Building an occupancy cost management consulting practice around CAM audit
Occupancy cost is the second largest expense line for most commercial tenants, behind payroll. It is also one of the few major expense categories where systematic compliance review is structurally underused. Most commercial tenants sign a lease, pay what the landlord bills, and treat the occupancy cost line as a fixed number. The opportunity for advisors is in the gap between what the lease says the tenant owes and what the landlord actually charges. I built CAMAudit to close that gap using software, which makes a practice built around this analysis more efficient than anything that existed before. This guide covers how to structure a full occupancy cost management practice, who to target, what the service stack looks like, and what the revenue trajectory is at three different practice sizes.
Occupancy Cost Management Consulting: A professional services practice that reduces total NNN occupancy cost (base rent, common area maintenance, property taxes, and insurance) through contract compliance review, market benchmarking, and lease renewal negotiation support. CAM audit is the core deliverable: the highest-ROI service because it works on existing leases without renegotiation and produces recoverable findings from prior-period reconciliation statements.
Defining the practice: what occupancy cost management is and is not
An occupancy cost management practice operates at the intersection of lease compliance and financial advisory. The work covers three main service categories:
Contract compliance review: Systematic audit of CAM reconciliation statements, property tax assessments, and utility allocations against the contractual terms of the executed lease. CAM audit is the primary service here. Property tax and utility reviews are complementary.
Market benchmarking: Comparison of the client's occupancy costs against market rates for comparable properties. This service is advisory: it identifies whether the client is paying above-market on base rent or expense categories, which informs renewal negotiation.
Lease renewal negotiation support: Advisory input on renewal terms, based on compliance review findings and market benchmarking data. This is not tenant representation (finding space or originating a lease) but rather supporting a tenant who is negotiating a renewal on existing space with data from the compliance review.
What the practice is not: It is not tenant representation (no commission-based space search). It is not legal representation (no attorney-client relationship, no legal filings). It is not property management (no operational role in the building). These distinctions matter for practice positioning and engagement letter scope.
CAM audit as the core deliverable
Within the full occupancy cost service stack, CAM audit is the primary revenue driver for three reasons.
First, it works on existing leases. CAM audit does not require lease renegotiation, market conditions, or landlord cooperation to produce findings. It requires the landlord's expense documentation (which is typically available under the lease audit rights clause) and the signed lease. A client who signed a lease 4 years ago can audit 3 years of reconciliation statements today.
Second, it is repeatable. Once the first audit is complete, the re-audit in year two is substantially faster (the lease is already extracted, the property profile is built, the workflow is established). Recurring annual audits are the highest-margin engagements in the practice.
Third, the finding-to-fee ratio is strong. At a flat fee of $600 to $1,200 per location, a single confirmed finding of $10,000 represents a 10x return on the client's audit investment. Clients who experience this once are easy to retain for future audits.
CAM audit's position in the full service stack:
| Service | Primary Value | Revenue Model | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAM audit | Recover prior overcharges | Fixed fee or contingency | Any time during lease term |
| Property tax appeal referral | Reduce annual tax obligation | Referral fee / co-engagement | During assessment appeal window |
| Utility benchmarking | Identify above-market utility rates | Fixed fee advisory | Annual review |
| Renewal negotiation support | Improve renewal terms using findings | Fixed fee or retainer | 12-18 months before expiration |
Full service stack: revenue by service
Revenue split at a mature occupancy cost management practice:
| Service | % of Annual Revenue | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CAM audit (first-time + re-audits) | 55-65% | Core; highest volume and most repeatable |
| Property tax appeal referral fees | 15-20% | Contingency-based; variable by year |
| Utility benchmarking and advisory | 10-15% | Smaller engagement size; advisory only |
| Renewal negotiation support | 10-15% | Higher per-engagement fee; less frequent |
CAM audit's dominance in the revenue mix is not just because it is the most common engagement. It is because it anchors the client relationship that makes the other services possible. A client who engaged the practice for CAM audit is far more likely to engage for renewal support than a cold prospect.
