If you manage commercial property in New York, the annual CAM reconciliation is where money is won or lost. Under-recover and you eat expenses that belong to your tenants; over-recover or reconcile sloppily and you invite tenant audits, disputes, and clawbacks. Precision Accounting & Consulting provides CAM reconciliation services and owner reporting for New York property managers, landlords, and commercial real estate owners — accurate pro-rata shares, defensible gross-ups, correctly applied caps and exclusions, and owner statements you can actually stand behind.
What we do: we reconcile common area maintenance (CAM), taxes, and insurance recoveries against each lease, prepare tenant reconciliation statements and true-up invoices, and deliver clean owner/investor reporting on a monthly and annual basis — built to survive a tenant audit.
CAM reconciliation and owner reporting, done to the lease
Generic bookkeepers reconcile the bank account. Commercial real estate reconciliation is different: every recovery is governed by lease language that varies tenant by tenant. We read the lease, not just the ledger — because a base year, an expense stop, or a cap that is ignored is a check written to (or from) the wrong party.
Our CAM reconciliation and owner reporting services include:
- Year-end CAM reconciliations — actual operating expenses vs. estimated collections, tenant by tenant, with true-up or credit invoices.
- Pro-rata share calculations — correct denominators (leasable vs. occupied square footage) and proper handling of anchor deductions and exclusions.
- Gross-up provisions — grossing up variable expenses to 95–100% occupancy where the lease allows, so recoveries are fair in partially leased buildings.
- Caps, base years, and expense stops — cumulative, non-cumulative, and compounding caps; controllable vs. non-controllable expense treatment.
- Recovery of real estate taxes and insurance — separate pools where the lease requires, with correct timing.
- Tenant reconciliation statements — clear, backup-supported statements that reduce disputes and withstand tenant audit rights.
- Owner and investor reporting — NOI, rent roll, budget-to-actual, and distribution-ready reporting packages.
- CAM budget setup — next-year estimates that keep monthly recoveries close to actual and cash flow steady.
The problems we solve
Owners and managers come to us saying things like:
- “My tenant’s attorney is disputing the CAM statement and I can’t produce the backup.”
- “We never grossed up expenses, so we’ve been eating vacancy costs for years.”
- “I don’t know if I’m applying the cap right — is it cumulative or does it reset?”
- “Reconciliations are nine months late and tenants are asking questions.”
- “My investors want NOI and distributions, and my books can’t produce a clean number.”
Every one of these is a specialist reconciliation problem, not a data-entry problem.
Why a CAM specialist matters
A missed gross-up on a half-vacant building, a cap applied to the wrong expense pool, or a pro-rata share built on the wrong square footage can move tens of thousands of dollars in a single reconciliation — and multiply across a portfolio. When a tenant exercises audit rights, sloppy backup turns a routine true-up into a credit, a concession, or litigation. We build reconciliations that are defensible line by line, so you recover what the lease entitles you to and no more.
How we work
- 1. Lease abstract. We abstract each lease’s recovery terms — pro-rata method, gross-up, caps, base year, exclusions, and audit rights.
- 2. Expense pooling. We map operating expenses into the correct recoverable pools (CAM, taxes, insurance) and flag non-recoverables.
- 3. Reconciliation. We reconcile actual vs. estimated per tenant and produce true-up or credit invoices with full backup.
- 4. Owner reporting. We deliver NOI, rent roll, and budget-to-actual reporting for owners and investors.
- 5. Next-year budget. We reset estimates so monthly recoveries track actual expenses and reduce the year-end swing.
Serving New York commercial property managers and owners
We work with retail, office, industrial, and mixed-use owners and managers across Long Island, New York City, and the surrounding region — from single buildings to multi-property portfolios. Whether you self-manage or run a third-party management company, we give you reconciliations and owner reporting that hold up. Learn more about our real estate and property management accounting services and how we support real estate investors.
Frequently asked questions
What is a CAM reconciliation?
A CAM reconciliation compares the actual common area maintenance (and often tax and insurance) expenses a landlord incurred during the year against the estimated amounts tenants paid monthly. Each tenant is then billed the shortfall (a true-up) or credited the overage, based on their pro-rata share and lease terms.
What is a gross-up provision and why does it matter?
A gross-up provision lets a landlord calculate variable operating expenses as if the building were 95–100% occupied. It matters most in partially leased buildings under net leases: without it, the landlord absorbs the fixed portion of variable costs attributable to vacant space instead of recovering a fair share from occupied tenants.
How is a tenant’s pro-rata share calculated?
Pro-rata share is generally the tenant’s rentable square footage divided by the building’s total leasable (or in some leases, occupied) square footage. The exact denominator, plus any anchor deductions or exclusions, is dictated by the lease — which is why the lease, not a formula, governs the calculation.
What are CAM caps?
A CAM cap limits how much controllable expenses can increase year over year. Caps can be cumulative, non-cumulative, or compounding, and typically apply only to controllable costs — taxes, insurance, and utilities are usually excluded. Applying a cap incorrectly is one of the most common reconciliation errors.
How long do we have to send CAM reconciliations to tenants?
Most commercial leases set a deadline — often 90 to 180 days after year-end, sometimes with a cutoff after which the landlord waives the right to bill a shortfall. Timely, well-documented reconciliations protect that right and reduce disputes.
Get your CAM reconciliations right
Stop leaving recoveries on the table — and stop losing them back in tenant audits. Contact Precision Accounting & Consulting for CAM reconciliation and owner reporting built to the lease.
This page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. Lease recovery terms vary; consult a qualified professional about your specific properties and leases.