Best Real Estate Accounting Software | Top 11 Reviewed for 2024

The real estate industry is as complicated as it is profitable, so you’ll need foolproof accounting software to help you stay on top of your finances. This article will find some of the best accounting software for real estate agents and companies in 2024. These ten programs are easy to use and loaded with features ranging from analysis and reports to financial forecasting. Plus, they’ll streamline every step of your business, so you don’t have to worry about anything.

The Best Real Estate Accounting Software for 2024 – Shortlist

Real estate is all about profit, but you can’t make money when you don’t know your property’s worth. So you’ll want to invest in accounting software that offers a wide range of features to help you maximize every asset, from big to small.

Plus, you should look for programs explicitly made for the real estate industry. Below, you’ll find 11 of the best based on ease of use, ease of integration with other software, stability and the trustworthiness of their customer service.

1. Zoho Books – Overall Best Real Estate Accounting Software
2. FreshBooks – Most Scalable Accounting Software for Real Estate
3. Patriot – Best for Individuals and Small Brokerages
4. Xero – Excellent at Reconciling Accounts & Tracking Projects
5. QuickBooks Online – Designed for Large Brokerages
6. Realtyzam – Best Real Estate Accounting Features
7. Wave – Completely Free to Use
8. Bonsai – Popular Real Estate Accounting Software for Small Businesses
9. Lone Wolf Books – Best for Managing Commissions
10. CORE Back Office – Over 30 Integrations
11. Realty APX – Free Basic Website
12. Emphasys – Best for Brokerages of All Sizes

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The Best Real Estate Accounting Software – Reviewed 

Accounting software is specially designed to make your job as a real estate agent more efficient, but it all comes down to the details—the data, reports and features that keep you on top of your finances. You should invest in a program that offers everything you need without any extra fluff or hidden fees. Thankfully, these ten programs check all the right boxes.

1. ZohoBooks -Overall Best Real Estate Accounting Software

Zoho Books is a cloud-based accounting software that provides a range of financial management tools for businesses

Zoho Books consolidates all of your bank transactions and financial records in one location, making it easy to manage your company’s finances.

It can import data from Paypal and automatically reconcile transactions with your bank records to ensure accuracy and reduce the risk of fraudulent payments. This eliminates the need to switch between multiple banking apps and helps to keep track of all of your company’s financial activity in one place.

To help with organization and prevent errors, Zoho Books offers an automatic categorization feature that uses bank rules and filters to group transactions into specific categories. This makes it easier to locate specific transaction data and simplifies the search process.

In addition, Zoho Books includes a client portal where customers can access a complete history of their transactions. This can be useful in the event of any disputes or misunderstandings, as it provides customers with a record of their payments and can help to strengthen the relationship between the business and its clients.

The client portal in Zoho Books also includes a feature that allows you to request feedback from customers. By gathering this information, you can better understand your customers’ experiences and take steps to improve customer satisfaction, potentially through better payment processing.

Pricing

Zoho Books offers a completely free plan, which includes a sufficient number of features for solopreneurs, small businesses, and personal use.

The free plan of Zoho Books allows you to manage up to 1,000 invoices, as well as access a variety of other features such as multi-lingual invoicing, expense tracking, and email support.

If you require additional functionality, there are five paid plans available that offer a range of options, such as increased integration and invoice capabilities, different levels of customer support, and more. You can choose the plan that best meets your needs.

For example, the Standard plan of Zoho Books includes integrations with Zendesk, Zoho People, Zoho Projects, and Avalara but does not include integrations with Zoho Sign and Twilio. These additional integrations are available in the Premium plan.

All of the paid plans for Zoho Books offer a 14-day free trial, allowing you to test out the software and determine if it meets your needs before committing to a plan.

2. FreshBooks – Most Scalable Accounting Software for Real Estate

FreshBooks is a popular accounting software used by over 30 million businesses worldwide. It is known for its user-friendly invoicing tool and automated accounting features, which make financial management easy and efficient.

FreshBooks simplifies expense tracking by automatically importing transaction data from your connected bank and credit card accounts. This means that you do not need to manually enter expense information, as FreshBooks will update your expense sheet daily.

