QuickBooks vs AppFolio vs Buildium for Investors
Your property manager sends a statement. QuickBooks shows a bank deposit. Both numbers can be correct, but they tell different parts of the story.
If you own rental properties, comparing QuickBooks, AppFolio and Buildium starts with two questions: who manages the rentals, and where will you keep the complete books?
QuickBooks Online can be the bookkeeping system for a rental business. AppFolio and Buildium combine property management with accounting tools. You may need one system or a combination. The choice depends on the work you do, the records your manager provides and the reports you need.
What each system can do
QuickBooks Online
We use QuickBooks for our bookkeeping work. Our monthly process includes recording property activity, checking the books against bank and credit card statements, and reviewing the reports. Checking the books against those statements is called reconciliation. The software holds the records; the review is what helps us catch missing or duplicate activity.
For rentals, the setup needs to show which property earned the income or incurred the expense. Intuit offers class tracking in QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced. A class is a label that can group transactions for reporting. Decide how properties and separate businesses will be tracked before entering months of activity.
Our guide to setting up QuickBooks for real estate investors explains the bookkeeping questions to work through.
AppFolio
AppFolio includes accounting within its property management platform. Its accounting and reporting tools include bank feeds, financial reports and owner reporting.
If your manager uses AppFolio, ask to see a sample owner statement and the reports you can access. Check whether they include expenses you pay yourself, rather than assuming the manager’s records cover everything you own or spend.
Buildium
Buildium also combines rental operations with accounting. Its property management accounting tools include bank reconciliation and financial reporting.
For an owner considering Buildium, review the tenant tasks you need alongside the accounting. Ask the provider to demonstrate your bank and card connections, reports and accountant access in the plan you would buy. A feature list alone cannot show whether your full monthly process will work.
Choose software for the work you do
- You use a property manager. Start with the statements and reports they provide. Your own books may also need mortgage activity, insurance, repairs or other costs paid outside the manager’s system.
- You manage the rentals yourself. Compare rent collection, leases, maintenance and tenant communication as well as accounting. Confirm how you would handle each task before choosing the software.
- You already use AppFolio or Buildium. First check whether your current setup provides complete, reconciled records and the reports you and your accountant need. Adding QuickBooks creates another set of records to maintain, so it needs a clear purpose.
Before switching, ask for a demonstration using one of your actual reporting needs. For example: can you see the income and expenses for one rental, explain the cash paid to you and identify money still held by the manager?
Why the manager’s deposit is only part of the story
Whether your manager uses AppFolio, Buildium or another system, separate what the property earned, what was paid and what remains. Rent, refundable deposits and money carried forward can all affect cash, but they are not all this month’s income.
What each part tells you
- Income: Separate rent and other income, such as nonrefundable pet fees, from the manager’s deductions.
- Fees and expenses: Identify management fees, leasing fees, repairs, utilities and other charges individually. Have your bookkeeper and CPA review items that may be capital improvements.
- Tenant deposits and refunds: Separate refundable deposits from rent. Check for amounts already recorded before recognizing a new liability. Distinguish tenant-deposit refunds from rent refunds.
- Money held: Check beginning and ending balances. Retaining a reserve is not itself an expense; releasing it is not new rent.
- Owner movements: Separate payments to your business and contributions you make from rental income.
Keep each item tied to the correct property and business, even when the payout combines several items.
Worked example: explain all the money
This fictional example covers one rental in one business for one month. It is not client data.
The $400 beginning balance consists entirely of owner funds; there is no beginning tenant-deposit balance.
Here, cash totals include owner funds and a new refundable tenant deposit, not a recommendation to hold them in one bank account. The deposit has not previously been recorded and remains refundable and held at month-end.
| Statement item and meaning | Cash movement |
|---|---|
| Beginning funds held by the managerMoney carried forward, not new income; all owner funds | $400 |
| Receipts$3,650 | |
| Rent collectedRental income | +$3,000 |
| Nonrefundable pet fee collectedIncome, separate from the refundable deposit | +$50 |
| New refundable tenant security depositFunds held with a corresponding deposit liability, not rental income | +$600 |
| Fees and expenses$800 | |
| Management fee paidManagement cost | −$300 |
| Leasing fee paidLeasing cost | −$150 |
| Routine repair paidRepair cost | −$250 |
| Utilities paidUtility cost | −$100 |
| Payout and ending funds | |
| Payment to the business bank accountTransfer of funds to the owner’s business | −$2,500 |
| Ending funds held by the managerCash remaining, not another expense | $750 |
$600 refundable deposit backing + $150 remaining owner funds
The cash check: $400 + $3,650 received − $800 in listed costs − $2,500 paid to the business = $750 still held.
