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
Here is a hypothetical month for one rental. The manager collects $2,000 in rent, pays a $150 repair bill and deducts a $200 management fee. With no other activity or change in money held by the manager, the owner receives $1,650.
| Statement item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Rent collected | $2,000 |
| Management fee deducted | $200 |
| Repair paid | $150 |
| Deposit to the owner | $1,650 |
Hypothetical example. No beginning balance, reserve changes or other transactions are included.
Recording only the $1,650 deposit as rent would leave out the management fee and repair. That deposit also does not tell you the rental’s full profit or cash flow. You may have paid other bills yourself.
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.
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.
