Overview

Landlord Studio is not trying to be a full property management platform. It is an accounting and tax preparation tool for landlords, and it does that job better than anything else in this price range. Automated bank feeds pull transactions directly from your accounts. AI-powered bookkeeping categorizes income and expenses. Receipt OCR scans and matches receipts to transactions. And when tax season arrives, Schedule E reports generate with one click.

The property management features (rent collection, basic maintenance tracking) exist but are secondary to the financial core. If your primary frustration is bookkeeping, tax prep, and financial reporting, Landlord Studio is the answer. If you need a comprehensive property management platform with tenant screening, listings, and strong portals, look elsewhere.

Features Deep-Dive

Automated Bank Feeds and AI Bookkeeping

Landlord Studio connects to your bank accounts via Plaid and pulls transactions automatically. The AI categorization engine learns your patterns and suggests categories for new transactions, reducing manual data entry to near zero over time. Income from rent payments, expenses for repairs and maintenance, and recurring charges all flow into the system and categorize themselves.

This automation addresses the number one pain point for small landlords: keeping up with bookkeeping. Most landlords fall behind on expense tracking, which leads to missed tax deductions and inaccurate financial reporting. Landlord Studio makes it almost impossible to fall behind because the bank feed does the work continuously.

Receipt OCR and Smart Categorization

Snap a photo of a receipt, and the OCR engine extracts the vendor, amount, date, and categorizes the expense. Smart rules let you configure recurring categorizations, so the same Home Depot purchase category applies automatically every time. Over time, the system builds a pattern library that handles most receipts without manual intervention.

For landlords who manage maintenance and repairs themselves, this feature turns a shoebox of receipts into an organized expense ledger without manual data entry.

One-Click Tax Reports

The Schedule E report generator is the flagship feature for tax season. One click produces a complete Schedule E form with all income, expenses, and depreciation broken out by property. The data flows directly from your categorized transactions, which means the report is only as good as your categorization. But if you have been using the bank feeds and receipt OCR throughout the year, the Schedule E is essentially pre-filled by the time you need it.

P&L reports, cash flow statements, and property-level financial summaries are also available for owner reporting or accountant collaboration. Xero integration allows direct export for accountants who work in that ecosystem.

Pricing Analysis

Landlord Studio offers a free Go plan for up to 3 properties with basic expense and income tracking. The Pro plan starts at $12/month per property (monthly billing) or $8.25/month per property (annual billing). A portfolio of 10 properties on annual billing costs $82.50/month.

The per-property pricing model means Landlord Studio becomes expensive for larger portfolios. At 20 properties, you are paying $165/month, which exceeds Buildium's entry tier. The value proposition is strongest for landlords with 3-15 properties who need superior financial tracking and tax preparation. Below 3 properties, the free Go plan is sufficient. Above 15 properties, the total cost exceeds platforms that offer more comprehensive property management features.

Compared to Baselane (which includes banking at no charge) or TurboTenant (free property management with basic accounting), Landlord Studio's premium is justified by the depth of its financial automation. The bank feeds, OCR, and tax reporting are materially better than what any general-purpose property management platform offers.

Who Is This For?

Landlord Studio works best for:

• Tax-focused landlords who want automated bookkeeping and one-click Schedule E generation without hiring an accountant
• Self-managing landlords (3-15 properties) who need professional financial reporting and bank feed automation
• Landlords who work with accountants and need Xero-compatible exports and presentation-ready financial statements
• Expense-tracking procrastinators who fall behind on manual bookkeeping and need a system that automates the process

Who Should NOT Use This

Landlord Studio might not be the right choice if:

• You need a full property management platform because Landlord Studio's tenant screening, listing syndication, and maintenance management are basic compared to dedicated tools like Buildium or TurboTenant
• You manage 20+ properties where per-property pricing makes Landlord Studio more expensive than platforms with flat-rate or per-unit pricing
• Your bank is not supported by Plaid since the bank feed integration depends on Plaid connectivity, and some smaller banks and credit unions are not compatible

Bottom Line

Landlord Studio is the best bookkeeping and tax preparation tool for landlords. Period. The automated bank feeds, AI categorization, receipt OCR, and one-click Schedule E generation save hours of manual work every month and reduce the risk of missed deductions at tax time. It is not a full property management platform, but for the financial workflow, nothing else comes close at this price.

FAQ

Can Landlord Studio replace my accountant?

For simple portfolios (under 10 properties, standard rental income), the automated bookkeeping and Schedule E generation may be sufficient for self-filing. For complex tax situations involving depreciation recapture, 1031 exchanges, or multi-entity structures, you will still want an accountant, but Landlord Studio gives them cleaner data to work with.

Is the free Go plan useful?

Yes. The free plan supports up to 3 properties with income/expense tracking, receipt uploads, and basic reports. It lacks bank feed automation and some advanced features, but for a landlord with 1-3 properties doing basic bookkeeping, it is a functional starting point.

How does Landlord Studio compare to Baselane?

Both focus on financial management for landlords. Baselane integrates banking directly (FDIC-insured accounts with APY). Landlord Studio offers superior bookkeeping automation (bank feeds, OCR, AI categorization) and tax preparation (Schedule E generation). If your primary need is account separation and banking, choose Baselane. If your primary need is bookkeeping and tax reports, choose Landlord Studio.

Does Landlord Studio handle rent collection?

Yes, but it is not the platform's strength. Rent collection is available with multiple payment methods, but processing takes 3-7 business days and the tenant portal is basic compared to platforms like Buildium or TenantCloud. Most landlords use Landlord Studio for the financial backend and may pair it with another tool for tenant-facing features.