App Showdown finalist profile: LeaseMate – Lease accounting is hard; LeaseMate makes it easier

Lease accounting can get complicated. And, with new lease accounting standards coming into play in 2019, it will become even more so.

Enter LeaseMate, an app from Sydney-based Upgear Finance that makes it extremely easy to ensure leases are accounted for quickly and accurately.

“We’re about saving time and providing peace of mind,” says Jayrd Carolin, founder of Upgear and creator of LeaseMate. “We want to make the transition to the new rules easy for anyone who has the challenging task of doing the lease accounts.”

LeaseMate is the only app focused on lease accounting in the QuickBooks® Online App Store, Carolin says – a niche he’s proud to give the attention it deserves. “The app ecosystem makes it so easy to add new functionality to QuickBooks Online, so we focus hard on doing one thing really well,” he says.

LeaseMate walks you through creating a lease, step by step. Tips and dialogues let you complete lease accounting in minutes. Among key features include the following:

• LeaseMate’s algorithms do the math. You can put the spreadsheet away. LeaseMate ensures lease accounting records are accurate and adhere to the ASC 842 standard.
• Know exactly what you’re leasing. LeaseMate keeps lease and asset records at your fingertips.
• Get a better deal. LeaseMate will send you a timely reminder when a lease is close to its end date. That means you can take the initiative in end-of-term negotiations and get a better deal from your lessor.

In QuickBooks, you simply enter basic lease financials. LeaseMate creates required journal entries and expenses and consolidates them, enabling you to keep track of individual assets without clogging upcoming expense reports with too much data.

“I remember sitting down with a local accountant and showing him the first version of LeaseMate,” Carolin recalls. “I think I took three pages of notes just from observing his interactions. It’s one thing to hear or read feedback. We definitely get the best insights from hands-on testing.”

As the capabilities of QuickBooks Online expand and other apps begin to automate rote tasks, Carolin says he is eager to see how the role of the accountant in a business will evolve to add even more value to clients.

LeaseMate was a finalist in this year’s Small Business App Showdown at QuickBooks Connect, a contest that honors the very best new apps published on the QuickBooks App Store.