Quickbooks by Intuit is a leading small business accounting software. Landlords often consider Quickbooks to do rental property accounting. However, there are much easier tools for landlords to use.
Quickbooks is too complicated
Quickbooks, by reputation, is not easy to learn. People buy books and videos to answer questions about how to set-up things in Quickbooks.
Moreover, even for Quickbooks experts, using Quickbooks for property management is difficult. In fact, it is challenging enough to warrant a video course on how landlords can use Quickbooks.
Landlord-specific accounting software is easier to use
Fortunately, there is a lot of landlord accounting software available as alternatives to Quickbooks. Just as a handyman has many tools in their toolbox (hammer, screwdrivers, wrenches) to fix problems, the right sized landlord software can make your life so much easier.
For landlords who just need a few reports and simple income and expense tracking, RentalIncomeExpense.com is an easy-to-use and free alternative to Quickbooks. For large property managers with complex needs, there are property management accounting services such as Appfolio and Buildium.
As one example of the benefits of using a dedicated tool like RentalIncomeExpense.com, a landlord can quickly create an IRS Schedule E helper report with just a click of a button. This report contains all categories on the IRS form that their accountant will need at tax time. Try doing that with Quickbooks!