Volunteer-Friendly Accounting Software For Homeowners Associations

For self managed HOAs, tackling complex accounting tasks may at first seem daunting to a volunteer treasurer. Managing a community’s finances places a lot of power and responsibility in your hands.

The good news is that as technology continues to evolve, software tools have grown more capable than ever at streamlining and automating even the most complicated work for many major industries.

HOAs are no exception.

In fact, accounting software for homeowners associations makes it easier for boards to effectively self manage and save tens of thousands of dollars per year on third party management costs.

Table of Contents:

1.      Why Is Accounting Software for Homeowners Associations Important?

2.      Simplifying Dues Collection

3.      Financial Reporting with HOA Software

4.      Accounting Software Stores All Your Data

Why Is Accounting Software for Homeowners Associations Important?

While some members may have experience with financial management, many may not. In addition, board volunteers aren’t paid professionals and are balancing board duties with other day-to-day responsibilities. Time-consuming and difficult tasks can deter people from volunteering.

Accounting software for your homeowners association can be a major tool in making it simple for volunteers to handle finances, as well as other community management tasks, saving themselves critical time and effort in the process.

Third-party managers can also charge tens of thousands of dollars in unit fees, startup and termination costs, and other potential fees. Self managing with HOA software costs as little as $50 per month by comparison.

The right software offers a holistic approach to HOA management, allowing boards to bill units and collect dues, set more effective budgets, sync banking and accounting data, produce financial analytics and reports, and manage a host of other community data, tasks, and communications with homeowners from a single online hub.

Simplify Dues Collections

HOAs spend a large part of their time and effort assessing, billing for, and collecting dues from their homeowners.

HOA accounting software gives your HOA’s treasurer a twofold advantage:

·        Automated bulk billing per unit and dues collections that once took hours can now be done with the click of a button.

·        Digital collections lets your treasurer keep better track of cash flow, without needing accounting experience.

Generic accounting software like QuickBooks won’t let you bill on a per-unit basis and effectively track dues collections through a single, HOA-dedicated system, making it a Band-Aid at best for these challenges.

Accounting software for homeowners associations is designed for an HOA’s billing and collections needs.

Bulk billing on a per-unit basis, both digitally and physically via USPS using a one-click software feature, lets you easily track payments and outstanding debts, adding a layer of accountability and the ability to better plan ahead.

Financial Reporting with HOA Software

When it comes to HOA financial planning and management, boards tend to focus on four major concerns:

·        Cash on hand

·        The amount in reserves

·        What money is being spent on

·        What money ought to be spent on

Effectively tracking these means keeping accurate and detailed financial reports. Accounting software for homeowners associations lets a treasurer easily produce and manage a number of important HOA financial reports.

Some of these include the following:

A general ledger documents your HOA’s financial activities and monitor transactions, organized by date and account type.

A balance sheet should summarize your HOA’s assets, liabilities, and equity, let you calculate community assets, and track your association’s financial wellbeing.

A profit and loss statement summarizes revenues, costs, and expenses from a specified period, such as a month, fiscal quarter, or year. These statements help ensure your HOA isn’t overspending.

An account register lists all financial transactions (both incoming and outgoing) and the status of those transactions. The account register helps track money that has cleared versus anticipated income.

Budget reports estimate anticipated income and spending for the year so that HOAs can better meet financial goals and plan for irregular expenses.

A bank reconciliations report includes all activities associated with your association’s bank accounts. These help monitor and prevent fraud and improper usage of the account.

HOA software gives treasurers the tools to build a variety of reports that compile this information for better compliance with financial auditing, more transparency to keep homeowners happy, and improved forecasting to meet future goals.

Accounting Software That Stores All Your Data

HOAs must remain compliant and follow certain guidelines that govern each association. Additionally, not only do homeowners expect a certain level of transparency in how their money is spent, but treasurers need a way to track the current and future financial wellbeing of their community and minimize the potential risk of a mistake.

Accounting software for homeowners associations gives treasurers an extra buffer of risk mitigation and flexibility with the ability to securely store all your community’s data—financial and otherwise—in one easy-to-search central repository.

A treasurer without an accounting background may not have the training to foresee when you may need access to certain data, so having it all in one place ensures nothing ever slips through the cracks.

Some of the data HOA software stores and tracks can include:

·        All financial data, documents, reports, and analytics

·        Payment histories versus outstanding debts for all units and homeowners

·        Key details about each unit, resident, and vendor

·        Tracking homeowner requests and violations

·        Open rates and sent messages, aggregated into a single dashboard with an audit log of all homeowner communications

·        Sharing and managing important community documents

PayHOA is an industry leader in providing HOAs superior accounting software tools to meet and exceed the needs of any association treasurer, from the seasoned accountant to the motivated newbie. PayHOA’s automated accounting tools and centralized data hub let you build a clearer picture of your HOA’s financial health.

Over 7,000 HOAs across the country use PayHOA to simplify their accounting. See how easy HOA accounting software can be — try it for free.

PayHOA offers an HOA management software solution for HOAs of any size or managerial priorities. To find out if PayHOA fits all your HOA management needs, try our software free for 30 days.