Majority of surveyed tenants plan to expand their commercial real estate footprint in the New Year  

Woodbridge, NJ (Nov. 9, 2021) Visual Lease, the #1 lease optimization software provider, today unveiled a survey of 400 senior accounting and finance professionals and commercial real estate executives, 200 of whom representing the perspective of tenants, and 200 of whom representing the perspective of landlords. The report entitled, “Commercial Real Estate in 2022: Outlook for an Industry in Recovery,” shares insights into how both sides are approaching leases in response to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“The commercial real estate industry has dramatically changed over the past nineteen months,” said Marc Betesh, founder and CEO of Visual Lease. “Businesses have grappled with new restrictions, considerations and challenges, which have directly impacted their real estate needs. Both landlords and tenants are uncertain of what shifts and trends are here to stay, which has made planning ahead more difficult than ever before. We created this report to help both parties better understand the industry and ensure that they are maximizing the value of future leases, setting themselves up for success in 2022 and beyond.” 

Key 2022 trends and predictions from the report include:  

• Ready to Commit to Longer Terms – Sixty-five percent of surveyed tenants are considering their physical space needs more than one year prior to signing a new lease agreement. Fifty-eight percent of tenants are prioritizing leases of at least five years in length, with nearly 20% interested in 10 or more years of occupancy. While plans are being made, the future remains uncertain as 93% of tenants note that their 2022 real estate strategy is temporary and will likely be revised post-COVID.  

• Real Estate Footprints Poised to Expand – Sixty-five percent of landlords expect tenants will add space to their real estate portfolios in 2022. Similarly, 70% of tenants plan to expand their commercial real estate footprint in the year ahead.  

• Back to Work: Urban Revival – Seventy-eight percent of landlords predict that the greatest demand for leased properties in 2022 will appear in cities. Tier 1 cities like Los Angeles and New York are anticipated to draw the biggest crowd, signaling a revival for major metropolitan areas that were previously hard-hit during the onset of the pandemic.  

• Rents Bounce Back, But Not All Businesses Will – Seventy-five percent of landlords expect 2022 commercial rent prices to be about the same or higher than rent prices were prior to the pandemic, which is in line with what 61% of tenants expect, as well. A rent increase may create some challenges as 61% of tenants admit that their organization fell behind on rent during the pandemic, and 37% are still behind on rent.  

• Future-proofing Leases to Accommodate Changing Demand – All surveyed (100%) landlords had tenants request modifications to their leases mid-term in response to the impacts of COVID-19. As a result, 99% of landlords have revised their agreements to better accommodate existing and future tenants, including changes to building rules and regulations (57%), operating expenses (54%), indemnification and insurance (45%), as well as sublet/assignment rights, rent abatement and force majeure clauses. 

• Approaching New Terms With Caution – Based on what they learned from managing their businesses during COVID-19, tenants note that the following will be important considerations when negotiating future leases: flexible scaling plans for space (57%), flexible lease termination (49%), shorter lease duration (36%) and an ability to sublease (33%), among others.  

• Poor Lease Management Led to Costly Mistakes – Nearly 80% of tenants have experienced negative impacts due to inadequate lease controls, the most frequently reported being the inability to respond to changing circumstances due to the pandemic (34%), missing an option to extend a deadline (28%), miscalculating lease costs (28%) and forgetting to update unfavorable or unwanted lease terms (28%).  

For full study results, download Commercial Real Estate in 2022: Outlook for an Industry in Recovery. 

About The Visual Lease Data Institute 

The Visual Lease Data Institute is a collection of market-leading data, trends and insights on lease accounting, management and optimization created and curated by Visual Lease, provider of the #1 lease optimization software. The Institute was founded on 35 years’ experience managing lease data and financials and was created to arm organizations with the knowledge required to achieve and maintain lease accounting compliance and leverage their leases as strategic business assets. 

About Visual Lease 

Visual Lease is the #1 lease optimization software provider. We help organizations become compliant with FASB, IFRS and GASB lease accounting standards, while simultaneously improving the financial, legal and operational performance of their leases. Our easy-to-use SaaS platform is embedded with more than three decades of best practices from major corporations and leading industry professionals. Our award-winning solutions are used by 800+ organizations to manage 500,000+ real estate, equipment and other leased assets. Committed to ongoing innovation and unparalleled customer service, Visual Lease helps organizations transform their lease compliance requirements into financial opportunities. For more information, visit visuallease.com.  For more information, visit visuallease.com. 