This can be helpful in managing your budget and avoiding overspending, as you can see your daily and weekly spending in real-time.

FreshBooks includes a feature for tracking expenses that allows you to scan and store digital versions of paper receipts in its database. This helps to ensure that you do not lose any receipts and allows FreshBooks to automatically categorize each receipt for easier tax filing.

One feature that we particularly like about FreshBooks is the ability to quickly convert estimates into proposals with just one click.

FreshBooks allows you to choose from a variety of proposal templates and customize them to meet your specific needs. Potential clients can review and approve projects directly from the proposal.

When the work is completed, you can easily convert the proposal into a professional invoice, complete with any applicable discounts and payment options in your preferred currency. This streamlines the payment process and can help to speed up the payment cycle.

Pricing

FreshBooks offers a variety of pricing plans, starting at $6 per month for the Lite plan. The Lite plan allows you to send unlimited invoices to up to 5 clients, track unlimited expenses, and send unlimited estimates. However, your accountant will not have access to the dashboard on this plan.

To access additional features such as automatic expense tracking, checkout links for online payments, and the ability to remove FreshBooks branding from client emails, you can sign up for a premium FreshBooks plan. These plans also include access for your accountant.

FreshBooks offers a 30-day free trial, during which you can test out the software without the need to enter any credit card information. This allows you to try FreshBooks risk-free to see if it meets your needs before committing to a paid plan.

3. Patriot – Best for Individuals and Small Brokerages

Patriot is a business accounting software that was developed with input from accountants and business owners, making it uniquely equipped to understand and meet the financial needs of its users.

One of the standout features of Patriot is the ability to manage an unlimited number of vendors on the basic plan. This allows you to centralize all vendor information in one place and easily track invoices, approve payments, and print paychecks. Having a comprehensive record of all transactions also helps to avoid disputes.

Patriot offers the ability to track forms 1099 and 1096, which are required by the IRS for reporting income types other than wages and tips and summarizing payments made to independent contractors, respectively. This feature allows you to keep track of these forms at no additional cost, helping you to avoid any issues with the IRS.

Patriot offers the option to file form 1099 digitally for a nominal fee. This service includes submitting the form to the IRS and managing the process, making it a convenient and hassle-free way to handle financial legalities and taxes.

Pricing

At a mere $20 per month, Patriot’s “Accounting Basic” plan will fetch you free and prioritized expert support, unlimited payments to vendors, payroll integration, plus the ability to create and track unlimited customers and invoices. 

Unlock enterprise-level features like account reconciliation, user-based payments, subaccount additions by subscribing to Patriot’s high-end yet affordable “Accounting Premium” plan that costs just $30 per month. 

Besides being affordable, Patriot also comes with a 30-day free trial. Test it risk-free before committing to a paid plan. 

4. Xero – Excellent at Reconciling Accounts & Tracking Projects

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software allowing small business owners to monitor their accounts from anywhere and integrates with over 1,000 different apps. In addition, it’s less priced than competitors like QuickBooks Online, and it doesn’t charge more for additional users, making it a viable option for growing companies.

What is it best for?

Xero is a financial management system that is good at reconciling accounts, tracking projects, and managing sales and purchase transactions.

Xero has a clean, intuitive interface and is very easy to use. You can easily set up and manage projects by creating tasks and attaching expenses to them. The software also provides a dashboard to see all of your account data in one place.

Pros

• All plans support unlimited users
• Reasonable pricing
• Automatic bank feeds configuration
• Rich in integrations

Cons

• The time tracking feature is only available for the premium plan
• No automatic recurring payments
• The initial setup can be confusing for those unfamiliar with bookkeeping.
• No live phone support

Price

Xero’s pricing plans are separated into three categories: Starter, Standard, and Premium. They offer a payroll system depending on the plan you decide on. Its Premium Plan pricing changes depending on the size of your team. Below is a more detailed look into its prices, as well as the pricing for the Premium 5 plan:

• Starter – Payroll for one person, send quotes and 20 invoices, and reconcile bank transactions for only 27 AUD a month.
• Standard – Payroll for two people, send quotes and invoices, and reconcile bank transactions for only 54 AUD a month.
• Premium 5 – Payroll for up to 5 people, send quotes and invoices, and reconcile bank transactions for only 70 AUD a month.

