How much time could your HOA board save if day-to-day bookkeeping became a thing of the past? And how much stress could they avoid if board members could rest easy knowing that HOA bookkeeping experts are managing their accounts? What new ideas could board members come up with if their minds were free to focus on big-picture planning rather than all the tedious tasks required to keep an HOA running?

Homeowners expect their HOAs to be fiscally responsible with the dues they pay, but this requires hours of meticulous detail, often using HOA accounting spreadsheets or other tools that aren’t designed for bookkeeping for an HOA. Trust can easily be broken between homeowners and the HOA if financial missteps occur. 

Following financial best practices sets your HOA up for success, but between record-keeping, balancing the budget, and creating forecasts for the future, the fiduciary duties required to self-manage an HOA can get out of hand pretty quickly. 

Learning any new trade is tedious, time-consuming, and can feel like a near-impossible task. HOA boards are volunteer-run, and members have limited time to study long documents and go through extensive training. HOA bookkeeping is no exception. 

HOA management software might be the solution you’ve been wishing for. Technology has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few years, and HOA management software offers so many benefits for your board and homeowners that once you take time to go over what it can do for your organization, you may wonder how you ever got by without it.

HOA bookkeeping services

Bookkeeping is the specialized practice of organizing, classifying, and maintaining financial records. Outsourcing your HOA’s bookkeeping needs to PayHOA is an affordable, simple way to entrust your accounting to an HOA bookkeeping professional instead of a relatively unskilled volunteer.

HOA bookkeeping tasks can include:

• Balancing the ledger
• Preparing annual taxes
• Coding transactions
• Sending invoices
• Processing payments
• Creating reports for the HOA

If this sounds like a lot, it’s because it is. Many associations turn to expensive management companies to shoulder some of this load. But that’s not the only solution. HOA software can relieve a great deal of stress, and outsourcing HOA bookkeeping services to PayHOA can be a game changer for a self-managed HOA.

Using PayHOA as an HOA bookkeeping service can take these tasks off your volunteers’ plates so that they can manage your properties (and their lives). The right assistance from an outsourced bookkeeping service can make your members feel supported, confident, and free of burdensome tasks.

Whichever service you choose, you should expect it to have these key features.

Transparency

Employing an HOA bookkeeping service shouldn’t mean giving up control. Homeowners have the right to readily available budget summaries and reserve information. HOA finances should be accessible to board members without the need to request a meeting or spend hours on the phone. Consider our bookkeeping team as an extension of your HOA management team. 

Employing PayHOA’s bookkeeping as a service allows easy access to:

• Bank accounts
• Financial reports
• Individual transactions 
• Tax returns 

In addition, coupled with our state-of-the-art HOA software, our bookkeeping as-a-service empowers your HOA board to stay on top of the finances and make informed decisions, without being bogged down by accounting and bookkeeping tasks. 

Accuracy

Like any business, accurate financials are a critical factor in decision-making for an HOA. Financial reports indicate the association's health. Ensuring that they remain accurate and up-to-date will keep board members informed as to whether the association is in good financial standing or if their processes and finances need to be reevaluated. 

By outsourcing your bookkeeping to professionals with expertise in HOA accounting, you can rest assured that your books will be accurate. And, although HOA board members can have the skills to handle your HOA finances, trusting an affordable expert can ease the burden on a volunteer, freeing them up to handle other day-to-day tasks of HOA management. 

PayHOA has a team dedicated to helping your board with bookkeeping services and taking the guesswork out of financial management. 

Additional support

When seeking the right HOA bookkeeping partner, look for a service that works for you. PayHOA has many years of experience with HOAs of all sizes across the country. Working with different HOAs and navigating each state’s unique laws has helped us to gather a wealth of knowledge. We’re eager to share that wisdom with our clients. 

PayHOA provides resources such as budgets, report packets (monthly, quarterly, and annually), and association tax preparation. We even offer financial consultations for tax time audits and other situations that can raise many questions for board volunteers. 

Our bookkeepers can prepare your annual federal and state taxes for your HOA for an additional fee. Imagine the peace of mind your board members will feel having people on their team who have seen it all before and are willing to walk them through it. 

Consistency

As volunteer positions, HOA board members are typically in their positions for a year or two. This is great for getting multiple members involved in leadership positions and bringing fresh energy, perspectives, and ideas. But this constant turnover has its drawbacks as well. 

At best, this constant transition equals a significant amount of time training new volunteers on HOA processes, including financial duties. At worst, methods are lost altogether and need to be reinvented.

Financial transitions are particularly messy and complicated. An HOA bookkeeping service is a reliable and constant solution that makes adapting to change easier for everybody. 

PayHOA’s team will even train new board members for your HOA, making the process seamless and simple for your volunteers.

 

Achieve financial stability

A well-run homeowners association proactively plans and tracks its finances. Without proper systems in place or someone keeping track of records, things can get out of hand quickly, leading to potential nightmare situations and causing distrust among members. 

These steps are crucial for achieving and maintaining financial stability for your HOA:

1. Keep accurate financial records, and diligently track all transactions. 
2. Create a realistic budget using trends from the last few years and projections for the future.
3. Regularly audit the association’s finances with a professional to assess the stability of the association. 
4. Keep expenses minimal to avoid staggering dues and unhappy homeowners. 
5. Be transparent with homeowners about how their money is spent. 

An HOA bookkeeping service provides your association with a clear and continuous picture of your finances. Using PayHOA’s HOA bookkeeping service is accurate, minimizes error, and provides your board with the support of experts during times of need. This solution keeps your financial management consistent across board transitions and supports long-term financial stability for your organization, ensuring the association meets its ultimate goal: keeping homeowners satisfied. 

PayHOA’s HOA bookkeeping service 

PayHOA now offers a bookkeeping service in addition to its HOA management software. 

Bookkeeping services include: 

• Transaction coding: Map transactions to correct G/L account.
• Monthly bank reconciliations: Compare bank statements to financial records and catch errors early. 
• Monthly and annual report packets: Frequent reports help keep finances in check; annual reports show long-term success or issues over the course of a year. 
• Budgeting assistance: Employ our experts to help create a sound budget for your unique HOA.
• General bookkeeping support and financial consultations: Our team is here to meet your needs.
• We offer these services for an additional cost: 1099 preparation, paper check processing, and 1120H IRS Preparation. 

Setup is simple 

1. Schedule an exploratory call. A 15-minute conversation with one of our experts will answer questions and address concerns.
2. Complete the onboarding questionnaire. Once PayHOA knows your needs, we create a customized solution for your HOA that’s low-touch and easy. 
3. Upload your bank statements monthly, and PayHOA will reconcile them for you. You’ll receive monthly reports to share with board members and homeowners. 
4. Relax knowing your HOA bookkeeping is being handled by experts. PayHOA will reach out if we see any issues. We are available for financial consulting as needed.

Contact us today to set up an exploratory call with our Accounting Department and retake control of your finances, maintain your association’s stability, and free your volunteers’ time. Your board members will thank you.

As an HOA manager, PayHOA offers you an all-in-one software platform to replace all those fragmented tools so accounting, communications, payments, documents, violations, and owner requests can all live in one place. PayHOA is the single portal where you can connect directly with the needs of your homeowners. Your residents can use PayHOA to make online payments, view their payment history and important documents, submit requests, and access important updates, streamlining management for your whole community. Try a 30-day free trial today or contact us at info@payhoa.com to learn more.