Real estate accounting software is a key tool for running a rental property business effectively. But many bookkeeping platforms are available, and we know you have questions. Particularly, which one is the best?
But you might also wonder: What makes an accounting platform so important? What factors should I consider? Does it matter whether you choose a general bookkeeping software or one specifically for landlords?
Today, we’re discussing the key points of software for rental property accounting—and this year’s top options.
Key Points
- Using an accounting platform designed for real estate eliminates problems during setup, saving you time and reducing costly accounting errors.
- Consider four factors when choosing real estate accounting software: your needs, price-to-value, user-friendliness, and customer support.
- The best real estate accounting software integrates with property management features or platforms.
The Importance of Accounting Software for Real Estate
Your account books are essential for running a successful rental property business. You need to track your income and expenses to file accurate tax returns, make informed decisions, and maximize your profits.
A manual approach can be costly because of formula errors, incomplete data, and missing paperwork. But with the best real estate accounting software, you benefit in multiple ways:
- Save time: Automatic imports or integrations update your books with a single click.
- Increase accuracy: Reduced manual entry means fewer errors and more peace of mind when making informed decisions about your portfolio.
- Improve organization: Reduce paper storage and use digital documentation linked to specific transactions—all easily accessible in the cloud.
That’s why accounting software should be a foundational element of your real estate investment business.
Understanding Real Estate Accounting Software
General accounting platforms, like QuickBooks, are versatile and highly functional, making them popular. But these software options aren’t designed for rental property owners. Because the platforms are so generalized, the setup is often trickier or more time-consuming. You have to make significant updates to the chart of accounts, expense categories, or report templates.
These mass-market options also lack many of the reports landlords rely on, such as net operating income and cash-on-cash reports. You either have to go without them or track the data and build the reports in another system, which takes up more time and potentially introduces errors.
Rental property accounting software, on the other hand, is designed specifically for real estate investors. It includes features that make your job as a property manager or landlord easier and more efficient. These platforms come with a chart of accounts, templates, and reports that require minimal customization for your industry.
Accounting vs. Property Management Software
If you’re a new landlord, you may not realize that real estate accounting software is not the same as property management software. Accounting platforms are built around the financial elements of your business: income and expense tracking, invoicing and bill payment, and reporting.
Property management software focuses on tenant lifecycles, though some platforms integrate accounting functionality.
Here’s why it matters: Combo platforms act as all-in-one solutions with both property management and accounting features. They cover the entire tenant journey and your accounting needs, from the initial applications to deposit refunds to Schedule E reporting.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Real Estate Accounting Software
To find the best real estate accounting software for you, consider four factors:
Your Needs
What do you need help with to strengthen your business or run it more effectively?
Accounting software should focus on doing one thing well: accounting. If you need help only with bookkeeping, it’s okay to start small with a free or low-tier plan.
Pro tip: If you use multiple specialized systems, like property management, rent collection, and accounting, that could cost more than an all-in-one solution. Using a single platform or connected services helps you operate more efficiently. Make sure the accounting software you choose either integrates with a tenant management platform or includes those features.
Price to Value
Real estate–specific software may cost more than general-purpose software. However, you’ll use your time more efficiently and may need fewer programs to get the job done. You’ll need to weigh the added benefits of specialized software against the investment.
User Friendliness
If a system is hard to set up or use, you’re more likely to fall behind on your books or make accounting errors. Avoid these pitfalls by using free trials.
Ask yourself: Is it easy to navigate through the menus, upload or input information, or find answers to questions? The free trial is an opportunity for a low-risk experiment. If it doesn’t go well, that subscription level or the software itself might not be the best fit for you.
Customer Support
We all need a little help sometimes, so the software support options matter. Check on these questions:
- What support resources come with your subscription or tier level?
- Can you easily connect with a customer support representative?
- Do you have to pay a fee to speak with a live person?
Read reviews of the software you’re considering, focusing on comments about customer service.
