9 of the Best Property Management Software for Small Landlords

Calling all small landlords! Yeah, you with just a couple properties. We see you out there — changing lightbulbs, collecting rent checks, fielding maintenance requests.

It's tough balancing your day job while moonlighting as a property manager. Wouldn't it be nice to get a little help? Well, that's where property management software can come in handy.

Rental property management software helps automate many of the day-to-day administrative tasks like maintenance scheduling, payment processing, and lease management. That means you can spend less time on paperwork and logistics and more time focusing on the higher-level strategy of your rental business.

In this article, we'll highlight five key features to look for when shopping for property management software for small landlords. The right choice can handle all those less-than-glamorous but essential tasks to help your rental properties be as profitable as possible. Sound useful? Read on to transform the way you manage your properties!

Choosing property management software for small landlords

Managing rental properties effectively requires juggling many moving parts, from collecting payments to fixing plumbing issues to signing lease agreements.

Small landlords don't have a large support staff, and keeping all those balls in the air can quickly become an exercise in frustration. Fortunately, today's best landlord software platforms can provide a helping hand.

Purpose-built property management software helps automate and simplify key rental management tasks in one centralized dashboard. Instead of constant paperwork headaches, you gain organization, efficiency, and valuable insight into your business operations.

As you evaluate management software options tailored for independent landlords, keep these property management features in mind:

• Tenant screening: Having the ability to run background and credit checks on prospective tenants can help you avoid tenants that cause headaches down the road. Look for automatic tenant screening integrated with credible services.
• Online payments: You'll want a property management software that makes it easy to collect rent online or via mobile app. It's more convenient for tenants and automates your rent collection process.
• Rent reminders: Even though payment due dates are in the lease agreement, it's a good idea to send automated reminders to tenants when rent payments are due. Integrating this with property management software for small landlords aids in receiving payments on time.
• Maintenance management: Instead of taking tenant calls and writing maintenance requests on a sheet of paper, you can use a system to manage this for you. The best property management software for small landlords makes it easy for tenants to submit maintenance requests, reducing your administrative burden.
• Lease management: Being able to generate state-specific leases, track lease dates, and collect e-signatures helps you to simplify lease management.
• Property accounting: A comprehensive property management software includes income and expense tracking, customized reports, tax-ready statements, and overall accounting tools to help you understand your business.
• Customer support: Look for responsive customer support in case you need help learning or troubleshooting the property management software. Access to online training and support goes a long way when you're learning a new software solution.

The best property management software for landlords with small portfolios

What are the best property management software options to help you get rent payments on time, offload administrative burdens, and help you increase your overall profits?

With so many property management software tools in the market, narrowing down the ideal platform that suits your needs can feel overwhelming.

Here's our list of the top software picks tailored specifically for DIY investors ready to increase returns through smarter task management.

1. Azibo

Azibo is a feature-rich property management platform tailored for individual investors and small-scale landlords. As an all-in-one solution, Azibo centralizes all of your rental administration tasks in one place.

Extensive automation also minimizes the learning curve for real estate investors still gaining experience. For hands-on investors with just a couple units, Azibo strikes an ideal balance between comprehensive features and cost-effectiveness, and the platform scales up seamlessly as your portfolio grows.

Key features

• Integrated platform: Manages comprehensive tenant screening, lease creation, rent collection, accounting, and insurance all in one place.
• Automated rent collection: Enables online payment options for tenants, with notifications for landlords and features to make sure you collect rent on time.
• Financial management tools: Offers accounting and financial tools specifically designed for landlords, including payment scheduling, transaction management, and tax support.
• Custom lease agreements: Provides tools for creating state-specific lease agreements with online eSignature features.
• Tenant communication and maintenance: Facilitates tenant communications and maintenance request tracking between landlords and tenants.
• Cost-effective: Azibo's majority-free property management software makes it a budget-friendly option.
• User-friendly platform: The services are easy to use, with a tenant portal and customizable features.

Pricing

Azibo's comprehensive feature set is priced based on the different capabilities you need as a small landlord, including:

• Free services: Includes rent collection, accounting tools, maintenance and messaging, unlimited properties and units management, banking services, and customer support.
• Tenant charges: No charge for bank transfers, fees for credit/debit card payments, and a monthly fee for credit boosting. Tenant background checks cost $39.99.
• Custom lease agreements: Priced at $29.99 for creation and eSignature use.

Summary

Azibo's all-in-one property management software for small landlords can help offload the manual tasks and individual software solutions you're using today.

By using a fully integrated solution, rental property owners can move towards automation and reduce administrative burden.

2. Rent Manager Property Management Software

Rent Manager is a property management software catering to both residential and commercial property managers. It's known for its scalability, making it suitable for portfolios of all sizes.

