CPA Referral Program: Add CAM Auditing to Your Advisory Services
About 30% of commercial CAM reconciliation statements contain billing errors, according to industry estimates from BOMA and IREM. Your clients who lease commercial space under NNN or modified gross leases are paying these errors every year, and most of them have no idea. The charges show up as a single line on the P&L under occupancy costs, and unless someone pulls the reconciliation apart against the lease terms, the overcharges go unnoticed.
CAMAudit's referral program lets you flag this exposure for clients, earn 30% recurring revenue on every audit they run, and do zero additional work beyond making the introduction. You are not performing the audit. You are not learning a new discipline. You are pointing a client toward a financial review that should have been happening all along, and you are compensated for the referral on a recurring basis.
This guide covers the full program: how it works, what your clients receive, the revenue math for your practice, and how to introduce CAM auditing naturally during the conversations you are already having.
CAM reconciliation (Common Area Maintenance reconciliation): An annual statement from a commercial landlord to each tenant detailing the tenant's share of building operating expenses. The reconciliation compares the tenant's estimated monthly payments against the actual expenses incurred, resulting in either an additional charge (true-up) or a credit. Common errors include management fee overcharges, incorrect pro-rata share calculations, capital expense misclassifications, and pass-through of excluded service charges.
Why CPAs are the natural CAM audit referral channel
You already see the data that reveals CAM exposure. The question is whether you are acting on it.
You review the occupancy cost line. Every commercial tenant client has operating lease expenses on their P&L. When CAM charges spike year over year, you notice. When a true-up arrives that is double the prior year, the client calls you. You are already the person who sees this data first.
You are the trusted financial advisor. When a client receives a $28,000 CAM true-up and asks "does this seem right," they are not calling their attorney or their broker. They are calling you. That question is a referral opportunity. If you can answer "let me have this reviewed against your lease terms," you have provided immediate, concrete value.
You understand the accounting structure. CPAs who work with commercial tenants already understand pass-through expenses, operating expense classifications, and the difference between capital and operating costs under ASC 842. These are the same distinctions that drive CAM overcharges. A management fee calculated on a base that includes capital improvements is an overcharge. A pro-rata share denominator that uses rentable square footage instead of the lease-defined leasable area is an overcharge. You have the conceptual framework to recognize these issues even if you have never performed a formal CAM audit.
Your clients have no other systematic review. Most small and mid-size commercial tenants do not have in-house real estate teams. They do not retain lease auditors. The CAM reconciliation arrives, the property manager sends a true-up invoice, and the client pays it. The CPA is often the only professional in the client's financial ecosystem positioned to flag the reconciliation for review.
"I built CAMAudit because tenants were paying overcharges that a structured review would have caught in minutes. CPAs already see the financial data. The referral program gives them a way to act on what they're seeing without adding workload to their practice." — Angel Campa, Founder of CAMAudit
How the referral program works
The program is straightforward. There are no contracts, no minimum volumes, and no onboarding process.
Step 1: Get your referral link. Sign up at camaudit.com/partners/revenue-sharing and receive a unique referral link. This link is permanently tied to your account.
Step 2: Share the link with clients. When a client has a CAM reconciliation worth reviewing, send them your link. You can share it during a meeting, in an email, or as part of your standard annual review materials. There is no pitch required. The client uploads their documents directly.
Step 3: CAMAudit runs the forensic scan. The client uploads the CAM reconciliation statement and relevant lease sections. CAMAudit processes the documents through 14 detection rules covering management fee overcharges, pro-rata share errors, excluded service charges, gross-up violations, CAM cap breaches, base year errors, and more. The client receives a free scan summary showing the total potential overcharge amount and the number of findings.
Step 4: Client unlocks the full report. If the scan identifies findings, the client pays a flat fee to unlock the detailed findings report, including the specific lease provisions violated, the dollar amounts, and a dispute letter draft. If the scan finds no issues, the client receives a CAM Verified report confirming the reconciliation is clean.
Step 5: You earn 30% of the audit fee. Every time a client you referred purchases an audit, you earn 30% of the fee. This applies to every audit that client ever runs through CAMAudit, not just the first one. If the client comes back next year for their new reconciliation, you earn again. If they add locations, you earn on those too. There is no cap on earnings and no expiration on the referral relationship.
