Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen 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.
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen 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.
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Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen 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.
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen 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
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It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
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our
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Why trust NerdWallet
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NerdWallet's small-business software content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business software, including payroll, accounting and payment processing. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, Yahoo Finance and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Advertiser disclosure
You’re our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or
advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our
partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products
or services. Here is a list of our partners .
Even the smallest property management companies have a lot to manage — collecting rent, managing lease agreements, fielding maintenance requests and more. Therefore, busy property managers need software that goes beyond accounting.
The best property management accounting software solutions are cloud-based, easy to use and can grow with your business. If you don’t want — or don’t yet need — an all-in-one solution, then your property management accounting software should also integrate with an off-the-shelf accounting package.
Why you can trust NerdWallet
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95+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.
75+ categories of best business software selections.
NerdWallet's small-business software content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business software, including accounting, payment processing and payroll. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, Yahoo Finance and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Here are recommendations based on the size and needs of your property management company.
Our pick for simple accounting software
Xero
Best for General accounting software with property management software integrations
Serves a wide variety of property types, including student housing and investment management.
Offers add-on features for additional customization.
Cons
Features often included within competitors’ plans are only offered as add-ons at additional cost, including online payments, marketing websites and tenant screening.
Serves a wide variety of property types, including student housing and investment management.
Offers add-on features for additional customization.
Cons
Features often included within competitors’ plans are only offered as add-ons at additional cost, including online payments, marketing websites and tenant screening.
Why we picked it: If you’re asking, "Can I use QuickBooks for property management?", the answer is yes. Because QuickBooks is a general accounting tool, it may not have all the features you need to run your property management company. QuickBooks does, however, have an extensive library of third-party app integrations, including a handful of apps for property management. It offers a number of helpful features, including automatic recurring invoicing, which makes rent collection simple; integrated merchant services options, which let you put payment links right on your invoices; and class tracking, so you can easily manage finances for each property in your portfolio. Read our complete QuickBooks Online review.
Xero
Best general accounting software with property management software integrations
Price
$25 per month for the Early plan.
$55 per month for the Growing plan.
$90 per month for the Established plan.
Why we picked it: At its core, Xero is affordable and feature-rich accounting software. While it’s built to cover general accounting needs and therefore lacks some of the more industry-specific features you may be looking for as a property manager, Xero offers an entire marketplace of third-party apps that integrate with its software. Xero’s app store lists at least a dozen property management-related apps that can fill the gaps to create a complete and bespoke software solution. Still, many of Xero’s own accounting features will prove useful for property management, including document storage, online payment acceptance, contact management, cash flow tools and a mobile app to keep your business finance data at your fingertips. Read our full Xero Accounting review.
Buildium
Best overall property management accounting software
Price
Starting at $58 per month for the Essential plan.
Starting at $183 per month for the Growth plan.
Starting at $375 per month for the Premium plan.
Additional fees may be charged for property inspections, e-signatures and bank account setup.
Why we picked it: Buildium’s end-to-end property management solution includes a full suite of accounting features within the software at every plan level, so you won’t need to worry about syncing (and paying for) separate accounting software. Because the software is purpose-built for property managers, it includes a resident portal for payments and maintenance requests, 1099 e-filing, listing syndication to Zillow and others, tenant screening and additional industry-specific features. Buildium also includes with every plan tier a free website to market your property management business, list available units, accept applications and stay in touch with residents.
LandlordStudio
Best affordable property management software
Price
$0 per month for the Go plan.
$15 per month for up to three units for the Pro plan. Additional $1 per month per unit after three.
Why we picked it: LandlordStudio’s all-in-one property management and accounting software comes in at the lowest price point of all the products on our list. The company even offers a free plan, which includes a surprising number of features at no monthly cost. LandlordStudio’s property management accounting features include tenant screening, listing syndication to popular listing sites, automated rent reminders, maintenance management tools and more.
Yardi Breeze
Best commercial property management software
Price
$1 per unit per month, $100 per month minimum, for Breeze Residential plan.
$1 per unit per month, $400 per month minimum, for Breeze Premier Residential plan.
$2 per unit per month, $200 per month minimum, for Breeze Commercial plan.
Quote-based for Breeze Premier Commercial plan.
Additional property types and pricing tiers available.
Why we picked it: Yardi Breeze may be a great property management accounting software solution for mid-size and well-established businesses, particularly those managing commercial properties. The software comes with a wealth of features across accounting, accounts payable, maintenance, rent collection and more. Tenants can view and pay bills and submit maintenance requests all online; managers can automate rent billing, track progress on maintenance work orders and manage workflows for vendor payments, among other capabilities. The per-unit and monthly minimum prices could be prohibitive for smaller property management companies.
AppFolio
Best enterprise property management software
Price
$1.49 per unit per month, $298 per month minimum, for Core Residential plan.
$1.50 per unit per month, $298 per month minimum, for Core Commercial plan.
$3.20 per unit per month, $960 per month minimum, for Plus Residential and Commercial plans.
$5.00 per unit per month, $7,500 per month minimum, for Max Residential and Commercial plans.
Why we picked it: AppFolio, like Yardi Breeze, is heavy on features and high on price and therefore better suited to larger property management businesses. AppFolio stands out, however, for its student housing property management features, which include the ability to manage rents and vacancies by the bed without changing the lease for all the residents in a unit. AppFolio’s software also includes a number of automated and AI-driven capabilities.
DoorLoop
Best lease accounting software
Price
$69 per month for Starter plan.
$139 per month for Pro plan.
$199 per month for Premium plan.
Prices increase after the first 20 units.
Why we picked it: DoorLoop’s software includes all the primary accounting functions you need, such as income and expense management across multiple properties, reporting and automated bank reconciliation (although reconciliation is not included in the Starter plan). The software is also packed with lease management features like tenant screening, maintenance management, online listing marketing, a tenant portal and more.
Billie Anne Grigg contributed to an earlier version of this article, which was first published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.
Last updated on April 16, 2024
Methodology
NerdWallet independently reviews accounting software products before determining our top picks. We collect the data for our software ratings from products’ public-facing websites and from company representatives. Information is gathered on a regular basis and reviewed by our editorial team for consistency and accuracy.
NerdWallet’s accounting software ratings favor products that are easy to use, reasonably priced, have a robust feature set and can grow with your business. The best accounting software received top marks when evaluated across 10 categories and more than 30 subcategories. Learn more about how we rate small-business accounting software.
These ratings are meant to provide clarity in the decision-making process, but what’s best for your business will depend on its size, growth trajectory and which features you need most. We encourage you to research and compare multiple accounting software products before choosing one.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.