TurboTenant is a popular property management software solution for simplifying the daily tasks of managing rental properties.
However, TurboTenant has its share of limitations. If you’re seeking greater insight into your financial performance or desire integrated income and expense tracking or a more cost-effective option for your unique management needs, TurboTenant might not hit the mark.
The market is teeming with robust alternatives tailored to address these shortcomings. This article explores 6 compelling TurboTenant alternatives that could revolutionize your rental management business:
- Stessa
- Rentec Direct
- TenantCloud
- SimplifyEm
- Avail
- RentRedi
We’ll share our impressions of each platform’s key features and benefits and discuss why various options might be falling in or out of favor among landlords just like you.
How TurboTenant may fall short
TurboTenant has become one of the go-to property management platforms for DIY property owners. Despite its intuitive interface and friendly price points, including a free plan, some landlords may find it lacking in several areas.
For instance, according to several customer reviews on Trustpilot, TurboTenant’s customer care service can sometimes be disappointing. Users claim email and chat support, which are the only available options for the Free plan, may sometimes be unreliable. For property owners or managers on a budget and unable to upgrade to the Premium plan, that may be frustrating.
On the review site Capterra, some users complain about incomplete tenant screening, limited access to tax documents (like 1099 reports), and various difficulties using the platform.
On Google’s review platform, some recent user objections center around rent payment and collection services, challenges with the user interface, and a lack of customer support.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports that TurboTenant has a pattern of complaints. According to the BBB, “Complaints primarily fall into two categories – those that report concerns related to the application process and related fees and those that report concerns about fraudulent rental listings.”
Fortunately, there are alternative rental management platforms to consider. Whether you are a frustrated TurboTenant user or simply evaluating platforms to help manage your portfolio, you’ll likely benefit from our list of handpicked alternatives.
Six alternatives to TurboTenant
1. Stessa
Stessa is an intelligent accounting and rental property management software platform offering a variety of features for residential rental property investors. Whether you own a single property or manage an expanding portfolio of multiple residential investments, Stessa can help you manage, optimize, and grow your rental business.
Designed for landlords and real estate investors alike, Stessa’s features range from financial accounting and banking to tenant screening, rent collection, and legal document generation. Its user-friendly layout allows for the easy creation of vital financial reports, providing crucial insight into your portfolio performance in real time.
With Stessa, you can work to maximize your investment performance while eliminating much of the manual labor and excess paperwork traditionally associated with rental property ownership.
Key features and capabilities
- Integrated accounting: Stessa automates your income and expense tracking with bookkeeping features that align transactions with Schedule E categories, enabling quick financial report creation without the need for additional third-party software.
- Cash management: Stessa’s native cash management accounts offer competitive APY rates and no hidden fees, ideal for both businesses and sole proprietors.
- Real-time portfolio insights: You can track your assets and gain insights into your portfolio’s performance anytime from virtually anywhere.
- Tenant screening: Create applications, track their status, and perform detailed tenant screening with credit reports and background checks from Stessa’s integrated Rent Prep offering.
- Online rent collection: Automate rent reminders, receive updates on rent payments, and eliminate the need for third-party financial apps like PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle, all of which come with a host of problems when used to collect rent..
- Accelerated rent payments: Speed up access to your deposits with the Stessa Pro plan.
- Tenant autopay: Set up convenient automatic payments for your tenants to help them pay on time and in full every month.
- Automated bank feeds: Connect Stessa to your bank and have transactions automatically imported and categorized.
- Landlord legal forms: Access more than 60 legal templates, customize them as needed, and send them out for signature using the integrated DocuSign service available with the paid Stessa Pro plan.
- Flexible pricing plans: You can choose between the free Essentials plan or upgrade to the paid Stessa Pro plan that features an array of advanced tools for managing and optimizing your portfolio.
- Advanced reporting and tax features: Export your data, generate basic and advanced reports, and easily share essential tax information with your CPA.
