Class enhances property compliance with integrated valuations and title searches

Tim Steele

Cloud-based accounting software provider Class has expanded its property compliance capabilities with enhancements that streamline valuations and title searches, improving efficiency and standardising processes for accountants and auditors.

Class has integrated with Australia’s leading property data providers – InfoTrack, CoreLogic, and PropTrack – to provide direct access to title searches, certificates, and automated property valuations, delivering accountants a comprehensive solution for property compliance to effectively support property assets held in SMSFs.

According to the Class Benchmark Report 2024, direct property accounts for 21% of Class SMSF assets, the second largest asset class by value after Australian listed shares. Additionally, almost one in three Class SMSFs (30.2% as at 30 June 2024) invest in direct property, with 63.6% of those invested in commercial property and 36.4% invested in residential property.

The Class property feature enhancements enable accountants to save on competitively priced title searches while also accessing historical valuations and nationwide reports that include sales comparisons and property dimensions, to deliver deeper insights for clients while also supporting auditors in their assessments.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has previously issued audit guidance highlighting the importance of annual title searches to verify SMSF property ownership and to ensure that no charges (such as second mortgages or finance) exist over SMSF property assets.1

Additionally, a recent court ruling found council rates notices, bank loan statements, and rental statements were not sufficient to prove property ownership and that a title search is the only definitive way to verify property ownership.2

The newly released enhancements include:

• Expanded property title searches and certificates – Class now integrates with InfoTrack to enable nationwide property title searches and certificates, providing financial professionals with a faster and more reliable way to verify property ownership.
• Automated residential property valuations – Class has expanded its valuation capabilities beyond CoreLogic to also integrate with PropTrack to offer residential property valuations, now enhanced with retrospective valuation capabilities, directly from the Class platform.

According to Class CEO Tim Steele, these capabilities enable productivity by reducing manual processes and delivering accountants real-time access to trusted property data.

“Given resource costs and constraints, our clients rightfully continue to demand more from their technology partners. Class is committed to delivering innovative cloud-based solutions that simplify workflows, enhance compliance and deliver greater value for financial professionals.”

These enhancements follow the release of direct registry connections to Australia’s largest share registries and an industry-first, directly sourced document feeds from major financial institutions.