Which trust accounting software should I choose for my short-term rental management business?

Keeping track of finances for both your owners and yourself is a vital part of running a successful short-term rental (STR) business. You might not need a legally compliant trust accounting solution, but if you’re aiming for a more professional and efficient way to manage your bookings, then trust accounting software is a game-changer. It’s designed to meet all the legal requirements for STR managers and can greatly benefit your business.  If you’re not yet convinced that it will work for you, check out our article on the benefits of using trust accounting software in your STR business.

With so many options out there, choosing the right software can feel a bit overwhelming…. let’s break down what you should consider when selecting trust accounting software for your  STR business.

What Should I Look for in a Trust Accounting System?

To maximise efficiencies and value for your business, at it’s core the trust accounting software should be able to:

• comply with any government trust accounting and reporting regulations.
• integrate with the booking platforms you are currently using or ones you plan to use in the future. It should work seamlessly with platforms like Stayz, Airbnb or Booking.com and should have the functionality to automatically create bookings with all the relevant details from your Property Management System (PMS).
• handle all the complexities of the bookings such as management fees, channel fees, cleaning fees, and also have capacity for you to customise for each property as required.
• exclude direct payments so anything that guests pay directly to you will be kept off your booking reports.
• allow direct bank feeds so you can match off the receipts to the bank transactions more efficiently.
• upload booking data from any external source (such as Airbnb) so any systems that don’t connect directly can be manually added for faster receipting.

Key Considerations for Your Business

Every business is unique, so it’s crucial to find software that fits your specific needs. Consider what would be most important for your business when weighing up all the features:

• Business size: Different software caters to various business sizes. Larger, more complex operations will need more robust features than smaller, boutique businesses. Make sure you’re paying for features that you’ll actually use and not unnecessary add-ons.
• Users:  Will you handle the trust accounting yourself, or will you hire an expert? This might affect the importance you place on things like initial training & onboarding, ongoing support (and potential extra charges), ease of use and the look and feel of the dashboard.
• Overall business connectivity: Are you looking to upgrade other software in your business? Is it time to overhaul other systems within your business and trust accounting as just one component? Streamlining your entire software bundle together might be beneficial.
• Integration: Some trust accounting systems can generate bank deposits for your management fees and charges at the end of the month straight into your accounting software (eg Xero or QuickBooks).
• Efficiency in Other Areas: Are you finding your current systems are a bit clunky and you’d love to see more efficiencies in channel management, communications, or payments? An all-in-one system that includes trust accounting could provide significant additional benefits while combining costs.
• Reporting: What metrics are crucial for your business? Besides financials, you should always aim for good insights into nightly rates, occupancy rates, and stay durations to help optimise every property’s performance.

Choosing the right trust accounting system for your short-term rental management business is crucial but well worth the effort. Whether you opt for an all-in-one system like Resly or Property Stack, or a specialised tool like BookingTrust, the key is to find what works best for your unique needs. As you compare and consider each one, keep the above checklist handy to help weigh up all the features against your business needs.  And remember, the right system will help streamline your operations, save you time and give you a clearer picture of your business’ performance.