If you have a large leasing portfolio or you’re making a significant investment in your leases, you already know that effective lease tracking is an essential part of your business.
But you need great lease tracking software to do it. Software that can help you make sense of all of the data, put it in one place for central access and generate reports that lead to good business decisions by managers and executives.
There’s a lot that goes into this, so let’s take a look at what’s involved in lease tracking software.
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What is Lease Tracking Software?
Definition-wise, lease tracking software is a software package or a suite of modules that document all the leases in a company and all the transactions that are part of those leases.
Some companies use the term “lease tracking software” synonymously with lease management software, but the latter implies the ability to perform some higher-level functions, so we’ll stick with lease tracking software for purposes of clarity. -
Why Lease Tracking Software is Important
For most companies, the transactions performed by the leases in their portfolio are critical to success. Just to cite one example, missed payments can be costly, both in the moment and down the line.
They can also void the terms of an advantageous lease, so it’s important to stay on top of them and understand how well your individual leases are performing as assets.
Lease Tracking Software, Lease Accounting Software and Accounting Standards
There are several accounting standards that apply to leases, and lease tracking software helps companies stay in compliance with all of them. Here are just a few of the standards that may apply to a specific lease:
- GASB: stands for Government Accounting Standards Board, and it applies to any leases that include government contracts.
- FASB: The standards specified by the Financial Accounting Standards Board apply to public and private companies in the US, along with nonprofits.
- IASB: For companies that do business abroad, staying in compliance with the standards set by the International Accounting Standards Board is crucial.
- ASC 842: This standard replaced ASC 840 in December of 2021, and it redefined some of the nomenclatures for leasing in ways that are reflected on a company’s balance sheet.
It’s vital to have lease accounting software that can keep up with the calculations and transactions in a way that’s compliant with ASC 842.
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Lease Tracking Software and Embedded Leases
Some leases are contained as part of broader contracts. These are known as embedded leases, and you have to have lease tracking software that can record transactions in these leases and add it to existing lease data.
Lease Management Software and Specific Tracking
For managers and executives, here’s some of the specific information they need from their lease tracking software.
Documentation
It’s important to have each and every lease transaction recorded, and it has to be available in a way that’s both searchable and shareable.
Audit Functions and Asset Management
Creating an audit trail is important for every company, both internally and externally, and a comprehensive lease tracking software package can do this and make any data that’s necessary for an audit instantly available.
Different Rules for Different Leases
The specific rules for transactions are different for certain types of leases, and lease tracking software helps companies keep up with these rules. It also standardizes the data that’s collected so it can be included in reports and be easily understood.
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What Problems Does Lease Tracking Software Solve?
Information Searches, Accounting Software and Lease Management
Studies have shown that employees typically spend over two hours a day searching for documents and files they need to do their jobs, and that number usually goes up during auditing season.
Lease tracking software can lower that time, streamline the information-finding process and make important information available instantly.
A Lease Tracking Software System Prevents Data Errors
Employees make mistakes, and when they’re not caught in a timely fashion they can be costly. These include erroneous calculations, multiple entries of the same data, mismatched spreadsheets, and so on.
Lease tracking software is specifically designed to keep that from happening, and it does so instantly so that unnecessary extra costs can be avoided.
Centralizing Stored Lease Information
Many companies have decentralized operations with offices both domestic and abroad, which makes it harder to have important data available instantaneously. Lease tracking software is designed to do just that, which helps them operate far more efficiently.
Lease Consolidation and Lease Accounting and Tracking
For companies with a large lease portfolio, the question “do you know where your leases are?” isn’t just an irreverent, off-the-cuff question.
In many cases, lease tracking software can consolidate a large lease portfolio into a single summary that includes both lease-specific and overall ROI, which is invaluable.
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How Lease Tracking Software Can Help With Property Management
Property management is just one example of a real estate function where a large lease portfolio can be in play.
Lease tracking software helps property management companies understand lease performance, and it also helps the track important dates for collections and payments.
Given that this is the core business of a property management company, it’s not an exaggeration to say that quality lease tracking software can spell the difference between success and failure.
The Lease Specifics of Asset Management
Every single lease is a unique asset, with different transactions, rules variations, different standards that apply, and so on. Lease tracking software keeps all the details sorted out so that the available data can be easily summarized and understood.
Lease Accounting as Part of Lease Tracking Software
When it comes to lease transactions, calculations matter. They need to be accurate and comprehensive, and the best lease tracking software includes lease accounting functions that can keep up with payments, changes in terms, and so on. That means accurate data that can go into succinct reports and be used as an effective business tool.
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Get the Best Lease Accounting Solution from iLeasePro
At iLeasePro, we understand every aspect of the lease tracking process. We know what software and features you need, the functions and security protections that have to be included, and how they can best be applied to your business leasing situation.
We also know the ASC 842 standard, and as such we know how lease tracking software has to work to be in compliance with that standard.We’ve provided lease tracking software for companies of all sizes, and our leasing software is considered among the best in the industry. When you call us we can set you up with a lease accounting software free demo, which will give you an idea of how it all works.
To do this, call us at 888-351-4606, or you can email us at info@ileasepro.com. We also have plenty of great information about lease accounting software on our website, which is ileasepro.com, and you can chat with a live representative there as well.