5. QuickBooks Online – Best Invoicing, Payroll, and Estimations

Accounting software is mostly used by small companies to manage their income and spending and keep track of their finances. Billing customers, paying bills, generating reports, and preparing tax returns are all possible with QuickBooks. QuickBooks has various options that anybody, from a freelancer to a small business, may utilize.

Small company owners often use QuickBooks to handle invoices, pay bills, and monitor cash flow. They also use it to produce quarterly and yearly company taxes and create month- and year-end financial reports. Some company owners utilize an in-house or outsourced bookkeeper, while others prefer to handle QuickBooks themselves.

What is it best for?

This program is tailored to small enterprises that want a simple method to manage their money. It includes tools like invoicing, payroll, and estimations to help you save time while paying bills and filing taxes for your company.

Pros

• User interface surpasses expectations
• Automated payroll reminders
• Thorough record-keeping and comprehensive reporting

Cons

• Monthly plans are expensive compared to alternatives
• Maintaining and adding features is expensive
• Inability to revert to previous versions

Price

QuickBooks Online’s pricing plans go three ways with a 30-day free trial on all of them: Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus. The pricing ranges from 8 USD up to 17 USD per month. Here’s a more in-depth look at its pricing:

• Simple Start – Send custom quotes and invoices, and track your VAT, and your accountant for only 8 USD per month for one user.
• Essentials – Send custom quotes and invoices, track your VAT, insights and report, multi-currency, and for three users plus your accountant for only 12.50 USD per month
• Plus – Send custom quotes and invoices, track your VAT, track inventory, manage budgets, and for five users plus your accountant for only 17 USD per month.

6.RealtyZam – Easiest to Set Up

RealtyZam is cloud-based accounting software for real estate agents and property managers that offers an easy-to-use interface. It’s easy and simple to use.

For example, it may connect your bank account and credit cards to monitor and categorize your income and spend it automatically. Using its easy reporting capabilities, you can monitor your average commission, selling price, and other information.

What is it best for?

RealtyZam is a good choice if you’re looking for real estate accounting software that’s easy to use and affordable. You can set up your own business with just a few clicks and then start using the software.

RealtyZam is one of the most popular accounting software programs on the market, and it’s easy to see why: it has automatic Transaction Sorting. This means that when you enter a transaction into RealtyZam, it automatically places it in the right month and year, saving you from having to do that yourself every time.

Pros

• Includes a client relationship management (CRM) module for increased productivity
• User-friendly
• Provides new agents with a free trial and a unique offer.

Cons

• Essential accounting features like invoicing and bill management are missing.
• Realtyzam is not designed for teams and brokers
• It does not have mileage tracking

Price

RealtyZam has a simple pricing plan that will make you wonder why other companies even bother with complex plans. A quick overview of its pricing plan can be seen below:

• Free forever – Realtyzam did not disclose the features available to avail this plan.
• Monthly- Realtyzam did not disclose the features available for availing of this plan, but its monthly payment is $12 per month, billed anytime.
• Annually – Realtyzam did not disclose the features available for choosing this plan, but its annual payment is $9.50 per month billed annually.

7.Wave – Completely Free to Use

If you’re searching for free accounting software, Wave Accounting is a great option. This financial management software is simple to use and understand, even for people without previous accounting knowledge. In addition, through internal integrations, you can handle bookkeeping, accounting, and invoicing all in one spot.

What is it best for?

Wave is great for small-business owners who don’t have the time or resources to invest in high-end accounting software. It does all you want of it, and it does it well. It offers you a full, end-to-end company management solution.

Wave features a straightforward user interface that makes it easy for small company owners. It also enables you to manage all of your papers and client interactions in one location, and it is available from any device with an internet connection.

Pros

• Invoicing is unlimited, with customized layouts and payment options.
• Has double-entry bookkeeping
• Adding a logo to your invoice is free.

Cons

• Updates change certain functions’ forms.
• There are no further plans to improve functionality.
• Lots of negative customer reviews 
• The invoice numbers on recurring invoices are not sequential.

Price

The wave pricing plan is 100% free, and it includes everything you need to get started.

