Service Charge Management Software: Simplify Accounts with Propman

Managing service charge accounts is one of the most time-consuming responsibilities for block managers. As portfolios grow, staying on top of apportionments, demands, arrears and compliance becomes harder without the right service charge management software.

However, there’s a way to alleviate the demands of your service charge account responsibilities —  specialist property managing software.

Propman is a comprehensive property management and accounting software tool that can elevate your business’ capabilities. By streamlining your service charge processes, you’ll be able to manage service charges across a large number of properties and create more time to focus on higher-level tasks.

• Why Managing Your Service Charge Accounts Is Important
• How Propman Can Make Your Life Easier
• Propman and Service Charge Accounts
• Let Us Show You What Propman Can Do

Why Service Charge Account Management Matters for Block Managers

Service charges are amounts tenants pay to cover the expense of communal maintenance and can include repair, improvements, insurance or landlord costs of management.

RICS Service Charge Standards are mandatory for all RICS professionals. RICS implemented these standards to ensure fair and transparent costs to all tenants. The Housing Act 1996 states landlords can’t exercise a right of re-entry for a service charge payment failure unless the charge is determined by a leasehold valuation tribunal or a court.

Alongside this, the Landlord and Tenants Act 1985 outlines that service charges should only be payable to a reasonable extent to prevent leaseholders or property management companies from spending too much on services or maintenance. The same Act describes the ‘18 month rule’ for service charge accounts — tenants must make service charge payments within 18 months of the incurred costs.

In summary, there’s a lot to think about if you want to stay on the right side of service charges. However, there is a way to make your life easier by streamlining your service charge processes.

How Propman Streamlines Service Charge Account Management

The right software can remove many property management burdens by automating your processes. Propman can automate many everyday tasks, moving you away from manually maintaining error-prone, complex spreadsheets.

So, you’ll not only significantly reduce the risk of error but also give yourself more time to focus on the things you love about property management. With integrated structuring, automation and reporting, Propman can make your service charge worries a thing of the past.

Propman and Service Charge Accounts

Propman can streamline your service charge processes in several ways.

Structure

Propman allows you to store your service charge schedules for each property split by expenditure types. Plus, you can keep percentage apportionments for each unit on your schedules and a budget value for each expenditure type for each service charge year.

Adding structure to your service charge processes will allow for easier management and organisation for you and your staff.

Automation

Propman can apply percentage increases or decreases to your service charge budget or actual amounts from a previous service charge period. Then, Propman will automatically calculate your budget for the next service charge period.

As part of configuring the new budget, Propman also automatically calculates the new service charge amounts that each leaseholder needs to pay and updates their lease charge details.

When a service charge period ends, Propman automatically compares expenditure incurred — split by expenditure type — to the budgeted amount and identifies the difference. Then, it calculates any balancing charges or credits leaseholders need to pay in relation to any underspend or overspend you have made.

By automating your service charge processes, you’ll move away from menial, repetitive tasks, freeing up valuable time for your other property accounting responsibilities.

Reporting

Propman software allows you to quickly and easily produce these reports:

• Service charge ‘Budget v Actual’ reports at a summary level or by individual leaseholder
• Individual tenant apportionment reports, showing a detailed analysis of spend compared to budget, the leaseholder’s contribution and any corresponding balancing charge or credit
• The budget amount for the next service charge period at a summary or individual leaseholder level.

See Propman for Service Charge Accounts in Action

Propman helps block managers handle service charge demands, apportionments and arrears in one place with clear reporting and an audit trail that supports compliance.

You’ll also get full property accounting functionality, maintenance tracking and communications, all within the same system.

Propman is used by over 100 businesses and is a powerful tool that can help streamline your company’s day-to-day operations.

We’d love to explore how Propman can take your business to the next level. Our pre-demo consultation gives you a tailored overview of the software, focusing on how its capabilities can transform the way you work.