Founded in 1996, Visual Lease is a premier software platform for integrated lease management, accounting, and reporting, used by over 1,500 organizations across the business services, construction, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail sectors. Visual Lease offers support for each team involved in managing a company’s leased and owned assets through a seamless platform that encourages strategic financial and operational outcomes for organizations.

CoStar Real Estate Manager helps customers across the globe manage every phase of the lease lifecycle, providing vital lease administration, lease accounting compliance, and transaction management applications, ensuring seamless workflows between real estate and accounting teams.

This strategic acquisition will enhance functionality for businesses of all sizes by providing industry leading lease management and accounting solutions coupled with the power of CoStar’s data and analytics. The combination will also enhance relationships with key real estate and accounting service providers and increase integration opportunities with key technology partners.

“Visual Lease and CoStar Real Estate Manager are driven by the same mission of integrating all lease management portfolio functions into one user-friendly platform. Bringing Visual Lease into the CoStar Group family will allow us to create the best possible experience for our customers,” said Andy Florance, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CoStar Group. “By combining CoStar Group’s industry expertise with Visual Lease’s diverse customer base, deep lease portfolio management expertise, and leading sustainability solutions, we are well positioned to offer a more comprehensive service offering and continue growing both nationally and internationally. I look forward to welcoming the Visual Lease team to CoStar Group and working together to develop new capabilities to better serve our clients.”

“This marks an exciting new chapter for Visual Lease,” said Marc Betesh, Founder & Executive Chairman of Visual Lease. “This partnership with CoStar Group will allow us to propel our vision to even higher levels. I am incredibly proud of everything we have achieved since we began on this journey almost 30 years ago and am excited for all that is ahead.”

“From its inception, Visual Lease has focused on helping companies optimize the value of their lease portfolios. This moment and next step forward with CoStar Group is a testament to our team’s dedication to this mission. Joining forces with CoStar Group will accelerate our growth, expand our offerings, and even further enhance how we serve our customers.” said Robert Michlewicz, Chief Executive Officer of Visual Lease.

Citi served as exclusive financial advisor to CoStar Group on the transaction and Milbank LLP served as its legal advisor. Shea & Company, LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Visual Lease and Latham & Watkins LLP served as its legal advisor.

Visual Lease is backed by Spectrum Equity and Growth Street Partners.

Learn more here.

Woodbridge, NJ – Oct. 22, 2024 — Visual Lease (VL) the premier platform for integrated lease management, accounting, and reporting, today released a new report from The Visual Lease Data Institute (VLDI), “2025 Outlook: Lease Portfolio Management Trends, Risks & Opportunities.” In this annual survey, senior Finance and Real Estate leaders shared how enterprises can better navigate economic pressures, market shifts, and changing business needs by gaining a holistic view of their lease portfolio.

“As leases are often a business’s second-largest expense, there is much to be gained from managing these assets appropriately,” said Robert Michlewicz, CEO of Visual Lease. “Key benefits include the ability to react to unforeseen circumstances, identify cost savings opportunities, and easily sustain accurate financial reporting and compliance. The latest VLDI report highlights the main components of a successful lease portfolio management strategy: utilizing a centralized system of record for related data sets and facilitating cross-departmental collaboration amongst critical stakeholders, including Finance, Real Estate, IT, Legal, Operations, and Sustainability.”

VL reports that 100% of Finance Executives have concerns with maintaining control over their organization’s lease portfolio, including the ability to maintain compliance with ESG reporting requirements (52%, compared to 44% in 2023), maintaining data accuracy and completeness (49%, compared to 48% in 2023) and reacting to unforeseen circumstances (49%, compared to 46% in 2023). These concerns stem from real consequences, with 99% of Real Estate Executives reporting negative outcomes from inadequate lease controls, including overpaying rent or expenses (36%), the inability to respond to changing circumstances (36%), or missing an opportunity to update unfavorable or unwanted terms (31%).

