Accounting software for SCI and LMNP: choosing well in 2026

Quick answer. The right software depends first on your tax regime, not on its reputation. An income-tax SCI works with rental income and the 2072 return; an LMNP under the actual regime works with BIC profits, component-based depreciation and forms 2031/2033. Choose on these functions, on FEC production and on e-invoicing.

Many property investors ask us the same question: do I need a spreadsheet, general-purpose software, a solution dedicated to rental property, or should I hand the bookkeeping to a firm? Behind this choice lies a concrete risk: a poorly calibrated tool that cannot handle the component-based depreciation of an LMNP under the actual regime, or that fails to produce a usable accounting entries file in the event of an audit. The wrong software does not show up immediately. You pay for it at filing time, or worse, when the tax authorities make a request.

This guide ranks no product and names no brand. It compares categories of solutions and lists the must-have functions by tax regime. The aim: that you know what to demand from a tool before signing up to a subscription, rather than choosing on a name.

This is the first mistake we correct in meetings: choosing the tool before settling the regime. Yet the two worlds have almost nothing in common from an accounting standpoint.

An income-tax SCI reports rental income on form 2072, and each partner's share of the result is then carried over to their own 2042 return. There is no depreciation of the property under this regime. A corporate-tax SCI, by contrast, moves into a tax-package logic (2065 and tables 2033 or 2050) with depreciation of the property: the accounting dimension becomes much heavier.

A non-professional furnished rental (LMNP) under the actual regime falls under industrial and commercial profits: return 2031 and tables 2033. The property is depreciated by components, with the land remaining non-depreciable. A key point, often mishandled by mainstream tools: depreciation that cannot be deducted, because it can neither create nor increase a loss, is carried forward without any time limit. An LMNP under the micro-BIC instead applies a flat-rate allowance and does not require full accrual accounting.

Our reading. The number-one criterion is not ease of use or the headline price: it is the tool's ability to handle your regime correctly. Software that "does property accounting" without knowing how to carry forward an undeducted LMNP depreciation, or how to produce the 2072, is not suitable, however comfortable it feels day to day.

Income-tax SCI vs LMNP under the actual regime: what the software must handle#

There is no best solution in absolute terms. There is a solution that matches your number of assets, your regime and the time you want to spend on it. Here are the four families we see in practice.

The underestimated risk. The spreadsheet. It is useful when starting an income-tax SCI with a single asset, but it produces no accounting entries file in the standardised format. The day the tax authorities ask for one, or the day you move to the actual regime, you start from scratch, sometimes across several financial years. We regularly see files where the retroactive reconstruction costs far more than the subscription people tried to avoid.

Whatever software you consider, here are the functions to demand. If just one is missing for your regime, the tool is not suitable.

1. Handling the right regime. Rental income and 2072 for the income-tax SCI; BIC, 2031 and tables 2033 for the LMNP under the actual regime; tax package 2065/2033 for the corporate-tax SCI.
2. Component-based depreciation. Essential for the LMNP under the actual regime and the corporate-tax SCI: a breakdown into structure, facade, installations, fittings, with the land isolated and non-depreciable.
3. Carry-forward of undeducted depreciation. For the LMNP under the actual regime, the tool must track depreciation placed in carry-forward over time, without any time limit.
4. Asset-by-asset tracking. Each property must have its own analysis: rent, charges, depreciation, result.
5. Production of the suitable returns. 2072 for the income-tax SCI, 2031/2033 for the LMNP under the actual regime.
6. Production of the accounting entries file (FEC). Required in the event of an audit, in the standardised format set out in article L47 A I of the Book of Tax Procedures.

Hayot Expertise tip. Before any subscription, ask the publisher for a demonstration on two specific deliverables: a real FEC export and a simulation of your return (2072 or 2031/2033). If the tool cannot produce these two documents for your regime, comfort of data entry does not offset the risk.

Software is not only a data-entry tool: it is a tool of proof. Three obligations should guide your choice.

The FEC. Whatever the regime, the tool must be able to produce the accounting entries file in the standardised format, required in the event of an audit (article L47 A I of the Book of Tax Procedures). It is a simple and powerful filter: a spreadsheet does not do it, and some mainstream tools do it badly.

Retention. Accounting records and documents must be kept for ten years (article L123-22 of the Commercial Code). Documents over which the authorities' right of recovery may be exercised must be kept for six years (article L102 B of the Book of Tax Procedures). A good tool archives cleanly, exports without lock-in, and lets you recover your data if you change solution.

E-invoicing. This is the point many investors still overlook. From 1 September 2026, all businesses must be able to receive electronic invoices; large enterprises and intermediate-sized enterprises must also issue them. SMEs and micro-enterprises must issue them by 1 September 2027 at the latest. Transmission goes through an accredited partner dematerialisation platform (PDP). An SCI or a landlord subject to VAT is concerned by these obligations: you must therefore check that your solution works with a PDP. We set out the timetable in our guide to e-invoicing for SMEs.

2026 watch points. If your SCI or furnished-rental activity is subject to VAT, factor the question of receiving electronic invoices on 1 September 2026 into the choice of tool now. For a pure-management income-tax SCI without a VAT option, the priority remains the production of the 2072 and the quality of archiving.

• Step 1. First settle the tax regime (income-tax SCI, corporate-tax SCI, micro-BIC LMNP, actual-regime LMNP). It eliminates half the tools.
• Step 2. List your real constraints: number of assets, number of partners, VAT option or not, time available.
• Step 3. Test each solution against the six must-have functions above, demanding a demonstration on your own cases.
• Step 4. Check the output: a real FEC export, a return simulation, and reversibility (can you leave with your data?).
• Step 5. Cost the full picture, subscription and time spent included. Our analysis of the total cost of accounting software shows that options and migrations often weigh more than the headline price.

Recently, an LMNP investor told us he had kept two financial years on a spreadsheet, drawn by the fact it was free. When moving to the actual regime, the component-based depreciation of each asset had to be reconstructed and the entries made reliable to produce the 2031. The time spent on this rework far exceeded what a suitable tool or support would have cost from the outset. The lesson is not "spreadsheets are bad": it is that you must choose the tool for the regime you are ultimately aiming at, not just for the start.

Trade-off. Standalone software or support from a firm? Specialist software suits the investor comfortable with the tax mechanics, with few assets and a stable regime. Support takes over when the portfolio grows, when several regimes coexist (a corporate-tax SCI and an actual-regime LMNP, for example), or when filing security matters more than the time spent on data entry. The two are not opposed: a well-kept tool eases and lightens the firm's work.

Corporate-tax SCI with property depreciation. The need comes close to conventional company accounting: tax package 2065/2033, depreciation, sometimes VAT. A simple rental-management tool is no longer enough; you need a real accounting chain, and often a review by a professional. To decide between regimes, see our comparison corporate-tax SCI or income-tax SCI.

Moving from micro-BIC LMNP to the actual regime. The change of regime requires reconstructing accrual accounting and drawing up the component-based depreciation schedule as at the entry date of the assets. The tool must be able to initialise existing values and depreciation, not just record current flows. Our file on the new LMNP rules in 2026 sets out the context.

Switching from LMNP to LMP. The change of status carries tax and social consequences that go beyond the data-entry tool. The software does not decide the regime; it executes it. We address this boundary in the article LMNP or LMP.

Investor subject to VAT. Para-hotel furnished rental, professional premises with a VAT option: e-invoicing and the receipt of invoices on 1 September 2026 become a real criterion for choosing the tool, in connection with a PDP. It is also a good moment to structure your financial processes.