Investment approach
Investor Digital Cabinet: What Should Be Visible in a Project
A cabinet is useful when it shows budget and actuals, work status, documents and payments. The law requires an SL to report once a year, so the rest has to be written into the contract.
An investor's digital cabinet should show what the money was spent on, what has been done and what comes next: budget and actuals, work status, documents, payments, deviations. In the DNPI cabinet the investor sees the budget and the status of works. What other information and documents are available for a specific project, and how often they are updated, is set by the project contract.
What the investor should be able to see
| What to see | Why | What supports it |
|---|---|---|
| Budget and actual spending | See an overrun before it happens | Invoices, certificates of completion, the estimate |
| Work status by stage | Understand the timeline and the risk of delay | Acceptance certificates, photos, the site supervisor's report |
| Project documents | Check rights and permits | Escritura, licences, nota simple |
| Payments and cash movement | Know where the funds went | Bank statements |
| Deviations and changes of scope | Approve before spending | Written approvals |
| Forecast of exit timing and price | Decide whether to wait or change strategy | An updated calculation |
The second half of the table matters more than the first. Status and budget show the past, and an investor also needs deviations and a forecast. How to read such a report is covered in the articles on the renovation report and on budget control.
What the law requires of an SL by default
If the project is set up as an SL, the law sets an annual rhythm rather than continuous monitoring. The administradores (directors) prepare the annual accounts within three months of the end of the financial year (art. 253 Ley de Sociedades de Capital). The meeting that approves them is held in the first six months of the year (art. 164). After approval, the accounts are filed with the Registro Mercantil (Commercial Registry) within a month (art. 279).
An SL member's right to information: a written request before the meeting or an oral one at it, on items on the agenda; the administradores must answer but may refuse if disclosure harms the company's interests. A refusal is not possible if the request is supported by members holding at least 25% of the capital (art. 196). Everything else lies in the contract.
How to tell a report from a shop window
- The figures are tied to documents: every line has an invoice, certificate or statement behind it.
- The history of changes is visible: who changed the estimate, when and why.
- The figures are not entered by the operator alone, or there is a way to check what was entered independently.
- Payments are reconciled against the bank, not only against the estimate.
- The cabinet does not replace the contract: the right to information and documents is set by the contract, and the cabinet only displays them.
How often the cabinet is updated
Not every cabinet shows figures in real time. Ask three things: what source the figures come from, how often they are updated and who is responsible for it. A monthly update is not better or worse than a daily one in itself. What matters is that the frequency is written down and matches the decision points: stages of work and payments. Record in the contract what exactly should reach the investor and how often.
What the DNPI cabinet includes
All that is published is that the investor gets a digital cabinet with the budget and the status of works. The rest of its content, the update frequency and access to primary documents are set by the contract for the specific project. General sections with data for investors are collected in the data hub.
What to ask before signing
- Which sections the cabinet has and which documents are available as originals.
- How often and from what source the data is updated.
- Who makes changes and whether the history is kept.
- What you receive if the cabinet is unavailable.
- How many years the project materials are kept after it ends.
- Whether the contract includes the right to request documents that are not in the cabinet.
Who the cabinet does not solve the problem for
A cabinet will not suit someone who wants only a final figure: it takes time to read. Nor does it replace a legal review, because good reporting does not fix a bad contract. How the figures in a report relate to the investor's decisions is covered in the article on investor rights.
Questions and answers
What does the investor see in the DNPI digital cabinet?
The budget and the status of works. The content of the remaining data and its frequency are set by the project contract.
Does the cabinet show figures in real time?
No such parameter is stated for DNPI: the update frequency should be clarified before signing the contract. Check it against the contract and match it to the project's stages.
What does the law require of an SL in reporting to its members?
Annual accounts, approval at a meeting, filing with the Registro Mercantil and the member's right to information on items on the agenda. Details are in the section above; the rest is contractual.
How can you be sure the figures in the cabinet are real?
Check invoices, certificates and bank statements on a sample of several items. If there are no documents, that is a signal to sort it out before you transfer the next payment.
