Service Charge Accounting
Service Charge Accounting in Nottingham
At FHP Accounting, we’re all about making service charge accounting straightforward. We help commercial property agents, investors, directors of management companies and developers. In fact, we help you however you’ve found your way into requiring the need for a service charge accountant. Our services are tailored to fit your needs, offering custom solutions for service charge requirements.
Service charge accounting for property management includes keeping track of funds collected from tenants for upkeep and repairs of shared areas. These funds cover the costs of maintaining anything from cleaning to landscaping those shared areas.
We focus on clear communication and expert guidance. We keep your service charge accounts accurate and user-friendly. Our personalised practices and client satisfaction make us stand out.
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Ensure accurate and compliant service charge calculations
Our expertise ensures you meet all legal requirements and avoid costly disputes.
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Streamline service charge administration
We handle all aspects of service charge administration, saving you time and resources.
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Improve transparency for tenants
Our clear and detailed service charge reports keep tenants informed about their contributions.
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Gain valuable insights
We provide summaries that help you analyse service charge costs and identify areas for potential savings.
Property Service Charge Accounts
At FHP Accounting, we focus on understanding your organisation’s aims and objectives, ensuring you are supported in managing your property service charge accounts. Our core values, transparency, ethics and putting clients first, drive our personalised services. You can always chat with an expert about your accounts to understand all the details.
We customise our services to your needs, so you can rely on us to get the job done professionally. Our summaries help busy professionals stay in the loop. We provide ethical, transparent and custom solutions that keep our clients returning. Join our satisfied clients of property management companies, landlords, business owners, property investors and developers.
FAQs
Have you got questions about our accounting services? We’ve got the answers! Check out our FAQ section for quick and easy information.
But if you can’t find what you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our friendly team is happy to help.
What is service charge accounting?
In commercial leases, tenants usually pay service fees to the landlord. This is common, especially when the property is part of a larger complex with shared facilities or spaces.
Service charge accounting details the actual service charge income and expenditure for the year to report to your leaseholders.
What does a service charge accountant do?
A service charge accountant collates the details of the expenses incurred in the common/shared areas of the property and the income received from the leaseholders. At the end of the year, the service charge accountant reports the actual spend compared to the budgeted spend. They report details of any balancing figures which can then be distributed or paid per the lease.
At FHP Accounting, we ensure that all service charge accounts comply with legal and regulatory requirements, providing clear and accurate records of how the money is spent. We also provide a balance sheet for all our service charge accounts which gives full transparency and confidence in the reported figures.
Do service charge accounts have to be audited?
The lease will often dictate if the service charge accounts require an audit. Old leases sometimes refer to the service charge accounts requiring an audit. In most cases, this is quite unnecessary given the amounts being recorded through the service charge accounts. The cost of obtaining an audit is often disproportionate. If the lease requires an audit, it may be beneficial to amend the lease to require a certified accountants report to save money on audit fees.
At FHP Accounting we do not provide a service charge audit, only certified accounts with an independent accountant’s report. For many service charges, we feel this is more than enough. We provide complete transparency over the figures by providing a full balance sheet with supporting working papers. We offer a review of source documents, such as actual invoices received and payments from bank statements.
Do I need specific software to prepare service charge accounts?
There is a wide range of products that allow you to easily run your day-to-day property management. Specific service charge property management software includes Re-leased, MRI, Yardi and TRAMPS.
Smaller portfolios may use more off-the-shelf packages and tailor them to their requirements such as Quickbooks or Xero.
At FHP Accounting, we have experience using a range of property-specific software and accountancy-based software such as Xero and QuickBooks. We can provide help and advice on the set-up of these packages and guide you towards more specific software if required when growing your portfolio.
Does a service charge accountant manager pay our bills and record our payments?
The service charge accountant is responsible for the year-end accounts. This involves compiling all your income and expenses for the year into year-end accounts. Your service charge accountant can also help you with things like setting up a sinking fund or advice on changing your service charge year-end. They can advise on whether to set up a right to manage the company when handing across development to the leaseholders.
If you need help paying bills, recording payments and other general day-to-day accounting requirements for your service charge or rental income, our dedicated property bookkeepers will be able to help.