Pro tip: If you’re new to rental property bookkeeping, you may be unfamiliar with some of the accounting terms and features software companies highlight. We’ve put together a glossary of common real estate accounting terms so you can quickly review key words and concepts.
REI Hub: The Best Real Estate Accounting Software
REI Hub is software that simplifies accounting for rental property owners. Here’s how our platform meets all the criteria for the best real estate accounting software for 2026.
| REI Hub: The Best Real Estate Accounting Software | ||
| Software Criteria | REI Hub Features | How We Help |
| Your needs | Bookkeeping support: Bank reconciliations, a real estate–specific chart of accounts, double-entry accounting, income and expense tracking, and document storage | Built-in checks and balances ensure your books stay balanced, giving you a strong accounting foundation—even if you don’t have an accounting background |
| Automations and templates: Secure linked accounts for transaction feeds, automated mortgage accounting, mileage logs, and rental-specific templates | Save time and stress by using accounting tools and automations, keeping your books accurate and freeing up your time | |
| Financial reports: Standard financial plus performance reports and metrics at the unit, property, and portfolio levels | Understand how your properties are performing, and pinpoint areas for improvement so you can manage your portfolio more effectively | |
| Tax prep: 1099 vendor tracking, the tax-time double-check, asset basis and depreciation tracking, plus Schedule E and tax packet reports | Tax-prep tools and reports minimize the hassle and headaches of tax season while maximizing your deductions so you can file your tax returns confidently | |
| Price to value | Plans: Start at $9 per month, and for 21+ units, the unlimited plan is $48 per month | Each subscription includes every feature to maximize your investment—regardless of which tier you need |
| User friendliness | Average user rating of 4.9 stars: 14-day free trial, free onboarding support, and an FAQ guide | Set up your books quickly and confidently, giving you a solid foundation for your accounting |
| Customer support | Resources: A comprehensive knowledge base, resource articles, and free email and phone support from live, US-based reps | Get help when you need it—without extra fees |
REI Hub: More Than Bookkeeping for Landlords
We’ve also teamed up with TurboTenant, the one-stop shop for property management trusted by over a million landlords, making it easy to manage your tenants and your books efficiently.
Our accounting software has everything you need for your rental property books. So, it’s no surprise that REI Hub is the best real estate accounting software this year. That’s why we have 4.9-star reviews and happy clients like Emmelyn.
“REI Hub has been amazing for my short-term rental properties. I have tried QuickBooks, and Wave, and the price of REI Hub and other reviews I had seen led me to the free trial. It works so wonderfully. … The customer service has been top notch.”
—Emmelyn Stieb
Ready to simplify and streamline your account books? Sign up for REI Hub’s 14-day free trial today!
Top Real Estate Accounting Software in 2026
2026’s accounting software options cover every budget and portfolio size. We’ve sorted through the field and identified the top three all-purpose accounting platforms for real estate investors. We’ll start with an overview of each candidate, then provide a side-by-side comparison of the features.
QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks has 28 years of experience supporting small businesses, and there’s a reason why 6.5 million people rely on it as their accounting software.
All foundational bookkeeping elements are included, but one key selling point is that every plan allows unlimited invoicing and payment acceptance. As your business grows, you can upgrade your plan to access additional features, such as multiuser access, enhanced reporting, or fixed-asset tracking.
Zoho Books
Although Zoho Books offers only a few tools specific to real estate, it has enough integrations to make this accounting platform a strong contender for rental property owners. Zoho Sign, Expense, and CRM integrations allow you to sign documents electronically, manage expenses, and track tenant records.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks has affordable monthly subscriptions—and, as of January 2026, a compelling 60% discount for the first three months. This platform is popular with Airbnb hosts since they can customize their invoices, even with the most basic plan. That allows users to send branded invoices for multiple properties at a low cost. And the online payment-processing feature makes it easy for tenants to submit deposits and rent.
