Implementing Yardi’s CAM (Common Area Maintenance) Recovery module can transform the way landlords, property managers, and asset managers calculate and recover operating expenses. But success depends heavily on design and preparation. Before you begin, here are the critical factors to evaluate:
1. Language and Recovery Structures
Every recovery setup starts with the lease.
- identify recovery types: Net, Gross, Fixed, or Semi-Gross.
- Capture special clauses such as base year stops, caps, exclusions, minimums, anchors, or segmented recoveries.
- Avoid oversimplifying lease provisions during setup—accuracy here ensures system calculations align with legal obligations.
2. System-Level Configuration
The foundation of Yardi CAM Recoveries is built at the system level:
- Charge Codes: Define estimate and reconciliation codes (best practice: separate prior year codes for transparent financial reporting).
- Recovery Groups & Expense Pools: Group recoverable expenses logically (e.g., CAM, Insurance, Tax).
- Area Labels & Denominators: Establish proration standards (GLA, leased, or occupied).
- Recovery Date Type: Decide whether to use Annual, Annual + Cutoff, or custom ranges based on portfolio requirements.
3. Property-Level Design
Each property has unique requirements:
- Align expense pools with property-specific GL accounts.
- Configure custom denominators, anchor contributions, or gross-ups if leases require them.
- Maintain area data carefully measures amendments or errors here, as they are one of the biggest causes of reconciliation disputes.
4. Lease-Level Setup
At the lease level, precision is key:
- Apply recovery profiles or templates to standardize setups by lease type.
- Ensure all exclusions, caps, and base year amounts are correctly recorded.
- Test exceptional cases (e.g., retail anchors, CPI-based caps) with real data before rolling out broadly.
5. Reporting, Validation, and Auditability
Yardi provides powerful tools to validate and reconcile:
- Data Validation Analytics: Catch duplicate codes, missing areas, or conflicting setups.
- Reconciliation Reports: Expense by Account, Reconciliation Summary, and Recovery Accrual Analytic help detect revenue leakage and provide transparency to auditors.
- Standard estimate and wash-up letters improve tenant communication and reduce disputes.
6. Integration with Other Modules
CAM recoveries don’t operate in isolation. Key integrations include:
- GL & AR: Direct posting of recovery accruals and adjustments.
- Forecast Manager: Linking budgets and recovery estimates for consistency.
- Document Management: Attach supporting schedules and lease memos for compliance and audit readiness.
7. Governance and Change Management
Finally, remember CAM recoveries are not “set and forget.”
- Monitor changes in GL account mapping, area measurements, or lease amendments throughout the year.
- Build in review cycles for variance analysis against budgets and prior years.
- Document design decisions and keep them updated—future users will need to understand why specific setups were chosen.
Conclusion
Implementing Yardi CAM Recoveries successfully is as much about design discipline as it is about system configuration. By thoroughly mapping lease language, standardizing recovery structures, and using Yardi’s validation tools, you can minimize disputes, reduce revenue leakage, and deliver accurate, transparent recoveries to tenants.
At Assetsoft, we’ve helped landlords and managers across North America, ANZ, and Europe streamline their CAM recovery processes in Yardi. If you’re preparing for implementation, the time you invest in design now will pay dividends at year-end reconciliation.