Features & tools
Arrears ratio: how to calculate and read it in your software
The arrears ratio is the amount of fees that are due and unpaid divided by the total fees called for collection over a given period. Expressed as a percentage, it captures a condominium's financial health in a single figure: a low ratio signals steady collections, a high one warns of cash and liquidity problems. In management software this value updates on its own as payments arrive, so the administrator never has to rebuild it by hand. Knowing how it is calculated and how to read it lets you act before arrears become structural and threaten ordinary spending.
How the arrears ratio is calculated
The basic formula is simple: divide the amount of overdue, still uncollected fees by the total amount of fees issued in the same period, then multiply by one hundred. If fees of 100,000 euro were called during a financial year and, at a given date, 12,000 remain unpaid, the ratio is 12 per cent. The reference period must be clear: it can be measured over the current year, a single instalment or the whole history.
The reference date matters a great deal. A fee is not in arrears until it is overdue: only instalments whose payment deadline has already passed should be counted. The software automatically distinguishes fees not yet due from overdue ones, so the ratio is not inflated by instalments still within terms. This keeps the figure comparable over time and across different condominiums.
- Numerator: overdue and uncollected fees at the date
- Denominator: total fees issued in the period
- Result as a percentage, updated at every payment
- Instalments not yet due are excluded from the numerator
Ratio per condominium and per owner
The overall ratio shows how much arrears weigh on the condominium, but it is not enough. You also need the per-owner reading: a 10 per cent ratio concentrated on a single owner is a different problem from the same 10 per cent spread over twenty people who pay a few days late. The first case calls for targeted action and perhaps enforced recovery, the second a simple reminder.
The software lets you break the figure down: how many owners are up to date, how many are slightly late, how many are seriously in arrears. This segmentation guides the choice of the right tool, from an automatic reminder to a formal notice, up to a request for an injunction order under Article 63 of the implementing provisions of the Italian Civil Code, which provides an immediately enforceable title.
How to read the value over time
A single reading says little. The useful view is the trend: if arrears grow instalment after instalment, the condominium is building up a latent debt that will eventually fall on the paying owners, forced to advance the common expenses. If instead it falls after reminders, the recovery tools are working.
A physiological peak appears right after an instalment is issued, when many have not yet paid, and eases off in the following days. A ratio that stays high even weeks after the deadline should be treated as abnormal. Comparing the current ratio with the same period of the previous year helps you tell whether the situation is really worsening or simply following the normal seasonality of collections.
From the ratio to action
The value only matters if it triggers decisions. Many administrators set internal thresholds: below a certain percentage management is routine, above a second threshold automatic reminders start, above a third legal action is considered. There are no statutory thresholds; these are management choices each firm calibrates on its own portfolio.
The dashboard makes the step from number to action immediate: from a high ratio you reach, in one click, the list of names in arrears, the amounts owed and the history of reminders already sent. In AmministraPro the ratio calculation, per-owner segmentation and reminder sending live in the same environment, with no double entry. The features are described on the /funzioni page and the plans on the /prezzi page.
Frequently asked questions
What is an acceptable arrears ratio?
There is no statutory threshold. A value under 5 per cent well past the deadline is generally considered physiological, but it depends on the size of the condominium and the seasonality of collections. What matters is the trend: a stable or falling ratio is a good sign, a steadily rising one should be investigated at once.
Should the arrears ratio go in the financial statement?
The statement required by Article 1130-bis of the Italian Civil Code shows receivables from owners in the balance sheet, so arrears already emerge from the mandatory documents. The percentage ratio is an additional management tool that summarises that figure and makes it easier to read at the meeting, but it does not replace the statement's line items.
How do arrears affect liquidity?
Unpaid fees do not enter the account, yet common expenses must still be paid to suppliers. A high ratio means the condominium is funding costs with the liquidity of paying owners or with the cash reserve. If arrears exceed the available margin, the administrator risks being unable to meet deadlines.
Does the software update the ratio by itself?
Yes. Since the ratio derives from the relationship between overdue and issued fees, every recorded payment recalculates it automatically. The administrator always sees the current value without rebuilding it by hand, and can filter it by condominium, by financial year or by single instalment.
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