QuickBooks is everywhere. Most accountants know it, and most treasurers are familiar with it, and there’s something comforting about not having to learn a new tool from scratch. That familiarity has value. It reduces onboarding friction, minimizes errors, and gives your financial records a level of structure that a spreadsheet never could. In fact, QuickBooks […]

As an HOA board, financial management sits at the heart of everything you do. And I’m not just talking about collecting assessments. I mean the full picture, from building accurate budgets, maintaining a healthy reserve fund, to producing timely financial statements, and keeping yourself accountable to the homeowners who elected you. When this breaks down, […]

As you already know, dues aren’t the whole picture. Yes, monthly or annual assessments are the backbone of your operating budget that fund landscaping, reserve contributions, shared amenity upkeep, and the day-to-day work of keeping a community running. But they’re not the only money moving through your association. There are other streams like special assessments, […]

The HOA industry collectively manages over $90 billion in annual revenue across more than 370,000 community associations in the United States. That’s a mind-blowing amount of money, and yet, 75% of associations are still running their operations on tools like spreadsheets and paper files that haven’t evolved since the 1990s. And the gap between what […]

As a board of a self-managed HOA, collecting monthly assessments is one of your primary responsibilities. Those dues fund everything, from landscaping and snow removal to building repairs and funding reserve funds. For years, the process has been straightforward: residents mail in checks, someone from the board picks them up, deposits them at the bank, […]

Densely populated high rise condominiums have always been budget conscious. With so many expenses, it’s not hard to overspend and exceed the annual budget. But this year is different. Reducing costs or finding new ways to generate revenue isn’t just a goal, it’s a necessity for many large condo communities. Costs for services, materials, and […]

Florida has historically been considered an ideal state to purchase a winter home. Not only is it easy to get to, but condominium units were plentiful and very affordable. However, a recent law is making prospective buyers think twice about buying a condo unit in Florida.    Table of contents    The law (SB 4-D), […]

Has it been a challenging year for your condominium community? If you answered yes, you are not alone. The cost of everything, including insurance, utilities and staff, is up, and condo owners are feeling the pressure. The bad news is that costs aren’t decreasing any time soon. The good news is that more stability is […]

Would it surprise you to learn that some condominiums are using as much as 35% of their total annual budget on administrative costs? While every condo community is unique, it doesn’t hurt to benchmark your expenses against similar buildings to see where your building’s budgeting strengths and weaknesses lie. Everything is more expensive today than […]

Most of us can successfully keep track of our personal finances, but it’s not something we get excited about. Now imagine trying to document income and expenses for a multi-million-dollar association. If you have served or currently act as an HOA board member, you have a first-hand account of what it’s like to maintain financial […]

It can be an uncomfortable subject, but death is one of the few certainties in life. However, the irony is that this somber event can occur suddenly and unexpectedly.  When a loved one passes, family members are sometimes left scrambling to tie up loose ends on behalf of the newly deceased individual. That may even […]

Condo and HOA communities are non-profit organizations, meaning almost all of their revenue comes from owner assessments or dues. Associations need owners to make their payments on time. Otherwise, they may be forced to increase assessments, levy a special assessment, reduce services, or take out a loan.   Download our free collection policy template     […]

What if your condominium’s insurance premium increased from $400,000 to $3.3 million in one year? That’s what happened to the Peninsula at Hawaii Kai. The Hawaii community, consisting of 630 single and multifamily apartment homes and condominiums, was shocked, to say the least.     Table of contents     Sadly, this type of increase is not […]

2024 has not delivered much financial relief. Money continues to be tight and everyone is feeling the pinch. Naturally, organizations are looking for new and creative ways to save or generate money, and governed communities are no different. Condo and HOA members may be considering wealth-building initiatives including charging for visitor parking, upgrading to more […]

Some HOAs still manually manage finances for their reserve fund. Tediously entering numbers into their excel sheets and trying to reconcile tens of thousands of dollars to produce an accurate reserve fund report. It’s a dated approach to a continually evolving financial HOA environment. Did you know in the USA, HOA reserves have totaled over […]