The revenue math
The numbers are simple. CAMAudit charges flat fees per audit.
Single audit: $79. Your referral commission is $23.70.
3-audit pack: $199. Your referral commission is approximately $60.
5-audit pack: $299. Your referral commission is $89.70.
Now scale that across a practice.
Single-location client. A restaurant operator with one NNN lease runs one audit per year. You earn $23.70 per year from that referral for as long as they use CAMAudit.
Multi-location client. A medical practice group with five locations purchases a 5-audit pack annually. Your referral commission is $89.70 per year from one client.
Portfolio client. A franchise operator with 20 locations runs 20 audits per year across four 5-packs. Your annual referral commission from that single client is approximately $358.80.
Practice-level projection. Ten commercial tenant clients referred over the course of a year, averaging three audits each via the 3-pack, generates approximately $1,791 per year in referral income. That revenue recurs each year as clients renew their annual CAM review. Over three years, those same ten clients generate approximately $5,373 in cumulative referral commissions with no additional effort from you beyond the initial introduction.
This is not advisory fee income. It is passive referral revenue layered on top of the advisory relationship you already maintain.
What your client gets
When you refer a client to CAMAudit, they receive a professional-grade overpayment recovery workflow. Here is what the output looks like.
Forensic findings report. A structured analysis covering all 14 detection rules. Each finding includes the specific lease provision, the landlord's charge, the calculated correct charge, and the dollar variance. The report is organized by finding type and severity.
Dispute letter draft. For each actionable finding, CAMAudit generates a dispute letter draft that references the specific lease clause, states the calculated overcharge, and requests correction. The client (or their attorney) reviews and sends the letter. Tone selection is available: collaborative, neutral, or firm.
CAM Verified report. If the scan identifies no overcharges, the client receives a report confirming that the reconciliation is consistent with their lease terms. This has its own value. It gives the client confidence that they are paying correctly, and it gives you a documented deliverable even when there is nothing to dispute.
30-day money-back guarantee. Every audit purchase is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If the client is not satisfied with the analysis, they get a full refund. This eliminates the risk objection entirely.
From your client's perspective, you pointed them toward a tool that either saved them money or confirmed they were paying correctly. Either outcome makes you look good.
How to introduce CAM auditing to clients
You do not need a sales pitch. You need a natural entry point in conversations you are already having. Here are three.
During the annual review meeting
When you sit down with a commercial tenant client for their annual financial review, occupancy costs are on the agenda. That is the moment.
"I noticed your CAM charges increased 14% year over year. Have you ever had the reconciliation reviewed against your lease? There is a tool I recommend to clients for this. It takes about 15 minutes to upload the documents and you get a report showing whether the charges match your lease terms."
This works because the data is already in front of both of you. You are not introducing a new topic. You are deepening the review of an existing line item.
When CAM spikes on the P&L
Clients call when something looks wrong. A true-up that is significantly higher than the prior year is one of the most common triggers. When that call comes, you have a referral opportunity.
"A true-up increase this large is worth verifying. The most common causes are management fee calculation errors, pro-rata share denominator changes, or capital expenses being passed through as operating costs. I can point you to a tool that checks your reconciliation against your lease terms. It runs a flat-fee analysis and gives you a report."
The client is already concerned. You are providing a specific, actionable response instead of a vague reassurance.
When a client mentions rising rent or occupancy costs
Clients who mention that their occupancy costs "keep going up" may be experiencing legitimate market increases, but they may also be absorbing pass-through expenses that violate their lease terms. Controllable expense caps, management fee caps, and excluded service lists exist in leases specifically to limit year-over-year increases. If the client feels their costs are rising faster than expected, a structured review of the reconciliation is a reasonable next step.
"Rising occupancy costs are worth investigating, especially if your lease has a CAM cap or a controllable expense cap. Those provisions are designed to limit year-over-year increases. If the landlord is exceeding them, you have a documented basis for a dispute. Let me send you a link to CAMAudit. Upload your most recent reconciliation and your lease, and you will know within a day whether you have recoverable overcharges."
ASC 842 and CAM: the accounting connection
If your practice handles lease accounting under ASC 842, you are already reviewing lease terms in detail. Variable lease payments, which include CAM charges in most NNN and modified gross structures, require classification and disclosure. You are pulling leases apart to determine the fixed and variable components. You are identifying the payment schedule, the escalation structure, and the expense pass-through obligations.
