GASB 87 software pricing and cost, what cities and counties actually paid
GASB 87 software costs a small US government about $7,770 to $11,500 a year on DebtBook (now Monetary) and $18,000 a year on Visual Lease for up to 360 leases, based on contracts approved in open council session. No vendor publishes a price list. Every one of them still needs your leases read and entered, which is the part LeaseAbstracts does from $49 a month.
THE PROBLEM
Built for finance directors, comptrollers, county auditors and lease accountants at US cities, counties, villages, school districts and utilities budgeting for GASB 87 software
You have to put a number in the budget or an RFP, and every GASB 87 vendor answers the pricing question with a demo request. The figures circulating on software directories are unsourced, and the quote you eventually get bundles subscription, implementation and the entry of your existing leases into one line you cannot compare. Meanwhile the leases themselves sit in department filing cabinets, and nobody has read all of them.
Real prices from public records
Every figure on this page comes from a council agenda, staff report, resolution or signed contract that a city or village published. We link each document so your purchasing office can check it, cite it in a memo and use it to negotiate.
The line the quote hides
Implementation quotes grow with the number of leases somebody has to read. Abstracting the leases yourself first removes that line from the vendor quote and gives you data you keep whichever platform wins.
Every value tied to its clause
The term, each payment and every renewal, termination and non-appropriation clause comes back as a field linked to the sentence it came from. When the external auditor samples a lease, the support is already attached.
A price that needs no RFP
Plans run from $49 a month for 15 leases to $399 for 250, with yearly billing at roughly half. Most finance offices can start on a purchasing card this week while the platform purchase goes through procurement.
What cities and counties paid for GASB 87 software
These are the GASB 87 software purchases we could verify in a primary public document. Each amount is quoted from the agenda item, staff report or contract itself. The column on the right is the figure the government approved, not a list price.
| Government and vendor | What was bought | Approved amount |
|---|---|---|
| Gardner, Kansas, DebtBook | Tier 3 (up to 150 obligations or $1 billion), 3-year term, July 2022 | $11,500 a year, $34,500 total, implementation fee waived |
| Green River, Wyoming, DebtBook | Tier 2, 3-year term from June 2023 | About $10,000 a year plus a $2,000 implementation fee |
| Croton-on-Hudson, New York, DebtBook | One-year renewal, June 2025 to May 2026 | $7,770 |
| Santa Fe, New Mexico, Visual Lease | Up to 360 leases, unlimited users, 3-year term from March 2022 | $18,000 a year plus $3,500 implementation, not to exceed $57,500 |
| Riverside, California, LeaseQuery via a CPA firm | Software plus consulting for about 450 leases citywide, initial term to December 2024 | $205,801 plus 25% contingency, $257,251 total |
| Riverside Public Utilities, same LeaseQuery contract | The utility's share, 3 years plus two 1-year options | Not to exceed $88,369 |
Santa Fe's staff memo adds a useful detail: the city also took quotes from LeaseQuery, SpaceBase and EZLease, and Visual Lease's annual price was the second lowest of the four. Gardner's memo shows the DebtBook list price for its tier was $15,000 a year before a $3,500 discount for committing to three years.
How much does GASB 87 software cost?
For a small city, village or district, GASB 87 software costs roughly $7,500 to $15,000 a year in the public contracts we found, plus an implementation fee of $2,000 to $3,500 that vendors sometimes waive for a multi-year term. A mid-size city with a few hundred leases paid $18,000 a year on Visual Lease. A large city that bought software and accounting consulting together through a CPA firm approved over $200,000 for the initial term.
The spread follows three things: how many leases and agreements you hold (DebtBook prices by tiers of obligation count and value), whether consulting is bundled, and how many years you commit to. Treat these as reference points for a budget memo, not as a quote. Prices from 2022 contracts have almost certainly moved.
Why GASB 87 vendors do not publish a price
Monetary, the company formerly called DebtBook, says on its pricing page that it builds a custom quote for its Starter and Complete lease and subscription packages. FinQuery's pricing page is a quote request. Visual Lease's pricing page explains its model without figures. Netgain's pricing page is titled Request a Quote.
The reason is the unit of pricing. These platforms price by agreement count, debt or asset value, modules and term, so one public number would be wrong for most buyers. The consequence for you is that the only comparable figures are the ones governments already paid, which is why the table above uses public contracts.
