Hidden fees in property management software: the questions to ask before you sign
The price on the front page is the subscription; the rest shows up in the fine print as minimums, onboarding, per-account fees, payment fees and renewal terms. Companies publish many of these on a second page, such as a fee schedule or terms of use. Read that page first, ask for the rest in writing, and compare the yearly total instead of the headline number.
Where do the extra fees live?
Pricing pages usually show a plan name and a "starting at" number. The extra fees sit in footnotes, a "pricing options" page, terms of use or a help center article. Here is what the companies themselves publish.
| Fee type | Example published by the company |
|---|---|
| Monthly minimum | Yardi Breeze $100 a month; DoorLoop One $199 a month billed yearly; Rentec Direct Pro and PM $50 a month; Hemlane $28 monthly platform fee on paid plans |
| Unit minimum | AppFolio Core: 50 units, plus a minimum spend whose amount is not published |
| Per bank account | Buildium Essential: $99 per business bank account; 10 free on Growth, 100 free on Premium, then $99 each |
| Onboarding | Buildium Growth and Premium: onboarding service required, fee not published |
| Returned or reversed payments | Rentec Direct: ACH returns $5.00 or $35.00, chargebacks $35.00 |
| Cash payments | Rentec Direct: $200 one-time setup, $4.99 per payment paid by the tenant |
| Agreement length | Yardi Breeze: one-year agreement that renews automatically |
Read from each company's own pages on 2026-10-30. Check the page; terms change.
What should you ask the seller?
- What is the minimum monthly bill at my unit count?
- Is there a setup, onboarding or data migration fee, and is it required?
- What does a tenant pay on a bank and card payment, and can I cover it?
- What is charged on a returned payment or chargeback?
- Are bank accounts, e-signatures, screening or text messages charged per use?
- Is the agreement monthly or annual, and does it renew by itself?
- What do I get to export if I leave, and in what format?
Ask for the answers by email so you have them later. A written answer is also the cleanest way to settle a disagreement about a bill.
How do you turn the answers into one number?
Example a made-up owner with 10 units compares two quotes. Quote A is $2.50 per unit with a $199 monthly minimum and a $99 fee for one bank account: the monthly bill is $199, so $199 x 12 = $2,388, plus $99 = $2,487 in the first year. Quote B is $2 per unit with no minimum or setup: 10 x $2 x 12 = $240. The headline prices differ by 50 cents a unit; the first-year totals differ by $2,247.
The example uses made-up quotes to show the method. Run the same arithmetic on the real quotes you collect.
What about contracts and renewal?
An annual agreement that renews automatically is easy to forget. Put the renewal date in your calendar the day you sign, with a reminder at least 30 days before, and write down how to give notice. If the seller will not state the cancellation steps in writing, treat that as a cost.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping has no minimum, no setup cost, no per-account fee, no e-signature fee and no per-payment fee on bank transfers, so the list above has nothing to add for it.
DoorKeeping costs $2 per unit per month with every feature included, no setup cost and no minimum. Tenants pay your own bank by bank transfer, which is always free, or by card with a 3% card fee, which covers card processing. DoorKeeping never holds your rent, and anything involving money waits for your one-tap approval.
Sources
- Yardi Breeze, Pricing, read Oct 30, 2026
- DoorLoop, Pricing, read Oct 30, 2026
- Rentec Direct, Pricing transparency (all fees), read Oct 30, 2026
- Hemlane, Pricing, read Oct 30, 2026
- AppFolio, Pricing, read Oct 30, 2026
- Buildium, Pricing options (per-use fees), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- What fees do landlords overlook most?
- Monthly minimums, onboarding or per-account fees, return and chargeback fees, and auto-renewing agreements.
- How can I find a company's full fee list?
- Look for a fee schedule, pricing options page or terms of use, and ask the seller to confirm in writing.
- Does a longer contract mean a lower price?
- Often the annual price per month is lower, but you commit for the year. Compare the yearly total and the exit terms.