Association software offers multiple benefits for maintenance tracking. Each of these unique benefits makes your job as a homeowner association (HOA) manager much easier. Association software helps you streamline your business and provide better service for your clients. Maintenance tracking features in software like CINC Systems will enable you to work more efficiently than ever.
Maintenance is a very important part of any HOA. Whether it’s a large association with hundreds of members and multiple community spaces, or a smaller HOA with basic facilities, there’s a lot of upkeep involved. As an HOA manager, it’s your responsibility to ensure that maintenance is performed well in a timely manner. You may also be tasked with paying vendor invoices.
By using association software, you can track all the maintenance needs for your clients’ HOAs. This includes everything from regularly scheduled maintenance for shared equipment, such as laundry rooms, as well as unexpected repairs that may be needed. Association software makes maintenance tracking simple, no matter what scale.
Here are some benefits of association software for HOA maintenance tracking:
Upload Photos to the Cloud
First, using association software such as CINC Systems gives you the ability to take photos and upload them to the cloud. This is a very valuable feature. Using CINC Systems, you can take a photograph on your phone and upload it to the association’s work order dashboard. Then, you can share this photo with service providers.
By taking photos of any work that needs to be done, you’ll be able to get more accurate quotes for the repair costs. Having a photo can make maintenance and repairs much easier than trying to describe the problem in writing or over the phone. Photos can also help maintenance workers determine how long a project will take to complete.
Allow Residents to Submit Work Orders
As an HOA manager, it’s your job to check on the association’s facilities and report damages or issues that need repairs. However, you can’t be everywhere at once, especially if you’re managing multiple different HOAs. This means that residents will often be the ones to bring a repair issue to your attention. Because they live in the community, residents may be more likely to notice when something is broken or damaged in a shared space in the HOA.
In the past, residents would submit work orders on paper, usually by filling out a form and leaving it in a special box near the manager’s office. Then, you’d collect these forms and organize them by hand. This old system is time-consuming, prone to error, and inefficient. HOA management software like CINC Systems takes the process of submitting a work order and transforms it into a streamlined, modern system.
With CINC Systems, you can create an online web portal where residents can submit work orders online, 24/7. They can also include photos. This process allows you to receive work orders instantly, even if you’re off-site. It also gives you the ability to automatically communicate with residents about the status of a work order, which eliminates the need for followup phone calls and emails.
Organize and Manage Work Orders More Efficiently
Once you’ve created an online web portal where residents can submit work orders electronically, you can use association software to manage these work orders. Organize work orders by date submitted, category, priority, or other variables.
For example, you can group together all work orders that require a plumber. Then, you can schedule a plumbing service to handle each repair or maintenance job on the same day. This is more efficient and can help your client’s HOA save money.
An online web portal for work orders also allows you to pay vendor invoices electronically. Service providers can submit their invoices to you directly online and you can pay them with the click of a button. You can also keep track of unpaid invoices and interface with your association software’s accounting features to stay on budget.
Schedule Preventative Maintenance
Additionally, association software can help you schedule preventative maintenance for your clients’ properties. This is especially important for associations in cold climates that experience snow or other severe weather conditions and may need to winterize their HOA homes. You can use your association software to create a calendar and set reminders to schedule maintenance.
By scheduling maintenance in advance, you’ll help your clients maintain a successful community that thrives. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Create a Service Provider Database
Another benefit of association software for maintenance tracking is the ability to create a service provider database. Every good HOA manager should have a service provider database. This can include contractors, electricians and handymen, plumbers, landscapers, and more.
Think about the needs of your clients’ HOAs and find vendors who can fulfill those needs. You can do this by asking for referrals or reading online reviews to find the best service providers near your clients. Then, store each provider’s information in an online database.
Create an online database every time you onboard a new client and update this database periodically to ensure the information is correct. By having a database of reliable service providers already on hand, you won’t waste any time looking for the right vendor when your clients need urgent work.
Go Paperless
Finally, association software helps you go paperless. With maintenance tracking, it’s easy to let paperwork become overwhelming. Work orders, spreadsheets, calendars, and invoices can easily pile up. By using association management software, every aspect of maintenance tracking for your client’s HOA can be digital.
In addition to helping you stay organized online, going paperless is great for the environment! You and your HOA management business can feel good knowing you’re helping the planet. Plus, you can emphasize that you’re a “green” company to help attract new clients who may wish to do the same.
Try CINC Systems
If you’re not using association software for maintenance tracking, you’re missing out! To see how association software can improve your business, click here to request a free CINC Systems demo.