- Stessa Tax Center: Access tax resources created in partnership with The Real Estate CPA, including tax preparation best practices and tax deduction strategies.
- Insurance services: Through Stessa’s partnership with Steadily, you can get competitive insurance quotes and select landlord policies within the platform.
- Unlimited document storage: Store all your vital documents in the cloud and organize them efficiently for easy retrieval.
- Mobile app: Use smart scanning technology to capture, process, and store all of your paper receipts. Email digital receipts and invoices to receipts@stessa.com for seamless processing. Stessa will then work to automatically assign your transactions to tax-ready Schedule E categories.
- Property management integration: Link your property management software portal and bring all your data together in one place.
Why use Stessa?
Stessa is a robust, intuitive platform that offers 24/7 visibility into the financial performance of your portfolio. You can produce vital reports such as income statements and cash flow analyses with minimal effort, saving valuable time and reducing paperwork clutter.
Moreover, Stessa seamlessly syncs with services regularly used by landlords. From accounting applications to tenant background check services, you can oversee all facets of your landlord responsibilities within one unified platform.
Unlike TurboTenant, Stessa offers integrated income and expense tracking and financial reporting without requiring you to pay extra for a third-party add-on. Additional features like automated rent collection, insurance quotes, and a dedicated tax center help simplify rental property financial management, positioning Stessa as a comprehensive solution for landlords of all sizes.
Pricing
Stessa has two pricing tiers:
- The Essentials plan is free and includes tenant screening (paid for by the applicant), online rent collection, core bookkeeping and accounting features, basic financial reporting, and landlord banking.
- The Stessa Pro plan is $20/month (or $16/month when paid annually). Gain access to tools like budgeting and Pro-forma analysis, advanced tax reporting with balance sheet reporting and Schedule E, eSignatures, a higher APY on Stessa bank account balances, and 60+ landlord forms and templates.
2. Rentec Direct
Rentec Direct is an online solution for property management tasks and is designed for landlords, property managers, and associations. It offers a comprehensive property and general ledger accounting system that helps you keep bank, property, and tenant records up to date.
Key features and capabilities
- General ledger accounting for properties, tenants, and owners
- Leasing and management
- Online rent payments
- Customized professional website
- Work order management system
- Integrated third-party services, including renters insurance and security deposit savings providers
Why use Rentec Direct?
In addition to comprehensive property management tools like ledger accounting, Rentec Direct provides a free professional website, tenant screening, lead tracking, and a work order management system. The platform offers free training, unlimited customer support for US-based clients, and a free two-week trial for new users.
Pricing
Rentec Direct bases its scalable pricing plans on the number of units under management:
- Rentec Pro: Starting at $45/month for up to 10 units
- Rentec PM: Starting at $55/month for up to 10 units
3. TenantCloud
TenantCloud is an all-in-one web-based property management platform geared toward streamlining the rental management process for landlords. You can manage rentals, process tenant applications, maintain accounts, collect and monitor rent payments, handle maintenance requests, collaborate with tenants, and create a personalized property listing website.
Key features and capabilities
- Accounting and on-demand property management reporting
- List vacant rentals and screen tenants
- Solicit maintenance bids from vendors in your area
- Market rent reports to help set more accurate rental rates
- Customizable rental listing website
Why use TenantCloud?
With TenantCloud, landlords can syndicate their property listings on sites like Apartments.com and Realtor.com and accept tour requests from prospective tenants. Managing rent collection from shared units is also easier through rent-splitting features for roommates. The Growth and Business plans include enhanced financial reporting and real-time synchronization with your QuickBooks Online account.
Pricing
There are three pricing options for unlimited properties and units. Each plan comes with a free trial and a 20% discount for annual billing:
- Starter plan: $15.60month
- Growth plan: $29.30/month
- Pro plan; $50.40/month
- Business plan: Contact TenantCloud for custom pricing
4. SimplifyEm
SimplifyEm is a property management platform tailored to the needs of landlords and property managers with small to medium-sized portfolios. This online solution offers features such as property financials, tenant administration, lease monitoring, bank account reconciliation, maintenance planning, and vendor coordination.