DebtBook is now Monetary
If your RFP responses or old quotes say DebtBook, you are dealing with the same company under a new name. debtbook.com now redirects to monetaryhq.com, and the company describes the change as "a rename, not an acquisition and not a pivot", saying it serves over 2,000 government and nonprofit organizations. Its lease and subscription product still comes in two packages: Starter, for up to 15 agreements with 2 users, and Complete, with unlimited agreements and users and AI data entry. For a head-to-head on the two most common public sector names, see DebtBook vs LeaseQuery for GASB 87.
The cost that is not in the subscription
Every GASB 87 platform calculates from lease data that already exists. Someone still has to find each contract, read it with its amendments and enter the term, payments, options and cancellation rights. Riverside estimated about 450 leases across departments. A skilled analyst needs two to four hours per commercial lease with amendments.
| Lease count | Reading by hand (2 to 4 hours each) | LeaseAbstracts plan |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | 30 to 60 hours | Solo, $49 for the month |
| 100 | 200 to 400 hours | Team, $149 a month for two months |
| 450 | 900 to 1,800 hours | Firm, $399 a month for two months |
That reading is what implementation services charge for and what a decentralized town struggles to finish on time. Doing it first, with each field linked to its clause, shortens the vendor's implementation and leaves you holding the data.
How to use these numbers in a budget or RFP
- Count your agreements first. Leases, cell tower and concession agreements where you are the lessor, and GASB 96 subscriptions if the platform will hold them. Tiers are set by that count.
- Ask for five separate lines. Annual subscription, implementation, entry of existing leases, training, and the maximum annual increase.
- Cite the public contracts. A vendor that charged a comparable town $11,500 a year will find it hard to justify triple that for the same tier.
- Take lease entry out of the quote. Abstract the leases yourself and ask the vendor to price only the import.
- Compare vendors by fit. Our guide to GASB 87 software for municipalities and counties covers which platform suits which size of government, and GASB 87 software for universities covers campuses.
WHAT WE EXTRACT
Every lease term, source-linked
FAQ
Common questions
How much does GASB 87 software cost?
In public contracts approved by US cities and villages, GASB 87 software cost about $7,770 to $11,500 a year on DebtBook and $18,000 a year on Visual Lease for up to 360 leases, plus implementation fees of $2,000 to $3,500. A large city buying software and consulting together through a CPA firm approved $205,801 plus contingency.
How much does DebtBook cost?
DebtBook, now renamed Monetary, does not publish prices. Public contracts show Gardner, Kansas paying $11,500 a year for its Tier 3 after a waived implementation fee, against a $15,000 standard price, Green River, Wyoming paying about $10,000 a year plus $2,000 implementation, and Croton-on-Hudson, New York renewing for $7,770.
Is DebtBook now Monetary?
Yes. DebtBook renamed itself Monetary and debtbook.com redirects to monetaryhq.com. The company describes it as a rename, not an acquisition, with the same team, platform and contracts. Its lease and subscription product still offers a Starter package for up to 15 agreements and a Complete package with unlimited agreements.
How much does Visual Lease cost for a government?
Visual Lease does not publish pricing. Santa Fe, New Mexico signed a contract for its Enterprise Lease Accounting edition at $18,000 a year for up to 360 leases with unlimited users, plus a one-time $3,500 implementation fee, not to exceed $57,500 over three years.
How much does LeaseQuery cost for GASB 87?
FinQuery does not publish LeaseQuery pricing. The City of Riverside, California bought LeaseQuery with GASB 87 consulting through the CPA firm Lance, Soll and Lunghard for $205,801 plus a 25 percent contingency for about 450 leases, so that figure includes services, not only the software.
Why don't GASB 87 software vendors publish prices?
They price by agreement count, debt or asset value, modules and contract length, and sell multi-year subscriptions after a demo. A single public number would be wrong for most buyers. The practical substitute is the amount comparable governments approved in public meetings.
Does GASB 87 software include entering our leases?
Usually not by default. Platforms calculate schedules and disclosures from lease data your staff key or import, and data entry help is either a higher package or a separate implementation service. Ask each vendor to price it as its own line, then compare that with abstracting the leases yourself.
Can we abstract our leases before choosing a GASB 87 vendor?
Yes, and it shortens implementation. Upload each lease with its amendments, check the extracted term, payments, options and cancellation rights against the linked clauses, and export a spreadsheet you can import into whichever platform wins the RFP.
More lease abstraction use cases
GASB 87 software pricing and cost, what cities and counties actually paid
Upload a lease, review a source-linked abstract, and export to a spreadsheet you own.