Commercial property management operates in a different universe than residential. Leases run to dozens of pages with complex provisions for rent escalations, expense recoveries, renewal options, and tenant improvements. CAM reconciliation requires tracking actual expenses against estimates, allocating costs across tenants with different lease terms, and producing statements that can withstand tenant scrutiny.
If you’re managing commercial properties with tools designed for residential operations, you’re fighting with one hand tied behind your back. The Yardi Commercial module exists specifically to handle the unique requirements of office, retail, and industrial property management.
At ND Consulting, we’ve helped commercial property managers implement and optimize Yardi Commercial across diverse portfolio types. Here’s what you need to know about making this module work for your operations.
Why Commercial Property Management Needs Specialized Tools
Commercial leases involve complexity that generic property management software simply cannot accommodate.
Rent structures go far beyond fixed monthly amounts. Commercial tenants might pay base rent plus percentage rent based on sales, expense pass-throughs that escalate annually, or net rent with separate CAM, tax, and insurance charges. Each component requires distinct tracking and billing.
CAM reconciliation drives significant time and complexity. You estimate expenses at year start, bill tenants monthly based on estimates, track actual expenses throughout the year, and reconcile at year end. Different tenants have different expense pools, caps, exclusions, and base year provisions. Getting this wrong creates disputes and potentially lost revenue.
Lease abstraction captures the critical terms buried in lengthy legal documents. Renewal options, termination rights, tenant improvement allowances, exclusive use provisions, and dozens of other terms need tracking and tickler systems to ensure nothing falls through cracks.
Tenant billing requires accuracy and documentation. Commercial tenants review their charges carefully and dispute anything that seems incorrect. Your billing system must produce defensible invoices with supporting detail.
Core Yardi Commercial Functionality
The Yardi Commercial module provides comprehensive functionality for commercial property operations.
Lease management captures the full detail of commercial lease terms. Base rent schedules, escalation provisions, expense recovery structures, options, and critical dates all live in a structured format that drives automated billing and reporting.
Expense recovery handles the complexity of CAM, tax, and insurance pass-throughs. Configure expense pools, allocation methods, caps, floors, and exclusions. The system tracks estimates versus actuals and produces year-end reconciliation statements.
Percentage rent calculation tracks tenant sales reporting and computes additional rent when sales exceed breakpoints. This is essential for retail properties where percentage rent can be a significant revenue component.
Tenant improvement tracking manages TI allowances, landlord construction costs, and amortization of tenant improvements over lease terms.
Reporting capabilities include rent rolls, lease expirations, expense recovery analyses, and the detailed reports commercial owners and investors expect.
CAM Reconciliation: Getting It Right
CAM reconciliation is often the most challenging aspect of commercial property management. Yardi Commercial provides the tools, but success requires proper setup and consistent processes.
Expense pool configuration determines which costs allocate to which tenants. Controllable versus non-controllable pools, management fee calculations, and exclusions for specific tenants must match lease provisions exactly.
Allocation method setup specifies how expenses divide among tenants. Pro-rata share based on square footage is common, but some leases specify different methods for different expense categories.
Cap and floor tracking applies limits specified in individual leases. Administrative caps, controllable expense caps, and base year stops all require lease-specific configuration.
Reconciliation statement generation produces the detailed schedules that accompany year-end billings. These statements must show expenses clearly, explain calculations transparently, and support the amounts billed.
Property Type Considerations
Different commercial property types have distinct operational characteristics that affect system configuration.
Office properties typically involve modified gross or full-service leases where landlords provide most services and recover operating expenses above base year amounts. Multi-tenant office buildings require careful attention to expense stop calculations and annual escalations.
Retail properties add percentage rent complexity and often involve specific provisions for marketing funds, exclusive use restrictions, and co-tenancy requirements. Shopping centers with anchor tenants may have different CAM calculation methods for different tenant categories.
Industrial properties frequently use triple-net lease structures where tenants pay their pro-rata share of all operating expenses directly. The landlord’s administrative burden is different from gross lease properties, but tracking and reconciliation requirements remain.
How ND Consulting Supports Commercial Operations
Our Commercial module practice draws on deep experience with office, retail, and industrial properties.
Implementation services configure the module to match your lease structures, expense recovery methods, and reporting requirements. We ensure proper setup of the foundational elements that drive ongoing accuracy.
Lease abstraction support helps capture critical terms from existing leases into Yardi’s structured format. This can be a significant project for organizations with extensive lease portfolios.
CAM reconciliation optimization addresses the annual challenge of producing accurate, defensible reconciliation statements efficiently.
Custom reporting development creates the specialized reports commercial owners and investors require.
Frequently Asked Questions About Yardi Commercial
Can Yardi handle our complex CAM provisions?
Yardi Commercial supports sophisticated expense recovery configurations including multiple pools, various allocation methods, caps, floors, exclusions, and base year calculations. Most lease provisions can be accommodated through standard configuration.
How long does it take to abstract our existing leases into Yardi?
Timeline depends on lease volume and complexity. A portfolio of 50 straightforward leases might take a few weeks. Hundreds of complex retail leases could take several months. We provide time estimates based on your specific situation.
Master Your Commercial Operations
Commercial property management demands tools built for commercial complexity. Yardi Commercial delivers the functionality you need, and ND Consulting brings the expertise to implement it effectively.
Contact us at 404-590-8547 or info@ndconsultingllc.com to discuss your commercial property management needs.
