Insights & updates for real estate finance teams
Practical guidance on consolidations, scenario planning, FP&A, and investor reporting when you run on Xero or QuickBooks.
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Deep dives on consolidation, scenario planning, and investor reporting.
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A practical playbook for real estate scenario planning
How to model interest rate moves, occupancy swings, refurb programmes, and cash impacts-without rebuilding your spreadsheet every time.
One portfolio view across every Xero or QuickBooks SPV
How we standardise charts of accounts, keep entities aligned, and deliver clean, drillable portfolio dashboards.
Release notes that matter: what changed and why it helps finance teams
A finance-grade release note template that answers what changed, who is affected, why it matters, what to do, and how to validate-so multi-entity teams keep reconciliations, definitions, and trust intact.
From raw accounting data to investor KPIs: our reporting logic explained
How we turn fragmented SPV data into investor-grade KPIs: normalise inputs, map SPV COAs to a standard structure, consolidate with explicit rules, calculate defined KPIs, and keep every number traceable for confident packs and commentary.
A month-end close checklist for property SPVs
Practical, evidence-based close routine for rent-led SPVs-cash, rent roll tie-outs, service charge, capex vs opex, debt and covenants-plus a downloadable PDF checklist you can use this month.
How we think about portfolio dashboards for property investors
Design principles for investor-grade dashboards: one portfolio view across SPVs, standardised definitions, real-estate KPIs first, drill-down and lineage, exception-led focus, scenarios beside actuals, and a narrative layer investors trust.
The reconciliation routine: keeping SPV data consistent without heroics
A repeatable, exception-first reconciliation routine for multi-SPV portfolios: cash, AR/AP, intercompany, mappings, and portfolio tie-outs-so month-end becomes assembly, not emergency response.
How to standardise reporting definitions across a portfolio: a playbook
A step-by-step playbook to stop definition drift: lock KPI meanings, build a reporting taxonomy, map SPVs, set hard bucket rules, add controls, and govern changes so NOI, occupancy, yield, and cash mean the same thing across the portfolio.
Portfolio dashboard design: KPIs, drill-downs, and exceptions that matter
A practical blueprint for a portfolio dashboard that drives decisions: 6-10 real KPIs, consistent drill-downs, and exception-first views-built on standardised SPV roll-ups so "what changed, where, why" is clear in a few clicks.
Risk narratives investors trust: how to talk about uncertainty with credibility
A repeatable way to explain uncertainty with investors: clear risks, exposure, ranges, triggers, actions, and owners-grounded in consistent SPV rollups and definitions instead of vague hedging or false certainty.
Human-in-the-loop reporting: designing finance workflows that use AI responsibly
A practical blueprint for AI-assisted, finance-grade reporting: AI proposes (variance triage, draft commentary), humans approve (reconciliation, policy calls, sign-off), with traceability, thresholds, and audit logs across SPV portfolios.
The data foundations for useful AI insights: mappings, definitions, and clean inputs
AI only earns trust when it is grounded in a stable reporting model: mappings that align SPVs, definitions that stop drift, and clean inputs with controls. Here is the minimum viable setup to get there fast.
AI financial commentary in real estate: what it can do today (and what it can't)
Where AI can help real-estate finance teams today-drafting month-end commentary, translating variances, standardising tone, highlighting exceptions-and where it still needs grounding, controls, and human sign-off.
How to operationalise "what changed this month" without spending 2 days writing
A repeatable, SPV-ready commentary engine: focus on material changes, drivers, so what, and actions with thresholds, bridges, reason codes, ownership, and a two-pass process instead of a blank page.
Commentary that builds confidence: "what changed this month" done right
A repeatable, SPV-ready commentary framework: headline, drivers, why, cash/constraints, actions-built on consistent definitions and drillable rollups so monthly reporting earns trust.
Automating monthly reporting: where it helps and where humans must stay involved
Where automation speeds SPV-heavy monthly reporting-data pulls, consolidation, mappings, controls, packs, and variance flags-and where humans own definitions, judgement, and sign-off.
The 10 charts investors actually read (and the ones they skip)
Investor-readable charts for property portfolios: the 10 visuals that answer cash, NOI, occupancy, leverage, and downside questions-plus the low-signal charts to replace.
Board reporting in real estate: how to explain performance without drowning in detail
A decision-led board pack blueprint: stable KPIs, exception-based pages, SPV drill-down for cash/covenants, and a tight core + appendix structure investors can scan fast.
How to make portfolio reporting consistent across assets and SPVs
A practical framework to make SPV-based portfolio reporting reconcilable, comparable, and explainable-definitions, portfolio COA + mappings, governance, and drillable delivery.
Stress testing a portfolio: 5 scenarios every CFO should run quarterly
A repeatable quarterly stress test set for multi-SPV portfolios: rates + hedge roll-off, occupancy/collections, non-recoverable OpEx, refurb slip, and refinance squeeze-tied to cash, covenants, and actions.
