Credit cards in property management can be confusing, especially when trying to separate what belongs to the property and what belongs to the property management (PM) company.
This article explains a simple real-life example:
A Property Manager uses the PM company credit card to buy a fridge at Home Depot for a rental property.
We will walk through how this is recorded in Propra using:
Expenses
Bills
Invoices
Journal entries
Important Starting Point
In this example:
👉 The credit card belongs to the Property Management Company (PM company card)
👉 The fridge is for a rental property
This difference is very important because:
The PM company is responsible for the credit card
The property is responsible for the cost of the fridge
Step 1: Record the Purchase as a PM Company Credit Card Expense
You go to Home Depot and buy a fridge for $800 using the PM company credit card.
Even though the fridge is for a property, the payment method is the PM company’s responsibility.
What you do in Propra (Administrative Accounting):
Create an Expense
Record it under Admin (PM Company) Accounting
Payment method: PM Company Credit Card Account
Account: Billable Expenses
Amount: $800.00
What this means:
The PM company now owes the credit card company $800.00
The credit card balance increases
The expense is recorded immediately in admin books in account that can be tracked as expenses that need to be charged out to a property
✔ This step records the real purchase made by the PM company.
If you are not tracking administrative accounting in Propra, this same step would be track in your company's accounting software.
Step 2: Create a Bill from the Property to the PM Company
Now we assign the cost to the property that received the fridge.
What you do in Propra (Property Accounting):
Create a Bill under the Property
Payee: Property Management Company (PM Company)
Amount: $800.00
Description: Fridge purchased at Home Depot using PM company credit card
What this means:
The property now owes the PM company $800.00
The fridge cost is now properly assigned to the property
✔ This step moves the cost from PM Company → Property
Step 3: Pay the Bill from Rent Trust
Once the bill has been created, it appears in the Property Payables table in Propra.
At this point, it is now ready to be paid.
What you do in Propra (Property Accounting):
Go to the Payables table
Select the $800.00 fridge bill
Pay it from the Property’s Rent Trust Account
What this means:
The property has now officially paid the PM company (via Rent Trust)
The PM company is owed the money and can now create the invoice
✔ This step moves real money from Property → PM Company
Step 4: Create an Invoice for the Property to Pay PM Company
Now the PM company formally records the money it is receiving.
What you do in Propra (Administrative Accounting):
Create an Invoice under Admin (PM Company) Accounting.
Payee: Property's owner
Account: Billable Revenue
Amount: $800.00
Description: Reimbursement for fridge purchased on PM company credit card
What this means:
The PM company is now owed $800 by the property
The billable expense and the billable revenue accounts offset each other. Neither are considered true income or expenses
✔ This step records what the PM company is owed
Step 5: Receive the Invoice into Corporate Bank
Once the invoice has been created, it appears in the Receivables Payables table in Propra. At this point, it is now ready to be paid.
What you do in Propra (Property Accounting):
Go to the Receivables table
Select the $800.00 fridge bill
Pay it to the account used for the Corporate Bank
What this means:
The PM has received the payment for the fridge expense from the property
✔ This step moves real money from Property → PM Company
Step 6: Pay the Credit Card Using a Journal Entry
Now the PM company must pay the credit card bill.
What you do in Propra:
Create a Journal Entry
Debit: PM Company Credit Card Account ($800.00)
Credit: PM Company Bank Account ($800.00)
What this means:
The credit card balance goes down
The PM company bank account goes down
The credit card debt is fully paid
✔ This step settles the PM company’s liability
Key Reminder
Even though the fridge is for the property:
The PM company credit card is the original source of payment
The PM company is responsible for the liability
The property reimburses the PM company through Rent Trust
The credit card is paid separately through the PM company bank account