BorderBird
Landlord Software · Canada · United States · Cross-Border

Landlord software for Canada, the U.S., and cross-border portfolios.

Manage properties, tenants, leases, rent, expenses, maintenance and reporting in one platform — whether you own in Canada, the U.S., or both. Interac and Zelle rent import, dual-currency CAD/USD books, and CRA + IRS rental reporting, with cross-border depth when your portfolio needs it.

Who it's for

Canadians with US rental property, Americans with Canadian rental property, and snowbirds who own on both sides of the border.

What it does

Tracks rent and expenses in CAD and USD from the Interac e-Transfer, Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App receipts you forward — it never connects to your inbox.

What you get

Accountant-ready CRA (Part XIII / NR4 / T776) and IRS (Schedule E) reporting data. It prepares the numbers — it does not file the return.

Countries & currencies

Canada and the United States, dual-currency (CAD + USD) at the Bank of Canada annual rate CRA accepts.

What it costs

Free to start — $0, one door, no time limit, no credit card. Pro $29 CAD/mo (5 doors), Max $59 CAD/mo (10 doors + utility import).

What it isn't

Not a tax filer, a bank, a tenant-screening tool, or a full property-management suite. See “Is BorderBird right for you?” below.

The four jobs

Built around the four problems cross-border landlords actually have.

Each pillar is a real feature shipped today, not a roadmap promise.

Rent
Auto-import rent from forwarded emails

Set up one forwarding filter — set once — and your Interac e-Transfer notifications land at your private BorderBird address, matched to your tenants by name. BorderBird never connects to your inbox; you forward only the payment emails that matter. Recent payments import automatically. Historical payments go to a review queue so you can confirm the tenant and month before they land in your books. First-and-last splits, deposits held vs applied, vacating tenants — all handled.

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Utilities
Forwarding-based utility bill capture

Forward your utility-bill emails from 60+ providers — Hydro One, Enbridge, Toronto Water, ConEd, PG&E, Veolia and more — and BorderBird reads them, importing each one against the right property. It never connects to your inbox. Available on the Max plan only.

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Cashflow
Dual-currency P&L (CAD + USD)

Every property reports its profit and loss in both currencies simultaneously, using the Bank of Canada annual rate CRA accepts. No spreadsheet bridging between your US Schedule E and your Canadian T776.

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Tax reporting
CRA + IRS exports your accountant can use

Calculate Part XIII withholding monthly using the 15th rule. Export Schedule E line-mapped CSVs. Expenses use T776-ready category names. We don't generate filed forms — we generate accountant-ready data.

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Leases
AI lease upload and co-tenant tracking

Upload your lease PDF and BorderBird extracts tenant names, rent amount, and lease dates automatically. Track co-tenants, security deposits, and last-month deposits. Full lease history when tenants renew.

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Trust
Your money moves directly — we don't hold the float

On the default forwarding path, rent moves directly between your tenants and your accounts — BorderBird never logs into your bank and never scans your inbox (you forward only the payment emails you choose). If you turn on optional auto-pay, payments are handled by our payment processor and settle to your own account — BorderBird still never stores your banking logins. We handle the flow, not the float. Your ledger and forwarded emails are stored encrypted in Postgres on Supabase.

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Why no one built this before

The rental property software market splits cleanly into two camps. US tools — Stessa, REI Hub, RentRedi — assume you're filing one Schedule E with the IRS, in USD, with no foreign tax wrinkles. Canadian tools assume you're filing T776 with CRA, in CAD, with all your tenants inside Canada.

Cross-border landlords don't fit either. A Canadian who owns a Phoenix rental has to report the same income twice — once on Schedule E in USD for the IRS, once on T776 in CAD for CRA — and reconcile the foreign tax credit between them. An American who owns a Toronto rental gets 25% of every rent payment held by a Canadian property manager under Part XIII, then has to choose whether to file a Section 216 election to potentially recover a significant portion, depending on their net rental income.

None of that fits in QuickBooks. None of it fits in Stessa. The workaround for years has been a spreadsheet, an accountant, and a lot of late-March stress. BorderBird is the spreadsheet, plus the accountant's view, plus the workflow — for landlords in Canada, the U.S., or both, with the cross-border depth the existing tools leave out.

