BorderBird
Cross-Border Landlord Software · Canada · United States

The only landlord software built for both sides of the border.

Rent. Utilities. Cashflow. Tax reporting. One ledger that calculates your CRA Part XIII obligations and exports Schedule E line-mapped CSVs your US accountant can drop straight into Form 1040-NR.

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.

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 — built for the audience the existing tools ignore.

BorderBird vs QuickBooks for landlords

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

FeatureBorderBirdQuickBooks
Gmail rent import (Interac, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App)Built-inManual entry
Utility bill scan (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.

Three tiers. Built for one tax year of free use.

Free Snowbird covers one property for a full year. Pro adds unlimited properties at $19 CAD / $14 USD per month (or $179 CAD / $129 USD per year). Max Snowbird unlocks utility import at $39 CAD / $28 USD per month (or $359 CAD / $259 USD per year).

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.
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 Gmail rent import work?
After you connect Gmail, BorderBird scans for Interac e-Transfer notifications and Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App receipts, then matches them to your tenants by name. 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.
Does the utility tracking work for any provider?
BorderBird's Gmail scanner 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. 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 Snowbird 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 Gmail scan results are stored in encrypted Postgres on Supabase. 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?
Free Snowbird (1 property, 1 year free) to get started. Pro Snowbird is $19 CAD / $14 USD per month (or $179 CAD / $129 USD per year). Max Snowbird (which unlocks utility import) is $39 CAD / $28 USD per month (or $359 CAD / $259 USD per year). 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 Snowbird plan covers one property for a full year at no cost — 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 Gmail-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.