Need help choosing the best landlord software for rental property management? In this article, we’ll compare two popular options, Baselane and Stessa. We’ll delve into the features, products and services, pricing, and overall user experience of each platform.
Key Takeaways
- Baselane offers a wide range of features for free, including rent collection, landlord banking, and financial reports.
- Baselane is ideal for landlords and property managers seeking an all-in-one platform for managing rental property finances.
- Stessa has a free version, but advanced features are only available on the paid Pro Plan.
- Stessa is best suited for managing properties and rental applications with a mobile app.
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Baselane Overview
Baselane is an all-in-one banking and finance platform built for real estate investors, landlords, rental property owners, and smaller property management companies.
Baselane combines purpose-built banking for real estate businesses with integrated rent collection, bookkeeping, and tenant management for free — no minimum balances, no hidden fees.
With Baselane’s premium features, you can track rental income and expenses, create and e-sign lease agreements, collect online rent payments, and generate financial reports for multiple residential and commercial properties without spending a dime.
Baselane also offers access to features for custom rental agreements, tenant screening reports, rental property loans, and landlord insurance.
Baselane Key Features
Banking Built for Real Estate Businesses
- Unlimited checking accounts and savings accounts per property to organize income, operating expenses, security deposits, projects, and more.
- Earn up to 3.35% APY2 and 1% cash back3 on debit card purchases.
- Physical and virtual debit cards with spend controls and Schedule E auto-tagging.
- One-time and recurring payments and transfers.
- No-fee cash deposits and withdrawals at over 55,000 Allpoint ATMs.
- Mobile check deposits and on-demand checkbooks.
Hassle-Free Rent Collection & Tenant Management
- Free online rent collection for landlords via ACH and card.
- Automated rent payments, reminders, and late fees.
- Real-time payment notifications and payment tracking.
- Dedicated Baselane tenant portal with auto-pay option.
- Tenant screening reports.
- Digital lease documents and e-sign.
- Maintenance and repair request management.
Accounting Built for Rental Properties
- Automated income and expense tracking.
- Consolidated ledger for Baselane banking and external account transactions.
- Capture receipts and add notes.
- 1-click categorization with 120+ real estate-specific categories based on Schedule E.
- On-demand financial reports and downloadable tax package.
- Real-time cash flow analytics by property.
Baselane Pricing
Baselane Pros and Cons
Pros
- Unlimited entities + unlimited accounts per entity
- ACH and wire payments with recurring payment rules
- Easy bank account integrations
- Organize and save payees and vendors
- Auto-tag transactions for easy tax preparation
- Fast payments in 2-5 days
- Add debit cards to Apple Pay & Google Pay wallets
- Purchase rental property insurance directly through the platform
- Get residential and commercial property loan quotes in 60 seconds
Cons
- No built-in tenant screening tools (coming soon)
- No dedicated mobile app (coming soon)
Stessa Overview
Stessa property management software focuses on expense tracking and online rental applications. The platform allows for some bank and credit card integrations and offers basic accounting features like income and cash flow reports, with restricted access to advanced features. Customer support access is also limited based on your plan.
Stessa Key Features
- Stessa cash management account to pay vendors, collect rent and earn cash back.
- Tenant screening through RentPrep, including background checks and credit reports.
- Lease document e-signing and templates (paid plans only, up to 7/month).
- Generate income statements and Schedule E tax reports (paid plans only).
- Smart receipt scanning (most plans limited to 5/month).
- Tenant ACH fee waived for Stessa rent collection (Pro Plan only).
Stessa Pricing
Stessa Pros and Cons
Pros
- Organize transactions and 15+ reports
- Dedicated mobile app
- Real estate document and receipt storage
- Earn 1.1% cash back on purchases
- Tenant screening and rental applications
Cons
- Doesn’t support cash deposits
- Higher interest rates only on Pro Plan
- Advanced reporting only on Pro Plan
- No tenant communication or maintenance requests feature
- No tenant payment options for debit or credit card
- Limited e-sign lease documents
Stessa vs. Baselane
| Baselane | Stessa | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $0/month | $0-$35/month |
| Banking | ||
| Unlimited Entities & Accounts Per Entity | ✔ | ❌ |
| APY Interest | Up to 3.35% APY2 | 2.83% APY (4.58% APY Pro Plan) |
| Cash Back on Debit Cards | 1%3 | 1.1% |
| Unlimited Virtual Cards with Spend Controls | ✔ | ❌ |
| No-Fee ACH & Wires with Recurring Payment Rules | ❌ | ❌ |
| Checkbooks & Print-to-Mail Checks | ✔ | ❌ |
| Cash Deposits | ✔ | ❌ |
| Rent Collection | ||
| Collect Rent Directly into Bank Account | ✔ | ❌ |
| Recurring Invoices | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fast Payments: 2-5 Days | ✔ | Paid Plans |
| Automated Late Fees & Reminders | ✔ | ✔ |
| Block Partial Rent Payments | ✔ | ❌ |
| Advanced Lease Terms & E-Signing | ✔ | ❌ |
| Flexible Tenant Payment Options | ✔ | ❌ |
| Tenant Auto-Pay | ✔ | ✔ |
| Accounting & Bookkeeping | ||
| Property & Unit Level Tagging | ✔ | ❌ |
| 120 Real Estate Specific Income & Expense Categories | ✔ | ❌ |
| Schedule E Reporting | ✔ | Paid Plans |
| Unlimited Receipt Capture | ✔ | Pro Plan |
| Automated Expense Tracking with Virtual Cards | ✔ | ❌ |
| Integrated Bookkeeping, Banking & Rent Collection | ✔ | ❌ |
Keep your money organized
Open unlimited accounts for properties and security deposits with no monthly fees.
Final Thoughts: Baselane vs. Stessa
While Stessa offers solid tax and financial reporting features for landlords, Baselane is a clear winner in terms of affordability, banking for landlords, and advanced features.
Stessa’s dedicated mobile app and in-app tenant screening could tip the scales for some landlords, but these (and other) features come at the cost of a steep learning curve and spending $35 per month.
Baselane’s all-in-one banking and finance platform includes premium features for $0 a month. You get advanced expense tracking and reporting, more tenant payment options, unlimited leases, plus more with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Plus, you’ll earn 1% cash back3 compared to 1.1% with Stessa.
Get started with Baselane for free today!
All-in-one rental property management
- Banking, Bookkeeping, Rent Collection & more
- Earn up to 3.35% APY2 and 1% cash back3
- Auto-generated financial and tax reports
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