8. Bonsai – Popular Real Estate Accounting Software for Small Businesses

Bonsai is a solid option for small businesses and freelancers looking for a real estate accounting and tax tool to save time.

As an all-in-one accounting software, Bonsai is ideal for keeping everything organized. For example, you can manage all your projects, clients, tasks, and finances — all within Bonsai.

What is it best for?

Bonsai is best for automating tedious tasks, such as your timesheets, invoicing (even late payment reminders), expense tracking, and more.

This not only saves you ample time, but it’ll also improve the accuracy of your bookkeeping and make managing your business and preparing for tax season an absolute breeze.

Pros

• User-friendly and easy to navigate
• Powerful automation capabilities
• Fantastic for invoice creation and tracking
• Incredibly easy to keep track of all your documents
• Offers superb value for money

Cons

• No recorded training material
• More contract customization options

Price

Bonsai has 3 plans, with the option to pay monthly or annually. Here are the annual prices:

• Starter – $17/month — Includes all templates, unlimited clients and projects, invoicing and payments, proposals, contracts, expense tracking, and up to 5 collaborators
• Professional – $32/month — Custom branding, forms, questionnaires, workflow automations, client portal, integrations + up to 15 collaborators
• Business – $52/month — Subcontractor management + onboarding, accountant access, connect multiple bank accounts, unlimited subcontractors and collaborators

Monthly billing starts at $24/month. The best value for money is the Professional plan — you can try it free for 14 days with the trial and money-back guarantee.

9. Lone Wolf Back Office – Best for Real Estate Investors

Lone Wolf Back Office (formerly BrokerWOLF) is the accounting software that real estate investors have waited for. It’s the only solution program on the market that will make your life easier—and it’s all contained inside one package.

With Lone Wolf, you won’t have to worry about losing any of your data. Instead, it puts everything in one place so you can see what you need when you need it. It also helps streamline your business processes and keep your finances organized so that you can focus on growing your business.

What is it best for?

Lone Wolf Real Estate Accounting Software is the perfect choice for any real estate agent who wants to manage their business independently. Real estate agents designed this software for real estate agents, so it’s easy to use and navigate.

Lone Wolf is best for managing your listings and MLS integration, accounting and financial records, automated commission calculation, and agent management. The program is cloud-based, and its team of specialists is available to help you with any queries you have regarding your company.

Pros

• The accounting and transaction management system for a brokerage is well integrated.
• Excellent customer support
• Feature-rich

Cons

• Difficult to navigate through, even for tech-savvy people
• Data entry does not work with other companies
• The interface is not up to date
• The search algorithm isn’t as strong as other competitors

Price

Lone Wolf Back Office’s pricing is not disclosed on its website; you have to contact customer service to retrieve customizable pricing.

10. CORE BackOffice – Manage Agent Onboarding Financials in One App

CORE BackOffice, formerly Brokersumo, is a low-cost brokerage backend containing transaction data, commission tracking, agent onboarding, etc. They provide brokerage accounting, ACH, onboarding, reporting functions, and the ability to charge agents via the system.

What is it best for?

Core BackOffice is the best solution for brokers because it allows you to manage agent onboarding and billing, commission tracking and disbursements, reporting and accounting—all in one platform.

You can easily create your commission plans, set up recurring billing schedules, and keep track of commissions and disbursements through an intuitive dashboard.

Pros

• Processing payments is quick
• Lots of positive reviews from satisfied clients
• The software is easy to navigate

Cons

• Customer service is not responsive to queries 
• Cost procedures are not clear

Pricing

Core BackOffice does not disclose its pricing on its website; you have to contact Core BackOffice to get your customized price plan.

11. Realty APX – Integrates with CRM

RealtyAPX is a full web-based Real Estate front office, back office, and mobile office management software for Brokers and Agents. In addition, it offers Windows-specific end-to-end solutions. Website management, contract management, CRM, commission management, and electronic signature are all included in this online real estate system.

What is it best for?

Realty APX is the ideal choice for real estate agents and brokers who have been trying to find a real-time tool that will help them manage their businesses.

This software was designed with real estate professionals in mind; its countless features make it easy for agents to manage their listings, do their accounting, and keep up with their client’s financials. It’s best for agents who want to do everything within one system.

