Q: I have been spend so much time looking for the right property management software on Google and trying demos. But I am so nervous on spending upfront money and a monthly fee for each unit. QuickBooks is my first choice because of cost and your book Manage Properties with QuickBooks, as my total cost would be $500.00. Can you help me how should I make the right decision?

A: You are so right! QuickBooks is so easy to use, especially when you have the right workflow and procedure from our guide which will cover 95% of your questions. You cannot beat that. OK now do not ask me for a 100% guarantee because there is non, the same as there is no guarantee in life. I get the question, “Why do not you offer a 100% guarantee?”, again and again – my answer is our book covers 95% to 99% of your questions specific to your real estate industry – that should be just enough. Lets get down to business:

There are three options: QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks on a Server for 24/7 access, and QuickBooks Online all with their own pros and cons. You have to know your GOALS to make the decision:

• Do you want to use QuickBooks as property management software?
• Do you want to use QuickBooks as financial management software? OR
• Do you want to use QuickBooks as a total solution for property management and financial management software and more in one?

It is not only about receiving money from tenants and paying bills, it is more than that. If you manage rentals then you know what I am talking about.

Speaking about software, cut your cost by using QuickBooks. If you enter transactions in a Property Management software, you will also have to enter them in QuickBooks or integrate them for your financials.

True QuickBooks is for almost for everyone, if you are looking for bells and whistles, QuickBooks will work for any real estate industry and property management, do not underestimate using QuickBooks with low-cost integrated software such as:

• Backup service
• Merchant Service (credit card, ACH, Debit card works with QuickBooks Point of Sale)
• Document Management
• Owner, tenant portals
• CRM
• Work orders – schedule your employees where to go and when
• Ah! And you can go mobile as well!
• And more…

You have three choices with QuickBooks software:

• Desktop versions are Pro and Premier – limit of 14500 customer’s names and your data file size – you can always find it on sale.
• QuickBooks Enterprise version – unlimited names if you are more than 3 users you cannot beat the price $3000.00 retail price for 5 users for two years of software, unlimited support and more benefits to post. Call us we can give you a list of FREE benefits offered by Intuit.
• Online QuickBooks – Try it for 30 Days FREE

Now you have three options to access QuickBooks:

• Try QuickBooks Online through Intuit for 30 Days
• Host your QuickBooks program and data file on the cloud – use www.cpaasp.com mention my name for a discount
• Install QuickBooks on your desktop and access your computer with webex.com, pcanywhere, logmein and other software – but do not forget to make a backup of your file.

So before you jump into a software or a coach – research, learn, and ask questions!