Budget Bytes – Better Excel Exports: the Portfolio Trick

If you are a Property Manager or Asset Manager using Kardin, you likely use the Portfolios feature exactly as intended: to wrangle multiple properties together for consolidated reporting and analysis.

But did you know the Portfolio feature is also a secret weapon for analyzing individual buildings?

In this week’s Budget Byte, Robert walks us through a workflow "hack" that involves creating a portfolio container for a single property. While it might seem redundant at first glance, this simple step unlocks two powerful reporting features that can save you significant time during budget season and quarterly reporting.

1. Get "Genuine" Excel Exports

One of the biggest frustrations in reporting is exporting a file to Excel only to find that the numbers are pasted as static text or images.

By generating your reports through the Single Property Portfolio method, your "View as XLS" export provides a much cleaner output. As Robert notes in the video, this format gives you "genuine cells with actual numbers," not just a copy-paste of a static image. This allows you to immediately start applying your own formulas and formatting without scrubbing the data first.

2. Unlock Drill-Down Reporting

When you send a report to an owner or asset manager, the first question is almost always, "What makes up this number?"

Usually, answering that requires running a separate detailed General Ledger report. However, Portfolio reports in Kardin enable hyperlinked drill-downs.

If you are viewing the Monthly Detail report, for example, the text for your expense categories (like Landscaping or Repairs) will appear in blue. Clicking that text immediately expands the view to reveal the sub-account GL details for that specific line item. This allows you to answer questions about variances instantly.

How to Set It Up

Creating a Single Property Portfolio takes less than a minute:

1. Navigate to Portfolios > Manage > Add.

2. Name your Portfolio (e.g., "Building A - Drilldown") and select your Chart of Accounts (COA).

3. Once created, click Manage Portfolio and add just that one specific property.

Watch the full video to see Robert demonstrate this trick in real-time.

Ready to streamline your CRE budgeting? Contact Kardin today to learn more about our reporting capabilities.