Property Management ERP, Australia

Trust accounting, audits and bonds

An Australian real estate agency that collects rent for landlords holds that money in a trust account governed by state legislation. Trust records are reconciled regularly, examined by an external auditor and open to the state regulator, and the rules on receipting, disbursements, interest and record keeping differ between New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the other states and territories. A mistake in the trust ledger is a compliance event, not just an accounting error.

That is why trust accounting tends to be handled by purpose-built software, and why replacing it is a serious decision. Before anyone suggests change, I map how money moves today: receipts by channel, the timing of owner disbursements, fees deducted, supplier invoices settled for owners and the reconciliation produced at month-end. Then I compare that map with the rules your compliance advisor confirms.

Residential bonds follow a separate path. They are generally lodged with a state bond authority or board rather than held by the agency, and the system must track lodgment, claims and refunds against each tenancy. Some states support online lodgment and claims, which affects how much of the process can be automated. I make bond status visible on the tenancy record so nothing depends on a spreadsheet.

Strata, owners corporations and levies

Strata management is its own discipline. Each scheme, called a strata scheme, body corporate, owners corporation or community titles scheme depending on the state, is a separate legal entity with its own funds. Owners pay levies based on unit entitlement into an administrative fund for day-to-day costs and a capital works or sinking fund for long-term repairs, guided by a forecast plan. Budgets are approved at the annual general meeting, special levies follow major decisions, and the committee expects clear financial reports.

For a strata manager running many schemes, the system has to keep separate books per scheme while sharing a common chart of accounts, issue levy notices and arrears reminders on time, hold insurance and meeting records, and produce the financial statements and audit packs each scheme needs. State legislation sets many of these obligations and is revised from time to time, so I record what applies to your schemes with your advisors.

The key decision is whether strata runs on a specialist strata platform, on the same platform as rental management, or with an ERP behind the firm itself. I lay out those options through business process consulting and test them on real schemes, including one with a special levy and arrears in progress.

Outgoings, rent reviews and GST

Commercial and retail leases in Australia usually pass outgoings to tenants: council rates, land tax where the lease and state law allow it, insurance, cleaning, security and common area costs. Tenants pay estimates, then receive an annual reconciliation. Retail leases often fall under state retail leasing legislation, which can require disclosure of estimated outgoings, an audited annual statement and limits on what can be recovered. I list these obligations by state and lease type with your legal advisor, then build test cases around them.

Rent reviews are the second recurring task. A lease may combine fixed yearly increases, CPI reviews and periodic market reviews, sometimes with ratchet clauses, and market reviews are often agreed after the review date. The system needs lease-level rules, review notices and backdated billing once the new rent is settled.

GST follows the property. Residential rent is generally input taxed, so GST is not charged and related input tax credits are restricted, while commercial rent and outgoings are generally taxable. Mixed-use buildings need apportionment of costs. Your tax advisor confirms the treatment, and the system applies it by property and lease so BAS preparation does not involve manual adjustments. Nationwide GST, BAS and payroll topics are on my Australian ERP consultant page.

Current systems and independent advice

A typical agency setup might combine a specialist property management and trust accounting platform, a separate strata system where strata is part of the business, and Xero or MYOB for the agency's own books. Commercial landlords and owner-operators may keep leases in a dedicated property system and corporate finance in a larger ERP. Each part can work well alone; the friction appears in owner statements, fee reconciliation, management reporting across business lines and EOFY packs for owners.

I help you decide what should change and what should not. Sometimes the answer is to keep the trust platform and add structured reporting and integration; sometimes it is to move business finance onto an ERP; occasionally it is a full replacement. I write the requirements, run vendor selection on your own data and stay involved through migration so trust balances reconcile from the first day.

Developers and builders should see my Australian real estate ERP page for off-the-plan contracts and settlements, and the Australian facility management page for building services. You can read how I approach the sector in general on ERP for property management, and find every Australian page through the Australia hub. I work remotely and independently.