Syndic comparison in Belgium: choosing a syndic, software or formula before the GM

The property manager’s (syndic’s) mandate is coming to an end, or the volunteer syndic in your building no longer wants to carry the accounts alone. The co-ownership council has to put a proposal on the agenda of the next general meeting (GM), and from a distance the options look alike: professional syndic, software, assisted platform, free formula. Anyone making a syndic comparison in Belgium also runs into rates expressed in different units: per unit and per month with one, per building with another, sometimes excluding VAT, sometimes including it.

This part of the site is there to help you decide between these options. Each comparison starts from a specific situation, compares solutions actually offered in Belgium and says which one we choose, for whom, and why.

Who publishes these comparisons, and why Syndic Yourself comes first

Let us say it straight away: this site promotes Syndic Yourself, an online platform that supports volunteer syndics with a team of experts in accounting, law and co-ownership. Every comparison points this out in a box at the top of the page.

We put Syndic Yourself first where it fits the reader’s situation, which mainly means when a co-owner takes on the role of volunteer syndic and is looking for support. This ranking always comes with a justification you can check: positioning, published entry price, languages, level of support. A plain ‘number one’ is not enough.

We also say when another solution fits better. A firm of professional syndics managing dozens of buildings does not have the same needs as a volunteer syndic with six units, and software designed for firms will serve it better. Each comparison has a section on these cases.

Our method: public prices, dated, in the right unit

We record every price from the provider’s official website, never from another comparison. The date it was recorded appears in the table, because price lists change. We state the unit (per unit, per building, per month or per year) and the VAT: an amount excluding VAT placed next to one including VAT skews the comparison by 21%. When one rate is per building and another per unit, we do the conversion in black and white, on a described example building.

When a provider does not publish its price, we write ‘not published’. We estimate nothing, and we do not repeat providers’ promotional figures (announced savings, number of users) that we cannot verify.

Three checks specific to Belgium come up in every table:

• Languages: in Brussels, a co-ownership may include French-speaking and Dutch-speaking co-owners, and a tool or support available in only one language quickly becomes an obstacle.
• Accounting: from twenty units, excluding cellars, garages and parking spaces, the owners’ association (VME/ACP) must keep its accounts according to the standard minimum chart of accounts. We check whether the provider claims this compliance, and we flag it when nothing is published on the subject. The page on co-ownership accounting sets out these rules.
• Registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises: the owners’ association is registered there, and its syndic must be listed. We note whether the solution helps with these formalities, and at what price.

Three comparisons for three situations

Looking for a tool without knowing which one yet? The comparison of co-ownership management software in Belgium covers the widest range: assisted platforms, software for volunteer syndics, software for professional firms. It compares published rates, languages, how the accounts are kept and the audience each provider targets.

If you are a volunteer syndic, or about to become one, the comparison of the best software for volunteer syndics focuses on your case: a small building, little time, accounts to keep without accounting training. The real question is asked head on: is software alone enough, or do you need human help for the annual statement and the general meeting?

Already paying a professional syndic and finding the bill high? The comparison of alternatives to a professional syndic puts three options side by side: changing professional syndic, switching to a volunteer syndic alone, or switching to an assisted volunteer syndic. For each, we describe what it asks of the co-owners in time and skills, not just what it costs.

Other comparisons will follow, such as the head-to-head volunteer or professional syndic or a checklist for changing your syndic.

Before comparing, three pages to read

A comparison does not tell you everything. If you have offers from professional syndics in front of you, start with the page on syndic prices in Belgium: there is no official scale, and it explains why two offers for the same building can differ by a factor of two.

If the idea of a volunteer syndic is circulating in the building, the page on the volunteer syndic describes the obligations that come with the role, the liability it involves and the skills it requires. Our view: that is the page to read before comparing tools, not after.

Finally, if the general meeting has to decide on a change, the page on changing your syndic gives the procedure, the timetable and the handover of the archives. In practice, the best tool is useless if the takeover of the outgoing syndic’s accounts and documents is not organised.