Association management software is a powerful tool. Whether you’re managing a large homeowner association (HOA) or a smaller condominium association (COA), an association management software like CINC Systems offers many great features to help you streamline your business. But did you know that association management programs are also powerful accounting software?

If you’re not using the accounting features of your association management software, you’re missing out. HOA/COA management accounting software can increase your business’ efficiency by leaps and bounds. It automates many daily accounting tasks, provides easy-to-use tools for processing financial data, and creates web portals so you can help your clients process payments faster.

You don’t have to be a CPA to become an HOA/COA financial wizard. With association management accounting software, you’ll be able to take your management business to the next level. But first you need to understand how to make the best use of this software. After all, if someone gave you a Ferrari but you only knew how to drive in one gear, wouldn’t that be a waste?

Here are several steps you can take to ensure that you’re making the best use of your association management accounting software:

Upload HOA/COA Data to the Cloud

The best association management accounting software are cloud-based. Cloud-based accounting software offer multiple advantages over traditional accounting systems. With a cloud-based program or app, your data is stored remotely across several servers in multiple locations, also known as “the cloud.”

Cloud storage offers greater security for your client’s data because it’s much harder to hack. It also gives you the ability to work remotely. There’s no need to haul around a giant hard drive to access your client’s data. Simply login to your association management accounting software dashboard from any device with an internet connection. This allows you to do your job from anywhere, any time. Plus, if your office’s server system goes down, your data won’t be lost.

If you’re not storing your HOA/COA client’s accounting data in the cloud, make this your first priority. Transfer all HOA/COA account data to your association management accounting software, ensuring that the data is accurate and up-to-date. This is one of the best ways to use your accounting software.

Use Automatic Bank Reconciliation

Most association management accounting software includes a very useful feature called automatic bank reconciliation. Automatic bank reconciliation allows you to review bank statements and monitor HOA’s/COA’s money from one convenient place, in real-time. With this feature, you’re able to sync all of your client’s accounts to your software’s dashboard.

Automatic bank reconciliation lets you track deposits, withdrawals, and check your client’s account balance without logging into multiple bank websites. This gives you a clear snapshot of the HOA/COA’s financial health. It also helps you monitor your client’s accounts for instances of fraud or other suspicious activities.

Automatic bank reconciliation is one of the best features of association management accounting software. To see how CINC Systems’ automatic bank reconciliation software can make a positive impact on your business, try a free demo or call us at (855) 943-8246.

Generate Financial Reports for Board Members

As an association manager, transparency is one of your key responsibilities. It’s part of your job to keep your HOA/COA clients in the loop about their association’s finances. Whether it’s an annual audit to assess the long-term budget and reserve fund status, or a monthly update about resident fees, financial reporting is crucial for association management.

In the past, generating a financial report for association board members could often be a big hassle. The process involved double-checking your calculations, creating spreadsheets and graphs, then sending the report to each board member. For HOA/COA managers who don’t have a background in financial management, generating reports was difficult.

Fortunately, today’s association management accounting software makes the process a breeze. With HOA/COA accounting software, you can generate financial reports for your clients with the click of a button. Organize reports around custom data sets, such as expenditure categories or time periods, then email the report automatically. It’s definitely one of the best uses of association management accounting software.

Pay Bills and Invoices Online

Another way to make effective use of association management accounting software is through online payments. As an HOA/COA manager, you’re responsible for helping your clients pay their bills and invoices. A modern accounting software, like CINC, can enable you to do this online, without the hassle of mailing any paperwork.

User your association management accounting software to pay invoices on the client’s behalf. Vendors can submit an electronic invoice for their services, which you can pay with the click of a button. You can also see when the money is withdrawn from your client’s account and keep an updated, real-time budget.

Additionally, you can use association management accounting software to track and timely process HOA/COA’s regularly scheduled bills. Many associations pay for ongoing services like landscaping, waste disposal, site maintenance, and security. Set up automatic payments for these bills so you’ll never forget a payment deadline.

Create Web Portals for Resident Fees

Finally, make sure you’re using your association management accounting software to process resident fees. Collecting resident fees is an important part of any HOA/COA manager’s job. Unfortunately, it can also be an arduous task at times. You have to collect checks, deposit them at the bank, then keep track of which residents have paid and which ones are delinquent.

Association management accounting software streamlines all of this. Using your association management accounting software, you can create a convenient web portal for your client’s residents. This allows them to pay their association fees online via credit card or eCheck. Residents prefer this method because it saves them time. In some cases, they can also schedule their payments automatically.

In this way, as the HOA/COA manager, you’ll see when each fee payment comes through. The payments are automatically deposited into your client’s account, and the software automatically generates a list of residents who still need to pay. This makes it easier than ever to collect HOA/COA fees for your client.

To learn more about CINC Systems, request a free demo or call (855) 943-8246.