Media Contacts 
Erica Bonavitacola 
Visual Lease 
T+1 732 860 4838 
ebonavitacola@visuallease.com 
 
Anna Patrick 
Gregory FCA 
T+1 212 398 9680 
apatrick@gregoryfca.com 

 While 100% of surveyed companies agree on the business value of complying with the lease accounting standard, most are underconfident and unprepared for the looming deadline

Woodbridge, NJ (July 29, 2021) – Visual Lease, the #1 lease optimization software provider, today unveiled the results of an in-depth study of 500 senior finance and accounting professionals analyzing where companies are in their efforts toward achieving compliance with ASC 842. The report reveals that despite 100% of respondents acknowledging the many benefits that lease accounting can bring, 75% are not yet compliant. This report marks the first release under The Visual Lease Data Institute, a collection of market-leading data, trends and insights on lease accounting, management and optimization created and curated by Visual Lease.

The 2021 Lease Accounting Market Analysis: The Road to Readiness for ASC 842 explores the journey, opportunities and barriers that companies face in their efforts to comply with the new accounting standard published by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which requires them to track and fully disclose all qualifying leased assets, including commercial real estate and equipment leases. The report was informed by a proprietary survey of 500 senior finance and accounting professionals at private organizations with more than 1,000 employees.  It excludes public sector organizations and governmental entities, which have to comply with a similar lease accounting standard.

Key highlights of the report include:

• Real Business Opportunity – All surveyed senior finance and accounting professionals recognize that complying with ASC 842 will offer their companies substantial benefits, including more transparent valuation of the organization (54%), cost savings (54%), easier preparation for audits (53%) and the ability to make strategic lease decisions (50%).
• Need for Urgent Action – Despite the significant business opportunity that comes with lease accounting compliance, of the 75% of surveyed companies who are not yet fully compliant, nearly half (46%) are less than halfway through or have not yet begun the process. Moreover, a shocking one in five respondents admit that achieving full compliance has been a low business priority.
• Pandemic Delays – Many private companies may now be playing catch-up from the impact of Covid-19, with more than two in five respondents (43%) noting that their organization’s process has been delayed due to the global pandemic.
• Race Against the Clock – With the December 2021 deadline for private companies less than five months away, two in five respondents (40%) are only somewhat, not very, or not at all confident about their organization being ready to reach full compliance with ASC 842. One reason why? More than two in five (42%) surveyed admit that the ASC 842 compliance process has taken more time than expected, which puts those who have not started the process at serious risk. This is particularly concerning considering the average anticipated staff hours to gather all the necessary lease information to fully adopt ASC 842 is 1,334 hours, equivalent to more than 33 weeks of full-time labor for a highly skilled worker.
• Companies Can’t Do It Alone – More than one in three (36%) of senior finance and accounting professionals surveyed note that they don’t have the right people, technology and tools in place. High among the things they consider to be essential in the process are implementing new (48%) or upgrading existing (51%) lease management and accounting software.
• Not a One-and-Done Disclosure – Reaching ASC 842 compliance in time for the standard’s effective date is only part of the battle. Ninety-nine percent of respondents expect to face ongoing challenges maintaining compliance after the 2021 deadline. Among the most anticipated challenges include accurately tracking and managing future modifications to leases, adopting new technologies to optimize the process and continuing to train and educate staff.

“We understand just how complex lease accounting is,” said Marc Betesh, founder and CEO of Visual Lease. “For 35 years, we’ve seen firsthand how tight lease portfolio management can amount to millions of dollars in savings and improve business performance. With the deadline for private companies to comply with ASC 842 rapidly approaching, we knew it was the right time to gather our insight, experience and expertise to provide you with the first report under The Visual Lease Data Institute. Our goal is simple – to arm you with the information you need to feel confident about your organization’s lease accounting compliance journey.”

For full study results and helpful guidance towards ASC 842 compliance, download The 2021 Lease Accounting Market Analysis: The Road to Readiness for ASC 842.

About Visual Lease

 Visual Lease is the #1 lease optimization software provider for managing, analyzing, streamlining and reporting on lease portfolios. Developed by industry-leading lease professionals and CPAs, it combines GAAP, IFRS and GASB-compliant lease accounting controls with easy, flexible and automated lease management processes. More than 700 of the world’s largest publicly traded, privately-owned and public sector organizations rely on Visual Lease to control their lease portfolios, integrate with their existing business systems and maintain regulatory compliance. Committed to ongoing innovation and unparalleled customer service, Visual Lease helps organizations transform their lease compliance requirements into financial opportunities. For more information, visit visuallease.com.

