Does anyone have experience with Xero cloud base accounting system? I have heard and read nothing but badon’t things about Quickbooks Pro 2015 and Quickbooks customer service.
This will be my companies first accounting software. Any other suggestions?
@Major I have never used Xero so I am not able to compare. However, I love Quickbooks. I had problems with it at the begging but I hired QB consultant and all my problems were resolved.
RentManager is another software MHP owners like to use.
We are using AppFolio and like it.
-jl-
Thank you for the input. I am looking into rent manager at this moment and having a one on one walk through on Friday. I am familiar with appfolio.
However, would either of these be sufficient enough for accounting or do I need a an accounting software in addition to the management software?
My wife has her own bookkeeping and payroll company which handles all our MHP books. She is both Xero and QB certified. Xero was pretty exciting initially as it had easy bank feeds of information but QB Online has improved also. Wife says QB is best as you have easier access to QB certified coaches.
We used Quickbooks for years for our multiple property portfolio where the on site managers performed the accounts receivable transactions. It was onerous to process the many transactions each month. After a long search and many demos we settled on Rent Manager for its breadth of tools. It is a one stop software package that has nearly everything you need, and unlike Quickbooks, it is designed specifically for multifamily property management in multiple locations. Ironically, the one thing we need that Rent Manager doesn’t have is payroll processing, so we have one Quickbooks license left just for that. Otherwise, no regrets converting to Rent Manager.
We use RentManager for tracking rent, and Quickbooks for tracking our expenses. We copy the income over from RMO into QB on a monthly basis as a single journal entry.
It’s not slick, but it’s best to use the right tool for the job. For accounting (tracking your income, expenses, cash flow, balance sheet, etc) use an accounting program. For tracking rents, occupancy, vacancy, security deposits, applications, etc, use a property management program. No one program is going to be excellent at everything.
The huge advantage of QB is that everyone knows it. On the other hand, I find it to be less than ideal. So you pick your poison and move on.
Brandon@Sandell
@Brandon is it easier to track rent in RentManager instead of in QB? Is rentmanager online platform or it is PC software?
RMO (RentManager Online) is much easier to track rent in. For one thing, you can bulk post transactions such as the monthly rent roll and late charges; you can filter reports for delinquencies and security deposit listings, etc. QB does not handle these features very well. RMO is PC software that runs on a remote machine hosted by RM (via Windows Remote Desktop), although I think there is an online system (web-based?) as well.
We use it through Windows Remote Desktop and you can access this through a Mac or a PC as long as it’s connected to the internet.
Brandon@Sandell
@Jefferson, I heard on your podcast a few days ago that you all are using RentManager now, did you switch away from Appfolio? If so, why?
I’m a little nervous because we are migrating to Appfolio right now and it’s an undertaking. I hope I’m not making a mistake.
Really enjoyed that podcast about the technology you are using. I think the more details the more interesting. For example, what does your average day look like? What about Brad? What are some disadvantages and advantages of raising money with a fund versus a term sheet and LP? As always, thanks for all the advice and thought. Will.
@Jefferson, @wilbus - I’d also be interested to hear rationale for switching to RM. Better pricing perhaps? AppFolio seems like a much more robust and time-saving platform, albeit at a higher direct cost.
@Jefferson, +1 for info on why the switch from AppFolio to RentManager. Any insights would be really valuable.