BorderBird vs QuickBooks for landlords

QuickBooks is general accounting software you bend into a landlord workflow. BorderBird starts from the workflow.

FeatureBorderBirdQuickBooks
Forwarded rent import (Interac, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App)Built-inManual entry
Forwarded utility bill import (60+ providers)Built-in (Max plan only)Manual entry
Dual currency CAD + USD per propertyBuilt-inSingle base currency
Bank of Canada annual FX automationBuilt-inManual lookup
CRA Part XIII withholding calculatorBuilt-inNot supported
NR4 reporting-month logic (15th rule)Built-inNot supported
Schedule E line-mapped CSV exportBuilt-inCustom report build
T776-ready expense categoriesBuilt-inCustom report build
Generic invoicing, AR/AP, payrollOut of scopeYes

QuickBooks does more than BorderBird in the categories where landlords don't usually care. BorderBird does the cross-border-specific work QuickBooks treats as your problem.

Is BorderBird right for you?

BorderBird is an all-in-one landlord platform for Canada, the U.S., or both — with cross-border depth when you need it. Here's where it fits, and where you'd want something else.

Choose BorderBird if you want

  • One platform for Canadian rentals, U.S. rentals, or both
  • Interac or Zelle rent tracking from the receipts you already forward
  • Tenants, leases, and documents managed in one place
  • Tenant maintenance requests and issue tracking
  • Expenses, utilities, and dual-currency (CAD + USD) bookkeeping
  • Accountant-ready CRA (T776 / NR4 / Section 216) and IRS (Schedule E) reporting
  • To add a property across the border later without switching systems

You may want other software if you need

Integrated banking or a landlord bank account

BorderBird tracks and reconciles rent from the receipts you forward — it isn't a bank and doesn't replace one.

Tenant screening, applications, or listings

No credit checks, background screening, or vacancy marketing. BorderBird starts once you have a tenant paying rent.

A full property-management / vendor suite

BorderBird tracks tenant maintenance requests, but it isn't a full PM platform — no vendor dispatch/management, work-order scheduling, AR/AP, or payroll.

Software that files your taxes

BorderBird prepares accountant-ready data (Schedule E CSVs, T776-ready categories). It does not file returns or generate signed NR4, T776, or 1040-NR forms — you or your accountant still file.

Personalized tax or legal advice

It's software, not a cross-border accountant. Confirm every tax figure with a qualified cross-border CPA.

Priced per door. Start free, no time limit.

Free covers one door, free with no time limit. Pro covers up to 5 doors at $29 CAD / $21 USD per month (or $269 CAD / $199 USD per year). Max covers up to 10 doors and unlocks utility import at $59 CAD / $44 USD per month (or $539 CAD / $399 USD per year). Past 10 doors, the per-door PM (11–150) and Enterprise (150+) plans take over.

Need to unlock a past tax year? Tax Year Unlock is a one-time $79 CAD add-on — no subscription required.

