Owner-operated property portfolio operating system

Private owners who own and manage their own small retail centres, office and warehouse buildings and a few residential properties usually run them from a lease spreadsheet, a calendar of critical dates and the accounting file. Rent reviews and option windows get missed or noticed late, arrears are chased when someone remembers, outgoings are recovered from tenants on last year's numbers and reconciled in a rush at year end, maintenance requests arrive by phone and text, and fire safety servicing, insurance renewals and tenant certificates of currency each live in a different inbox. When the bank asks for a covenant certificate or the owner wants a monthly picture, someone spends days pulling it together.

An illustrative operating system for an owner-operated portfolio (in the demo: Centre A, Centre B, Building C and Residences D), with views for the owner or director, property manager, bookkeeper and maintenance contractor coordinator.

• Lease register and critical dates: every tenancy with area, rent, expiry, options and the option notice window, next rent review (CPI, fixed percentage or market), security held. A review calculator works out the new rent and drafts the notice for approval. Option reminders and renewal offers are drafted ahead of the deadline.
• Rent roll and arrears: monthly invoices raised into accounting, direct debit status, arrears by age, payments applied oldest first, reminders drafted for approval and payment plans recommended to the owner, never sent on their own.
• Outgoings budget and tenant recoveries: budget against actual by property, each tenant's share by area, monthly charges and a year-end reconciliation drafted for approval.
• Maintenance and contractor jobs: reported, quoted, approved, scheduled, done and invoiced, with an approval limit above which the owner signs off, and contractors blocked from booking until their insurance certificate is current.
• Scheduling: a week calendar of contractor visits and inspections with clash detection, a warning for noisy work in centre trading hours, and tenant notices drafted for approval.
• Safety and fire compliance: each property's fire, exit lighting, backflow, lift, electrical and asbestos items with due dates, one-click booking of the service, certificates recorded, and the annual safety certification drafted for the owner only when everything else is current.
• Insurance renewals: building, liability, loss of rent and machinery policies with renewal quotes requested through the broker, plus tenant certificates of currency chased before they lapse.
• Leasing pipeline: enquiry, inspection, heads of agreement, lease signed, fit-out and trading. Signing fills the vacancy in the lease register, fit-out creates the works job, and trading starts the rent roll.
• Purchasing: consumables and make-good materials from suggested order through approval, purchase order to Supplier A to F, goods received (with shortages) and the bill matched and sent to accounting as a draft.
• Staff: roster for the property team, centre maintenance and cleaners, leave and shift swaps, timesheets to payroll, licences and training expiries, onboarding.
• Owner and lender reporting: net operating income, occupancy and weighted average lease expiry by property, loan to value and interest cover against covenants, and a monthly owner pack and lender certificate drafted for sign-off.
• Follow it end to end: a guided walkthrough takes one vacant shop from enquiry to a signed lease, fit-out, first rent paid, recoveries and the owner report.
• Guardrails: nothing goes to a tenant, contractor, broker or lender, and nothing is paid or ordered, without a person approving it.