Practice structure options
Solo practitioner
Profile: Single advisor (may have administrative or part-time analytical support). All client-facing work done by the principal.
Capacity: 40 to 80 CAM audit engagements per year at full utilization, depending on engagement complexity and re-audit ratio.
Revenue range: $120,000 to $200,000/year including all occupancy cost services.
Software tier: Growth ($2,100) or Scale ($4,500) depending on volume.
Economics at full utilization (Scale tier, 70 engagements/year at $900 average):
- CAM audit revenue: $63,000 (70 engagements x $900)
- Referral and advisory revenue: $30,000 to $40,000 (property tax, utility, renewal)
- Total gross revenue: $93,000 to $103,000
- Software cost: $4,500
- Net contribution (pre-overhead): $88,500 to $98,500
Overhead for a solo practitioner is minimal: home office or shared office space, software subscriptions, professional insurance. Net income at full utilization is typically $80,000 to $120,000 depending on overhead structure.
Small team (2 to 3 analysts)
Profile: Principal advisor plus 1 to 2 dedicated analysts. Analysts handle document collection, portal upload, and initial findings review. Principal handles client relationships, delivery calls, and dispute support.
Capacity: 150 to 250 CAM audit engagements per year.
Revenue range: $400,000 to $700,000/year.
Software tier: Scale ($4,500) or Enterprise ($7,500).
Economics at 200 engagements/year at $850 average:
- CAM audit revenue: $170,000
- Other services (property tax, utility, renewal): $80,000 to $120,000
- Total gross revenue: $250,000 to $290,000
- Software cost: $4,500 to $7,500
- Analyst labor (2 analysts at $60,000 each): $120,000
- Overhead (office, insurance, marketing): $25,000 to $35,000
- Net income to principal: $80,000 to $120,000
At this scale, the practice is a viable standalone business, not a side service. Two analysts allows the principal to spend the majority of time on client acquisition and client management rather than execution.
White-label platform for other advisors
Profile: Practice operates as an infrastructure layer: the platform operator holds the CAMAudit Enterprise tier, builds the workflow documentation and training, and enables other advisors (CPAs, brokers, franchise consultants) to deliver occupancy cost services under their own brand, with the platform operator providing the software access and operational support.
Capacity: Dependent on sub-partner volume. At 20 sub-partners averaging 15 engagements each: 300 engagements/year.
Revenue range: $800,000 to $1.5M/year.
Revenue model:
- Wholesale: buy credits at Enterprise tier ($25/credit)
- Charge sub-partners at $40 to $50 per credit (wholesale margin: $15 to $25 per credit)
- At 300 engagements: $4,500 to $7,500 in wholesale margin
- Add: platform fee per sub-partner ($200 to $400/month); at 20 sub-partners: $48,000 to $96,000/year
- Add: property tax and referral fee splits from sub-partner network
- Total platform revenue: $120,000 to $200,000/year at 20 sub-partners
This model scales with sub-partner count. At 50 sub-partners the revenue range reaches $300,000 to $500,000/year. The platform operator's role shifts from practitioner to franchisor: building the systems, training the partners, and maintaining the software relationship.