“Given the significant opportunities and risks associated with leases, we anticipate that optimizing lease-related financial and operational strategies will solidify its place as a top business priority in 2025,” added Michlewicz. “Organizations that embrace this shift will sustain their competitive advantage and resilience in a continuously evolving business landscape.”

Additional key findings from the report include:

• There is significant progress to be made around ESG reporting readiness.
  The majority (55%) of Finance Executives reported that the pause on the SEC climate disclosure rule has impacted their organization’s climate-related reporting efforts, and only 43% say their companies have established related benchmarks (just a 4% increase from 2023).
• The Office of Finance is both interested in and concerned about implementing AI.
  While 100% of Finance Executives agree that AI will benefit the Office of Finance, 48% believe that a lack of strategy around how to use AI to improve efficiency is one of the top concerns facing their industry today.
• Many organizations have a critical collaboration gap that needs to be addressed.
  Ninety percent of Finance Executives believe they are mostly or completely collaborative with the team that manages their company’s commercial real estate leases. Conversely, only 50% of Real Estate Executives believe they are mostly or completely collaborative with their company’s finance team, highlighting a substantial collaboration gap between the many teams who interact with a lease portfolio, including Finance, Real Estate, Sustainability, Operations, Legal, and IT.

To register for VL’s upcoming webinar to review the key report findings, click here. To download the report and view the full data findings, click here.

Visual Lease conducted national surveys of 200 U.S. senior Finance and Accounting Executives and 200 U.S. senior Real Estate Executives at private, public and government organizations with more than 1,000 employees.

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About Visual Lease (VL)

Visual Lease (VL) is the premier platform for integrated lease management and lease accounting, trusted by enterprises worldwide to navigate complex portfolios with precision and ease. As the centralized system of record for all lease-related financial, operational, and legal data, VL is purpose-built to support every team involved in managing a company’s leased and owned assets. Informed by nearly three decades of experience, our platform integrates lease management, lease accounting, and sustainability reporting, enabling organizations to save time, mitigate risks, reduce costs, and support sustainability initiatives. Our award-winning software is used by 1,500+ organizations to manage more than 1 million real estate, equipment, and other leased asset records globally. For more information, visit visuallease.com.

Media Contact
Erica Bonavitacola
Visual Lease
T+1 732 860 4838

​​​For the past three years, Visual Lease (VL) has hosted its Customer Advisory Board (CAB) Summit to engage directly with our most forward-thinking customers and partners.

This year’s event in Las Vegas, Nevada, gathered representatives from 20 companies across various industries, along with several key partners. The CAB Summit is a forum to explore emerging industry trends, provide an exclusive look at VL’s product roadmap, and gather valuable feedback to continuously improve our solutions and deliver even greater value.

At our annual CAB Summit, we also celebrate our Customer Excellence Award winners—a group of companies that have demonstrated remarkable innovation and leadership in their use of the VL platform.

We are proud to honor our 2024 recipients for their achievements and the successes we have achieved together:

Operational Efficiency & Scalability

Acrisure is one of the fastest-growing brokerage firms, scaling from $38 million to $4 billion in just 10 years. Their expanding, complex lease portfolio demanded a dynamic solution. After choosing VL as their system of record, they optimized their processes with VL’s Payments function and quickly expanded to API integrations, building a custom real estate dashboard in Power BI. Together with VL, Acrisure can leverage their lease data to streamline operations, enhance transparency, and manage their growing portfolio with precision.

Exceptional Collaboration

Everus Construction is the first two-time winner of ​a VL Customer ​Excellence Award. Their team consistently provides valuable feedback to VL’s product team and is dedicated to overcoming challenges through collaboration. Everus Construction exemplifies a true symbiotic relationship between technology and business, showcasing how a strong partnership drives mutual success.

Proactive Platform Optimization

RS Components is continuously seeking ways to optimize their use of the VL platform. Their team regularly engages with their VL Customer Success Manager to identify and implement improvements as they navigate significant growth through acquisitions and transition to new auditors.

