TLP helps agents build brand value and reputation

Positive ways client accounting builds brand reputation

• Consistently collecting rent and paying out to landlords on time month-on-month, over several quarters and years builds trust and reliability.
• Providing accurate rent statements keeps landlords updated on their income and costs, building clear and effective communication.
• Registering deposits and processing end of tenancy payments in a timely manner, helps meet legal responsibilities for both landlord and agent, reducing stress levels and positioning the agent as a valuable partner to a landlord.
• Monitoring arrears and promptly chasing late-paying tenants to establish repayment schedules, swiftly limits arrears buildup - minimising the cashflow impact for landlords.
• Supporting non-resident landlords with HMRC filings saves the landlord headaches and positions the agent as a trusted advisor.

What does good look like?

Propertymark Industry Supplier, The Letting Partnership, advises that for client accounting to be well-managed and enhance an agent’s brand and reputation, the following conditions must be met:

• A professional, trustworthy team of bookkeepers working every day, processing rent.
• Consistent coverage of processing over holiday or illness periods.  
• Use of reputable software that streamlines client accounting.
• Regular management oversight to check transactions before payouts are made.
• Timely notification to landlords when issues arise.
• The client money bank account reconciles to the agent’s software to the penny, either daily or at worst monthly.
• Quarterly review of tenant deposits—matching software to TDP scheme provider, to ensure all details are correct. 
• Ongoing training for the bookkeeping team on appropriate industry developments.  

Franchises and corporate networks need to take extra care

Larger agent groups have an even greater need to protect their portfolio of brands nationally, as a negative outcome in one branch could impact the same brand in another location.

Such networks need to put in place robust processes and controls to perform the client accounting function. Some run inhouse teams, some automate using software and some outsource.

Monitor to minimise risk

The Letting Partnership offers several solutions to help individual agents or groups minimise risk:

Tenant DepositAudit

This innovative online solution, launched in 2024, is a hugely valuable report that compares deposit data on an agent’s software with the deposit data registered with their Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) scheme.

The DepositAudit rapidly identifies:

• Deposit cap breaches
• Wrong tenants allocated to properties
• Old deposits where tenancies have ended but remain live on the TDP scheme records
• Unprotected deposits
• Missing deposits; and
• Late registered deposits, and more.

The report is ordered online and can be easily run every quarter and can ensure that an agent’s deposit records are accurate and complete – helping to avoid potentially expensive fines and unnecessary fees.

Financial HealthCheck

The Letting Partnership’s online client money HealthCheck can quickly assess the ‘health’ of an agent’s client bank account by analysing trends, identifying statistical differences, and reviewing controls in place—all without the need for an onsite accountant visit. 

Already accepted by many leading CMP scheme providers and the TDS as part of their membership requirements, the HealthCheck is also used for acquisition due diligence. It can now be adapted to support larger groups, such as franchises, with brand-specific audits.

Outsourced Client Accounting

The Letting Partnership is a market leader in providing outsourced client accounting to the Lettings industry, providing processing for more than 250 agents nationally. TLP provides the expertise and confidence to help agents of all sizes streamline and de-risk their client accounting function. Over years this service has been proven to enhance landlord trust and contribute towards building and then protecting an agent’s brand value.