Task guide

Model rent escalations and reimbursements

Use annual or custom rent increases and annualize expense reimbursements without distorting projected revenue.

5 to 15 minutes per complex leaseFor Users building a commercial multi-year cash flowAdvancedLast verified September 9, 2026

Outcome

Tenant growth and reimbursement revenue follow the intended lease economics in every projected year.

Navigation path

Document wizard > Rent Roll > Edit Tenant > Rent Increases and Reimbursements

Access

Full Financials with Multi-Year Cash Flow

On this page

Before you start

Data, sources, and access to prepare

  • A Unit-by-Unit Multi-Year Cash Flow rent roll
  • Current annual rent
  • Lease escalation and recovery terms

Choose the growth method

Rent Roll workspace showing tenant escalation and reimbursement inputs in context.
Configure rent growth and reimbursement terms, including the different blank-basis defaults for in-place and pro forma columns.

Rent growth decision

Use one annual rate for repeating bumps or a schedule for lease-specific changes.

  • Read lease termsAnnual increaseRepeating
  • Read lease termsCustom scheduleIrregular
  • Annual increasePreview
  • Custom schedulePreview
Supported custom step types.
StepEffect in selected analysis yearLater years
Increase by percentPrior annual rent x (1 + percent)New amount remains the base until another step
Set annual rentReplaces annual rent with the entered dollar amountReplacement amount remains until another step

Annualize reimbursements

Annualize reimbursements field reference
FieldRequirementWhat it meansFormatUnitsSave behaviorDownstream effect
Reimbursement AmountOptionalExpense recovery paid by the tenant.Nonnegative currency amountCurrency in the selected reimbursement basisSaved with the tenant drawer when Save Changes succeeds.Combines with the selected basis and tenant area to calculate annual reimbursement.
Reimbursement BasisRecommendedSF/Yr, SF/Mo, Annual, or Monthly. A blank legacy value is legal but uses a different fallback by column.Select one supported basis; do not leave it blank when reviewing or editing a tenantNot applicableSaved with the tenant drawer when Save Changes succeeds. If a legacy in-place basis is blank, the calculation falls back to SF/Yr. If a legacy pro forma basis is blank, it falls back to Annual.Determines whether the amount is multiplied by area, by 12 months, by both, or neither. The asymmetric blank fallback can change annual reimbursement materially, so select and verify both columns explicitly.
Reimbursement GrowthOptionalAnnual growth applied in cash-flow years.PercentagePercent per projected yearSaved with the tenant drawer when Save Changes succeeds.Compounds annual tenant reimbursement after In-Place in Multi-Year Cash Flow.

Required means the field is needed to complete or support this workflow. Some screens allow a draft to save before every required item is complete. The steps and troubleshooting call out controls the product actively blocks.

Enter and verify the lease terms

Escalation and recovery steps

  1. 1

    Open the tenant

    Rent Roll, tenant row

    Select Edit for the tenant.

    Expected result: The current annual rent and growth controls are visible.

    If this does not happen: Confirm the rent-roll projection is Multi-Year Cash Flow if the controls are missing.

  2. 2

    Choose Annual or Custom

    Tenant detail, Rent Increases

    Use Annual for the same percentage every year or Custom for year-specific changes.

    Expected result: The matching rate or schedule editor appears.

    If this does not happen: Re-read the lease abstract if the change dates or amounts are uncertain.

  3. 3

    Add complete custom steps

    Custom escalation editor

    Complete each change row with analysis Year N and either a percent or replacement annual amount.

    Expected result: The preview sorts the steps and shows projected annual rent.

    If this does not happen: Complete both the year and value. Remove partial rows before saving.

  4. 4

    Review amount warnings

    Custom escalation editor

    If a replacement amount is far below current annual rent, verify that a monthly figure was not entered as annual.

    Expected result: The replacement reflects the intended annual figure.

    If this does not happen: Use the offered x12 correction only when it matches the lease source. Legitimate reductions may remain.

  5. 5

    Enter reimbursement terms

    Tenant detail, Reimbursements

    Complete the reimbursement fields with recovery amount, basis, and applicable growth. For legacy blank bases, remember that in-place falls back to SF/Yr while pro forma falls back to Annual.

    Expected result: The annual reimbursement calculates from the explicitly selected basis.

    If this does not happen: Check area and basis first if the result is off by 12 or by the tenant SF. Do not assume the two blank-column fallbacks match.

  6. 6

    Save the tenant schedule

    Tenant drawer > Save Changes

    Select Save Changes.

    Expected result: The tenant drawer closes or reports a saved state.

    If this does not happen: Keep the drawer open while a save is processing.

  7. 7

    Inspect the projection

    Valuation > cash-flow preview

    Review projected rent and reimbursement rows by year.

    Expected result: Each year follows the intended schedule.

    If this does not happen: Return to the tenant schedule and correct the first year where the preview diverges.

Avoid projection mistakes

A custom step is ignored

Likely cause: The year or value is incomplete or invalid.

  1. Enter a whole analysis year of 1 or greater.
  2. Enter a finite percent or a nonnegative annual amount.
  3. Save and inspect the preview again.
The calendar label and lease anniversary feel different

Likely cause: The engine applies whole analysis-year steps, while a start date can make the preview label easier to read.

  1. Model the change in the intended analysis Year N.
  2. Use the date label as context, not as monthly proration.
Vacancy has no custom schedule

Likely cause: Vacancy rows use a simple annual growth percentage.

  1. Enter the available vacancy growth rate.
  2. Explain a more complex assumption in the rent-roll notes if necessary.

No lease-date proration

The current cash-flow engine projects whole analysis years. Lease start and end dates are descriptive and do not automatically prorate annual rent or stop revenue.

Final verification

  • Custom escalation editor: The replacement reflects the intended annual figure.
  • Tenant detail, Reimbursements: The annual reimbursement calculates from the explicitly selected basis.
  • Tenant drawer > Save Changes: The tenant drawer closes or reports a saved state.
  • Valuation > cash-flow preview: Each year follows the intended schedule.
  • No blocking warning, failed status, or unresolved validation message remains in the completed workflow.

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