About The Visual Lease Data Institute

The Visual Lease Data Institute is a collection of market-leading data, trends and insights on lease accounting, management and optimization created and curated by Visual Lease, provider of the #1 lease optimization software. The Institute was founded on 35 years’ experience managing lease data and financials and was created to arm organizations with the knowledge required to achieve and maintain lease accounting compliance and leverage their leases as strategic business assets.

Media Contacts
Erica Bonavitacola
Visual Lease
T+1 732 860 4838
ebonavitacola@visuallease.com

Katie Vroom
Gregory FCA
T+1 212 398 9680
kvroom@gregoryfca.com

Company reports key strategic investments and double-digit annual recurring revenue growth year-over-year

Woodbridge, NJ – July 20, 2021 — Visual Lease, provider of the #1 lease optimization software, today announced results from the second quarter of 2021, including double-digit annual recurring revenue growth year-over-year, as well as industry recognition for its robust software capabilities and sustained high growth. The company also continued to make strategic investments across its product and service offerings to help organizations leverage their lease accounting process to unlock a range of business opportunities.

“We recognize that lease accounting compliance is a long game, and there’s a lot to lose and gain in this process if you’re not on top of the changing requirements,” said Marc Betesh, founder and CEO of Visual Lease. “We’re continuing to make investments in our product and team to not only streamline our customers’ lease accounting compliance, but also help them achieve efficiencies and hard-dollar savings that can have a real long-term impact on their businesses. In fact, we recently conducted a survey of 500 senior finance and accounting professionals, and 100% of them recognized these additional benefits stimulated by the adoption of the new lease accounting standard. We know and understand what those benefits are and show our customers how to achieve them.”

In Q2 2021, Visual Lease:

Product

• Enhanced its reporting performance, resulting in a doubling of the speed of generating disclosure, journal entry summaries and roll-forward reports.
• Further expanded its GASB support, launching technical accounting features to streamline the handling for lessor termination calculations, schedule modifications and reports.
• Launched short-term calculations, empowering users to easily create short-term calculations irrespective of the lease terms.
• Introduced its Customer Advisory Board, assembling a select group of senior financial management and real estate executives from across its base of valued customers to share insights and solicit feedback on Visual Lease’s solutions and services.

Talent

• Announced Guy Zerega as SVP of Sales, bringing in an experienced software sales leader to help the organization continue to grow and scale with the industry.
• Welcomed Pamela Cosmillo as Director of Human Resources, placing an increased emphasis on its people and position as a leading workplace.
• Grew its employee base by more than 35% year-over-year, hiring across a range of departments and levels within the organization.

 Industry Recognition

• Continued to expand its Alliance Partner network, solidifying its partnership with Jackson Cross Partners and Alvarez & Marsal to deliver increased value to shared customers navigating new lease accounting standards (ASC 842, IFRS 16 and GASB 87).
• Named a “High Performer” and “Momentum Leader” in the lease administration category by G2.
• Recognized as a Top Workplace in 2021 by NJ.com.
• Honored with a Bronze Stevie® Award in the Fastest Growing Company of the Year category in The 19th Annual American Business Awards®.

To keep up with announcements from Visual Lease, visit the Visual Lease Newsroom.

About Visual Lease

Visual Lease is the provider of the #1 lease optimization software for managing, analyzing, streamlining and reporting on lease portfolios. Developed by industry-leading lease professionals and CPAs, it combines GAAP, IFRS and GASB-compliant lease accounting controls with easy, flexible and automated lease management processes. More than 700 of the world’s largest publicly traded, privately-owned and public sector organizations rely on Visual Lease to control their lease portfolios, integrate with their existing business systems and maintain regulatory compliance. Committed to ongoing innovation and unparalleled customer service, Visual Lease helps organizations transform their lease compliance requirements into financial opportunities. For more information, visit visuallease.com.

Media Contacts

Erica Bonavitacola
Visual Lease
T+1 732 860 4838
ebonavitacola@visuallease.com

Geena Pickering
Gregory FCA
T+1 212 398 9680
gpickering@gregoryfca.com