Frequently asked questions

What makes BorderBird different from Stessa or Landlord Studio?
Stessa is US-only — it doesn't handle CAD reporting, Bank of Canada exchange rates, NR4 withholding, or T776 expense mapping. Landlord Studio is multi-region but doesn't specialize in cross-border tax workflow. BorderBird is built for the specific case where one property triggers obligations on both sides of the Canada-US border.
Who is BorderBird for?
Three audiences: Canadian residents who own US rental property, US residents who own Canadian rental property, and snowbirds who own on both sides. If you file with both CRA and IRS in the same tax year because of a rental property, BorderBird is built for you.
Is BorderBird only for cross-border landlords?
No. BorderBird works for Canadian landlords with Canadian rentals, US landlords with US rentals, and landlords who own on both sides. It's an all-in-one landlord platform — properties, tenants, leases, forwarded-email rent import, expenses, and rental reporting — with deeper cross-border capabilities (CAD + USD, Interac + Zelle, CRA + IRS) available when your portfolio needs them. Start in one country today and keep the same system if you expand across the border. You may want different or additional software if you specifically need integrated banking, tenant screening, a full maintenance / property-management suite, or software that files your taxes for you (BorderBird prepares accountant-ready data — it does not file returns).
Does BorderBird generate finished tax forms?
No. BorderBird calculates your numbers and exports CSVs mapped to Schedule E line items and T776 categories so your accountant — or you — can transcribe them onto the actual forms. We do not generate signed PDFs of NR4, T776, or 1040-NR. The work product is accountant-ready data, not filed forms.
How does the rent import work?
You set up one forwarding filter — set once, ~2 minutes — that forwards your Interac e-Transfer notifications and Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App receipts to your private BorderBird address. BorderBird reads only those forwarded emails and matches them to your tenants by name. BorderBird never connects to your inbox — you forward only the payment emails that matter, and we never see anything else. Recent payments (last 30 days) import directly into your ledger. Historical imports go to a review queue so you can confirm the tenant and month before they're committed — useful when catching up on months of back payments. This works on the free $0 plan for Interac e-Transfer and Zelle receipts (Venmo and Cash App on Pro). BorderBird is the only tool that reconciles both Interac and Zelle receipts into one dual-currency, cross-border ledger — Canada-only tools handle Interac and US tools rely on bank feeds.
Does the utility tracking work for any provider?
BorderBird currently parses bills from 60+ utility providers including Hydro One, Enbridge, Toronto Water, ConEd, PG&E, Veolia, and most major Canadian and US electric/gas/water providers. Forward your utility-bill emails and BorderBird reads them — it never connects to your inbox. If your provider isn't supported yet, the bill goes to the manual import flow and we add provider parsers based on user demand. Utility tracking is available on the Max plan only.
Which exchange rate does BorderBird use for CRA reporting?
The Bank of Canada annual average rate for the relevant tax year, which is the rate CRA accepts. BorderBird converts every USD transaction at the official rate for its year — you don't pick a rate per transaction. We publish every year's rate at borderbird.com/tools/exchange-rate.
Does BorderBird store sensitive financial data?
Yes — your rent ledger, expense entries, and the payment and bill emails you forward are stored in encrypted Postgres on Supabase. BorderBird never connects to your inbox; we only ever see the emails you choose to forward. We do not share data with third-party advertisers; we use Plausible analytics, which is privacy-respecting and does not track individual users.
What does BorderBird cost?
Pricing is per door (unit), not per property. Free (1 door, free — no time limit) to get started. Pro is $29 CAD / $21 USD per month (up to 5 doors; or $269 CAD / $199 USD per year). Max (up to 10 doors, unlocks utility import) is $59 CAD / $44 USD per month (or $539 CAD / $399 USD per year). Running a property-management business? The PM plan starts at $99 CAD/mo including 25 doors, then +$2.75/door (11–150 doors), and Enterprise (150+ doors) is custom — both sales-assisted. Need to unlock a past tax year? Tax Year Unlock is available as a one-time $79 CAD add-on on Free and Pro plans. See full pricing at borderbird.com/pricing.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. The Free plan covers one property at no cost with no time limit — long enough to run a complete tax year through BorderBird before deciding to upgrade.
How is BorderBird different from QuickBooks for landlords?
QuickBooks is general-purpose accounting software. It has no concept of CRA Part XIII withholding, no NR4 reporting-month logic, no Bank of Canada exchange rate integration, no Schedule E line mapping, and no forwarding-based rent import. You can use QuickBooks for cross-border rental — many people do — but you'll spend hours every month bridging it to the actual tax requirements. BorderBird is built for the workflow QuickBooks ignores.
Can my accountant use BorderBird?
Yes — most BorderBird customers run BorderBird and hand the year-end CSV exports to their accountant. The Schedule E export is line-mapped. Expenses use T776-ready category names — your accountant can apply them to T776 directly. If your cross-border CPA is interested in using BorderBird for multiple clients, get in touch — we offer accountant pricing.
Does BorderBird handle FBAR / FinCEN 114?
BorderBird does not handle FBAR (FinCEN 114). FBAR applies when you hold foreign financial accounts — like a Canadian bank account — exceeding $10,000 USD at any point during the year. BorderBird tracks your rental income and expenses, not bank account balances, so it cannot calculate your FBAR obligation. We remind you at year-end to check with your CPA if you hold Canadian accounts. FBAR is filed separately at fincen.gov — not through your tax return.