Knowledge Base
Verified Savings
Verified savings are cost reductions confirmed item by item against real, currently available supplier prices for the same product, as opposed to savings estimated from averages, benchmarks, or projections.
Verified versus estimated savings
Estimated savings come from averages and assumptions: industry discount rates, category benchmarks, "typical" overpayment factors. Verified savings come from receipts: this exact item, purchased at this price, available today from this named supplier at that lower price. The difference is whether the number survives scrutiny. An estimate can justify a meeting; only a verified figure can justify a budget line, because every dollar of it traces to a specific item and a specific alternative source. When a savings claim cannot name the item and the supplier, it is a projection wearing a precise number.
How verification works in practice
Each claimed saving is anchored to an invoice line: the SKU purchased, the price paid, and a currently available price for the same item from a real supplier that serves the property. Averages are calculated only after the fact, from verified items — never the other way around. Measured this way, Stilwell's line-level reviews have found an average of $22,546 in annual savings for a 200-unit property, a 4.51x average return on the product investment. Because the figures are verified rather than modeled, The Benchmark carries a money-back guarantee: if verified potential annual savings do not reach at least the amount invested, the fee is refunded (terms apply).
Why the distinction matters to the P&L
Savings only matter when they reach net operating income, and only verified savings reliably do — the item exists, the supplier exists, the purchase can be redirected next order. In multifamily, expense reductions also compound into asset value: a dollar of durable annual savings is worth a multiple of that dollar at the cap rate, as shown in how expense savings raise property value. That multiplier is exactly why unverified estimates are dangerous — they inflate projected value on money that never materializes. Verified savings keep the chain honest from invoice line to NOI to valuation.
Related terms
Start with one property and one quarter
Send us a quarter of invoices and we will show you what it should have cost. If there is nothing there, we will tell you that too.
