Close week runs on a schedule. There is a day 1 AP cutoff, a day 2 or 3 accrual pass, a review cycle, and a reporting deadline. When a CAM invoice or annual reconciliation lands in that window, it interrupts the routine because it does not fit cleanly into any standard AP bucket. For more context, see the accounting firm hub.
Monthly estimates are simple: code them as occupancy expense and move on. Annual true-ups are something else entirely. They require a decision about whether to code and pay immediately, hold for review, or escalate. Making that decision clearly and quickly is what keeps CAM from becoming a close-week bottleneck.
This article explains where CAM fits in the close workflow, what the trigger criteria look like, and how to build the review step into the process without adding research time to an already compressed schedule.
The Close-Week Timeline
A typical month-end close for a CAS or bookkeeping firm moves through four phases:
Day 1: AP cutoff. All invoices received through the end of the month are entered. Exceptions are flagged. Anything requiring approval is routed for sign-off.
Day 2-3: Accruals. Expenses that have been incurred but not yet invoiced are estimated and accrued. Recurring CAM estimates are accrued here if the invoice has not arrived.
Day 3-4: Review pass. AP exceptions, coding questions, and unresolved items are worked through. This is where CAM issues typically surface.
Day 4-5: Reporting. Financial statements are prepared and delivered. Outstanding items are either resolved or disclosed.
CAM invoices arrive at two points in this cycle: monthly estimates typically land on a predictable schedule in the last week of the prior month or the first day of the new month, and annual reconciliations arrive in late Q1 or early Q2, covering the prior calendar year.
Monthly estimates almost always arrive before the AP cutoff. Annual reconciliations arrive when they arrive. A reconciliation landing on day 3 of a close cycle creates a different problem than one landing on the 15th.
Monthly Estimates: Code and Pay
Monthly CAM estimates do not require review before coding. They are authorized under the lease as pass-through estimates, the amount is typically fixed or follows a known escalation schedule, and the payment is a routine obligation.
The correct coding is usually to rent expense or occupancy expense, depending on how the client's chart of accounts is structured. If the lease separates base rent, CAM, taxes, and insurance into distinct line items, code each to its own account. If the lease bundles them into a single NNN payment, a single occupancy line is defensible.
The one check worth doing on monthly estimates: compare the invoice amount to the amount in the prior month. If it changed and the lease does not reflect a scheduled increase, flag it for the client. This is a five-second check, not a research task.
Annual True-Ups: A Different Workflow
The annual CAM reconciliation is not a routine invoice. It is a settled accounting of actual expenses for the prior year, adjusted against what the tenant paid in estimates. The balance due (or credit) reflects how actual costs compared to estimated costs.
A $3,600 balance on a $14,400 estimate year is a 25% variance. That is worth a look. A $400 balance on the same estimate year is probably fine to code and pay.
The trigger criteria for a closer look are:
Dollar threshold: Any balance over $2,000 warrants documentation before coding. This is not a universal rule, but it is a reasonable default. Adjust based on the client's lease size and your firm's practice.
Variance percentage: A true-up balance that exceeds 15% of the annualized estimate suggests something changed in the actual expense pool, not just normal accrual timing. That change could be legitimate (a large insurance premium increase) or it could be an overcharge.
New line items: If the reconciliation includes expense categories that were not present in prior years, that is a flag. New categories can be legitimate (a new common area added to the building) or they can be unauthorized costs introduced without lease support.
Significant year-over-year increase: If the total CAM charge increased more than 5-7% over the prior year without a visible driver (rising property taxes, a documented insurance increase), ask why before coding.
When any of these conditions are met, the invoice goes into a pending-review bucket, not into AP.
The Pending-Review Treatment
The pending-review bucket has a specific purpose: it keeps the invoice accounted for without committing to a coding classification. The mechanics depend on the client's system, but the approach is the same.
Code the invoice to a suspense account or a short-term prepaid account. This puts it on the balance sheet, not the P&L, and it signals to anyone reading the close package that the item is under review. Prepare a brief note in the file explaining why it is held and what documentation has been requested.
The client needs to know about this within 24 hours of the invoice arriving. The message is simple: "We received the annual CAM reconciliation from [landlord] showing a $3,600 balance due. We've requested supporting documentation before processing payment. We'll update you within [X] days." Most clients appreciate knowing; they do not appreciate finding out later that a payment was held without their knowledge.
Building the Review Step Without Adding Close Time
The review step does not have to add close time if it is built into the AP intake process. The decision tree is short:
Is this a monthly CAM estimate? Code and pay. No review needed.
Is this an annual CAM reconciliation? Check the balance amount and variance. Under threshold: code and pay. Over threshold: hold, request backup, notify client.
That decision can be made in 60 seconds when the invoice enters the AP queue. The review itself, once documentation arrives, takes 20 to 45 minutes for a moderately complex reconciliation. That work happens outside close week in most cases, because the documentation request buys time.
The key is separating the coding decision from the payment decision. Coding to suspense is not the same as approving payment. It keeps the books clean and the close on schedule while the review proceeds.
Where CAM Goes on the Close Checklist
Add a single line to the AP review section of the month-end close checklist:
"CAM invoices: (1) Monthly estimates coded and paid per lease terms. (2) Annual reconciliations over [$2,000 threshold] held pending backup documentation review. (3) Held items coded to [suspense account]. (4) Client notified of any held items within 24 hours."
That line covers everything. It takes 30 seconds to run through on the review pass. If nothing is held, it is a checkbox. If something is held, the process is already running.
The mistake accounting teams make is treating CAM reconciliations as a document-first, review-later problem. They code and pay first, and then six months later a client asks why their occupancy costs went up. By that point, the audit window may still be open, but the urgency is gone and the documentation is harder to get.
The close-week check is the moment when the door is open. The invoice just arrived. The documentation request takes five minutes. The decision to hold costs nothing. The cost of skipping it is only visible later, when it is less convenient to address.
"I built CAMAudit because every close-week CAM question was getting resolved with a payment instead of a review. The threshold trigger and the pending-item treatment change that without adding meaningful time to the close." — Angel Campa, Founder of CAMAudit
A Note on Multi-Entity and Multi-Location Clients
For clients with multiple locations, annual reconciliations may arrive on different schedules. A 3-location retailer might get three separate reconciliations in Q1 from three different property managers, each with different fiscal year cutoffs.
Build the location into the tracking. The pending-review log should show property name, invoice date, balance amount, documentation requested, and documentation received. When multiple reconciliations are in review simultaneously, this log keeps close from turning into a research project.
The threshold trigger applies per location, not in aggregate. A $1,800 balance at location A and a $1,900 balance at location B are two separate invoices, each below the $2,000 threshold. Treat them independently.
For a 3-location retailer client, setting calendar reminders in January for expected reconciliation arrival dates is worth the five minutes. When the reconciliation lands during close week, you already know it is coming and the documentation request template is ready to send.