Every January, Alberta landlords receive a year-end package from their property manager, and most of them file it without reading past the first page. That is a mistake. The year-end statement is the one document that tells you whether your property did what you expected, whether your manager did what they promised and whether your accountant has what they need. This guide from the Rimrock property accounting and financial reporting team explains what should be in the package and what to check before you sign off.
What a complete year-end package contains
An annual income statement, a year-end balance sheet, a general ledger with transaction detail, a rent roll as at December 31, an aged receivables report, a budget-to-actual comparison for the full year, a trust account reconciliation, a security-deposit ledger for residential properties, an operating-cost reconciliation for commercial properties, a capital expenditure schedule, a schedule of prepaid and accrued items, and copies of the year’s major invoices and contracts, or portal access to them. If your package is a single income statement, ask for the rest.
1. Reconcile revenue to the rent roll
Total rent on the income statement should agree with the rent roll multiplied through the year, adjusted for vacancies, free rent and changes during the year. If it does not, something was not collected, not billed or not recorded. Check that every suite or unit appears, that rent increases took effect when they should have and that vacancy periods match what you were told during the year.
2. Read the aged receivables
Arrears that were “being handled” in October should be resolved or in a formal process by year-end. Any balance over 60 days deserves an explanation: a payment plan, an RTDRS application, a written-off amount and why. Receivables that roll from year to year are revenue you will never see.
3. Check the budget-to-actual variances
Every material variance should have a one-line explanation. A repairs line double the budget could be a boiler failure or a manager who approved work without asking; a utilities line well under budget could be an efficiency win or a bill that was not received. The point is not to challenge every number but to make sure someone has looked at them.
4. Verify the trust reconciliation and deposits
In Alberta, rent and security deposits held by a management company must sit in a trust account with a brokerage licensed by the Real Estate Council of Alberta. The year-end package should include a reconciliation showing that the trust balance equals the total of owner funds and deposits held. For residential properties, the security-deposit ledger should show each deposit, the interest accrued at the prescribed rate and any deductions with supporting inspection reports.
5. Review the operating-cost reconciliation (commercial)
For net-leased commercial property, the reconciliation compares what tenants were billed in estimates against their actual share of recoverable costs, tenant by tenant, and shows the resulting invoices or credits. Check that non-recoverable items were excluded, that caps and exclusions in specific leases were applied and that vacant-space costs were absorbed correctly. This document determines a meaningful part of your income, and it should be issued within a few months of year-end, not the following autumn.
6. Confirm capital items were treated correctly
Capital expenditures should be scheduled separately from operating repairs, with invoices, and your accountant will want to know which items are capital for tax purposes. For commercial property, check whether any capital item is being recovered from tenants through amortization under the lease.
7. Look at the management fees and pass-throughs
Management, leasing, renewal, project-management and other fees should match the schedule in your management agreement. Contractor invoices should be passed through at cost unless your agreement says otherwise. If a fee does not appear in the agreement, ask.
8. Read the commentary
A good year-end package includes a narrative from your property manager: what happened, what changed, what is coming and what decisions you need to make. If yours does not, the numbers are only half the story, and you are entitled to the other half.
9. Give it to your accountant early
Your accountant needs the package well before filing deadlines, and questions about capital treatment, GST and prepaid items are easier to answer in February than in June. A package delivered in a clean, consistent format each year saves accounting fees.
What owners should never accept
A package with no trust reconciliation. Deposits that cannot be tied to individual tenants. Variances with no explanation. A commercial reconciliation that is months late or missing. Fees not in the agreement. Any suggestion that the numbers “will be cleaned up” later.
How Rimrock reports at year-end
Rimrock’s accounting team prepares a complete year-end package for every property we manage in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge, with trust reconciliations, deposit ledgers, commercial recovery reconciliations, capital schedules and written commentary from the manager who runs the building, delivered in a format your accountant can use directly. See what our property accounting includes and our multifamily, commercial and residential management services.
Related reading: the truth about Alberta trust accounting and your deposits, handling security deposit interest in Alberta and how operating-cost recoveries work.
Want a year-end package you can actually read? Request a free, no-obligation proposal or call 403-910-5949 (Calgary and Lethbridge) or 780-306-1114 (Edmonton).