Stessa Reviews

“Tenant

Pros

They send reminders.

Cons

For the third time in 18 months, I have to reconnect the same bank account. I feel like they're doing something shady that I have to keep putting it back in there.

“no support

Pros

things were deleting for no reason at all so for that reason I have no Pros to report.

Cons

no porduct support. even to get a refund they won't give you one because you can't get anyone on the phone. I tried to become a PRO member and it said i could schedule a time 1 week out. that's way to far out.

“Money Transactions

Pros

Bad

Cons

Very bad

“Stessa Support is non-existent

Pros

The setup and usage of the software were simple and easy to use.

Cons

The assistance provided is exceptional.

“I wanted to love Stessa, unfortunately the features fall short

Pros

The website's design was incredibly intuitive. The reports provided were both helpful and visually appealing.

Cons

The Stessa software has a critical flaw in how it handles bank transactions, rendering the pretty reports useless. I noticed this issue when I initially signed up for the site years ago and have contacted customer support multiple times. Occasionally, they fix the problem temporarily, but it quickly reverts back to being broken. I will describe the specific issue below.

“Stessa Changed My Life!

Pros

Stessa is a real estate management software that I find easy to use and reliable. It has transformed the way I handle accounting, which used to be a hassle. I almost look forward to using Stessa!

Cons

I wish I had the ability to manually "rename" certain vendors when their information is automatically imported. It can be a bit cumbersome to constantly update them from their "DBA" name to the name I recognize in my daily business. It's not a deal-breaker, just a suggestion!

“Beware- unresponsive customer service

Pros

The software allows for efficient tracking of data and the ability to compare various statistics and metrics.

Cons

Initially I liked the app, but now the company has become completely unresponsive. They deleted my account, leaving my money locked in. I received emails with links to provide information and then the links claimed the information was already received. Despite weeks of effort through email and online submission, I could not even get a person to call me. It feels like my money is being held hostage. I invested so much time setting this up, and they have shown no concern for me as a customer. I have wasted countless hours. I strongly advise avoiding this app now.

“Great Software for Real Estate

Pros

The user interface is fantastic and navigating through the dashboard provides all the essential information I need.

Cons

The connection with YODLEE is unreliable and needs adjustments. Different login credentials consistently direct the bank institutions to the wrong login page.

“Great Value & Tracking Tool

Pros

I appreciate the convenience of having a centralized location to store data, numbers, documents, and more.

Cons

It requires additional categories and subcategories to cover common line items that are presently not included.

“Easy to use Real Estate Accounting Software

Pros

This software is free and incredibly user-friendly. Setting it up was a breeze, and generating reports is effortless, making tax time a stress-free experience.

Cons

The dashboard can be a little confusing as it includes capital expenditures in the cash flow analysis. If you perform a roof replacement as part of your investment, it shows an extended negative average cash flow, which can be misleading. Although this is offset by the property's higher value, I would like to have a feature to exclude extraordinary items from the cash flow analysis to evaluate the propertys sole operating performance. Lastly the synchronization of bank transactions can be delayed by up to a day before they appear in the software.

“The links NEVER work

Pros

Initially, it was great, but their customer service is absolutely terrible. My link hasn't worked for five months, and their response has always been an apology. They even mentioned that if it somehow starts working again, I'll have to manually enter everything! It has been a nightmare.

Cons

Their customer service was consistently unhelpful, providing only generic responses.

“With Stessa, we are bot affraid to scale our business.

Pros

The ease of use, abundance of reports, mobile accessibility, and simplified tax management have made a significant difference.

Cons

We own a vacation rental property (STR) in Mexico, and unfortunately, we cannot track it in the same way we track our properties in the US.

“Great for finding a tenant then you try to collect rent

Pros

The rental application process is straightforward and uncomplicated.

Cons

Rent collection is problematic. They fail to mention that to use it, you must use their checking account. So you go through hoops to set up an unwanted checking account. Then accessing the funds from the account you never wanted becomes a nightmare. And every issue is considered your problem or your bank's problem not theirs. Their customer service is practically non-existent. I regret having asked my tenant to pay through them.

“Great product

Pros

It's easy to use, and it's great for tracking expenses.

Cons

I would appreciate the ability to download more credit cards.

“Why do everything twices

Pros

The interface is user-friendly, and I find it easy to navigate. The reporting functionality is also impressive.