That work overlaps directly with CAM audit preparation.
The lease sections required for ASC 842 compliance (operating expense definitions, base year provisions, pro-rata share methodology, expense caps) are the same sections required for a CAM audit. If you have already extracted these terms for lease accounting purposes, referring the client to CAMAudit is a low-friction extension. The client already has the documents organized. You already understand the lease structure. The referral is a natural next step.
For clients transitioning to ASC 842 or updating their lease abstracts, adding a CAM reconciliation review to the engagement scope positions you as the advisor who thinks beyond compliance. ASC 842 compliance ensures the accounting is correct. A CAM audit ensures the underlying charges are correct. Both protect the client's financial position.
Variable lease payments under ASC 842: Payments that depend on an index, a rate, or a future event. In commercial leases, CAM charges, property tax pass-throughs, and insurance pass-throughs are typically classified as variable lease payments because the amounts change annually based on actual building operating expenses. Under ASC 842, variable lease payments based on something other than an index or rate are expensed as incurred rather than included in the lease liability calculation.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bill clients for the referral as an advisory service?
Yes. Many CPAs incorporate CAM reconciliation review into their advisory services engagement. You can bill for the time spent reviewing findings, advising on dispute strategy, and coordinating with the client on next steps. The CAMAudit referral itself costs you nothing, but the advisory wrapper around it is billable work. The referral commission is separate income on top of any advisory fees you charge.
Is there a contract or minimum commitment?
No. The referral program has no contracts, no minimum volume, and no exclusivity requirements. You sign up, receive your referral link, and share it when appropriate. If you refer one client per year, that works. If you refer fifty, the 30% commission applies to every audit across all of them. You can stop participating at any time with no penalties.
What if the scan finds nothing wrong with the reconciliation?
The client receives a CAM Verified report confirming that the reconciliation is consistent with the lease terms. This is a positive outcome for the client and for you. You demonstrated financial diligence by recommending the review, and the client has documented confirmation that their pass-through expenses are accurate. The client only pays if they choose to unlock a full report, and every purchase includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Do I need to understand commercial real estate to participate?
Not beyond what you already know from working with commercial tenant clients. If you understand operating lease expenses, pass-through expense structures, and the difference between capital and operating costs, you have sufficient context. CAMAudit handles the forensic lease analysis. Your role is identifying which clients have CAM exposure and making the introduction.
How do I track my referrals and commissions?
The partner dashboard at camaudit.com tracks every referral, audit purchase, and commission payment in real time. You can see which clients have signed up, which audits they have purchased, and your cumulative earnings. Commission payments are processed monthly.
Related resources
- Adding CAM Audit Services to Your CPA Practice: A deeper look at how CPAs can integrate CAM review into their advisory services, including client qualification criteria and workflow integration.
- CPA CAM Triage Checklist: A step-by-step screening checklist for CPAs reviewing client CAM reconciliations before escalating to a formal audit.
- CPA Guide to CAM Reconciliation Review: The complete guide to reading and evaluating CAM reconciliation statements for accuracy against lease terms.
- Revenue Sharing Program Details: Full program terms, commission structure, and partner signup.
Sources
- AICPA. "Advisory services: expanding the CPA's role beyond compliance." Practice management resources. https://www.aicpa.org/
- BOMA International. "Operating expenses: the building owners and managers guide." Building Owners and Managers Association. https://www.boma.org/
- IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management). "Income/expense analysis reports for office, retail, and industrial properties." https://www.irem.org/
- FASB. "ASC 842: Leases." Financial Accounting Standards Board. https://www.fasb.org/
Disclaimer: This article provides general information about CAMAudit's referral program for CPAs and general educational information about CAM reconciliation review. This is not legal, tax, or accounting advice. Revenue projections are illustrative estimates based on list pricing and the 30% referral commission rate; actual earnings depend on client volume and purchasing behavior. The 30% error rate referenced in the introduction is an industry estimate derived from BOMA and IREM published data on commercial operating expense reconciliation accuracy. Consult qualified commercial real estate counsel or a licensed CPA for advice specific to your practice and your clients' situations.