---
title: How HBR Rentals Changed Software Without Putting Its Books at Risk
description: HBR Rentals changed property management software with Hawk running the accounting through the move.
image: https://hawkoperations.com/hubfs/How%20HBR%20Rentals%20Changed%20Software%20Without%20Putting%20Its%20Books%20at%20Risk-1.png
---

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Case Study

# How HBR Rentals Changed Software Without Putting Its Books at Risk

By **Anthony Strunz** October 2026 4 min read

HBR Rentals changed property management software with Hawk running the accounting through the move.

[HBR Rentals](https://www.hbrrentals.com/) is a residential property management company in Northern California with roughly 300 single-family homes, condos, and townhomes under management. Karen Jordan is the Director of Operations, leading a team of ten.

The state of California holds property managers to strict trust accounting requirements, and Karen has built HBR’s operation around meeting them. The money moving through the company each month belongs to owners and tenants, and accounting for every dollar of it is part of what owners hire HBR to do.

## The Challenge

For years, owner disbursements ran through Karen personally. Each month she reviewed, cross-checked, and released roughly half a million dollars to owners, a process that took hours before a single payment could go out.

> “Every time I do an owner disbursement, I’m releasing half a million dollars or more. That’s a lot of money. That’s our responsibility, and people rely on us for that.”
> 
> Karen Jordan, Director of Operations, HBR Rentals

Even with that level of review, up to ten owner complaints arrived every month, almost as soon as payments went out, and each one meant another round of research and follow-up.

Then HBR decided to change platforms. After nearly ten years on its previous property management software, support and service had stopped keeping pace with the business, and the company chose to move to Rentvine. Because the books live inside the property management platform, changing software meant migrating the accounting along with everything else.

HBR had migrated once before, and the accounting records had not carried over correctly. Correcting the books afterward took months. The outside firm handling HBR’s accounting at the time was willing to help with the move to Rentvine, but it had never worked in the platform and would be learning it during the transition. Karen wanted a partner who already knew it.

## The Solution

Karen partnered with Hawk ahead of the migration. Hawk already worked in Rentvine and already understood California’s trust accounting requirements, which meant Karen had that expertise alongside her from the first day of the transition. The migration went through with modest cleanup, and owner payments continued on schedule throughout.

Today, Hawk runs HBR’s property accounting inside Rentvine: reconciliations, payables, owner disbursements, and owner reporting, all on a defined monthly schedule. Owner draw dates, review windows, and task ownership are set in advance, so Karen’s team knows what is due and when before the month begins.

Hawk is also built into HBR’s controls. No single person at the company can release funds. Every disbursement passes through three approvals in the system, and Hawk is one of them, bringing a set of eyes that sits outside the daily work.

> “Hawk catches things we would have walked right past. We’re in it every day, and that’s exactly why we don’t see them.”
> 
> Karen Jordan, Director of Operations, HBR Rentals

## The Difference

Karen’s team now runs the accounting alongside Hawk and handles the day-to-day without her. She oversees the function, and by her estimate she has 10 to 20 more hours a week to spend running the business.

Owner complaints about disbursements have gone to zero.

> “Owner payments go out on time, and we don’t get calls from owners asking about their disbursement. I have a team and I have processes that we’re very comfortable following through with. I didn’t have that before.”
> 
> Karen Jordan, Director of Operations, HBR Rentals

## Looking Ahead

With the monthly close running on schedule, Karen’s attention stays where she believes it belongs: on oversight, on compliance, and on verifying the work.

“You can trust a system,” Karen said, “but if you don’t verify it, messes will occur.”

Switching property management software?

See how Hawk supports the accounting side of a platform move.

[Learn more →](https://hawkoperations.com/software-switch)

![Anthony Strunz](https://hawkoperations.com/hubfs/anthony-strunz.jpeg)

Anthony Strunz

Operational accounting for property management

[Case Study](https://hawkoperations.com/blog/tag/case-study)

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### [Case Study Unlimited Real Estate Runs Stronger with Hawk as Part of the Team A 500-unit operator in Arizona and Colorado runs payables, reconciliations, and owner reporting through Hawk, inside its Rentvine environment. 3 min read](https://hawkoperations.com/blog/unlimited-real-estate-runs-stronger-with-hawk-as-part-of-the-team)

### [Case Study How Legacy Pines Property Management Regained Control While Scaling Charleston operator scaled on AppFolio and cut weekly accounting time from 25 hours to five, with Hawk running the function. 4 min read](https://hawkoperations.com/blog/how-legacy-pines-property-management-regained-control-while-scaling)

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