Key features and capabilities
- Income and expense tracking and report generation
- Comprehensive CRM features with customizable workflows
- Extensive tenant screening with enhanced criminal background checks, sex offender and housing court records, along with income verification
- Syndicated rental listing on multiple sites
Why use SimplifyEm?
SimplifyEm aims to improve the management of both occupied and vacant units for property owners. It has tools for tenant info capture, insurance monitoring, lease agreement storage, deadline tracking, invoice creation, and online rent collection.
Owners can send mass notices or emails for rent reminders, maintenance alerts, site visits, or other tenant updates. SimplifyEm also includes complimentary training and support via email and phone.
Pricing
The pricing for SimplifyEm’s plans depends on the number of units you manage, and each plan comes with a 15-day free trial:
- P10: $35/month for up to 10 units
- P20: $45/month for up to 20 units
- P30: $55/month for up to 30 units
- P50: $70/month for up to 50 units
- P75: $85/month for up to 75 units
- P100: $110/month up to 100 units
- P100+: $110/month plus $10/month for each additional 10 units
- P2000: $2,010/month for up to 2,000 units
5. Avail
Avail is a cloud-based solution providing tools for advertising vacancies, tenant screening and credit checks, payment processing, and lease signing on one platform. Both Avail plans let landlords use the platform for an unlimited number of properties.
Key features and capabilities
- Property management accounting
- Online rent collection
- Listing syndication for vacant properties and extensive tenant screening
- State-specific lease templates
- Rental property calculator for calculating cap rates, internal rate of return (IRR), gross rent multiplier (GRM), and cash-on-cash return
Why use Avail?
Avail is a decent alternative for DIY landlords looking to save money, thanks to its free plan that includes property accounting, tenant screening, maintenance tracking, and syndicated listings. Tenants can also pay rent online while boosting their credit rating.
Another advantage is Avail offers rent price analytics that include rental rate comparisons and market trends. This can help landlords set competitive rents and improve net operating income over time.
Pricing
- Unlimited plan: free with basic features for an unlimited number of units
- Unlimited Plus plan: $7/unit/month with premium features such as FastPay rent payments and waived ACH fees
6. RentRedi
RentRedi is a comprehensive platform for landlords to collect rent, send notifications, list properties on major real estate sites, and run TransUnion-backed background checks. It also provides lease signing, property reporting, payment tracking, and video-based maintenance request management.
Key features and capabilities
- List and market properties
- Rental property accounting
- Cash rent payment options with 90,000+ retail collection centers
- Pre-built tenant application forms to help screen tenants faster
- Premium maintenance with a paid additional subscription to Latchel
Why use RentRedi?
With high-quality listing pages and syndicated networks, RentRedi allows you to list your rental property and manage your marketing efforts with a single tool, potentially reducing vacancy and unit turnover time.
While RentRedi offers a variety of pre-built templates, you can also build your own tenant application forms. This option allows you to customize forms and collect the specific data you need from prospective tenants.
Pricing
RentRedi offers three pricing options, each with an unlimited number of tenants and units:
- Annual: $9/month with yearly renewal
- 6 Months: at $15/month with a semi-annual renewal
- Monthly: $19.95/month
Your ideal solution for 2024 and beyond
The efficient management of a rental property portfolio benefits greatly from a solution designed to meet the specific needs of today’s landlords, investors, and tenants.
Stessa is highly regarded and ranks as the #1 real estate app for landlords when measured by the total number of AppStore reviews and average rating. That said, Stessa is more than just an app. The Stessa platform can almost be seen as a strategic partner that helps you become more efficient and successful. From online rent collection to tenant screening, automated income and expense tracking, and portfolio management, it’s packed with features that modern landlords increasingly find they simply can’t do without.
The best way to determine if Stessa is the right fit for you is by experiencing it yourself. Sign up for a free account and discover how Stessa helps you maximize returns while eliminating the busy work.
