100 SPVs: a repeatable workflow

Closing one SPV is bookkeeping. Closing 10, 25, or 100 SPVs is operations.

The difference is not accounting complexity-it is workflow complexity: coordinating inputs, setting cutoffs, handling exceptions, and producing a portfolio view that is consistent enough to trust (and fast enough to matter).

This post lays out a repeatable month-end close workflow for property SPVs-one that works when you have 10 entities and still works when you have 100. It is designed for real estate operators and finance teams who need portfolio visibility without living in spreadsheets or chasing people for numbers.

The core problem: SPV close fails at scale for predictable reasons

Across property portfolios, month-end close usually breaks down because:

Inputs arrive inconsistently (rent reports, bank statements, invoices, capex updates).
Definitions drift (NOI, capex vs opex, one-offs, management fees).
Each SPV becomes its own mini-universe (different charts of accounts, different practices).
Portfolio reporting is a separate "second close" (manual consolidation after entity closes).
Too much time is spent reviewing everything, instead of reviewing what matters.

A scalable close is not "do more work faster." It is "do the same work with fewer surprises."

What "good" looks like (regardless of SPV count)

A strong multi-SPV month-end close has four traits:

Standardised
Everyone uses the same checklists, cutoffs, and reporting definitions.
Parallelised
SPVs close in parallel with clear owners, not sequentially in a bottleneck.
Exception-based
You review anomalies and threshold breaches-not every line item, every month.
Portfolio-first
The portfolio roll-up is not an afterthought; it is built into the workflow.

The repeatable workflow: 7 stages (that scale cleanly)

Stage 0: Pre-close (Day -5 to Day -1) - remove avoidable surprises

Goal: Enter month-end with 80% of the work already done.

Minimum viable pre-close checklist

Bank feeds are running; missing bank accounts flagged
AP is current; known late invoices flagged
Capex tracker updated (what was spent, what is committed)
Rent/occupancy data readiness confirmed (even if final report lands on Day 1)
Intercompany items flagged (management fees, recharge, loans)
Issues log opened (one place to capture problems and decisions)

Why this matters at 25/100 SPVs: pre-close is where you prevent the "Day 7 scramble."

Stage 1: Close kickoff (Day 0) - set the rules of the month

Goal: Establish cutoffs and expectations once, so you do not renegotiate them 100 times.

At kickoff, define:

The close calendar (dates + times, with owners)
The cutoff policy (what gets accrued, what waits, materiality threshold)
The pack outputs you are producing this month (dashboard, investor pack, lender reporting)
The definition snapshot (NOI definition, capex policy, one-off tagging rules)

This is where you protect consistency-especially when staff, property managers, or external bookkeepers vary by SPV.

Stage 2: Transaction completeness (Day 0 to Day 3) - "did we capture reality?"

Goal: Each SPV has a complete base before you start explaining variances.

For each SPV, complete:

Bank reconciliation (all bank accounts, not just the main ops account)
AR: rent posted, receipts matched, arrears visible
AP: invoices coded, recurring bills posted
Accruals: utilities, maintenance, professional fees (as per cutoff rules)
Debt & interest: interest accruals consistent with loan terms
Basic balance sheet sanity: cash, payables, intercompany, prepaids

Scaling tip: Use a simple status grid:

Green = complete and reconciled
Amber = complete but awaiting one input
Red = incomplete / cannot close

At 100 SPVs, you are managing a factory line-status visibility is half the battle.

Stage 3: Standard adjustments & classifications (Day 2 to Day 4) - keep NOI clean

Goal: The same transactions get treated the same way across entities.

Standardise these adjustments:

Capex vs OpEx (repairs vs improvements)
One-off tagging (legal settlements, major repairs, insurance true-ups)
Management fees & recharges (consistent recognition and coding)
Intercompany balances (due to/from cleaned up or clearly separated)
Prepayments (insurance, service contracts)
Depreciation (if included in management reporting) vs "below NOI" treatment

This is where many portfolios lose comparability. If SPV A puts a refurb invoice in OpEx and SPV B puts it in Capex, your portfolio NOI story becomes noise.

Stage 4: Entity sign-off (Day 3 to Day 5) - lock the building blocks

Goal: Each SPV's results are final enough to consolidate.

For sign-off, require:

Reconciled cash
Approved accruals and key journals
Notes for any estimates / missing inputs
Trial balance exported (or synced) into the portfolio layer
Period "locked" (or at least controlled)

Important mindset: Do not wait for perfection across 100 SPVs.
Instead: sign off in waves, with clear "final vs estimated" flags and a defined true-up process.

Stage 5: Portfolio consolidation (Day 4 to Day 6) - turn 100 truths into one truth

Goal: Produce a portfolio view that is consistent, explainable, and drillable.

Minimum viable consolidation rules:

Standardised mapping (local SPV accounts -> standard reporting lines)
Ownership handling (100% + investor share, or pro-rata-choose and document)
Intercompany treatment (eliminate where reliable; otherwise isolate as a separate line)
Consolidation checks:
- cash tie-out vs bank balances
- "other" bucket size (should trend down over time)
- variance outliers vs last month/budget
- missing SPVs flagged

At this stage, the best setups use a one-stop portfolio view across multiple entities (SPVs) with standardised chart of accounts and mappings so everything rolls up cleanly-because manual consolidation becomes the limiting factor as you scale.

Stage 6: Review & commentary (Day 5 to Day 7) - shift from "numbers" to "insight"

Goal: Explain what changed, why it changed, and what to do next.

A repeatable review rhythm:

Portfolio headline: Revenue / OpEx / NOI (MTD + YTD)
Asset ranking: strongest/weakest (NOI, margin, occupancy)
Variance bridges: top drivers only (by materiality threshold)
Cash movements: operational vs capex vs financing
Risks to watch: covenant headroom, arrears trend, interest exposure, capex overruns

If you use AI to help draft commentary, it should sit on top of your mapped accounts, scenarios, and controls-so the narrative is traceable and consistent across SPVs (and does not invent causes).