Accounting outsourcing is not new and over the years businesses have realized the importance of outsourcing. Outsourcing provides a cost-effective solution and saves time and resources – the major assets any property management company can have, whether you are a commercial real estate business or a residential management company. Outsourcing also helps to focus on the core activities that help the business grow and expand. Different businesses outsource different activities like Outsourcing real estate services, outsourcing property management, or outsourcing accounting services. It totally depends on the nature of the business.

Outsourcing not only focuses on lowering the head count or restores the core competencies of a company. But is about making your firm do what it does the best; it can be leasing, day-to-day operations or HOA management. And a multifamily company with a few thousand (or hundred of thousand for that matter) units should not focus at the way their bills are paid as a core capability.

It is often noticed that property managers overlook the accounting functions or do not have the time. And this is where a specialized property management accounting outsourcing company can help. Outsourcing services for property management is a great way to excel at accounting practices as real estate accounting is a bit different and difficult than the usual accounts. An expert will be able to maintain the accounts better and help the firm maximize profits.

Apart from the experience these firms also have latest technologies like accounting software which facilitates the work to be done faster and at a cheaper cost. You now do not have to be concerned about the financial report, keeping records, balance and profit and loss sheets as the outsourcing firms takes care of all these activities.

Fine accounting skill, a strong working knowledge, an array of real estate and non-real estate accounting packages, proficiency in latest technologies are some of the strengths of these real estate accounting outsourcing firms. Apart from these they also have lower service cost as compared to an in-house accounting team.

Some of the important task that can be outsourced in Property Management Accounting

Finance and Accounting

Accounts Payable (AP)
Accounts Receivable (AR)
Tenant Accounting
CAM Reconciliations
General Ledger
Budget Entry & Reporting
Record Keeping / Auditing
Monthly Closing of Books
Financial Statements & Reports

Financial Reporting

By using the latest accounting and reporting software, the accountants of outsourcing companies provide the clients with meticulously structured, well-timed and accurate reports, budgets and files.

Well-maintained reports make it easier for both internal and external users to make decisions, understand the strategies of the company and invest accordingly. Moreover, updating reports from time to time is a time taking process and involves a lot of effort. Outsourcing prevents companies from doing such things.

Accounting System

The outsourcing company accountants are well trained with the software used for real estate accounting. Below mentioned are some of the software’s that are widely used.

Yardi-Voyager, Genesis
QuickBooks and Quicken
RealPage
Spectra Property Management
The Property Manager
Timberline Property Management
MRI (by Intuit Real Estate Solutions)
Avid Payable
Microsoft Excel (in VLookUp, Pivot)

Advantages

Besides cutback on the capital by elimination of avoidable accounting staff and other overhead costs, the advantages that companies realize include the following:

Systematic work flows process: It helps to create a proper workflow and all the people do their part efficiently as nobody gets to do any extra work. Property management accounting is a bit tricky and experts are the best people to manage it. This saves the employees from getting into any confusion and helps the firm to procure the best advice.
Real-time processing
Workforce flexibility: Outsourcing facilities provide a flexible workforce. Small departmental teams are hired to perform specific tasks. This saves money and time. No accounting experts are to be hired to handle accounts and anything related to accounts is simply managed by the outsourcing agency.
Increase in productivity:Everyone is responsible to perform a specific task. The job descriptions are clear and straightforward. All the outsourced accounting activities are done by the outsourcing firm and final accounting reports are provided. All the employees have to do is understand the analysis of the experts and make decisions accordingly. Performing limited tasks increases the productivity of employees and helps them perform better.
Complete financial control

Companies looking for improved quality and effectiveness as well as trying to lower costs should evaluate outsourcing options. Outsourcing accounting functions offers great benefits over long-established service delivery models. Outsourcing offers property management companies a significant added tool to consider, especially during the tough economic times.

Additionally, it is also important to choose the outsourcing service provider wisely. There are a number of property management accounting services present in the market. It is important to ask for references and do background checks to avoid any future discrepancies. If chosen rightly property management accounting firms can be a boon for the company as it saves time and energy.

About

OHI is a thirteen-year-old real estate services company working with 50+ commercial and residential real estate developers, funds and property management companies across USA. Our deep expertise in real estate accounting, financial analysis, lease administration and asset management has helped clients cut associated costs by 40-50%. We currently provide these services to a portfolio of 75000 units across clients.

We invite you to experience finance and accounting outsourcing through us.