Key features

• Management: Handles all the components of property management, from lease creation and tenant screening to maintenance tracking and accounting.
• Reporting: Generates detailed reports on income, expenses, and other key metrics, offering insights to make decisions.
• Accounting: Offers advanced accounting features with capabilities for budgeting, financial analysis, and automated rent collection.

Pricing

For small landlords, pricing ranges from $200 per month to $450 per month, depending the features and support you need.

Summary

Rent Manager helps makes operations easier for property owners. With its simple interface, you can effortlessly complete tasks and spend less time on administrative work. It aims to take the hassle out of rental management.

3. TenantCloud

TenantCloud is a user-friendly property management platform that simplifies landlord-tenant interactions and improves communication.

Key features

• Tenant portal: Allows tenants to pay rent online, submit maintenance requests, and communicate with landlords through a dedicated portal.
• Property marketing: Offers tools for marketing vacant properties, including online listings and application management.
• Rental income tracking: Provides a clear overview of rental income and expenses for better financial management.

Pricing

For small landlords, the pricing is $15.60 per month and includes rent payments, maintenance management, listings and applications.

Summary

TenantCloud lets landlords manage their properties without all the headaches.

Its cloud-based system allows you to handle things smoothly online and focus on the bigger picture rather than daily operations. The platform makes it a easy to complete various rental tasks.

4. TurboTenant

TurboTenant offers a free plan with powerful features, making it an attractive option for landlords looking to manage a small number of properties without incurring additional costs.

Key features

• Rental listing syndication: Automatically publishes property listings on popular rental websites to reach a wider audience.
• Online rental applications: Lets potential tenants submit applications online, streamlining the leasing process.
• Tenant screening: Provides comprehensive tenant screening reports, including credit, criminal, and eviction history.
• Rent payment processing: Allows online rent payments through the platform for convenience.

Pricing

Pricing for small landlords starts with a free plan that includes basic features like property listings, tenant screening, state-specific leases, online rent collection, and maintenance requests. The Vacancy Pro Plan includes priority listing review, custom applications, and tenant income verification.

Summary

TurboTenant is a straightforward software focused on being user-friendly so landlords can be organized and work efficiently.

5. SimplifyEm

SimplifyEm is a comprehensive property management software for landlords and property managers of all sizes, emphasizing efficiency and compliance.

Key features

• Lease management: Manages lease creation, renewals, tracking, and assuring compliance with legal requirements.
• Rental applicant screening: Runs credit checks and criminal background checks and verify the rental history of potential tenants.
• Maintenance tracking: Streamlines maintenance requests and work orders for prompt issue resolution.
• Accounting tools: Offers accounting features, including income and expense tracking, financial reports, and tax support.

Pricing

Small landlords can leverage the basic plan, which starts at $35 per month for up to 10 units and includes all the features of the software.

Summary

SimplifyEm equips landlords with intuitive tools to handle duties without fuss. It offers a streamlined way to manage the ins and outs of renting without all the complexity. The software aims to empower property owners with its user-friendly approach.

6. Rentec Direct

Rentec Direct caters to property managers and landlords with various tools, ranging from tenant screening to financial management. 

It's known for its versatility and adaptability to different property management needs.

Key features

• Property accounting: Tracks all your income and expenses, generates reports for easy analysis, and even organizes everything for tax time.
• Maintenance management: Track work orders and repairs so you can stay on top of issues and schedule maintenance.
• Owner portal: Provides access to financial reports, tracks rental income, and communicates with tenants.
• Tenant portal: Gives tenants access to their lease agreements, payment history, and the ability to submit maintenance requests.
• Marketing and vacancy tracking: Helps landlords market their properties, tracks inquiries from potential tenants, and manages vacancies.

Pricing

For small landlords, pricing starts at $45 per month for up to 10 units, offering online rent payments, accounting and reporting, and unlimited tenants and properties.

Summary

Rentec Direct serves both owners and managers with comprehensive features to reduce time on tasks.

It provides solutions to help smooth out the rental management process day-to-day. The versatile software makes it easy to stay organized and work efficiently.

7. DoorLoop

DoorLoop stands out by providing a modern property management solution that simplifies operations for property managers and small landlords.

Key features

• Rental listing management: Facilitates the creation and management of property listings, assuring effective marketing.
• Lease automation: Streamlines lease creation, electronic signatures, and document storage for efficient lease management.
• Maintenance requests: Allows tenants to submit maintenance requests easily, with tools for tracking and resolving issues.
• Accounting and reporting: Provides comprehensive accounting tools, financial reports, and insights to track property performance.
• Task management: Lets property managers create and track tasks, assuring timely completion of responsibilities.

Pricing

DoorLoop has a robust feature set, and pricing for small landlords includes plans that range from $59 to $179 per month, depending on the features you need.

