What it does
Proper double entry bookkeeping, shaped around how real estate owners and managers actually work rather than around a generic chart of accounts.
Compliant accounting, serious reporting
Double-entry that holds to accounting standards, not a spreadsheet with opinions.
A real estate layer on the ledger
Leases and units as first class records: a post-dated cheque register that follows each cheque through its whole lifecycle, straight-lined rental income, rent roll, and owner statements.
Period locks and a year-end close
Period locks, and a year-end close that refuses to run while the books do not balance.
Reporting you can hand over
Owner statements, rent rolls and a PDC register, exported plain or formatted, so the numbers leave the ledger looking finished.
Regional extras, when you need them
Working in the UAE adds VAT201 workings as a non-editable export, an FAF audit file export, and an e-invoicing step that captures and validates the mandatory data elements and tells you what is missing. Nothing here gets in the way if you work elsewhere.
Residential, commercial and short-stay
Residential, commercial and short-stay property are treated as the different things they are.
Questions
Is BooksRail only useful in one country?
No. The double-entry ledger, the real estate layer and the reporting are the product, and they do not change wherever you work. Working in the UAE adds VAT201 workings, an FAF audit file export and an e-invoicing step, and nothing there gets in the way if you work elsewhere.
Where are my books kept?
In one file that you keep and manage yourself, rather than in an account we hold. The file is encrypted with SQLCipher and your passphrase.
Does it connect to my bank?
No bank feeds, and nothing auto-posts. Every entry is one you post yourself, and the ledger is append-only.
Can two people work in the same file at once?
No. BooksRail is a single concurrent user product and does not pretend otherwise.
Is there a manual?
Yes: a full manual inside the app, searchable, printable, and savable as a PDF, with no connection required.
What does it cost?
One payment, no subscription, and updates are included. Your first entity and five active leases are free forever with every feature included. Pricing is set at release.
Privacy
What it collects: Nothing. What leaves your machine: Nothing, unless you export a file or push an e-invoice yourself. The only other network use is licensing and updates by the store you bought it from, the Microsoft Store or the Mac App Store, and the optional scan model-pack download.
Also from the studio
Questions or problems: support@hardboundstudio.com. A person reads every message.