The Challenge

Accounting wasn’t Lindsey’s forte, so it was very slow going. With late nights spent at her kitchen table hunched over spreadsheets or trying to figure out issues on her own, she was spending 25+ hours a month on accounting – time she’d rather be using to grow her business.

The Outcome

Today, Lindsey is saving a minimum of five hours every week, and has been able to spend more time building her business – and it’s thriving! With her newfound time and confidence, she’s growing by 4-6 units every month and can rest easy knowing her books will always be done right.

What software does she use?Propertyware.How many units does she have?46 standard units, plus 150 units across multiple HOA’s.How much time does she spend doing accounting?25+ hours every month.How often does she process owner and vendor payments?Every Friday.How does she collect rent?Online tenant portal with payments made via e-checks.How many bank accounts does she have?Nine.How often does she prepare bank reconciliations?Once a month.

Lindsey’s story was one we heard many times before.

Most property managers didn’t get into the business to spend hours dealing with bookkeeping and accounting, but find themselves struggling with it anyhow. Some use property management software like AppFolio or Propertyware but have trouble harnessing the full power of the tool. Others try to teach themselves accounting or end up hiring an inexperienced bookkeeper in hopes of saving money.

Accounting and bookkeeping issues can make or break a growing property management company, and all too often property managers take on more work than they actually have time for.

When it comes to finding the right solution, fear is a big barrier to growth; fear of having someone outside your office handling your books, fear about spending the money to get support and not having it work out, fears caused by a bad solution they’ve tried in the past, or fears about how long it might take to get started with new systems.

"My whole issue with onboarding people to help or hiring was that I was so busy. I didn’t want to start taking time to do those things, even though in the long run I knew it would help.”

The reality check.

Once Lindsey started talking with us, she realized that not only was she spending way too much time doing accounting and bookkeeping tasks, but since she isn’t an accountant herself, there were a number of important processes she had been skipping over (“Wait – what’s triple-tie out accounting?!”).

She knew she needed the support, so we started talking about what that would look like.

All the questions.

Lindsey was used to being a one-woman show, so getting her very own accounting team would be a treat – to say the least. But first things first: we needed to learn all about her business. We asked about her existing processes and controls, her team, the status of any accounting and reconciliation backlogs, and more.

It’s all about communication and everyone has been just wonderful as far as that goes.”

We had deep-dive discovery meetings with Lindsey to learn all about the nuances of her different properties, her pain points, and her goals for growth. Then we told her how we could take just about all of those tasks off her plate and improve the way she does business.

Lindsey decides to go for it and eagerly begins her first month with Proper.

Together, we developed a timetable and expectations for all her reconciliations, reports, and month-end processes. Then, she granted us access to her AP email address where she receives all invoices, her banking and accounting software, and all documents in connection with her disbursements and closing processes.

Lindsey’s new Proper team gets to work.

Right away we started handling her accounts payable, calculating and paying management fees and owner draws, and finding and cleaning up anomalies in her books.

"Before, when there was an issue I would have to figure out what it is, then figure out how to fix it. It was hugely time-consuming and stressful because I didn’t understand. Now, that huge burden has been lifted.”

Then, because of our team’s high-caliber finance and accounting backgrounds, we introduced Lindsey to a more robust budget creation process to help her make more strategic business decisions.

After taking the time to review and refine all processes, we scheduled recurring team meetings at a pace that felt good to Lindsey.

Saving Time, Making Money.

Before she knew it, we were walking her through her first month of reconciliations and reporting. No confusion, no mistakes – just clarity, balanced books, and a surprising amount of free time for Lindsay to focus on growing her business.

30% growth in Lindsey’s portfolio
since starting with Proper.

Lindsey’s new Proper team gets to work.

Today, Lindsey is able to easily keep an eye on the financial health of her portfolio. She’s thrilled with her interactions with her team and loves our quick response time and problem-solving.

"I love how I can tell my owners that I just spoke with my bookkeeper or my accountant. Not only do I know I always have the support I need, but it adds a level of professionalism to my whole operation.”

Saving a minimum of five hours every week, Lindsey now has the bandwidth and confidence to spend more time growing her business – and it’s thriving. Lindsey’s portfolio is projected to grow by over 50 doors in 2021, and we’ll be here to cheer her on every step of the way.

"Working with Proper has been wonderful. Plus, I’m making more money! The time that I was spending on accounting, I now spend on growing my business.”

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