Expense-Related Pain Points of Property Managers with Multiple Properties

  • February 9, 2023
  • George Mahoney

Property management can be a complex and challenging task, especially for those managing multiple properties. With multiple properties come multiple expenses, invoices, bills, and budgets that must be tracked, reconciled and managed effectively. In addition to the regular expenses, unexpected emergencies and changes in regulations and taxes can also add to the stress of expense management. As a result, property managers often struggle to keep up with the ever-increasing demands of managing expenses, leading to errors, inefficiencies, and financial losses.

The importance of effective expense management cannot be overstated in the success of multi-property management. Keeping track of expenses and budgets accurately and efficiently allows property managers to make informed decisions, prioritize expenses, and allocate resources effectively. Moreover, it helps to ensure the financial stability and success of the properties they manage.

In this article, we will delve into the pain points of expense management for property managers with multiple properties, specifically focusing on the challenges of tracking receipts, having field employees with corporate cards, and generally tracking credit card expenses and matching them to the budgets of each property effectively. We will also introduce a solution – an expense management platform – that solves these pain points and streamlines the process of expense management for property managers.

The Pain Points of Expense Tracking for Property Managers

Expense tracking is a critical aspect of managing multiple properties, and property managers often face several challenges in this area. Some of the most common pain points of expense tracking are:

  1. Tracking vendor invoices and bills: With multiple properties and vendors to manage, keeping track of invoices and bills can be overwhelming for property managers. They need to keep track of the invoices received, ensure timely payment, and reconcile expenses against the budget for each property.
  2. Reconciling expenses and income: Reconciling expenses and income is an important aspect of financial management, but it can be a time-consuming task for property managers. Keeping track of expenses, income, and bank transactions for multiple properties can be challenging, and any errors in reconciliation can have serious consequences.
  3. Maintaining detailed records of expenses for tax purposes: Accurate and detailed records of expenses are crucial for tax purposes. Property managers need to keep track of all expenses, categorize them correctly, and maintain accurate records for each property. This can be a tedious and time-consuming task, especially when dealing with multiple properties.
  4. Allocating expenses correctly between different properties: Allocating expenses correctly between different properties is crucial to ensure that each property is being managed efficiently and within budget. Property managers need to keep track of expenses incurred for each property, allocate expenses correctly, and reconcile the expenses against the budget for each property.
  5. Ensuring security and privacy of financial information: With sensitive financial information being shared and stored electronically, security and privacy are of utmost importance. Property managers need to ensure that their financial information is secure, protected from unauthorized access, and compliant with privacy regulations.

These pain points of expense tracking highlight the need for a streamlined and efficient expense management system that can help property managers overcome these challenges and manage expenses effectively.

expense management for property managers

The Challenges of Corporate Cards and Credit Card Expenses

With field employees and contractors often incurring expenses on behalf of the properties, corporate cards, and credit card expenses can pose a challenge for property managers. Some of the key challenges in this area include:

  1. Managing expenses incurred by field employees: Field employees and contractors often incur expenses while carrying out their duties, such as traveling, purchasing supplies, or attending meetings. Property managers need to keep track of these expenses, ensure that they are within budget, and allocate them correctly to each property.
  2. Matching credit card expenses to budgets of each property: Credit card expenses need to be matched to the budget of each property to ensure that expenses are allocated correctly and within budget. This can be a challenging task for property managers, especially when dealing with multiple properties and large amounts of expenses.
  3. Ensuring timely payment of credit card bills: Timely payment of credit card bills is critical to ensure that expenses are managed efficiently and within budget. Property managers need to ensure that credit card bills are paid on time, reconciled against expenses, and allocated correctly to each property.
  4. Dealing with unexpected expenses and emergencies: Unexpected expenses and emergencies can arise at any time, and property managers need to be prepared to deal with them. This can be a challenge, especially when dealing with multiple properties and large amounts of expenses.

These challenges highlight the importance of an effective expense management system that can help property managers manage credit card expenses and corporate cards effectively. A system that streamlines the process of tracking expenses, reconciling expenses against budgets, and ensuring timely payment of bills can help property managers overcome these challenges and manage expenses effectively.

The Solution: Clyr, An Expense Management Platform for Property Managers

An expense management platform can help property managers overcome the pain points and challenges of expense tracking and credit card expenses. Such a platform can provide a comprehensive solution that streamlines the process of expense management, reduces manual effort, and ensures accuracy and efficiency. Some of the key features and benefits of an expense management platform include:

  1. Automated expense tracking: An expense management platform can automate the process of expense tracking, eliminating the need for manual effort. Property managers can easily track expenses incurred by field employees, reconcile expenses against budgets, and allocate expenses correctly to each property.
  2. Credit card integration: An expense management platform can integrate with corporate credit cards, providing real-time visibility into credit card expenses. Property managers can view expenses as they occur, match expenses to budgets, and ensure timely payment of credit card bills.
  3. Budget management: An expense management platform can help property managers manage budgets effectively, providing real-time visibility into expenses and budgets for each property. Property managers can monitor expenses, allocate expenses correctly, and ensure that expenses are within budget.
  4. Tax compliance: An expense management platform can help property managers maintain detailed records of expenses for tax purposes, ensuring compliance with tax regulations. Property managers can categorize expenses accurately, maintain accurate records, and easily generate reports for tax purposes.
  5. Security and privacy: An expense management platform can provide security and privacy features to protect sensitive financial information. Property managers can ensure that their financial information is secure, protected from unauthorized access, and compliant with privacy regulations.

In conclusion, an expense management platform can provide a comprehensive solution to the pain points and challenges of expense management for property managers with multiple properties. By automating the process of expense tracking, integrating with corporate credit cards, and providing real-time visibility into expenses and budgets, an expense management platform can help property managers manage expenses effectively and efficiently.

To Summarize…

Expense management is a critical aspect of property management, especially for property managers with multiple properties. With field employees and contractors incurring expenses, credit card expenses, and the need to allocate expenses correctly to each property, managing expenses can be a complex and challenging task. However, an expense management platform can help property managers overcome these challenges and manage expenses effectively and efficiently.

An expense management platform provides a comprehensive solution that automates the process of expense tracking, integrates with corporate credit cards, and provides real-time visibility into expenses and budgets. By reducing manual effort, ensuring accuracy and efficiency, and providing security and privacy features, an expense management platform can help property managers manage expenses effectively and maintain compliance with tax regulations.

In conclusion, an expense management platform is a valuable tool for property managers with multiple properties, providing a solution to the pain points and challenges of expense management and enabling them to manage expenses effectively and efficiently.

George Mahoney
Chief Financial Officer, SMB Finance Expert

George Mahoney is a seasoned expert with extensive experience in financial management for field services, construction, and real estate companies. Known for his strategic financial planning and expertise in optimizing operational efficiencies, George has consistently driven profitability throughout his career.