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Copyright © 2024 Tango. All rights reserved. 4 2024 Lease Buyer's Guide to Lease Administration & Accounting A clear understanding of your needs is critical to identifying, assessing and selecting the right software. Imagine you're in the market for a new car. Would you take any car off the lot? Not likely. Finding the right car depends on a whole range of factors specific to the buyer. Will you primarily drive the car around town or use it for a long commute to work? Are you typically carrying a family of six or is the car primarily for one person? What type of budget are you working with? Which brands align with your values? The same applies to finding the right lease administration and lease accounting software. Your specific situation and needs will help you narrow down options and greatly improve your odds of selecting the right provider. Setting goals and objectives starts with understanding your current state – how things are managed today, where the pain points lie and are there opportunities for productivity improvements, error reduction and cost savings. Below are a few sample questions you will need to answer to get the ball rolling. Use them as a starting point to explore and define your current state. Understanding the Current State ظ How many real estate and equipment leases do you have today? ظ Do you expect the number of leases to materially increase or decrease in the next 3-5 years? ظ How are you managing lease-related issues and payments today? ظ Who does the accounting for leases and are they aware of the new FASB/IFRS lease standards? Step 1: Goals & Objectives ظ Do you have the capacity to manage lease administration and lease accounting in-house? ظ Are you planning on outsourcing lease administration, lease accounting or both? Once you have a better understanding of how your leases are managed today, it is time to define what you hope to achieve by utilizing a new software package. It is important to include all the relevant departments and stakeholders in this step of the process – real estate, finance, accounting, procurement, tax, executive leadership, etc. Depending on your company size, you might not have stand-alone departments for these functions, but someone is performing them, so find out who is and engage them in defining your top priorities. You've documented how leases are managed today and collectively defined with stakeholders your top priorities and objectives for the project. The next step is to put pen to paper and define a comprehensive set of lease administration and lease accounting software requirements that will lay the foundation for vendor assessment and selection. Top 5 Reasons Companies Use Lease Administration & Accounting Software 1. Achieve and maintain compliance with lease accounting regulations. 2. Reduce likelihood of mistakes/errors/losses. 3. Reduce occupancy costs. 4. No capacity to manage in-house. 5. Comprehensive view of portfolio.