Common Area Maintenance (CAM) reconciliation is a critical part of managing commercial real estate. STRATAFOLIO recognized the need for a platform that simplifies the process and saves valuable time. The CAM reconciliation process with STRATAFOLIO is a simple three steps and allows users to have a report ready for their tenant at a moment’s notice.
To View the Operating Expenses/CAM
Go to the navigation bar on the left-hand side and click Operations, Leases, then select the desired Lease with the “i”.
This will view the Lease Abstract. Once there, click on the Op-Exp tab.
This view of the Op-Exp tab will display the current charges being added to the invoices each month. The period can be expanded by using the green + symbol to open the subcategory breakdown. Periods can also be edited by using the pencil button if rates change, if they change to Controllable or Non-Controllable, if caps need added, or to change the Income Item that the charge is being posted to.
The Op-Exp/CAM may have been set up by the Onboarding Team with many $0 Subcategories. All of the subcategories listed here are added to the CAM Reconciliation Report. If there is a $0 listed, that means that there is no amount for that subcategory on the invoice, but it needs tracking as part of Operating Expenses and CAM. More on mapping will follow.
Slide the button on the right of the page to Actuals. This is where the expenses that are posted in the attached QuickBooks accounts will be displayed.
STRATAFOLIO runs on a Cash Basis. The expenses listed in the account will show on the Operating Expenses pages on the date they are posted as paid. Select the desired Operating Expense Period to look at. Again, there is more detail for the subcategories by using the green + button to expand that Category.
All expenses posted during the time period to the Chart Of Accounts for these Categories and Subcategories in your QuickBooks will be shown. They are calculated using the square footage of the unit and the Pro Rata share of the Rentable Square Footage of the Building. In this example, it is 34.58%.
If the Pro Rata Share is not based on the Rentable Square Footage of Building as calculated by STRATAFOLIO, there is an override under the Edit Lease function for Building Square Footage as Stated in the Lease. This should only be used if the lease clearly states a different square footage of the building to calculate a different Pro Rata Share. STRATAFOLIO uses up to 15 decimal places in the calculations for the Pro Rata Share.
To Run the Operating Expense Reconciliation Report
The Reconcile button will produce an Excel report that is ready for sending to tenants.
The second tab of the reconciliation report is a further breakdown of the actual expenses at the Pro Rata share and the month that they were posted on a cash basis.
The Excel file is allows edits to delete or modify cells/sheets as necessary, however the information does not flow from one page to the other so modifications must be made in both if changing any of the numbers. STRATAFOLIO uses up to 15 decimal places in the calculations for the Pro Rata Share.
The Invoiced Amount is what should have been invoiced for the time period to date of the report. It is not necessarily what has been collected. Please verify the actual amounts collected in QuickBooks.
To Check the Mapping of Operating Expenses/CAM
Users can check to see what accounts in the Chart of Accounts (COA) for each QuickBooks integration are being mapped to which Category or Subcategory in Operating Expenses. If a new account is created in the COA, or an account needs updated to be added to Op-Exp, access the Integration’s Accounts.
On the Organization page, select the Integration tab, press the “i” next to proper integration for more information.
Select the Accounts tab. Op-Exp Subcategory can be filtered to see what is being mapped in the account to which subcategory in Operating Expenses.
This is where the Op-Exp Categories and Subcategories get mapped to connect to the COA. Any time an expense is posted to any of these accounts that are mapped to an Op-Exp/CAM Category or Subcategory in STRATAFOLIO, the expense will go to the Op-Exp expense in the Leases that it was added to. Multiple accounts can be utilized to one Subcategory, but only one Subcategory can be used per account. In the given example, there are multiple Reimbursable Utilities accounts that are all going to the CAM Subcategory for the Op-Exp.
STRATAFOLIO cannot choose specific transaction lines from an account to be part of the Op-Exp or excluded from it. Please be sure the desired account is used appropriately and use Reimbursable and Non-Reimbursable/Operating accounts if there are any charges that may be excluded from CAM. Here is the Chart of Accounts we created based on best practices that we have researched in commercial real estate:
To Update an Account
If an account needs to be updated or changed, click the box next to the account for updating. Click the Map Accounts button.
This will arrive at STRATAFOLIO’s condensed COA. Select the drop down and choose an expense account under the Operating Expenses category. An Operating Expense Subcategory drop down will pop up so the proper Subcategory can be chosen to map it to, or a Subcategory can be added as needed. Press Save & Confirm.
The level of detail available in the Operating Expense/CAM Reconciliation Report will depend on the Subcategories that are chosen. Users can have as much detail as their accounts allow. Work with the Onboarding Team during set up to get the customization that you need.