"I built CAMAudit because the practitioners who should be doing this work, CPAs, financial advisors, lease consultants, were being locked out by the complexity and cost of the detection process. The software makes it accessible. The white-label program makes it brandable. The partner who builds a practice around it early has a significant head start over whoever enters the market 24 months from now." — Angel Campa, Founder, CAMAudit
Client acquisition strategy
Target company profile:
The highest-value occupancy cost management clients share these characteristics:
- 5 or more NNN lease locations in the portfolio
- Annual CAM exposure above $150,000 in aggregate (average above $30,000 per location)
- No history of systematic CAM audit (the backlog of unaudited years represents immediate revenue)
- Approaching renewal on at least one location in the next 24 months (creates urgency for both audit and renewal support)
Target industries with high NNN lease concentration:
| Industry | Typical NNN Lease Count | Average CAM Exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Franchise restaurant chains | 10 to 100+ locations | $15,000 to $40,000/location |
| Regional healthcare groups | 5 to 30 locations | $20,000 to $50,000/location |
| Multi-state retail chains | 20 to 200+ locations | $12,000 to $35,000/location |
| Logistics / 3PL operators | 3 to 20 locations | $30,000 to $80,000/location |
| Dental and veterinary groups | 5 to 25 locations | $15,000 to $35,000/location |
Acquisition channels:
Referral from CPAs and attorneys is the most efficient acquisition channel for a new occupancy cost management practice. CPAs who serve commercial tenants already have the client relationship and the financial records. A revenue-sharing arrangement with a referring CPA ($100 to $200 per completed engagement) aligns incentives without creating a fee-splitting compliance issue, provided it is structured as a referral fee rather than a percentage of the CPA's audit fee.
Commercial real estate brokers are the second most efficient channel. Brokers who represent tenants on renewals have natural timing alignment: they know when a lease is expiring 18 to 24 months in advance. An occupancy cost management practice that delivers audit findings 12 to 18 months before expiration gives the broker negotiating leverage.
Trade associations for target industries (franchise association chapters, healthcare practice management groups, logistics industry associations) provide access to the right decision-makers with a built-in credibility context.
Differentiation from commercial real estate brokers and traditional lease auditors
vs. Commercial real estate brokers: Brokers are commission-driven and origination-focused. Their engagement ends at lease signing. An occupancy cost management practice has no commission conflict (the advisor's fee does not depend on the transaction executing), covers the full lease term, and provides value at every renewal cycle. The advisor is not incentivized to push a new lease when lease-in-place cost recovery is the better outcome for the client.
vs. Traditional lease auditors: Traditional lease audit firms typically charge 25 to 33 percent contingency, require minimum recovery thresholds (often $10,000 to $25,000 before they engage), have 4 to 8 week turnaround times, and do not cover zero-finding outcomes. A software-based practice with fixed fees, no minimum recovery requirement, and a 5 to 10 business day turnaround serves clients at smaller exposure levels and removes the contingency misalignment (the traditional auditor needs to find something to get paid; the fixed-fee advisor gets paid regardless).
For context on what the detection engine covers, see the detection rules overview and the full CAM overcharge detection playbook.
Year 1 to Year 3 growth trajectory
Year 1: Foundation
- Target: 15 to 25 engagements from existing networks and pilot clients
- Revenue: $9,000 to $25,000
- Primary objective: document the workflow, establish client references, identify which client segments respond best
- Software tier: Starter ($990) or Growth ($2,100)
- Key milestone: Complete at least 5 engagements and receive at least 2 client referrals before end of year
Year 2: Build recurring relationships
- Target: 30 to 60 engagements (mix of first-time and re-audits)
- Revenue: $25,000 to $70,000
- Primary objective: convert first-year clients to annual recurring engagements; add first referral partnerships with CPAs and brokers
- Software tier: Growth ($2,100) or Scale ($4,500)
- Key milestone: At least 15 recurring annual clients by year-end; first property tax or renewal referral completed
Year 3: Establish stable recurring revenue
- Target: 60 to 120 engagements per year (majority re-audits for stable base)
- Revenue: $60,000 to $200,000 depending on practice model
- Primary objective: build the annual recurring revenue base to a level that covers practice overhead without new client acquisition; begin exploring team model or platform model
- Software tier: Scale ($4,500) or Enterprise ($7,500)
- Key milestone: Annual recurring engagement base covers 60 percent or more of annual revenue without new client acquisition; team hire or sub-partner network initiated if targeting platform model
For details on the white-label partner program and tier pricing that applies to each of these practice models, see the partner program overview and the revenue-sharing options at /partners/revenue-sharing.