Take note: QuickBooks, Zoho, and FreshBooks all use tier levels to determine which features or support options users have access to. Some essential accounting features or reports come with extra fees. Before you commit to a subscription plan, confirm that your must-have items are included in the tier level you’re considering.
Comparison of Top Real Estate Accounting Software in 2026
| Comparison of Top Real Estate Accounting Software in 2026 | ||||
| Software Criterion | QuickBooks Features | Zoho Books Features | FreshBooks Features | |
| Bookkeeping tools | Income and expense tracking, bank reconciliations, plus unlimited invoicing and payment processing | Online payment processing, bank reconciliations, income and expense tracking, and vendor management | Customizable invoices, budget management, deposits, bank imports, accounts payable, and receipt management | |
| Automations and templates | Bank feeds for transaction imports, auto-match transactions, and smart/automated transaction categorization | Recurring invoicing and expenses, bank and credit card statement imports, bulk transaction imports, auto-scan receipts, and automated payment reminders | Automatic bank imports, expense tracking, bill capture, invoice notifications and reminders, auto-late fees, and recurring invoices | |
| Financial reports | General reporting includes profit and loss, expense, and balance sheets | 50+ reports, including balance sheet and profit and loss | Budget summaries, dashboard performance overviews, and profit and loss statements | |
| Tax prep | 1099 vendor tracking, mileage tracking, and linked receipts for easy online storage | 1099 vendor tracking and filing, property-specific subaccounts, document storage, mileage tracking, fixed asset management, and accountant access | Expense, tax, and revenue reports, sales tax tracking, and mileage tracking | |
| Price to value | QBO offers a 30-day free trial, plus 50% off for the first three months (as of January 2026), but the base rate for the lowest plan costs $38 per month | Zoho offers a 14-day free trial, free migration for businesses, and four plan levels to choose from, starting with the free tier and going up to $70 per month | 30-day free trial and money-back guarantee, then the lowest plan starts at $21 per month up to the top-tier plan at $65 per month | |
| User friendliness | 4.3-star reviews on Capterra, and a mobile app | 4.4-star reviews on Capterra, mobile app, and a customer portal | 4.5-star reviews on Capterra, mobile app, and a client portal | |
| Customer support | Free phone support during the 30-day trial, support blog, video tutorials, and a Q&A community | Email support, FAQs, product blogs and videos, webinars, and help documents | Help guides, blog, glossary, and learning hub, plus a partnership with Integra for professional bookkeeping and tax services | |
Which Accounting Software Is Right for You: The Bottom Line
The best rental property accounting software includes essential accounting features and integrates with landlord software such as TurboTenant. Using accounting software designed specifically for real estate helps you save time, improve your bookkeeping accuracy, and stay organized.
That’s why REI Hub is the top real estate accounting software option. We provide all the accounting features and property management integrations you need—with every subscription, no matter how many properties you have.
Get started with your free trial today!
Best Real Estate Accounting Software FAQs
What is the best real estate accounting software for landlords?
REI Hub is the best real estate accounting software for landlords because it’s designed specifically for rental properties. It includes real estate specific bookkeeping, tax prep tools, financial reports, and integrations with property management platforms like TurboTenant.
Why should landlords use real estate–specific accounting software?
Real estate specific accounting software reduces setup time, minimizes accounting errors, and includes landlord-focused reports like Schedule E, cash flow, and performance metrics. General accounting software often requires heavy customization and lacks key real estate reports.
What features should rental property accounting software include?
The best rental property accounting software includes income and expense tracking, bank reconciliations, automated transaction imports, real estate specific reports, tax prep tools (like 1099 tracking and Schedule E), and integrations with property management software.
Is property management software the same as real estate accounting software?
No. Real estate accounting software focuses on financial tracking and reporting, while property management software handles tenant lifecycles. Some platforms integrate both, allowing landlords to manage tenants and accounting in one connected system.
