One integrated tool, or a finance-admin service backed by a RICS firm. Here is the honest comparison.

Most self-managing RTM directors do not. Brocade Professional covers service charges, budgets, bank reconciliation, year-end accounts, S20/S20B, FRA actions, and the audit trail in one tool. The exceptions where Blockcare 300 makes sense alongside or instead: you specifically want chartered-accountant sign-off on statutory year-end accounts, you want a RICS-regulated firm holding the client money, or you want Companies House filings handled for you. Otherwise the integrated tool is the simpler answer.

No. Brocade produces a self-serve year-end reconciliation with balancing charges (penny-safe largest-remainder), but does not provide a chartered-accountant sign-off on the statutory year-end accounts. If your articles or a leaseholder dispute require chartered-signed statutory accounts, Blockcare 300 (Ringley) provides that as a regulated firm. Brocade is built around tracking every figure that feeds the accounts, not around producing the regulated artefact itself.

Blockcare 100 is free, Blockcare 300 is £630/yr, Blockcare 500 starts at £5,000/yr (Ringley engaged as managing agent), Blockcare 1000 starts at £10,000/yr. Brocade is £49/mo + £2.50/unit, a flat per-building software cost with no tier escalation.

Based on Ringley and Service Charge Sorted public pages as of April 2026, Blockcare 300 is scoped to financial administration (service-charge demands, bank reconciliation, statutory accounts). FRA action tracking, scheduled checks, and PEEP management are not in its public feature scope.

Per Ringley's public copy, Blockcare 300 funds sit in Ringley client accounts under RICS-regulated client-money rules. With Brocade, your bank account stays yours: we connect to your existing RTM company bank account for reconciliation but never hold the funds. Both models are valid; pick whichever matches your preference for who holds the money.

Mostly. Sign-up requires Ringley to provision your access (per the Leaseholder Support signup page), so there is a manual step. Once provisioned, the portal is self-serve.

It depends on what you specifically want. If you need chartered-accountant statutory accounts, RICS-regulated client-money handling, or Companies House filings handled for you, Blockcare 300 is the right fit. If you want one integrated tool covering finance and compliance (S20/S20B, FRA actions, PEEPs, audit trail) at a flat software cost, Brocade is the right fit. Most directors will pick one, not both.