Accounts Payable

Cost Recovery FAQs

Why can’t I just do the cost recovery exercise myself?

You can, of course, provided that you have the time and the resources to dedicate to the task. However what our clients find is that a fresh pair of eyes, the cost recovery systems we have in place and our vast experience at doing the job are the ingredients that make the difference. Furthermore, it tends to be much more cost efficient to outsource the task, especially on a contingency fee basis providing a focused approach without disturbance to your business.

We already have professional property advisors and systems in place to cover this service, is it still worth it?

Even companies with the most robust and efficient systems have been able to recover funds through undertaking an independent cost recovery exercise. They have also been able to improve their current systems without having to undertake a major overhaul. Using a zero risk fee structure means that the company has nothing to lose by letting our specialists take a preliminary look at the portfolio and accounts. We will usually know very quickly whether we think the client can recover funds.

Is a cost recovery service going to take a lot of time and energy?

We fully understand the resourcing issues that all organisations have and we aim to minimise any disruption to the property management and accounts teams. The vast majority of our work can be carried out “off-site” and our clients have consistently reported that the exercise took hardly any of their time or resources.

Can we undertake a cost recovery exercise without upsetting our landlords/management agents/current property professionals/suppliers?

We understand the importance of a good working relationship between a client and its professional advisors, managing agents and landlords. Therefore we always carry out our service diplomatically and with very little fuss and the client always has the final say in what we actually do.

We don’t know where all our property documents are exactly/ All our property documents are in different places. Does this matter?

The fact that all of the documents are not in one place is not unusual and generally does not cause us a problem.

We don’t want to draw attention to mistakes that may have been made by the property management or accounts teams.

Can this work be undertaken without blame?

Absolutely. A cost recovery exercise is not a witch hunt to uncover mistakes. The vast majority of recoveries that we make are due to communication errors and organisations being unaware of potential savings rather than any sort of staff incompetence. The recovered funds tend to draw the attention away from the “mistake” in any event and the new procedures that are recommended mean that any loopholes can be closed and future income streams are generated and protected.