Buildium vs. QuickBooks: Which Property Management Software Should You Pick?
1.13.2026
Quick Summary
In this article, we compare three leading property accounting solutions—Buildium, QuickBooks, and Revela—to help you choose the best tool for managing property finances and operations. While Buildium and QuickBooks are popular options, Revela offers a more integrated approach by combining accounting, leasing, maintenance, and reporting into a single platform. Discover how each platform stacks up in terms of features, pricing, and scalability, and why Revela might be the superior choice for property managers looking to streamline their operations.
Not Sure Which Property Accounting Solution is Right for You?
Managing property finances can be a challenge, especially with multiple tools involved. When choosing between Buildium, QuickBooks, and Revela, it’s crucial to understand how each platform handles property accounting, reporting, and integrations.
Buildium is known for its comprehensive property management, while QuickBooks shines in accounting features. Revela, however, combines property management with powerful accounting, offering a more seamless experience.
In this Revela guide, we’ll compare these platforms across key features, pricing, and integrations, helping you choose the best solution for your business. You’ll learn what each platform excels at and why Revela could be the right fit for you.
Why Listen to Us?
We work with property managers who have outgrown starter tools and mid-market platforms. From single-family to multifamily portfolios, we’ve seen how QuickBooks integrations, manual reconciliations, and fragmented reporting hold teams back. This guide is based on real operator feedback and results.
Our unified reporting tools and extensive API facilitate streamlined operations and data-driven decisions. Clients like Brown University have successfully eliminated spreadsheets, reducing leasing process time by 50%.
Buildium vs. QuickBooks vs. Revela: Key Differences
Accounting & Financial Management
Buildium offers built‑in property accounting linked to leasing and maintenance, but its features sometimes fall short. QuickBooks focuses on general business accounting and requires customization for property‑specific use. Revela offers robust accounting solutions built for property managers. It unites property operations and full double‑entry accounting in one system designed for trust accounting and owner‑fund flows.
Accuracy and Compliance
Buildium supports trust accounts and GAAP‑style entries, but users note gaps with full accounting functions. QuickBooks requires significant setup and adjustment to match property‑specific compliance. Revela is built explicitly for compliance, trust accounting, and rapid owner statements across portfolios.
Ease of Use
Buildium receives praise for its intuitive interface and support responsiveness. QuickBooks is familiar to accountants but lacks property operations out‑of‑the‑box, and users report a steeper learning curve. Revela provides a modern interface built for property teams, reducing tool‑switching and manual hand‑offs.
Real‑Time Reporting & Dashboards
Buildium delivers portfolio‑level dashboards and reports, but some users request more customization. QuickBooks has strong financial reporting, yet lacks built‑in property‑management KPIs and dashboards for portfolios. Revela excels with live dashboards across assets, operational, and financial data in one source.
Banking & Payment Workflows
Buildium includes online payments and vendor disbursements. QuickBooks allows payments and bank feeds, but lacks property‑specific payment flows for tenants/owners. Revela embeds banking, rent collection, and owner disbursement flows—bringing payments and ledger in one platform.
Integration and Automation
Buildium offers an open API in higher tiers and various integrations. QuickBooks leads in third‑party integrations but requires additional tools for property workflows. Revela has a full open API, built‑in operational workflows (leasing, maintenance, accounting), and fewer external dependencies.
Customer Support and Onboarding
Buildium users report strong support, though some have issues connecting bank feeds or dealing with advanced modules. QuickBooks support is robust for general accounting, but users in property management contexts cite slower resolution. Revela’s support and onboarding is highlighted in reviews as hands‑on, tailored to property operations and financial teams.
What is Buildium?
Buildium is a property management platform designed to streamline operations for property managers overseeing residential, multifamily, and HOA portfolios. It integrates accounting, leasing, maintenance, and communication into a unified system, helping you manage properties with ease.
Key Features
- Accounting & Payments: Automates bookkeeping, rent collection, vendor payments, and 1099 filings.
- Leasing & Marketing: Manages rental applications, eSignatures, and tenant screening, while publishing listings.
- Maintenance & Operations: Tracks work orders, vendor assignments, and violation management.
- Owner & Resident Portals: Provides owners with financial access and lets residents submit requests and pay online.
- Reporting & API Access: Delivers portfolio‑wide analytics, customizable reports, and an open API for integrations.
Pricing
Buildium offers three pricing tiers:
Essential: Starts around USD $58/month, including core features.
Growth: Starts around USD $183/month, adding tools for inspections and enhanced reporting.
Premium: Starts around USD $375–400/month, with advanced features like open API and priority support.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Strong all‑in‑one platform for property accounting and operations.
- Multiple property type support.
- Customizable reports and dashboards.
- Built‑in owner and resident portals for easier communication.
- Easy rent collection and payment tracking.
- Streamlined property management across leasing, maintenance, and accounting.
Cons
- Limited customization in lower pricing tiers.
- Support may be slower for users on basic plans.
What is QuickBooks?
QuickBooks is a well‑known accounting platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It covers income tracking, expense management, invoicing, and financial reporting. For property managers aiming to standardize their finance workflows, it offers a solid foundation—though it lacks specialized property management functions out of the box.
