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
Comparison
Patriot Software vs Hostfully Bookkeeper
Pricing, pros and cons, and buyer-fit side-by-side. Pick the one that matches your operation — or see why neither should.
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
✓Editorial verdict
Which Should You Pick: Patriot Software or Hostfully Bookkeeper?
Pick Patriot if you want cheap, flat $20/mo general business accounting and you handle STR operations elsewhere or manually. Pick Hostfully Bookkeeper if you want accounting embedded in a full PMS with channel connections to Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com plus automated owner statements and QuickBooks/Clearing integrations.
Editorial perspective from the Patriot Software side; factual claims about Hostfully Bookkeeper are drawn from its review.
Pricing Side-by-Side
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 SoftwareHostfully 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
What each tool does well — and where it falls short
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.
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.
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.
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.
Which Should You Pick
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.
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.
Where Patriot Software and Hostfully Bookkeeper actually differ
- Patriot is $20/mo flat with no per-listing fees; Hostfully starts at $15/property/mo for 1–50 listings and scales to $25/property/mo for 19 listings, with no standalone bookkeeper option.
- Hostfully includes 120+ integrations with direct Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com channel connections plus Clearing trust accounting and QuickBooks Online; Patriot has just 5 verified integrations and zero OTA, PMS, or channel connectivity.
- Hostfully generates customizable Extended Data Reports with CSV and HTML export, plus automated owner statements; Patriot offers basic financial reporting with no multi-property or owner-level breakdowns.
- Patriot offers Stripe payments, Plaid bank import, and an optional payroll add-on with 401(k) and workers' comp integrations; Hostfully has no payroll product and no native payment processor outside its PMS workflows.
- Patriot has a 30-day free trial with an introductory 50% discount for 3 months; Hostfully does not advertise a free trial and instead requires committing to a tiered subscription.
Common objections
- At four listings Hostfully's Growth subtotal is $60/mo while Patriot is $20/mo flat — isn't Patriot the obvious choice?
- Only if you don't need a PMS. Hostfully bundles channel management, 120+ integrations, and automated owner statements alongside accounting. Patriot's $20 covers a basic ledger only — every STR-specific workflow is manual or requires another tool. Once you stack the missing pieces, the price gap narrows or reverses.
- Can Patriot replace Hostfully's owner statements and Extended Data Reports?
- No. Patriot has no concept of owners, properties, or per-listing fee structures, and its reporting has no multi-property or per-owner dimensions. If you manage properties for outside owners or need per-property breakdowns, Hostfully is purpose-built for that and Patriot isn't.
- I only have 1–2 rentals as a side business — is Hostfully overkill?
- Probably yes. Hostfully's full PMS can be hard to justify for only 1–2 rentals listings, and Patriot's $20 flat plan is genuinely cheaper for hosts who only need books. Just expect to handle Airbnb/Vrbo data entry manually and forgo owner statements and channel sync.
Keep Digging
Patriot Software
Solid budget ledger, but not built for rental operations
Hostfully Bookkeeper
Solid accounting layer if you're already on Hostfully's PMS