Introduction

Hostfolio is a desktop app for analyzing your real estate investments. This guide explains what you can do, what you need, and the first steps to get going.

What you can do

• Import bank and property data — Upload CSV exports from your bank or property manager. Hostfolio helps you map columns (date, amount, description) so it can read your transactions.
• Track KPIs — See gross yield, net yield, cash flow, and expense ratios at a glance for each property or your whole portfolio.
• Categorize transactions — Assign categories (rental income, maintenance, bank fees, etc.) and set rules so future imports are auto-categorized.
• Run pre-purchase analysis — Model purchase price, notary fees, mortgage, rent, and charges to estimate yields and cash flow before you buy. Supports both long-term and short-term (e.g. Airbnb) rentals.
• Export clean data — Export transactions and summaries as CSV or Excel for tax declarations or your accountant.
• Keep everything local — Your data stays on your Mac. No cloud sync required (you can still back up or export whenever you want).

Before you start

• macOS — Hostfolio runs on macOS 14 and later.
• CSV files — You need CSV exports from your bank or accounting tool. One file per account or property is fine. Hostfolio supports comma- or semicolon-separated files with a header row.
• Free vs Pro — The free version lets you try the basics with limits (e.g. one property, one CSV per property). A Pro licence removes these limits and unlocks features like merging new transactions into existing CSVs.

First steps

1. Create a property — In the sidebar, go to Manage properties. Click Add property, give it a name and (optionally) purchase price, mortgage, and other details.
2. Import a CSV — Select the property, then use Import CSV to choose a file. Hostfolio will ask you to map columns (date, amount, description, etc.). See How to map your CSV.
3. Categorize transactions — After import, open the Categorization tab to assign categories to transactions. You can add rules in Configuration so the next import is auto-categorized. See Categorization.
4. View analysis — Go to Analysis in the sidebar to see yields, cash flow, and (if you have several properties) compare them.
5. Export when needed — Use Clean export to download CSV or Excel with summaries and transaction details for a chosen year or all years.

Next steps

• Properties and data — Add properties, link CSVs, and fill in purchase details.
• How to map your CSV — Map your first file and reuse mappings for similar exports.
• Export and share — Export reports and data for backup or tax prep.