What is Charge Code?

Definition

A charge code is a classification code used in property management billing systems to categorize specific types of tenant charges — base rent, CAM, property tax, insurance, utilities, and other pass-throughs. Each charge code defines the billing frequency, calculation method, and reconciliation behavior for that charge type. In CAM reconciliation, charge codes must be correctly mapped to the corresponding expense recovery pools to ensure that estimated charges collected during the year can be accurately compared against actual expenses at reconciliation. Misconfigured charge codes can cause estimates to be billed against the wrong recovery pool, producing reconciliation variances that do not reflect actual expense performance. Property controllers should maintain a documented charge code map that links each code to its GL source and recovery pool.