Cons

It lacks numerous features essential for property managers. To get it to work, you have to connect it to bank and credit card accounts. Consequently, if you have petty cash accounts or manually entered transactions paid from specific accounts, the software won't function properly. It operates on a transaction basis, which is fine, and you can associate a transaction with a property, but you can't associate it with an account, so there's no way to filter by account. When manually adding a transaction you can't link it to an account. It also lacks the capability to create recurring bills or income. It falls short in tracking different types of accounts, which is crucial for real estate investors and property managers of all sizes. Unfortunately you get what you pay for, and I don't see any value in doing everything twice. It simply isn't worth the time.

“New Free Tier is Insulting and A Joke... Horrible Decision

Pros

I used to be a big fan of Stessa, but I'm extremely disappointed with their decision to charge $20 per month for the Pro features while downgrading the Free tier. I've been with Stessa for years, but I'll be switching to the best free option as soon as I decide on one.

Cons

The new Pro Tier offers poor value, and the Free features have been stripped down to the point of being unhelpful. I am very disappointed.

“Highly recommend Stessa!

Pros

The setup process was simple, and using Stessa instead of spreadsheets has significantly improved productivity and accuracy. I'm loving it!

Cons

I just wish there was a way to add/modify categories.

“Must have for landlords

Pros

Tracking expenses has become incredibly simple with this software. It effortlessly pulls data from linked accounts.

Cons

I believe the cash management aspect will improve. Customer support informed me that they are working on adding the features I suggested.

“Ok for main stream, struggles to adapt

Pros

Look I understand that it's a free software but their inability to resolve a seemingly simple issue after five months is unacceptable.

Cons

Surprisingly for a software company, they lack agility. Two instances exemplify this: Firstly, for nearly every transaction, we have to manually attribute it to the property/tenant, even though the amounts and ledgers are exactly the same every month. It seems the only AI they use is a checkbox that links a bank account to a property. While that works for loans, it should also handle rents. Secondly, we can access mint.com and enter all the login credentials, which provides us with the balances of all our cards. However Stessa has consistently struggled to add some credit cards associated with one of my banks. We have reached out to them intermittently for nearly a year, and they appear perplexed and unable to resolve the issue. Now after five months of continuous follow-up, they have either ignored us or provided vague reassurances that they are working on it. If its genuinely that challenging, how can another company effortlessly accomplish it?

“Best software for the price of FREE

Pros

This application has been thoughtfully designed, allowing me to track all property expenses efficiently. I can assign tags to expenses to track them for each unit.

Cons

It would be great if they offered lease management in a way that allows for creating and editing leases on the app,and tenants can electronically sign the leases.

“Right tool for the job

Pros

The software comes pre set for rental properties, including all the necessary categories and tax reports. My tax preparer loves it. Additionally, bank transactions are automatically transferred into Stessa and it even offers a rent collection option, which I plan to use in the future.

Cons

Split transactions display as individual transactions on the ledger instead of true splits which can make reconciliation a bit challenging at times. Splitting transactions is only possible on the desktop version not the mobile app.

“Accounting and financial reports with a click

Pros

This software is specifically developed for real estate managers, and it makes accounting seamless and efficient by automatically pulling bank transactions and generating ongoing graphs and reports.

Cons

In my specific situation there is an issue with having to refresh the bank connection repeatedly. However, this is because my bank is not as advanced as other mainstream banks that are better supported by the transaction import protocol.

“GREAT for my small business

Pros

I really appreciate the import feature as it simplifies tracking and maintaining account balances. It also allows me to easily separate and categorize my properties.

Cons

I honestly can't find anything I dislike. Perhaps if there was a way to create folders without adding a property it would be even better.

“Ease of Use

Pros

I love how I can effortlessly track all the important metrics that real estate investors use.

Cons

I really wish the system could track owner financing deals.

“RE investor? You need to start using Stessa!

Pros

Taking control of my business has become a breeze with Stessa's easy income and expense tracking. Whether I link my accounts or add transactions as I go, Stessa generates all the reports I need making tax time incredibly simple.

Cons

It would be great if I could allow another user like a partner or manager, to log in with their own credentials and have limited (or full) access to my data.

“Simple to Jump Straight Into!

Pros

Importing my past transactions from an Excel spreadsheet was a piece of cake. The instructions provided by Stessa for converting the file to CSV format were easy to follow, and I was impressed by how seamlessly and quickly months of transactions were imported. Their customer service is also responsive, which is a huge win!