Now separate the meanings:
- $3,050 is income shown in this example, not the $2,500 bank deposit and not the $3,650 total cash received.
- $800 is the total of the listed fees and expenses. The payout and ending balance are not additional expenses.
- $750 remains with the manager: $600 supports the refundable tenant deposit and $150 is remaining owner funds. Neither the total balance nor the owner portion alone tells you what can be withdrawn.
The $2,250 income-minus-costs subtotal is not complete property profit. Mortgage activity, owner-paid costs and other accounting adjustments still need review. Your tax CPA determines tax treatment.
Statement formats vary. Tenant deposits may appear on a separate report, and funds held may include reserves or other balances. Use reports covering the same property and period rather than forcing every statement into this example.
Ask each software provider to demonstrate income, individual costs, the payout and ending funds held. A bank-feed deposit alone does not prove that all parts reached the books correctly.
How we use a property manager’s statement in QuickBooks
When we keep an owner’s books in QuickBooks, we use the statement to record the activity behind the deposit. Our process includes these checks:
- Check the starting balance. We compare the current statement with the prior month’s ending balance and the amount already recorded as held by the manager. If they disagree, we investigate before recording the new month.
- Record the statement details by property. We record each line of income, expense and money paid to the owner separately, with the statement attached to the journal entry. A journal entry records several related parts of a transaction together.
- Match the bank deposit. Once the entry is reviewed, we match the downloaded deposit to the recorded payment to the owner. Adding it again as rent would count the same money twice.
- Check the ending balance. The amount recorded as still held by the manager should match the statement for that property. We also review costs paid outside the statement as part of the owner’s books.
This is bookkeeping work supported by the statement. Downloading a statement PDF is not the same as importing all its transactions correctly.
Who keeps the operating books and who handles trust accounting?
The owner’s operating books track the rental business, including costs paid outside the manager’s system. They do not replace the records needed for client money held by a manager or broker, such as rent or refundable tenant deposits. Confirm who holds those funds and which trust-accounting requirements apply to that person or business in the property’s jurisdiction.
Put the responsibilities in writing: who maintains the owner’s books, who maintains and reconciles any required trust records, and who provides statements, deposit details and supporting records to the owner’s bookkeeper. Agree on the timing and how discrepancies will be resolved. Check both the management agreement and the bookkeeping engagement; do not assume that keeping the owner’s QuickBooks records includes reviewing or ensuring the manager’s trust compliance.
What if the manager does not send a payout?
No payout does not mean no property activity. Get the statement for the correct property and period. Check gross rent collected, individual fees and expenses, reserves, and beginning and ending funds held. Ask the manager to explain why no payment was sent and resolve any unexplained balance. The books still need the supported activity, even when nothing reaches your bank. Do not create a bank deposit that did not happen or treat retained funds as another expense.
Also provide records for costs paid outside the manager’s system, such as mortgage payments, insurance or repairs. Identify the business, property and payer, and check whether each item is already recorded. Your bookkeeper can review the proper treatment without counting the same cost twice.
Does Buildium or AppFolio integrate with QuickBooks?
Verify the exact connection being offered. Do not assume that using both products means they automatically share all accounting activity.
Ask which connector or export is supported, what information moves, which system sends it and how duplicate entries are prevented. Also confirm any plan requirements and fees. A connection that moves bank transactions may not handle every owner statement line or property assignment.
Intuit’s data import guidance explains supported information and file formats. Check the specific import process before relying on an export from another product.
Do you need both systems?
Use both when each has a defined job and you have a reliable way to keep the records consistent. For example, your manager may use Buildium while we use their statements, your bank activity and supporting records to maintain your records in QuickBooks.
If one system already meets your needs, there may be no reason to add another. The useful test is whether you can explain the balances, see the activity for each property and give your accountant complete records.
If you decide QuickBooks fits your needs, we may earn a commission if you purchase QuickBooks through this link: explore QuickBooks Online.
Get help with your rental books
If your manager’s statement and QuickBooks tell different stories, we can help review the setup, reconcile the accounts and organize the activity by property. Learn about our bookkeeping services for real estate investors.
A CPA turned bookkeeper, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and real estate investor, she helps real estate investors save time and maximize profits with expert bookkeeping.
