What Expenses Can an Apartment Manager Make Alone?

Can an apartment manager make each expenditure alone? This is one of the most common questions in apartment and site management. Because cleaning common areas, paying bills, and meeting daily needs such as minor maintenance work are among the manager's responsibilities, the same may not always be the case with more extensive spending.

Moreover, the issue is not limited only to the amount of expenditure to be made. Whether the operating project of the apartment building exists, the decisions of the board of floor owners made earlier and the nature of the work to be carried out also determine how the manager should act

So what expenses can a manager directly cover, in which cases the decision of the board of owners of the floors is required?

Where Does the Authority of the Manager in Daily Expenses Begin?

The usual expenses for the daily functioning of the apartment are among the main duties of the manager. The cleaning of common areas, payment of common use expenses such as electricity and water, routine maintenance and minor repairs can be considered in this scope

For example, it is not expected that the apartment's common area lighting will be kept in working order or the cleaning service will continue, a new board of owners is not expected each time. These are expenses that must be incurred for the continuation of the usual functioning of the

But here there is an important distinction: the fact that an expense is needed by the apartment does not mean that the manager can make the expenditure he wants under all circumstances. It is necessary to look at the nature of the expenditure and the decisions made, especially when it comes to previously unplanned, highly consistent or extensive work.

At this point, the business project occupies an important place.

What happens if there is no business project?

A business project is an important planning tool that shows the estimated expenses that the apartment will make in a given period and how these expenses will be reflected to the owners of the floors. It is also very important in terms of understanding what needs the dues are determined according to.

There is a common misconception here: If the apartment does not have a previously approved business project, it should not be considered that it can be continued without preparing any business project.

In the absence of a business project approved by the association of floor owners, it is necessary to prepare the business project in the manner prescribed by the legislation. So an application like “there is no business project, then there is no need to plan expenses separately” is not correct.

In the prepared operating project, the estimated expenses of the apartment, the amounts necessary to cover these expenses and the amounts that fall on the share of the floor owners are revealed. Thus, it is possible to track expenses and fees during the year in a more planned manner.

But the presence of a business project also does not mean that the manager has unlimited spending power.

Do you need a decision for every major expense?

It is not enough to single out every expense that will be made in the apartment only in the form of “small” or “large”. It is also important why the expenditure was made and whether it is within the usual needs of the apartment.

For example, carrying out a routine maintenance and going for a thorough renovation in the common area are not evaluated in the same way. The decision of the board of floor owners may be required, especially for works that go beyond the usual expenses of the apartment building, require a significant budget or constitute a fundamental change in the common areas.

Therefore, before the manager makes an expense, he simply asks, “Can I get this job done?” not to the question, “Is this expense within the current decisions and operating plan of the apartment building?” He also needs to look at the question

However, urgent and mandatory situations should be considered separately. If there is a serious water leak in the building, a dangerous breakdown or something that cannot be expected to prevent the occurrence of further damage, the manager should not delay the necessary intervention. In such cases, it is especially important that the cause and cost of the transaction can be clearly established afterwards.

Because the problem in apartment management is often not only with the fact that the expense is made, but after the expenditure “Why was this payment made?” occurs when the answer to the question cannot be found.

Why is it important to record expenses?

Regular tracking of expenses in an apartment provides a transparent disclosure of the transactions made by the manager.

On what date the payment was made, for which service or product the payment was made, what the amount is and, as far as possible, the storage of invoices, receipts or similar documents provides great convenience, both by the management itself and in the event that the owners of the floors request information.

Especially in apartments with a large number of payments during the year, it can become quite difficult to keep track of them only from bank movements or scattered Excel files. It is therefore important that the expenses incurred in the business project with the expenses determined in the business project can be compared with each other.

Here the goal is not only to create an accounting order, but to make it clear where the money for the apartment comes from, where it is spent, and what amounts are reflected to the owners of the floors.

Regular recording and tracking of such expenses helps the management process to proceed more transparently. In Biyos, you can record your expenses regularly and easily track your past expenses.

Business Project and Borrowings Can Be Followed in One Place

As well as the preparation of the business project, it is important that the amounts determined here are correctly reflected to the residents of the apartment building, and then follow it.

Business Project Panel in Biyos helps to manage this process digitally. The management can define the borrowings it has generated within the scope of the business project through the panel, so that it is possible to track which amount is borrowed for which period in a more regular way.

Thanks to this, it becomes possible to manage the apartment together with the accrual and debit processes, instead of the figures determined in the business project remaining only on one document.

The execution of such operations through a single system, especially in apartments and sites where there are a large number of independent departments, reduces both the workload of the manager and makes it easier to get to past transactions.

Conclusion: What matters is not just to spend, but to manage the process

task of the apartment manager is not limited only to paying bills or purchasing a service when there is a need. It should be considered as a whole that the expenditure made is in accordance with the needs of the apartment and the decisions taken, the finding of the operating project, taking the decision of the board of owners of the floors if necessary and following up with the documents of the payments made.

Therefore, in good apartment management, the main objective should be to ensure that the expenses are planned correctly, properly debited and transparently tracked, rather than discussing whether the manager can make each expenditure alone.

A regular business project, recorded expenses and easily tracked borrowings make for a much more understandable management process for both the manager and the floor owners. Biyos helps to more regularly carry out many operations in apartment management, from the business project to borrowings, from expense tracking to other management processes