THE ESSENTIALS
At a glance
Location | An industrial estate in the M40 area, Manchester |
Client | A private property investor |
Instructed | August 2023 — March 2024 |
Service | Interim rent billing across 83 lettable units, plus electricity and insurance recharges, using Arthur property management software integrated directly with the client's own Xero account |
Status | Completed engagement, with informal support continuing afterward |
THE CHALLENGE
Following staffing changes, the client was left without a bookkeeping or accounting function at a multi-let industrial estate of 83 lettable units. Some tenants were on standard contracted tenancies; others held irregular daily, weekly or monthly arrangements. Rent billing couldn't simply pause while the client rebuilt their staffing position — it needed someone to step in without a gap.
OUR APPROACH
Read the space, then reshape the instruction
Oakmount set up billing through Arthur, its property management software, connected directly to the client's existing Xero account, rather than routing funds through Oakmount itself. That meant invoices could be raised and presented in a format the client already used for their own reconciliation, while the client retained full visibility of and control over their own cashflow throughout — Oakmount never held or had access to client funds at any point.
Alongside rent, Oakmount billed tenants for electricity consumption, based on meter readings supplied by the client — Oakmount wasn't contracted to attend site itself for this engagement — and handled insurance recharges across the estate.
Oakmount also kept the commercial structure simple. Despite being well placed to propose a fuller management takeover, or to charge a percentage of rent collected as is common for this kind of work, Oakmount quoted a fixed fee on a per-unit, per-month basis instead — giving the client a predictable cost to budget against from the outset, regardless of occupancy or rent levels.
THE OUTCOME
Rent billing continued without interruption across all 83 units, spanning both contracted and irregular tenancies, for the full eight months of the engagement
Electricity and insurance recharges were processed alongside rent throughout
The client retained full control of their own funds via their existing Xero account for the entire engagement
The formal engagement concluded once the client's own staffing was back in place — though Oakmount continued providing support beyond that point
The fixed per-unit fee worked out comparable to, if not less expensive than, employing a bookkeeper directly — while the client had the equivalent of three Oakmount staff working on the account rather than one
WHY IT MATTERS
A gap in a client's back office doesn't have to mean rent billing falls behind — but many property owners are understandably cautious about handing financial administration to a third party. Working directly inside the client's own accounting system, rather than through Oakmount's, meant getting the admin done without asking the client to give up control of their money. The relationship outlasting the formal contract is its own point: this wasn't treated as a transaction with a hard stop, but as ongoing support for as long as it was useful. Nor was it treated as an opportunity to sell the client something bigger than they needed — the engagement stayed scoped to the actual problem, priced simply, and delivered by a small team rather than a single point of failure.
COMMON QUESTIONS
FAQ
Can Oakmount handle rent billing without accessing client funds?
Yes — as this case shows, Oakmount can work directly within a client's own accounting system, so funds never pass through Oakmount at any point.
Can Oakmount provide interim cover for a gap in a client's finance team?
Yes — this engagement covered an eight-month gap across 83 units before the client's own arrangements were back in place.
Does Oakmount need to attend site to bill for utility or insurance recharges?
Not necessarily — in this case, electricity recharges were billed from meter readings supplied by the client, without an Oakmount site visit.
What software does Oakmount use for rent billing and property management?
Arthur — integrated with a client's own accounting system, such as Xero, where required.
How does Oakmount price interim billing support like this?
On a straightforward, fixed per-unit, per-month basis rather than a percentage of rent — so the cost is predictable regardless of occupancy, and can compare favourably to the cost of employing a bookkeeper directly.