Short answer: A facility’s value is driven by its net operating income (NOI). Checking actual NOI against a monthly budget lets an owner see early in the year whether they are off track, and by how much, while there is still time to adjust pricing, collections or expenses.[1]
How Mark does it #
Mark starts with the pro forma he built when evaluating the deal, refined during due diligence (it is also what his partners and investors agreed to). He breaks it into a monthly budget, year by year. At the end of each month he compares actual NOI with budget NOI.[1]
He tracks NOI rather than income or expenses separately because expenses such as insurance and property taxes can change quickly and are easy to miss against a pro forma written a few years earlier. Knowing the NOI target lets him move the “dials and levers” on either side, revenue or expenses, to reach it.[1]
If you don’t have a yearly budget for your facility, Mark’s advice is to start one.[1]
Related answers #
- What metrics should a self-storage owner track every month?
- How can self-storage owners control operating expenses?
- What is the difference between physical and economic occupancy in self-storage?
Sources #
Each numbered note above links to the post of Mark’s it comes from.
- The Four Metrics Every Self-Storage Operator Should Track Monthly, Mark Helm, September 12, 2025
