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Lease Accounting

What Is an Embedded Lease?

Embedded leases are contracts that contain the right to control the use of an identified asset, even when the agreement is primarily for services. Under ASC 842, embedded leases must be identified and recognized on the balance sheet, making them a common source of compliance risk. This article explains how embedded leases work, where they are commonly found, how to identify them, and why accounting and lease administration teams need a clear process to avoid audit issues.

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Brooke Colglazier

Marketing Manager

Lease Management

Tenant Improvement Allowance Explained

A tenant improvement allowance (TI allowance) is a landlord-funded contribution used to offset the cost of building out commercial space. While TI allowances reduce upfront construction costs, they also carry important implications for lease negotiations, accounting treatment, cash flow, and taxes. This guide explains how tenant improvement allowances work, what costs they cover, how they are paid, and what tenants and accounting teams should understand before signing a commercial lease.

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Brooke Colglazier

Marketing Manager

Lease Management

Retail Lease Software : How to Choose the Right Platform

Retail lease software is lease administration software that helps retailers centralize lease data, track critical dates, manage variable rent, and maintain compliance across multiple store locations. It replaces spreadsheets with automated alerts, centralized documents, and built-in sales-based (percentage) rent calculations, reducing the risk of missed renewals, rent errors, and unexpected occupancy costs.

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Brooke Colglazier

Marketing Manager

Lease Accounting

What Is Goodwill in Accounting? Definition, Formula, and Examples

Goodwill in accounting is an intangible asset recognized when a company acquires another business for more than the fair value of its identifiable net assets. It represents the premium paid for unidentifiable economic benefits such as brand strength, customer relationships, and expected synergies. Under U.S. GAAP, goodwill is recorded only in a business combination and is tested annually for impairment rather than amortized.

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Brooke Colglazier

Marketing Manager

Lease Accounting

Understanding Net Operating Assets (NOA)

Net Operating Assets (NOA) measure the net capital a company uses to run its core business operations by isolating operating assets and operating liabilities from financing and investment activity. By removing excess cash, debt structure, and non-operating items, NOA provides a clearer view of a company’s operational scale, efficiency, and capital intensity. When tracked over time or paired with return metrics like RONA, net operating assets help analysts and finance teams evaluate whether a business is growing efficiently or simply accumulating assets without generating returns.

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Brooke Colglazier

Marketing Manager

Lease Management

Tracking Equipment Leases: Where Visibility Breaks Down as Portfolios Grow

Tracking equipment leases becomes increasingly complex as lease portfolios grow. Unlike real estate leases, equipment leases require asset-level detail, frequent updates, and consistent assumptions across teams. Without centralized records, defined intake processes, and standardized policies, organizations face increased risk of incomplete data, inconsistent reporting, and audit challenges. This article outlines where equipment lease tracking commonly breaks down and what is required to maintain visibility and scalability as portfolios expand.

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Brooke Colglazier

Marketing Manager

Lease Management

What Is an Equipment Lease?

An equipment lease allows a business to use physical assets for a defined period in exchange for regular payments, without purchasing the equipment outright. Common examples include machinery, vehicles, IT hardware, and data center infrastructure. Unlike real estate leases, equipment leases are driven by asset use, performance, and operational intensity rather than square footage. Because of this, equipment leases require more detailed tracking for accounting, reporting, and compliance, especially as portfolios grow and assets become more complex.

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Brooke Colglazier

Marketing Manager

Lease Management

The Rise of the Data Center Lease

Data center leases are becoming a critical part of modern lease portfolios, but they don’t behave like traditional real estate leases. Driven by infrastructure, power usage, cooling capacity, and performance requirements, data center leases are often better categorized as equipment leases rather than office or industrial real estate. Understanding how to classify and manage data center leases correctly helps finance and real estate teams maintain accurate reporting, reduce compliance risk, and scale lease administration as data center footprints grow.

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Brooke Colglazier

Marketing Manager

Lease Management

Retail vs. Office Leases

Retail and office leases may fall under the same accounting standards, but they behave very differently in practice. As portfolios grow, treating these lease types the same can introduce hidden compliance and reporting risk. This article breaks down how retail and office leases differ, what those differences mean for accounting accuracy and audit readiness, and how finance teams should structure their processes to maintain clean, defensible reporting as complexity increases.

Profile picture for Brooke Colglazier

Brooke Colglazier

Marketing Manager