Appfolio Accounting Challenges: Solved!

Founded in 2006, Appfolio has over 20,000 users and is one of the most popular property management platforms on the market. In this article, we’ll answer some of the common questions we receive from Appfolio users and address how to solve its accounting limitations.

Who is Appfolio designed for?

Appfolio is a property management software specifically designed to streamline and automate key processes for managing long-term leases. It’s used by owners of multifamily apartment properties, single-family homes, and community associations, to name a few.

Overall, Appfolio is suitable for anyone overseeing multiple properties who wants to streamline marketing and lease documents, rent and fees, owner communications, and a suite of financial reporting.

What are Appfolio’s best features?

One of the best features of Appfolio is the step-by-step automation for effortless move-in and move-out processes. Similarly, it provides an intuitive interface and service portals for tenants and investors.

Appfolio was designed to be an all-in-one system, which is great for property managers who prefer to keep all of their operational data in one place. From leases, maintenance and late fees to accounting, workflows, and bill pay, Appfolio helps property managers uncover new efficiencies at every turn.

Finally, Appfolio can automatically apply markups that flow to the income statement, calculate owner distributions, and create standard reports like owner statements and balance sheets.

When is it necessary to use software outside of Appfolio?

As your business grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to get everything you need out of Appfolio. For example, an owner with multiple partners invested in a Class A or B property and hundreds of tenants will need more sophisticated accounting than a portfolio of a few long-term leases.

Despite having built-in accounting features, Appfolio won’t be able to do all of the back-end financial processes that are needed for some businesses and investors. This is where QuickBooks can fill in the gaps, since QuickBooks provides full accounting functionality and supports more complex ownership structures.

Property managers can keep using Appfolio for their operations, then track their own revenues, expenses, payroll, assets, and equity in QuickBooks.

Finally, there are no features in Appfolio for tax or payroll, so businesses will also need to do these processes outside of the software.

How does RealCount help property managers using Appfolio?

Even with Appfolio’s robust functionality, accounting is still a hands-on process, and property managers don’t have time to do it. RealCount’s team can step in and use Appfolio (along with QuickBooks and other key software) to help property managers take the accounting workload off of their plate.

Even if your business relies solely on Appfolio, RealCount’s team can work directly within Appfolio to manage your bank accounts and credit cards, send out rent reminders, process distributions, and create owner statements.

With monthly accounting support from RealCount, property managers gain a team of specialists who understand the software and know how to navigate the financial complexities unique to their business. As your remote accounting department, RealCount can take care of monthly reconciliations, revenue recognition, bill pay, and more on a regular basis, so you never fall behind.

Grow your portfolio with tech-savvy accounting

If you want to gain market share and build up your portfolio of properties, make sure you have the right software and accounting processes in place. When your business is gaining momentum, the last thing you need is to end up backlogged on owner statements, bill pay, and expense reporting.

At RealCount, we offer comprehensive accounting support and work with best-in-class software to help you succeed. Check out our services for property managers or book a consultation today!

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