Top 10 Online Payment and Billing Solutions for Real Estate Agents

As a real estate agent, you’re regularly called on to handle financial transactions that might be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Without the right tools, that can be very problematic. The good news is that, like many other professions, real estate agents now have access to online payment and billing platforms.

Finding the right solution

You’ll find that real estate-focused online payment and billing solutions vary from the basic to the expansive. Some might do little more than make it easier to send invoices, while others will dovetail with your office operations and include features that allow you to handle all of your accounting needs in one place. Some of the most important considerations when choosing between online payment and billing solutions for real estate agents include:

• The available features (versus the price of the platform and your needs)

• Payment gateway integration (does the platform support your preferred payment gateway?)

• Flexible payment options for clients

• Ease of financial transfers (integration with major financial services and platforms)

• Integration with your CRM or the presence of CRM functions if you don’t already have one

With that brief introduction out of the way, let’s explore the 10 best online payment and billing solutions for real estate agents

The best online billing and payment platforms for real estate agents

Our list below includes some familiar names, but you’ll also discover a few that you might not know yet. All have something to offer, whether that’s a low price point, loads of capabilities, mobile-first development, or something else.

1. Realtyzam

Realtyzam was designed exclusively for real estate agents, and it shows in the number of features that are especially suited for those in the industry. 

One thing not offered by Realtyzam is payment processing. The platform focuses almost exclusively on the accounting portion of a real estate agent’s business, but this area is handled better than almost any other platform out there. Accounting functionality is designed exclusively for real estate agent use, with great features like automatic data entry and tax management.

Standout Feature: The best feature here is of course the accounting platform. Although this is the only part of your business Realtyzam will help you with, it performs this task admirably, making accounting tasks as quick and painless as possible.

• Free trial? Yes

• Basic plan: $11.58 per month

• No early termination fee

• Accounting

2. Bonsai

Not all real estate agents need a platform capable of supporting an entire business office. Sometimes, you just need something that can support you and your business-building efforts. That’s where Bonsai comes in.

Bonsai brings all the features you’d expect from a larger CRM and packages it into a solution that’s designed for individual agents and small teams. You can easily manage your clients, schedule inspections and closings, and even handle your bookkeeping here. There’s also a client portal, which is nice.

Standout Feature: The most interesting feature Bonsai brings to the table is the central business dashboard. You can easily access all your clients, projects, contracts, forms, and anything else you might need right there. You can also set up overviews of the things that matter most, whether that’s active tasks, outstanding invoices, contracts that need to be filed, or something else.

• Free trial? No

• Basic plan: $21 per month

• Payments

• Invoicing

• Accounting

• Client portal

3. FreshBooks

FreshBooks is best suited to smaller agencies or even a single real estate agent. Their plans are cheaper than many competitors, even when moving up to the premium plan that allows for an unlimited number of clients.

All the major necessities are available here, including invoicing and payments. Several payment methods are supported, including credit cards, ACH, virtual terminal, and more. The accounting features are nicely tied in here, with all payments and even transaction fees automatically tracked and loaded into the accounting module. Time and mileage tracking are also available, and there is even the option to use collaboration and light project management features.

Standout Feature: The best thing about FreshBooks is how streamlined the platform is. It’s a perfect fit for smaller agencies or freelancers who need something easy enough for one person to manage on their own.

• Free trial? Yes

• Basic plan: $7.60 per month

• No early termination fee

• Invoicing

• Reporting

• Payments

• Light project management

• Time and mileage tracking

4. Invoicera

Invoicera is a great choice for real estate agents, with payments, billing, and even vendor management all handled within the platform.

One of the great things about Invoicera is that it solves a lot of problems specific to the real estate industry. Project and cost management are available, helping keep track of bigger projects. Taxes are also managed right in the platform, and there is a great module for handling estimates, a large part of the real estate industry. 

Standout Feature: The sheer amount of versatility is the best thing about Invoicera. Anything you can think of is available as a platform feature. Subscription-based billing, project management, CRM, time tracking, staff management, and detailed reporting are all possible. If you truly want every aspect of your business integrated into a single solution, Invoicera is an option to consider.

• Free trial? Yes

• Basic plan: $15 per month

• No early termination fee

• Payments

• Invoicing

• Customer management

• Reporting

• Project management

• Accounting

5. Wave

Wave is a unique company on this list, in that its platform is completely free to use. Invoicing, accounting, and receipts are all offered at no fee, but there are additional functions that can be added for a low cost.

Wave also handles payment processing with fees on a per-transaction basis. The accounting module is excellent, especially for one provided at no cost. Unlimited income and expense tracking, unlimited collaborators, excellent reporting, and the ability to track multiple businesses under one account all help make Wave an excellent platform for any real estate agent.

