Accounting & Tax
Hostfully Bookkeeper
Accounting and financial reporting built into Hostfully's property management platform
Solid Option
Solid accounting layer if you're already on Hostfully's PMS
From $129 • No free trial
Comparison
Hostfully Bookkeeper vs Patriot Software
Pricing, pros and cons, and buyer-fit side-by-side. Pick the one that matches your operation — or see why neither should.
Accounting & Tax
Patriot Software
Affordable small-business accounting that handles rental books
Solid Option
Solid budget ledger, but not built for rental operations
From $20/mo • Free trial
✓Editorial verdict
Which Should You Pick: Hostfully Bookkeeper or Patriot Software?
Pick Hostfully Bookkeeper if you manage 4+ listings and want accounting, owner statements, and channel management in one PMS with direct Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com connections. Pick Patriot if you run a small side-hustle rental, need bare-bones bookkeeping at $20/mo flat, and are fine handling all STR workflows manually.
Editorial perspective from the Hostfully Bookkeeper side; factual claims about Patriot Software are drawn from its review.
Pricing Side-by-Side
Hostfully Bookkeeper
Full pricing →From $129 • No free trial
Starter
$129/mo
~$117/mo billed annually (~9% discount)
Up to 4 listings
- Extended Data Report with flexible owner/property columns
- Automated CSV and HTML report exports
- Clearing integration for trust accounting
- QuickBooks Online connector
- 120+ integrations included
Pro
$229/mo
Annual billing discount available
Up to 11 listings
- Everything in Starter
- Enhanced owner statement customization
- Zapier and API workflows for custom accounting exports
- Multi-user access with role permissions
Pro Plus
$285/mo
Annual billing discount available
Up to 19 listings
- Everything in Pro
- Advanced reporting with per-property tax holding rules
- Priority customer support
Premium
Custom quote
20+ listings
- Everything in Pro Plus
- Dedicated account management
- Custom onboarding and training sessions
- Volume-based pricing negotiation
Patriot Software
Full pricing →From $20/mo • Free trial
Flat monthly
Accounting Basic plan at $20/mo. 30-day free trial and introductory 50% discount for first 3 months available.
Try Patriot SoftwareWhat each tool does well — and where it falls short
What Hostfully Bookkeeper does well
120+ integrations included in all plans with specialized accounting partners
All Hostfully packages include access to 120+ integrations, including Clearing for AI-powered trust accounting and QuickBooks Online for automated bookkeeping workflows.
Industry-leading flexible reporting via Extended Data Report
Any data collected from listing sites, OTAs, or direct booking sites can be placed into custom columns, enabling calculations for owner fees, per-property exceptions, and tax holdings with CSV or HTML export.
Consistently praised customer support and onboarding
Reviewers describe onboarding as smooth with helpful training sessions. The team is described as attentive, quick to resolve issues, and consistently improving the platform according to Capterra reviews.
What Patriot Software does well
Flat $20/mo with no per-listing fees keeps costs predictable at any portfolio size
Unlike STR-specific tools that charge per listing, Patriot's accounting plan is a single flat rate. For operators who only need bookkeeping, total cost stays at $20 whether you have 1 or 50 properties.
Users consistently rate support quality and interface simplicity highly
Software Advice reviewers describe the platform as easy to use with quick, efficient, and friendly support — accessible for property owners without accounting backgrounds.
Stripe integration enables credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay collection
Property owners can accept guest payments through modern channels without setting up a separate merchant account, streamlining rent and booking fee collection.
Where Hostfully Bookkeeper falls short
Requires full PMS subscription — no standalone accounting option
There is no way to purchase Hostfully's accounting features separately. The minimum entry point is the $129/mo Starter plan, which may be excessive for operators who only need bookkeeping.
Reported performance issues with slow page loads
Multiple reviewers report certain features taking 5-10 seconds to load, with navigation requiring multiple steps and lacking mobile optimization.
Limited customization and mobile app restrictions
Users report limited flexibility in customizing guidebook layouts and the inability to edit existing templates from the mobile app, with a learning curve for advanced automation setup.
Where Patriot Software falls short
No purpose-built STR functionality — everything rental-specific is manual
As iGMS notes, Patriot can be used for rental accounting but requires manual workarounds for channel management, guest communication, and dynamic pricing that dedicated platforms handle natively.
Customer support is unavailable on weekends and outside business hours
STR operations often involve weekend guest issues and time-sensitive booking problems. Software Advice reviewers flag that questions arising over the weekend must wait until Monday.
Reporting capabilities fall short for complex multi-property portfolios
Capterra reviewers note limited reporting options. Operators needing occupancy analytics, revenue management dashboards, or multi-property performance comparisons will find the platform insufficient.
Which Should You Pick
Pick Hostfully Bookkeeper if
Property managers running 4-20+ short-term rental listings who need centralized booking management with integrated accounting workflows through Clearing and QuickBooks Online.
Skip Hostfully Bookkeeper if
You need standalone accounting software only, or you manage fewer than 4 properties where the $129/month base cost exceeds per-listing value.
Pick Patriot Software if
Small property owners needing basic accounting who already use general business software and want an affordable, easy-to-learn ledger.
Skip Patriot Software if
You need channel management, guest communication, automated pricing, or any rental-specific workflow — Patriot handles none of these.
Where Hostfully Bookkeeper and Patriot Software actually differ
- Hostfully includes direct channel integrations with Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com plus 120+ total integrations; Patriot has 5 verified integrations, zero OTA or PMS connections, and no Zapier support.
- Hostfully generates automated owner statements and Extended Data Reports with CSV/HTML export for per-property financials; Patriot has no owner, property, or per-listing reporting concepts.
- Patriot costs $20/mo flat with no per-listing fees and a 30-day free trial; Hostfully starts at $15/property/mo on Growth (1–50 listings), before a platform fee whose amount Hostfully does not publish for 1–50 listings with no advertised free trial.
- Hostfully integrates with Clearing for trust accounting automation and QuickBooks Online for bookkeeping sync; Patriot connects to Plaid for bank imports and Stripe for payment processing but has no trust accounting or STR-specific accounting tools.
- Patriot includes an optional payroll add-on with tax filing and a Vestwell 401(k) integration; Hostfully has no payroll or employee benefits features.
Common objections
- Patriot is $20/mo — when is Hostfully Bookkeeper worth paying more for?
- Because Hostfully's $15/property includes a full PMS with channel management, a booking engine, guest communication, and integrated accounting with owner statements. Patriot's $20 covers a general-purpose ledger only — you would need to manually enter every Airbnb and Vrbo payout and bolt on separate tools for everything else. The per-tool cost adds up fast once you pass 3-4 listings.
- I already use QuickBooks — do I still need Hostfully's accounting layer?
- Hostfully connects directly to QuickBooks Online, so the two complement each other rather than compete. Hostfully handles the STR-specific work — owner splits, per-listing fee tracking, channel revenue aggregation — and pushes clean data into QuickBooks. Patriot also does basic bookkeeping but lacks any channel or property-level data to feed QuickBooks meaningfully.
- Patriot has a free trial and Hostfully doesn't — shouldn't I start there?
- Starting with Patriot's 30-day trial is fine for learning basic bookkeeping, but it won't show you whether your STR accounting workflow actually works because Patriot has no channel integrations or property-level reporting. If you manage properties for owners or run more than 3 listings, trial Hostfully directly — the time spent setting up Patriot for STR use cases won't transfer.
Keep Digging
Hostfully Bookkeeper
Solid accounting layer if you're already on Hostfully's PMS
Patriot Software
Solid budget ledger, but not built for rental operations