What an investor-ready monthly pack looks like for a property portfolio
A practical blueprint for a monthly investor pack: comparable metrics across SPVs, clear bridges, liquidity and debt risk, actions, and a repeatable 10-12 page structure.
From scenario to action: turning model outputs into an investor narrative
Translate Base/Downside/Upside into a story investors trust and a plan the team can execute: cash, covenants, distributions, actions, and triggers.
Interest-rate sensitivity for property portfolios: a simple framework for decision-making
A repeatable, SPV-first rate sensitivity framework: map facilities and hedges, run +50/+100/+200 bps and refi shocks, and turn impacts into cash, covenant, and action triggers.
Refurb programme scenarios: forecasting downtime, capex, and payback
Model refurb as a temporary operating shock, not just a capex pot: make downtime, capex cash curves, and payback explicit with cohorts, commitments, and NOI-based returns.
What happens to cash flow if occupancy drops 5%? How to model it quickly
A fast, spreadsheet-first way to stress-test rent, NOI, and cash when occupancy dips-without rebuilding your model. Clarify the 5pp vs 5% drop, add collections, and tie to debt.
The FP&A calendar for property firms: what to do weekly, monthly, quarterly
A repeatable FP&A cadence for multi-SPV property portfolios: weekly liquidity control, monthly close + reforecast, and quarterly risk reset-built on one mapped portfolio truth.
Budgeting for refurb and capex: how to avoid surprises in month 6
Treat refurb/capex as a delivery pipeline with timing, commitments, and income impact-not just a pot. Budget in buckets, track committed vs forecast, and tie to cash/covenants.
Cash flow planning for property groups: a simple model that scales to many SPVs
A minimum-viable cash model for SPV-heavy portfolios: split restricted vs usable cash, run 13-week + 12-month views, standardise categories, and make intercompany explicit.
Rolling forecasts for real estate: how to forecast when rent and debt drive everything
Run a rolling forecast that stays useful when rent, occupancy, and debt service drive the outcome. Cash-first, driver-based, and built for multi-SPV portfolios.
Portfolio vs SPV-level forecasting: what belongs where?
Design two forecasts that serve different decisions but share drivers and definitions: SPV for cash/solvency/compliance, portfolio for performance, capital, and investor story.
Portfolio KPIs that predict trouble early: a finance team's watchlist
A monthly, repeatable early-warning KPI set for multi-SPV portfolios-definitions, common mistakes, and best-practice reporting you can trust.
SPV Consolidation Readiness Checklist (Free PDF)
Run this finance-first checklist in 10 minutes to see if your SPV portfolio can consolidate cleanly-before you ship a dashboard that won't reconcile.
Gearing explained for property portfolios: what to track monthly (and why)
Make gearing honest and useful: track gross/net debt, LTV with clear valuation dates, cover ratios, rate exposure, and maturity risk-consistently across SPVs.
Yield vs cash yield vs IRR: which one belongs in monthly reporting?
Yield, cash yield, and IRR answer different questions. Use yield and cash yield in monthly packs; keep IRR as a valuation-date metric-built on consistent NOI and mappings.
Occupancy reporting that doesn't lie: definitions that change the story
Standardise physical, leased, and economic occupancy across SPVs, reconcile to rent, and stop "dashboard theatre" with clear definitions and controls.
NOI: how to calculate it consistently across properties and SPVs
Define one portfolio NOI, map every SPV into it, and add light controls so the metric stays consistent across entities, periods, and investor packs.
Month-end close across 10/25/100 SPVs: a repeatable workflow
A scalable month-end close for property SPVs: standardise, parallelise, review exceptions, and roll up to a portfolio view you can trust-whether you have 10 or 100 entities.
Audit-proof consolidation: data lineage, mappings, and controls (without slowing down)
Build multi-entity consolidation that is fast and defensible: data lineage, explicit mappings, and lightweight controls so every portfolio number is traceable.
The hidden cost of inconsistent COAs: why your "portfolio dashboard" never reconciles
Inconsistent SPV charts of accounts break portfolio rollups. Fix reconciliation with a portfolio COA, explicit mapping, and light governance-not another dashboard.
How to standardise your chart of accounts across SPVs without a rework project
Standardise portfolio reporting across SPVs with a portfolio COA, mapping layer, and light governance-without ripping up every entity chart.
A practical guide to consolidating property SPVs: the minimum viable setup
Lean finance teams: here's the minimum viable setup to consolidate property SPVs-standard structure, mappings, rollup rules, and outputs you can defend.
Multi-entity reporting in Xero: what you can do natively vs what you actually need
Where Xero's native reporting stops for multi-entity portfolios, and the mapping + consolidation layer you actually need for investor-grade rollups (the same consolidation gap shows up in QuickBooks).
Why SPV sprawl breaks portfolio visibility (and how to fix it)
SPV sprawl fragments truth. Standardise your portfolio layer-mapped accounts, continuous consolidation, and drillable dashboards-without ripping out your Xero or QuickBooks stack.
AI CFO commentary without losing control
Why AI-generated insights work best when they're grounded in your mapped accounts, scenarios, and controls.
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