Our favourite accounting software picks for landlords
We’ve reviewed accounting software with UK-based landlords in mind, so you can browse the best options available to keep your rental income, expenses and tax records in order. Check out the scores in the table below to start comparing providers and prices.
Why do UK landlords need special accounting software?
Landlords have a fairly specific set of needs that generic small business software doesn’t always cater for well.
The biggest one right now is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, starting from April 2026, for landlords with qualifying income of over £50,000. The roll out continues to landlords with qualifying income over £30,000 in April 2027, and £20,000 in April 2028.
Once it applies to you, quarterly digital updates become a legal requirement, so you’ll need to ensure you’re using MTD compatible software.
Managing your property finances
Beyond MTD, you’ll want something that can track income and expenses by individual property if you have more than one, rather than lumping everything together. For example, Pandle has something called Projects where you can separate each of your properties. QuickBooks offers a comparable option through its class and location tracking, which lets you split income and expenses out by property in a similar way, though it takes a little more manual setup to get there.
It’s also worth checking how a platform handles mortgage interest restrictions by ensuring it replaces standard interest deductions with a flat 20% basic-rate tax credit, and whether it distinguishes between repairs (allowable) and improvements (usually not) – a distinction generic bookkeeping software often leaves you to work out manually.
If you deal with furnished holiday lets, have a mix of residential and commercial property, or hold property through a limited company (an SPV), your needs will look different again. SPVs need full business accounting with Corporation Tax support, not just a property tracker, so it’s worth being clear on your own structure before you compare options.
Focusing on the core needs of landlords
Our research is primarily based on the requirements of UK landlords who need a reliable, straightforward way to manage their property finances and stay on the right side of HMRC. Landlords range from those with a single buy-to-let to those running a multi-property portfolio, so it’s important to pick the option that suits your situation without paying for portfolio management features you don’t need.
If you’re managing several properties, you’ll want software that lets you separate income and expenses cleanly by property, rather than relying on workarounds like tagging or cost centres.
Some general business platforms handle this better than others – it’s usually worth checking before you sign up rather than discovering the gaps once you’re a year in.
Xero, for instance, doesn’t have a dedicated property feature, so landlords typically need to set up tracking categories themselves to separate each property, which works but takes a bit more legwork than something built with landlords in mind from the start. That said, Xero’s bank feeds and reconciliation are some of the most reliable around, which makes day-to-day record-keeping across multiple properties straightforward once it’s set up.
We did find software with a refreshingly simple approach to all this. For instance, Pandle offers unlimited users and transactions with no per-property add-on fees, which suits landlords who want straightforward digital records without paying extra as their portfolio grows. You can also create a separate project for each property, allowing you to review your finances overall as well as on a by-property basis.
Getting your records right early matters too. Beyond meeting MTD requirements, accurate digital records make it far easier to claim the expenses you’re entitled to and avoid scrambling at Self Assessment time – so this was front of mind when we put together our recommendations below.
How did we decide to rank our reviews?
The UK accounting software market has plenty of options for landlords, ranging from general business platforms that can be adapted for property, through to tools built specifically for rental income. Picking the right one can be tricky, since pricing, features and how well each handles MTD vary considerably.
It’s important to note we only look at cloud-based accounting software. We analyse features based on how easy they are to use (and how relevant they are to landlords specifically) as well as affordability – for example, whether pricing scales with the number of properties you manage, or whether there are hidden add-on fees. You can check out our criteria for reviewing accounting software here.
As with any review, think about your own situation. We’ve looked at the options most relevant to the UK market, but if you have a complex portfolio or unusual structure, you may want specialist advice on top of choosing the right software.
Our advice as always – before you choose, make a list of what you actually need first.
| Software | Features | Overall | Read Review |
|---|---|---|---|
Clear Books Review |
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Read Clear Books Review |
Crunch Review |
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Read Crunch Review |
Pandle Review |
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Read Pandle Review |
QuickBooks Online Review |
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Read QuickBooks Online Review |
Zoho Books Review |
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Read Zoho Books Review |