Summary

This landlord software includes modern and easy-to-use tools to simplify workflow for landlords. Its focus is on simplifying rental management through straightforward functionality. The software aims to remove hassles and modernize how you manage your properties.

8. Landlord Studio

Landlord Studio is a property management platform that's perfect for independent landlords and property investors. It's simple and easy to use, so you can manage your properties hassle-free.

Key features

• Financial tracking: Provides tools for tracking rental income and expenses and generating financial reports for effective decision-making.
• Tax management: Simplifies tax preparation by including expense categorization and deduction tracking.
• Document storage: Centralizes important documents, such as leases, receipts, and invoices for easy access.
• Property and tenant management: Streamlines property and tenant information, including lease details and communication history.
• Reminders and alerts: Sends automated reminders for important tasks, such as lease renewals and maintenance appointments.

Pricing

For small landlords, there's a free plan for up to 3 units that includes basic features. If you go with the pro plan, it includes all of the key features.

Summary

Landlord Studio enables owners to manage rentals seamlessly and makes it easy for you to focus on other operational aspects of your business.

9. Zillow Rental Manager

Zillow Rental Manager is known for integrating with the popular Zillow platform, providing landlords an extensive reach to potential tenants and streamlining the rental listing process. This is one of the property management software platforms that provides very basic features for managing tenants.

Key features

• Listing creation and syndication: Helps landlords to put together professional listings and publish them across Zillow, HotPads and Trulia.
• Rental applicant evaluation: Offers tenant applications and screening, including credit reports, background checks, and income verification.
• Rent payments: Collects rent payments online, as well as other payments, like utilities and move-in fees.
• Lease agreements: Creates leases with an online lease builder.

Pricing

Zillow is mostly free for you as a property manager, unless you upgrade to premium to advertise your listings. For the property management tools that are part of this platform, tenants pay $35 for application screening and a fee for online rent collection.

Summary

Zillow Rental Manager is primarily a listing platform with marketing tools that offer some basic functionality for small landlords.

Choosing the right property management software

We've just covered several options for property management software. How do you narrow down the options and make a choice that is best for your single rental property? Here are the elements to consider:

Compatibility

When evaluating property management systems, ensure the software will work with your existing tech stack. Check that it can integrate with tools you already use for accounting, email marketing, screening services, lease templates, and other programs.

You want rental payment data flowing into your accounting software and new applicant info pouring right into your screening service. Integrations help you eliminate repetitive data entry.

The right unified tech toolkit makes managing various landlord tasks much more efficient.

Scalability

Also, consider the solution's ability to scale up over time alongside your real estate portfolio. As a new landlord, you may only oversee a handful of units.

Most investors seek to add more properties over time. Choose a platform with property management software features that can grow with you when you have multiple properties.

Review pricing tiers based on number of units so you know your management system can fully support a 50-, 100-, or 500-door portfolio down the road.

Scalability prevents having to constantly switch software each time your assets expand.

Evaluate solutions

When researching options, take advantage of free trials and demo opportunities before committing long-term. Test drive the interface and feature set by inputting your actual properties and tenants, mimicking your daily management routine inside the software.

This hands-on evaluation reveals how easily core features like maintenance tracking and contract management translate to real-world applications. It also tests functionality for your specific business scenario.

Use the demo experience to assess whether the software genuinely makes managing your properties less stressful.

Referrals and testimonials

Finally, read reviews and talk to fellow landlords who are using the systems you’re considering. Trusted referrals provide impartial insight into pros and cons from actual users’ perspectives.

Fellow investors can also advise which platforms best suit solo landlords versus larger-scale property management companies. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Carefully weigh peer experiences against your own needs to determine the best software match.

Small landlord management software

Managing rental properties is a balancing act, especially for real estate investors with just a handful of units. You have to tackle maintenance issues, screen tenants, collect rent payments, and stay on top of lease dates, all while strategizing your next great investment deal.

The best property management software levels the playing field for small-scale landlords wearing multiple hats. Automating administrative tasks lets you focus on the bigger picture of building your rental property portfolio. And with the right solution scaled for your budget and rental properties, you can ditch the paperwork headache without breaking the bank.

Let automation take care of the small stuff so you can spend more time doing what you love: finding promising properties and growing your wealth, one great investment at a time.

Small landlord property management software FAQs

Is QuickBooks good for landlords?

Landlords can use QuickBooks for rental property management, but it has certain limitations and might not be the best fit for all landlords.

Azibo provides a comprehensive accounting software as part of its fully integrated platform, so landlords don't have to buy a separate rental property accounting software.

What is the best software for short term rentals?

Guesty is a comprehensive management platform for hosts or property managers with one or more residential properties.

Is there a software to track rental properties?

Yes, there are several software options available for tracking rental properties. These tools help landlords and property managers keep track of various aspects of property management.

Azibo's all-in-one platform streamlines the entire property management process for smaller landlords.