Glossary
Building Operations
Building Management System (BMS)
The software and hardware that automates a building's HVAC, lighting, and access controls. Upgrades to a BMS get billed as CAM 'maintenance' more often than they should, when they're really capital work.
Firm impact
A BMS upgrade misclassified as maintenance does two things wrong at once: it can defeat a CAM cap, and it denies the client proper amortization treatment over the system's useful life.
How this gets abused
A full BMS software and controller replacement, coded internally as a capital project, appears on the CAM reconciliation as 'building systems maintenance,' passing the entire cost through in a single year instead of being excluded as capital.
Practitioner note
Request the BMS vendor invoice and scope of work. A controls or software replacement, versus a routine service call or firmware patch, should be tested against the lease's capital expenditure exclusion and amortization schedule.
Related terms
FAQ
Questions about building management system (bms)
Is a building management system upgrade recoverable through CAM?
A routine service call usually is. A full software or controller replacement is typically capital and should be excluded or amortized instead of billed as one-year CAM.
What proof should my firm request for a BMS charge?
Ask for the vendor invoice and scope of work. Replacement or upgrade language points to capital. Service call or patch language points to CAM.
You know the term. Now check the math.
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