How to Gain Control Over Maintenance and Repair Costs Across Multiple Properties
Few things are more frustrating—or financially disruptive—for property managers than unpredictable maintenance and repair costs. Whether emergency HVAC repairs in the middle of winter, last-minute snow removal after an overnight storm, or surprise pest control treatments that weren’t budgeted, these unplanned service expenses can wreak havoc on cash flow and derail even the most carefully constructed operating budgets.
This challenge is amplified when managing a portfolio of properties. What happens in one building can easily be repeated across ten or twenty more, especially if service calls, vendor charges, and contract terms are not consistently tracked or benchmarked. That’s why competent property managers are taking a more strategic approach. By centralizing expense data and analyzing trends across locations, they turn unpredictable maintenance costs into manageable, forecastable line items.
The Hidden Cost of Unplanned Service Calls
Maintenance and repair expenses are inherently variable, but many associated costs are not genuinely unpredictable—they’re unmanaged. For example, snow removal is often treated as an “as-needed” expense, billed per event or inch of accumulation. But those individual charges can add up to tens of thousands of dollars over a whole winter, especially when they’re being billed at different rates across multiple properties.
HVAC repairs are another common culprit. According to a 2023 report from the U.S. Department of Energy, commercial HVAC systems account for 35% of a building’s total energy use, and reactive repairs can cost up to 50% more than scheduled maintenance. When equipment breaks unexpectedly, hotels, apartment buildings, and commercial properties are left scrambling for fast repairs—often paying a premium for rush service, after-hours labor, or temporary fixes that don’t address the root problem.
Pest control expenses can be similarly erratic. Properties may be locked into outdated service agreements that cover only the bare minimum, leaving managers to authorize extra treatments on an ad-hoc basis. These costs go unnoticed without consistent oversight until they spike or stretch the monthly budget.
Why Traditional Tracking Falls Short
Most maintenance expenses are still tracked manually—if at all. A site manager sends an invoice to the main office, someone enters it into a spreadsheet or property management system, and that’s where the story ends. There’s no clear way to track whether the amount billed was in line with the contract, how it compares to previous service calls, or how that property’s costs stack up against others in the portfolio.
Without centralized tracking, it’s nearly impossible to benchmark vendor performance or identify patterns that could lead to savings. Are certain vendors consistently charging more than others? Are the same types of repairs happening repeatedly in one location? Are seasonal services like snow removal being billed differently at comparable sites?
These questions drive smarter financial decisions but require visibility and consistency that spreadsheets and manual processes don’t provide.
From Reactive to Proactive: The Power of Benchmarking
The solution lies in combining centralized data with benchmarking. When maintenance and repair costs are consistently logged, categorized, and compared across properties, property managers can identify outliers and take corrective action.
For example, if snow removal costs are significantly higher at three properties with nearly identical footprints, it may indicate a pricing issue or an opportunity to renegotiate terms. If HVAC repair costs have increased at one building over the last two winters, it might suggest that aging equipment needs replacement. If one vendor’s pest control visits are double the frequency of another’s with no noticeable difference in service quality, there’s room for consolidation or renegotiation.
Benchmarking turns anecdotal issues into measurable trends. More importantly, it gives property managers the data they need to forecast future spending accurately. Instead of guessing how much to budget for reactive maintenance, they can base their estimates on real, portfolio-wide insights—factoring in seasonal trends, vendor behavior, and asset condition.
Improved Cash Flow Through Predictability
When recurring and unplanned service expenses are tracked and benchmarked correctly, the cash flow benefits are felt directly. Budgets become more accurate, reserve planning becomes smarter, and property managers gain the confidence to allocate resources more strategically throughout the year.
This predictability makes communicating with stakeholders—ownership groups, investors, or internal finance teams—easier. Trust and credibility are built when expenses are forecasted accurately and variances are explained with data.
Better oversight of service costs in the long term also creates opportunities to shift from reactive to preventative maintenance models. Rather than waiting for HVAC systems to fail, managers can identify equipment that costs more to repair each year and build upgrade timelines that are financially and operationally sound.
A Smarter Way to Stay in Control
Property management is full of moving pieces—but maintenance and repair expenses don’t have to be a constant source of stress. With the proper tracking and benchmarking tools, what once felt unpredictable can become manageable, measurable, and even optimized.
CompareABill makes this shift easy. The CompareABill AI-powered expense optimization platform centralizes all recurring and service-related expenses, providing real-time insights into vendor charges, service trends, and cost benchmarks across multiple properties. With automated tracking, built-in alerts, and side-by-side vendor comparisons, CompareABill gives property managers the tools to take control of their maintenance costs—before they spiral out of budget.