Key Features
- Income & Expense Tracking: Automatically imports transactions and sorts them into tax categories.
- Invoicing & Payments: Lets you create professional invoices, accept payments online, and send reminders.
- Reporting & Dashboards: Provides profit & loss, balance sheets, and cash flow reports with optional customization.
- Integration & Mobile Access: Works with hundreds of third‑party apps and allows you to manage finances from any device.
- Payroll & Time Tracking: Supports payroll processing, timesheet entry, and contractor payments (via add‑ons).
Pricing
QuickBooks Online plans start at ~$19/month for the Simple Start tier. The Essentials tier is ~$75/month, Plus ~$115/month, and Advanced ~$275/month for larger users. Additional add‑ons apply for payroll, extra users, and advanced functionality.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Excellent fit for general accounting workflows.
- Large ecosystem of integrations and apps.
- Strong reporting capabilities.
- Familiar interface for accountants and bookkeepers.
- Flexible pricing tiers to match business growth.
Cons
- Not tailored for property management tasks like leasing or trust accounting.
- Add‑ons (payroll, more users) raise costs significantly.
- Property‑specific workflows may require custom setup or third‑party tools.
Revela: Best Alternative to Buildium & QuickBooks
Revela is the next generation of property management software—built from the books out to deliver trust accounting accuracy, real-time reporting, and unified operations in one platform.
At its core is audit-ready trust accounting with property, portfolio, and entity-level controls. Automated reconciliation eliminates manual cleanup, while real-time dashboards give operators instant portfolio visibility. Leasing, maintenance, and payments flow directly into the ledger, so every workflow ties back to financial accuracy.
Designed by operators, Revela removes the friction property managers face with fragmented systems and manual reconciliation. Tenant and owner portals connect seamlessly to financial tools, embedded payments speed up disbursements, and dedicated onboarding ensures teams are live faster with clean data, guided migration, and reliable accounting from day one.
Key features
- Double‑Entry Accounting: Records every transaction across income, expenses, trust funds, and owner distributions in one ledger.
- Embedded Banking & Payments: Links vendor payments, rent collection, and owner disbursements directly in the platform without switching tools.
- Unified Leasing & Maintenance: Manages applications, leases, work orders, and vendor tasks in one workflow connected to accounting.
- API & Real‑Time Reporting: Offers data access and dashboards for cash flow, performance by building, and financial snapshots across the portfolio.
- Flexible Portfolio Support: Handles different asset types, lease terms (monthly, weekly, student), and custom billing rules under one roof.
Pricing
Revela uses custom pricing that scales with your portfolio size and features required. Please contact us for a tailored quote. There are “no hidden extra charges for access to your data.”
Pros and cons
Pros
- Combines property operations and full accounting in one platform.
- Strong support for complex portfolio types and custom billing.
- Built‑in banking, lending and insurance workflows.
- Real‑time data access and robust API.
- Reduces need for multiple disconnected tools.
Cons
- Some features may require implementation/custom setup.
Buildium vs QuickBooks vs Revela: Feature Comparison
Why Do People Choose Revela?
Here are five reasons why people choose Revela over other property accounting tools like Buildium and QuickBooks:
- Comprehensive Property Accounting Integration: Revela integrates full double-entry property accounting with leasing, maintenance, and operational workflows. Unlike Buildium or QuickBooks, which require add-ons or customization, Revela offers a single source of truth designed for property accounting and operations. This reduces manual work and minimizes errors, ensuring accuracy and efficiency.
- Embedded Banking & Payments: Revela offers embedded banking and payments workflows, meaning you can manage vendor payments, rent collection, and owner disbursements directly within the platform. This creates a seamless experience from rent collection to owner payouts, with fewer tools and fewer reconciliation errors.
- Scalability Across Multiple Property Types: Revela is built to support a variety of property types, from single-family rentals to multifamily units, student housing, and mixed-use properties. This flexibility makes it easy to scale your property management operations, ensuring that as your portfolio grows, Revela can adapt without requiring a switch to a new system.
- Real-Time Data and Advanced Reporting: Revela stands out with its real-time reporting and dashboards that provide insights across your entire portfolio. Whether tracking cash flow, occupancy rates, or operational efficiency, Revela gives property managers and owners immediate access to the data that drives better decision-making. This is especially useful compared to QuickBooks, which requires external integrations for property‑specific data.
- Superior Customer Support and Onboarding: Revela offers hands-on, dedicated support and a personalized onboarding process. Customers consistently highlight Revela’s team for its expertise and involvement throughout the implementation phase, which contrasts with the slower or less tailored onboarding experiences often reported with Buildium or QuickBooks. Revela’s proactive support ensures that clients are set up and running smoothly without feeling left behind.
Choose the Right Property Accounting Tool for Your Business
We've compared Buildium, QuickBooks, and Revela to help you decide which platform best suits your property management needs. While Buildium and QuickBooks offer strong features, Revela stands out with ledger-first trust accounting, real-time reporting, and workflows that keep operations and financials in sync.
Revela offers robust trust accounting, real‑time reporting, and the flexibility to manage multiple property types. Its integration of leasing, maintenance, and financials in one platform makes it an ideal choice for growing portfolios.
Ready to simplify your property management? Try Revela today!
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