Standout Feature: For a fee, payroll management can also be added to your Wave solution. The payroll feature not only helps manage your payroll but also automatically handles tax payments and paperwork for many states, making a painful process much easier than it could be otherwise. 

• Free trial? Yes

• Basic plan: Service is free

• Payments

• Invoicing

• Accounting

• Reporting

• Payroll

6. NetSuite

Oracle’s NetSuite is a powerful payment and billing solution. While it might be more than the average real estate agent would need, large real estate businesses will find that it covers all their bases and then some. For fast-growing real estate businesses, it might make sense to adopt NetSuite early on so you can grow into it.

There’s a lot to love about NetSuite, although there’s no free trial. You can track virtually all of your financial metrics in one place, from liabilities to profitability ratios. It also offers advanced automation so time-consuming tasks like detecting trends and reconciling bank statements are handled instantly.

Standout Feature: The best thing about NetSuite is the ability to create a customized platform that’s specific to your real estate business, regardless of your specialty or the business’s complexity. This is a full CRM and it’s designed to be everything you need.

• Free trial? No

• Basic plan: By quote only

• Complete customization possible

• Full accounting software

• Advanced reporting

• Lots of automation

7. QuickBooks

QuickBooks is one of the most well-established brands in the industry thanks to its unrivaled customer support and excellent feature set.

Invoice creation and payment processing are easy with the QuickBooks platform. QuickBooks also lets you manage your payroll, making it a one-stop solution for your entire real estate business. If necessary, you can even set up a live bookkeeper, alleviating the need to handle this side of your business yourself.

Standout Feature: The accounting functionality in QuickBooks is the best in the business. Tracking your income, creating and sending invoices, and taking payments are all integrated right into the platform, making things extremely simple for the user. The easy bookkeeping also makes managing taxes a breeze, which is a big selling point for many business owners.

• Free trial? Yes

• Basic plan: $15.00 per month

• No early termination fee

• Payments

• Invoicing

• Accounting

• Reporting
  

8. TallyPrime

TallyPrime is a comprehensive business management platform that does a lot more than just payment and billing management.

Payments and invoicing are of course managed well, but there is a lot more here. Stock movement and reporting are supported, and it’s easy to manage multiple companies from one profile. Inventory management is also available if needed, and there are a ton of great reporting features included as well.

Standout Feature: The TallyPrime interface is excellent. It’s easy for anyone to pick up and dive in, which can be important when business or finance management isn’t your forte. 

• Free trial? Yes

• Basic plan: $306 per year

• No early termination fee

• Payments

• Invoicing

• Accounting

• Reporting

• Inventory management

9. Xero

Xero makes it easy for real estate businesses to keep track of finances with strong accounting features. Payment processing and invoicing are also all managed on this all-in-one platform.

All major payment methods are accepted, including industry mainstays such as Stripe and PayPal. Xero is a popular platform and integrates well with several third-party apps as well. One great feature of Xero is the collaboration tools, making it easy to collaborate with your bookkeeper even using their mobile platform.

Standout Feature: The best feature of Xero is the number of available integrations. Over 800 apps can connect to Xero, making data sharing across any of your tools very easy. This can be important for real estate which has many different facets to manage.

• Free trial? Yes

• Basic plan: $3.75 per month (usually $15)

• No early termination fee

• Payments

• Invoicing

• Accounting

• Reporting
  

10. Lone Wolf Back Office

Lone Wolf Back Office is another platform that specifically emphasizes the real estate industry. Almost any feature a real estate agent might need is supported with Lone Wolf.

Payments, invoicing, and accounting are all done well in Lone Wolf, but there are a lot of other features as well. Agent management is available, which is useful for a bigger agency with a lot of agents. There is also a way to track and manage listings, something not offered by any other solutions on this list.

Standout Feature: The best part of Lone Wolf Back Office is its dedication to serving real estate workers. Listing integration, agent management, integrated trust/escrow, automated commission calculation, and excellent reporting all make it easy to keep an eye on every aspect of a real estate business.

• Free trial? Free demo

• Basic plan: By quote only

• Payments

• Invoicing

• Accounting

• Listing management

• Agent management
  

Beyond invoicing: Be there for your clients

The right online payment and billing platform can make your life so much easier. It can automate time-consuming tasks, ensure you can keep important tasks front and center, and so much more. However, don’t forget that your clients are the most important part of your business. Without them, there’s little need for invoicing and billing. That means you need to keep your lines of communication open and be there when they need you.

At Smith.ai, we understand that. We offer solutions designed to ensure your clients can always get through, from 24/7 answering to appointment booking. Our virtual receptionists help ensure that you’re free to attend showings, open houses, and closings and never worry about missing an important client call again.

If you’re ready to learn more about how we can support your success, schedule your free consultation today. You can also call us at (650) 709-2975 or you can email us at hello@smith.ai.