Cons

It would be nice to have the option to display the notes about a transaction in the main "feed"

“Best Real Estate tax prep program

Pros

In just a few months Stessa accomplished what other programs couldn't do in 10 years: organizing my RE tax preparation files. Its a complete package without the complexities! - Mark

Cons

I have no issues whatsoever. Each feature, especially the tax prep package, is invaluable!

“Easy to use

Pros

Stessa is a user friendly tool that keeps me organized. During tax time, I no longer scramble to gather information for my accountant.

Cons

I have no complaints. I absolutely love this software, and it enables me to focus on my business.

“Great accounting tool

Pros

I absolutely adore Stessa. It's intuitive, user-friendly, and helps me manage my property finances without any issues. I highly recommend it to anyone with rental properties.

Cons

I struggle to find an instant solution for my question.

“Free Software

Pros

I can seamlessly integrate loan servicing sites and add transactions and account information.

Cons

The web interface is a bit more intricate than others, with many areas to customize. I also can't find where to get training on the web interface for ease of use.

“Great financial software tool for investors

Pros

The product is incredibly easy to use, and it provides a visual representation of my overall portfolio. The reports, especially the schedule of real estate, are fantastic.

Cons

Unfortunately, there is no integration with Buildium, and there is no double entry accounting system.

“Stessa is a must have tool for your REI portfolio

Pros

This software is incredibly easy to use for managing property rentals. The expense categories are broken down into subcategories, giving me a clear understanding of where my money is going. Everything I need to know or keep track of is at my fingertips in a simple yet effective format.

Cons

So far, I haven't encountered any cons. Everything about this software has exceeded my expectations.

“This software made us grow our business

Pros

I love having all our property and tenant data in one place, easily accessible to the entire team. It helps us track our income and expenses for each property and gain a better understanding of real estate as beginners since we can always see the numbers.

Cons

I wish the reporting could be customized. The only reason I say this is because I would prefer more simple reports.

“Essential tool for real estate investors

Pros

I appreciate how Stessa seamlessly connects to my property management company and my banks. It's fantastic to see a snapshot of my portfolio, and the tax package is incredibly useful saving me a lot of time during tax return preparation.

Cons

Theres nothing I really dislike. However it would be useful to have a functionality that allows me to split the multi-family units into their own units for reporting purposes. I admit it's my fault for starting with one property for a multi-unit one.

“Property Management App for Free

Pros

This product is a free solution that offers just as many features as most other real estate property management applications!

Cons

The user interface isn't particularly appealing, and the receipt scanner had some issues.

“Great Mobile Management for all Real Estate

Pros

This app is incredible. It's the first platform that allows me to manage our entire portfolio directly from my phone if I want to. I can effortlessly track all expenses, import directly from the bank, and assign them to each property and even specific units.

Cons

I wish the transaction importing could occur in real time directly, without having to log in and refresh the transactions.

“Great software for a new landlord

Pros

Stessa offers numerous features for tracking rental properties, and it's absolutely fantastic, especially considering it's free.

Cons

Since I joined many features kept getting added, which is a positive thing. However I could never fully transition from good old spreadsheets because I know this software is still developing and I might not be able to keep up with it.

“Stessa is Quicken for Real Estate

Pros

The auto import feature from my connected accounts, including bank and credit card accounts has been a game-changer. It has also been incredibly helpful with my taxes. Every year I simply print out the tax report for each property, and my tax professional barely needs to ask me any questions.

Cons

To be completely honest, there's nothing I don't like. I will say I haven't tried their mobile app in over a year because it used to be quite weak. But I've heard it's been updated and is now very nice.

“Fantastic Software

Pros

It's incredibly easy to use without any guesswork. I appreciate the banking integration, tenant ledgers, general ledger, balance sheet, income statement, cash flow and all the other reports I could possibly need. The best part for me, is the year end package it generates for my tax professional.

Cons

I'd love to have the ability to update the RE Tax PIN number. The customer service is excellent, though, and they will make any updates you need quickly.

“Makes bookkeeping a breeze!

Pros

The fact that Stessa is free is amazing! It offers so many features and is incredibly user friendly. The straightforward user interface will undoubtedly make tax time a breeze.

Cons

It would be fantastic if they could add a feature that allows you to scan your documents through the app. They already have it for receipts, but not for documents.