Realty APX also offers automation so that every single transaction can be tracked. 

Pros

• The platform itself is simple and intuitive
• Customer service is top-notch
• Lots of positive customer reviews

Cons

• Expensive pricing plans
• The site sometimes has long-term errors when updates occur

Price

Realty APX has a lot of pricing plans to choose from, but we’re going to make it easy for you:

• Small – Office with up to 10 users, transactions management, office accounting, and documents management for $99.99 monthly billed annually.
• Medium – Office with up to 25 users, transactions management, office accounting, documents management, and full access for $199.99 monthly billed annually.
• Large – Office with up to 50 users, transactions management, office accounting, documents management, and managing multiple offices for $299.99 monthly billed annually.

11. Emphasys – Best for Brokerages that are Scaling

Emphasys is cloud-based accounting software that makes it easy for real estate agents to manage their clients and sales. You can put the power of reporting and monitoring at your fingertips with Emphasys to acquire essential insight into your company and boost profits. The software offers many tools and features to help you manage your real estate business. 

What is it best for?

It’s best for any real estate brokerage that wants to manage its client’s revenue and expenses. It’s a great tool for bringing in new business and managing the commission process and showing management.

It has great tools for automating your business, consolidating data, and analyzing trends. In addition, the intuitive dashboard gives you a clear view of your finances and allows you to drill down into specific areas of your business.

Pros

• The software is robust.
• This is a wonderful resource for real estate brokerages seeking an accounting solution.
• Responsive customer service
• Has MLS and QuickBooks integrations

Cons

• It takes some detective effort to figure out error messages.
• Lack of online reviews and users

Price

Emphasys does not disclose its pricing plans on its website; you have to contact its team to determine your specific pricing. 

What is Real Estate Accounting Software?

Real estate brokerages use real estate accounting software to help them manage their business. It helps them collect and analyze data, manage money, and make essential reports about the company. It may also be used for tax preparation or to keep track of daily transactions so that management can advise customers about their investments or pay taxes on revenues.

How Does Real Estate Accounting Software Work?

The software is a cloud-based solution that integrates with your existing business platforms and software. It allows you to collect data from multiple sources, and then it analyzes that data so you can see trends, who is buying what, and where your money should be going. It tracks all transactions so you to don’t have to remember them. 

Some Real Estate Accounting Software provides automatic revenue control or order management to automatically transfer money between offices based on requests from buyers or sellers. The software may also help keep you organized by tracking transactions, expenses, and reports.

What Are the Advantages of Using Real Estate Accounting Software?

The software provides you with a real-time look at your business. It can also help you find trends about how much you are spending and how much money you are making. It will help you to generate well-thought-out reports and plans, which can help you make changes to your business model or cut costs if they’re not necessary. 

You Can Access Your Data Anywhere, Anytime

Your account managers and brokers can log in to their accounts and access real estate accounting software from any device. This means that you don’t have to worry about them forgetting important numbers or events, or that they will lose important data. You can also get reports at any time, which makes it easy for you to access data at a glance. 

Secures Your Transactions

Real estate accounting software encourages security and privacy by encrypting all data and maintaining it in a secure location. You can also manage how your account information is shared with your staff so that they don’t see sensitive information. 

Conclusion — What’s the Best Real Estate Accounting Software?

Here’s a quick recap of our top 11 best accounting tools for real estate needs:

1. Xero – Overall Best Real Estate Accounting Software
2. QuickBooks Online – Designed for Large Brokerages
3. FreshBooks – Best for Individuals and Small Brokerages
4. Realtyzam – Best Real Estate Accounting Features
5. Wave – Completely Free to Use
6. Zoho Books – Most Scalable Accounting Software for Real Estate
7. Bonsai – Popular Real Estate Accounting Software for Small Businesses
8. Lone Wolf Books – Best for Managing Commissions
9. CORE Back Office – Over 30 Integrations
10. Realty APX – Free Basic Website
11. Emphasys – Best for Brokerages of All Sizes

While many real estate accounting solutions use advanced features and functions, the nature of these solutions is similar. Some will allow you to utilize all kinds of functions, while others are built around a specific function.

Ultimately, your choice will depend on what you want to do with the software.

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