Innovation & Strategic Improvement

Waste Connections is a long-standing customer of VL’s, maintaining a strong relationship with its Customer Success team for more than seven years. They actively collaborate with their VL Customer Success Manager, continuously update their platform, and take full advantage of new functionalities as they are released. Their commitment to collaboration and continuous improvement sets a high standard for customer engagement and partnership.

Want to make it on next year’s list? Connect with your Customer Success Manager to learn more.

Industry leaders join forces to streamline data management and maintain financial and
sustainability reporting controls for real estate and equipment-related datasets

Woodbridge, NJ – September 9, 2024 — Visual Lease (VL) the premier platform for integrated lease management, accounting, and reporting, today announced a strategic partnership with Workiva, the world’s leading platform for assured integrated reporting, at Workiva Amplify 2024. Both industry leaders are committed to empowering mutual customers to streamline financial and sustainability reporting.

“At VL, we saw firsthand how challenging portfolio management was for the Office of Finance in adopting the accounting standards (ASC 842, IFRS 16, GASB 87 & 96),” said Robert Michlewicz, CEO of Visual Lease. “Sustainability reporting is no different, which is why last year, we launched VL ESG Steward, the first carbon accounting and sustainability management solution for enterprise real estate and equipment portfolios. VL’s solutions are built on decades of industry-leading lease administration and accounting guidance, and we’re thrilled to extend this unique value by partnering with Workiva. Our shared mission is to empower organizations in achieving transparent reporting, which includes the timely and growing need to accurately report against their sustainability goals.”

This announcement comes at a critical time as new and evolving ESG disclosures impact organizations across the globe. While intended to bring transparency and accountability to sustainability reporting, these regulations have simultaneously increased scrutiny and the resulting burden on businesses.

“Navigating portfolio data for financial and non-financial reporting poses a distinctive challenge,” stated Paul Volpe, Senior Vice President of Solutions and Growth, Workiva. “Accurately depicting sustainability impact demands meticulous tracking of real estate and equipment changes alongside financial and climate implications. Through our technology partnership with Visual Lease, our solutions can automate data flows and ensure precision in meeting evolving sustainability disclosure standards and data validation for assurance, as well as empower our shared clients to make informed, data-driven decisions benefiting both their organizations and the environment.”

The importance of dedicated sustainability management and reporting solutions is underscored by the significant role real estate and equipment leases play in many organizations’ overall budget and carbon footprint. Managing these assets can be intricate, especially with leases involved, as portfolio changes affect spending, operational workflows, and environmental implications.

To learn more about how VL ESG Steward – recently named a Leading Compliance Solution by The Stevie Awards® – helps organizations successfully report on this dynamic data, view our quick product overview video.

Visit VL at Workiva Amplify in the Amplify Hub. To learn more about VL and Workiva’s partnership, visit this link.

About Visual Lease (VL)

Visual Lease (VL) is the premier platform for integrated lease management and lease accounting, trusted by enterprises worldwide to navigate complex portfolios with precision and ease. As the centralized system of record for all lease-related financial, operational, and legal data, VL is purpose-built to support every team involved in managing a company’s leased and owned assets. Informed by nearly three decades of experience, our platform integrates lease management, lease accounting, and sustainability reporting, enabling organizations to save time, mitigate risks, reduce costs, and support sustainability initiatives. Our award-winning software is used by 1,500+ organizations to manage more than 1 million real estate, equipment, and other leased asset records globally. For more information, visit visuallease.com.