“Incredible value

Pros

This platform excels at the fundamental aspects of real estate management and continuously evolves to include new, useful features like tax preparation documents.

Cons

No downsides at all! The team and product are great! They continually develop new features, and the development team is open to customer requests and acts on feedback.

“Makes my life so much easier!

Pros

I love the effortless expense and income tracking, especially since it's directly linked to our bank accounts.

Cons

Mileage and depreciation tracking would be nice, but it's not necessary. CPAs handle that.

“Perfect for Rental Owners

Pros

I've been using QuickBooks for years but grew tired of their constant marketing techniques and gimmicks. It felt like every time I opened the program, there were new hoops to jump through just to get work done. Stessa on the other hand, is designed specifically for rental property owners. I enter income and expense items, and that's it. Each item falls into one of their well thought out categories. It seamlessly handles multiple locations and units. I can add or sell buildings, add or replace tenants, run targeted reports, export year-end data to my accountant, and visually analyze my performance. Even more impressive is the ability to auto import entries from bank accounts, credit accounts and more. Once I'm up and running, all my data is entered for me to edit or delete as needed, saving me a ton of time. Oh, and did I mention it's free? I'm not sure about the long term plan, but this software won't cost you a dime. It makes QuickBooks look outdated, cumbersome and downright annoying, which it has become over the years.

Cons

This isn't a property management platform in the traditional sense, where you can schedule maintenance and track hours. However, you can capture and import invoices, so all your records are in one place.

“Stessa is a game changer for the independent rental owner.

Pros

Stessa provides the most user-friendly and purpose built rental property financial software that I've encountered. Many of my colleagues still struggle with overly complex general accounting software or, even worse, manually tracking everything in Excel. Stessa not only automates the majority of my bookkeeping but also offers real-time reporting, allowing me to quickly identify any anomalies in my asset performance. While other property management software may offer expense tracking or basic accounting features, Stessas exclusive focus on the financial aspect of rental property ownership enables them to provide a more comprehensive and innovative feature set.

Cons

As a single entry accounting system, it does come with all the drawbacks associated with that method of accounting (no cross-checking, greater potential for error, no tracking of real accounts, etc.). However, this was a deliberate design decision to make the software more user-friendly for the average rental owner. While it may lack the sophistication of a double-entry system,Stessa has found innovative ways to simulate certain aspects of a double-entry system through features like a derived Balance Sheet report using user-provided asset values and debt information.

“Game Changer

Pros

The setup and usage are a breeze. The interface is incredibly intuitive and straightforward.

Cons

I have experienced issues with data sources disconnecting.

“Incredible product for managing my rental properties

Pros

I adore the ability to track all my transactions for each property in my portfolio. Additionally Stessa offers excellent features like splitting transactions into relevant categories such as principal, interest, and escrow for mortgage payments. The new reporting packages are a fantastic addition.

Cons

I would love to see the ability to copy transactions or have an autofill function (like Google search) for common transactions. The main dashboards could also use some tweaking for comparing long-term vs. short-term rental properties.

“1 Stop Shopping...

Pros

The integration is effortless, and the reports are highly useful. It's a great value for the price.

Cons

There were some small glitches during the initial setup but it was mostly user error!

“Best free real estate landlord software

Pros

Stessa allows me to track cash flow, maintain a balance sheet, store and retrieve documents, and provides a dashboard of key performance indicators.

Cons

Not much, they are constantly adding new features.

“A must have software program for Landlords

Pros

Stessa software is the simplest program for managing my rental properties. I love how I can set up a property profile and connect it to the respective bank account, and Stessa automatically uploads my transactions and notifies me to review them. Every month, I receive updates on my cash flow. This program is a no brainer for anyone who owns or manages multiple properties, as it allows me to view them collectively or individually with ease.

Cons

Setting up the initial property details was a bit confusing for me, but once I familiarized myself with the program and how to add information, it became much more user-friendly.

“Issue with bank integration

Pros

The user interface is incredibly intuitive, and the best part is that its free. The workflow is logically organized.

Cons

I concur with a few other reviews regarding the software's financial aspects. It doesn't allow filtering rent if you have connected personal accounts for personal properties. Additionally it lacks seamless integration with the bank on a daily basis. I have to manually retrieve data every time I use it. Two factor authentication via text message would have been a preferable option over an authenticator. The reports generated are insufficient, and there is a need for more integration of property management tasks.