great deal of automation to simplify the payroll process. Read our complete Xero Accounting review.
Sage Intacct
Best accounting software for growing hotel enterprises
Price: Quote-based.
Why we like it: Sage Intacct allows you to manage the accounting for all your properties and locations in one software solution. The financial data then feeds into a centralized dashboard, which you can use to manage your hotel business’s overall performance.
Because Sage Intacct scales with your business, you don’t have to worry about outgrowing this software as your business grows. This is a huge relief because learning a new software while managing a growing enterprise is the last thing you want to do. Pricing for Sage Intacct is available by request only. Read our review of Sage Intacct.
Billie Anne Grigg contributed to an earlier version of this article, which was first published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.
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