ABOUT WORKIVA

Workiva Inc. (NYSE: WK) is on a mission to power transparent reporting for a better world. We build and deliver the world’s leading cloud platform for assured integrated reporting to meet stakeholder demands for action, transparency, and disclosure of financial and non-financial data. Workiva offers the only unified SaaS platform that brings customers’ financial reporting, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), and Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) together in a controlled, secure, audit-ready platform. Our platform simplifies the most complex reporting and disclosure challenges by streamlining processes, connecting data and teams, and ensuring consistency. Learn more at workiva.com.
Media Contact

Erica Bonavitacola
Visual Lease
T+1 732 860 4838

Visual Lease’s latest platform extension continues to gain industry recognition for helping organizations track and report on environmental impact data in accordance with all major frameworks and regulations

Woodbridge, NJ – April 25, 2024 — Visual Lease (VL), the #1 lease optimization software provider, today announced that VL ESG Steward was named the winner of a Bronze Stevie® Award in the Compliance Solution category in The 22nd Annual American Business Awards®.

VL ESG Steward is the first tool of its kind within the lease management and accounting space. The software converts consumption data of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, PFCs, CH4, SF6, N2O, HFCs) using calculations based on the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Protocol and EPA energy grid emissions factors. VL ESG Steward tracks a wide variety of environmental factors across an organization’s portfolio of leased and owned assets, including energy consumption, water usage, waste management and more, and automatically converts it into the standardized measurement of choice.

“As regulations continue to evolve across the U.S. and abroad toward standardizing environmental reporting, companies are prioritizing their lease and owned asset portfolio to gain visibility into a key measurement – their current carbon footprint,” said Robert Michlewicz, CEO of Visual Lease. “VL ESG Steward extends the value of our industry-leading lease management platform, providing our customers with confidence in their lease data so that they can establish related benchmarks, reach corporate sustainability goals and ensure regulatory compliance.”

The American Business Awards are the U.S.A.’s premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small.

“We appreciate receiving this recognition from The 22nd Annual American Business Awards® for our innovative approach to a new and rapidly evolving business priority,” Michlewicz added. “VL remains committed to helping businesses successfully navigate the regulatory landscape while creating financial and operational value. VL ESG Steward is our next step in satisfying the growing demand for accurate environmental data among investors, consumers and employees alike.”

In February 2024, VL ESG Steward was lauded as a Top New Product in 2024 by Accounting Today. In 2023, VL ESG Steward was recognized as a finalist for a Software as a Service (SaaS) award within the category of Best SaaS Product for CSR, Sustainability and ESG, and also named a Sustainability Product of the Year by the Business Intelligence Group.

VL ESG Steward will also be part of the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Product in the Compliance Solution category. To vote for VL ESG Steward, visit https://peopleschoice.stevieawards.com/.  Public voting ends Friday, May 24.

To learn more about VL ESG Steward, please visit this link.

About the Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in nine programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, and the new Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.

About Visual Lease

Visual Lease is the #1 lease optimization solution provider, empowering organizations to leverage their lease portfolio for strategic financial and operational outcomes. Our powerful and secure platform serves as a centralized system of record for all lease financial, operational and legal data, and is purpose-built to support every team that interacts with a company’s lease portfolio. Informed by nearly three decades of experience, our solutions help companies easily sustain compliance with FASB, IFRS, GASB and ISSB reporting requirements, and mitigate the risks and maximize the value associated with their lease records. Our award-winning software is used by 1,500+ organizations to manage more than 1 million real estate, equipment and other leased asset records globally. For more information, visit visuallease.com.

Media Contact:

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

With more and more organizations focusing on ESG initiatives, we’ll use this blog to demystify what ESG is, why organizations choose to focus efforts on ESG related initiatives, and how your organization can get started on ESG reporting.

What is ESG

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. These three factors are used to evaluate the sustainability and ethical impact of a company’s operations.

• Environmental: Environmental factors refer to a company’s direct or indirect impact on the environment, and may include carbon emissions, energy consumption, climate change effects, pollution, waste disposal, renewable energy, and resource depletion.
• Social: Social factors refer to a company’s impact on society including how a company treats its employees, customers, and the communities in which it operates. Social factors include discrimination, diversity, equity and inclusion, human rights, community relations, and animal rights.
• Governance: Governance factors refer to a company’s internal management and decision-making processes that help ensure that a company’s leadership is accountable to its shareholders, investors and employees; abides by government regulations, and that the business operates with integrity. Governance factors include executive compensation, shareholder rights, takeover defense, staggered boards, independent directors, board elections, and political contributions.

