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 Avalara MyLodgeTax
Pricing, pros and cons, and buyer-fit side-by-side. Pick the one that matches your operation — or see why neither should.
Accounting & Tax
Avalara MyLodgeTax
Full-service lodging tax compliance for short-term rental operators
Best for Scale
Set-and-forget tax compliance for operators who can absorb the per-property cost
From $27/listing • No free trial
✓Editorial verdict
Which Should You Pick: Hostfully Bookkeeper or Avalara MyLodgeTax?
Pick Hostfully Bookkeeper if you need accounting workflows — owner statements, custom reports, and QuickBooks integration — built into your property management platform. Pick Avalara MyLodgeTax if your primary pain point is lodging tax compliance across multiple jurisdictions and you need automated registration, filing, and remittance.
Editorial perspective from the Hostfully Bookkeeper side; factual claims about Avalara MyLodgeTax 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
Avalara MyLodgeTax
Full pricing →From $27/listing • No free trial
Standard
$27/property/mo
One-time $299 setup fee per property
1-5 properties
- Automated tax calculation across 11,000+ jurisdictions
- License and permit registration management
- End-to-end tax return filing and remittance
- Native PMS integrations (OwnerRez, Streamline)
Commercial
Custom quote
6+ properties (commercial pricing)
- Everything in Standard
- Volume-based discounts on per-property fee
- Dedicated account support
- Multi-state portfolio reporting
What 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 Avalara MyLodgeTax does well
Manages the entire tax lifecycle from registration through remittance
Avalara handles license registration, tax calculation, return filing, and payment to applicable jurisdictions — eliminating the need to manually navigate multi-state obligations.
PMS integrations enable hands-off compliance workflows
Native connections to OwnerRez and Streamline automatically import booking data, removing manual entry from the compliance process.
Enterprise infrastructure supporting up to 40,000+ properties
Commercial pricing tiers for 6+ property portfolios and architecture built for scale mean the platform grows with your business.
Covers 11,000+ tax jurisdictions across the US
Operators expanding into new markets don't need to research local tax requirements manually — Avalara's jurisdiction database handles the complexity.
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 Avalara MyLodgeTax falls short
Per-property costs compound quickly for growing portfolios
At $27/month plus $299 one-time setup per property, a 10-property portfolio runs $270/month and $2,990 upfront before any volume discounts apply.
Customer support receives consistent negative feedback
Users report long wait times, unclear escalation paths, and being directed to paid third-party support to resolve issues.
Scope limited strictly to lodging and occupancy taxes
Won't handle 1099 filing, HOA applications, or zoning compliance — operators still need separate solutions for those obligations.
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 Avalara MyLodgeTax if
Professional property managers with 5+ properties needing comprehensive compliance automation across multiple jurisdictions.
Skip Avalara MyLodgeTax if
You have 1–4 properties — the $299 setup fee and $27/month per listing make the math hard to justify at small scale.
Where Hostfully Bookkeeper and Avalara MyLodgeTax actually differ
- Hostfully Bookkeeper is an accounting layer within a full PMS starting at $15/property/mo for 1–50 listings; Avalara MyLodgeTax is a single-purpose tax compliance service at $27/mo per listing plus $299 setup per property.
- Hostfully includes Extended Data Reports, owner statements, and QuickBooks/Clearing integrations for day-to-day bookkeeping; Avalara handles only lodging tax calculation, return filing, and remittance — no financial reporting or bookkeeping.
- Hostfully connects to 120+ integrations including Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com as direct channels; Avalara integrates with only OwnerRez and Streamline for booking data ingest.
- Hostfully's per-property tiers cover unlimited accounting features within each tier; Avalara's per-property pricing compounds linearly — a 10-listing portfolio costs $270/mo plus $2,990 upfront before volume discounts.
- Avalara covers 11,000+ tax jurisdictions and manages license registration; Hostfully does not calculate, file, or remit lodging taxes on your behalf.
Common objections
- If Hostfully has accounting built in, do I still need Avalara for tax compliance?
- Yes, if you operate in jurisdictions where your OTA doesn't fully collect and remit taxes. Hostfully tracks your financials and generates owner statements but does not register for lodging tax licenses, calculate jurisdiction-specific rates, or file returns. Avalara fills that specific compliance gap. Many operators use both — Hostfully for the books, Avalara for the filings.
- Avalara costs $27/mo per listing while Hostfully starts at $15/property/mo — isn't Avalara cheaper?
- They serve different purposes, so the comparison isn't apples-to-apples. At 5 listings, Avalara costs $135/mo plus $1,495 in setup fees for tax compliance only. Hostfully's $15/property/mo Growth plan gives you a full PMS with accounting, channel management, and 120+ integrations for up to 4 listings. If you need both property management and tax compliance, you'll likely pay for both.
- Can Avalara replace Hostfully's accounting features entirely?
- No. Avalara handles only lodging and occupancy tax filings — it won't generate owner statements, track income and expenses, integrate with QuickBooks, or produce custom financial reports. If you need day-to-day accounting workflows, Hostfully or a dedicated bookkeeping tool is still required alongside Avalara.
Keep Digging
Hostfully Bookkeeper
Solid accounting layer if you're already on Hostfully's PMS
Avalara MyLodgeTax
Set-and-forget tax compliance for operators who can absorb the per-property cost