Landlord Pain Points: Stessa, Baselane, QuickBooks, Spreadsheets

Stessa

Bank feeds fail. Reconciling is a nightmare. And the mobile app is garbage.

You choose how transactions come in: Plaid bank import on either plan with your own Plaid keys, or OFX, QFX, CSV and QIF files on Portfolio. You review every row before it lands in your books.

Baselane

Baselane is fine until you need real reporting. Then you're back in Excel.

SealedFolio builds Schedule E, T776, income statement, balance sheet, general ledger, cash flow and rent roll reports on your computer. Portfolio adds CapEx, budgets and scenarios.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks is too general. It doesn't understand properties, units, or tenants.

SealedFolio is built around rentals. Every transaction ties to a property, and the rental categories feed your Schedule E and T776 lines.

Spreadsheets

I've been managing 12 doors in Google Sheets for 3 years. It works until tax season, then it's hell.

Your rent, expenses and mortgages live in one place, already sorted by property and category. On Portfolio you can import your old spreadsheet as a CSV file and keep going from there.

Stessa

Stessa was free and fine until Roofstock bought them. Now I don't trust where my data goes.

Your records stay in an encrypted vault on your own computer. The vault opens with your master password, which we never see.

Cost

Software costs that are hard to add up, with add-ons and payment fees spread across the year.

Two prices, shown in full. Pro is $19 a month or $179 a year. Portfolio is $39 a month or $297 a year. SealedFolio records rent payments and leaves the money handling to you, so there is nothing else to pay.

Spreadsheets

One formula error in my depreciation schedule and I filed wrong for two years.

SealedFolio works out straight-line depreciation for each property over 27.5 years for residential or 39 for commercial, with the land value taken out. There are no formulas for you to maintain.

QuickBooks

I spent three weekends setting up classes and locations in QuickBooks. Still doesn't feel right.

Open SealedFolio, add a property and start recording. The rental categories are already there. Our SealedFolio vs QuickBooks comparison shows which QuickBooks plans include class tracking.

Offline

I just want something that works offline when I'm at a property with bad cell service.

SealedFolio is a native Mac and Windows app. Your books, reports, tenants and documents open and work offline.

Every landlord eventually hits this wall