For the purposes of this blog post, we’ll be focusing on the Environmental factors.

Why Focus on ESG?

There are 4 main reasons why an organization may choose to focus on ESG initiatives:

1. Financial performance: In the past decade, studies have confirmed a link between ESG policy performance and financial performance. One of the largest studies conducted by the Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, analyzed over 2,000 empirical datasets, with 90% of them indicating either positive or neutral correlations between ESG factors and financial performance.
2. Regulatory risks: While ESG reporting in the United States is currently largely voluntary, companies that ignore ESG factors may face regulatory and legal risks in the future. Many state and local governments are implementing ESG-related regulations, with fines and penalties for organizations that do not comply. The European Union (EU) is leading the way in requiring compliance to sustainable business practice; they currently have the world’s most advanced ESG regulations. For example, the ‘European Green New Deal’ is a comprehensive plan that aims to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050 through an array of measures to combat climate change and promote sustainable innovation.
3. Reputation: Consumers and investors are increasingly looking to do business with companies that prioritize ESG, and companies that don’t prioritize ESG may risk damaging their reputation. According to PwC, 76% of consumers say they will stop buying from companies that treat the environment, employees, or the community in which they operate poorly.
4. Environmental impact: Companies that prioritize ESG are more likely to operate sustainably, reduce their carbon footprint, and engage in ethical business practices.

It’s becoming increasingly essential for organizations to determine where the risks and opportunities lie in a company’s ESG profile and whether they will have a material impact on its strategy, messaging, risk assessment, and reporting. This is especially true as companies compete for capital and stakeholders demand more transparency around a company’s environmental impact.

Where to Get Started?

While having your organization prioritize ESG initiatives can seem like a daunting task, there are some clear steps you can take to start navigating this complex landscape.

1. Gather the right team members in the business to discuss your ESG priorities and set goals. Examples of ESG goals may include:
   1. Partnering with non-profits to identify, fund, and scale proven environmental impact solutions
   2. Reducing scope 1, 2, 3 GHG emissions
   3. Reducing energy and using renewable energy sources to become a net zero organization.
   4. You can also look towards standards (i.e. ISSB) or frameworks (CDP) for guidance on relevant goals.
2. Establish an internal task force. If your organization doesn’t have a head of sustainability or similar role, consider bring together folks from:
   1. C Suite – consider asking your CFO to serve the role as executive sponsor
   2. Reporting & Finance – like your Controller, and/or Director of Reporting
   3. Data Gathering & Execution – like Facilities Manager, Procurement lead, Real Estate executive and/or Supply Chain manager
3. Develop an understanding of scope 1 and scope 2 emissions and requirements. Keep in mind, requirements for ESG reporting may vary depending on the specific standard being used.:
   1. Scope 1 emissions are a type of greenhouse gas emissions that come directly from the sources owned or controlled by your organization. You can think of this in terms of “I burned it,” Examples include your organization’s facilities and company vehicles.
   2. Scope 2 emissions are also a type of greenhouse gas emissions, but these come from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating & cooling of a company. You can think of this in terms of “I paid someone else to burn it.”
4. Start taking practical steps for gathering your data so you can establish baselines. This may vary depending on where and how information is stored, but energy bills, for example, are a great source of information for gathering energy consumption.
5. Ensure your team considers best practices in reporting. You’ll likely want to track energy and water consumption, waste and biodiversity activity data, and calculate greenhouse gas emissions based on the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Protocol and EPA Energy grid emissions factors. Alternatively, leverage a tool with automatic and transparent calculations complete with audit trail.

While the ESG compliance requirements are still evolving, one thing is certain: ESG compliance isn’t a one-and done disclosure, it’s a mindset shift across an organization and an ongoing, iterative journey towards sustainability. For more information on how to begin your journey and to learn about Visual Lease’s carbon accounting tool, visit ESG Steward