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Like any small business, a homeowner association (HOA) management company needs to save money. When you keep your operating costs low, you increase your profit margins and free up your assets to invest in new resources. Saving money is key to helping your business grow and succeed. By using association accounting software, your HOA management business can cut costs and increase efficiency.

Many HOA managers use basic spreadsheets, ledgers, and general accounting software for their finances, which aren’t designed to meet the specific needs of an association. If this describes your business, you may feel that upgrading to association accounting software isn’t necessary. However, making the switch to a platform like CINC Systems is well worth the investment.

By using association accounting software, your HOA management company will save money and increase your business. It’s one of the best investments you can make for your HOA management business. With features designed specifically for association management, HOA accounting software makes your job much easier. It increases your overall efficiency and frees up your valuable time, allowing you to take on more clients.

To learn more about how an HOA management company can save money by using association accounting software, check out the great cost-cutting features below.

Go Paperless and Mobile

First, association accounting software allows your HOA management company to go paperless. This helps your business save money by reducing the cost of office supplies like paper, printer ink, filing cabinets, and storage. Additionally, going paperless means you’re doing all your accounting in your association management software, instead of crunching numbers by hand. This is faster and more accurate than paper accounting.

Additionally, if you choose association accounting software like CINC Systems, your clients’ financial data is stored in the cloud. This means the information is spread out across multiple servers that you can access from any device with an internet connection. In other words, you don’t need to be stuck in your office all day to do your accounting. With cloud capabilities and mobile apps, association accounting software lets you work for your clients at any time, at any place. Going mobile makes it easier than ever to multitask, thereby saving you lots of time and money.

As a bonus, going paperless is also better for the environment. Although this might not save you money directly, you can highlight your earth-friendly initiatives on your website and in your marketing materials. This can help attract new clients.

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Manage Accounts Payable and Receivable

Another way to save money with HOA accounting software is to manage accounts payable and accounts receivable. Accounts payable refers to any money that your client’s HOA owes to vendors, such as outstanding invoices or bills. Accounts receivable is the opposite, referring to any money that is owed to the HOA, such as resident fees.

Without association accounting software, you need to manage these accounts manually. This means mailing checks to cover invoices, visiting the bank to make deposits, and updating your client’s ledger with each transaction so their accounts reflect the most current balance. Each of these tasks can be very time-consuming. They’re also prone to human error, which means you may have to redo certain aspects of the accounts payable and receivable if someone makes a mistake.

By using association accounting software, this process becomes almost fully automated. You can pay vendors electronically on behalf of the association, collect invoice payments via email, and process these payments immediately and online. Best of all, association management accounting software also ensures that your client’s financial accounts are always updated with the most recent balance.

Automate Bill Payments

You can use association accounting software to automate bills for your clients. As the HOA manager, it is your responsibility to make payments for the association’s recurring costs. This can include general repairs as well as services like landscaping, waste disposal, utilities, and private security.

Rather than paying bills individually by check, you can use association accounting software to set up automatic payments. Once set, you can forget about paying the bills and focus on other tasks. Plus, automatic bill payment also ensures that you’ll never miss a deadline. This protects your clients from late fees and interest, which will make them happier with your performance as an HOA manager.

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Collect Resident Fees Online

For an association manager, one of the biggest responsibilities is collecting HOA fees from the association’s members. Resident fees are vital to the success of the association, covering monthly costs as well as adding to the HOA’s reserve fund. Without association accounting software, fees must be collected by mail or submitted to an office inbox.

In this process, the HOA manager needs to deposit the checks, received as fees at the bank, wait for the deposit to clear, and check the HOA’s resident database to ensure that everyone has paid the full amount on time. This is a very time-consuming process for what should be a simple task.

Association accounting software makes fee collection an easy task. With association accounting software, HOA managers can set up an online web portal to process payments electronically. Residents are able to pay via credit card or eCheck and the money is automatically deposited into the client’s account. HOA accounting software also alerts you when residents are delinquent on their payments.

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Monitor Bank Accounts in Real-Time

HOA managers can also use association accounting software to save money by taking advantage of a feature called automatic bank reconciliation. This means that you can link all of your client’s financial accounts to your software’s dashboard. The accounts are updated in real-time, showing transactions as they occur and reflect an accurate, current balance.

With this feature, you can monitor the HOA’s finances without logging into multiple banking websites. It also eliminates the need to balance the books by hand. Automatic bank reconciliation also helps you to detect suspicious activity and potential fraud.

Prepare Financial Reports

Finally, association accounting software can automatically prepare financial reports for your clients’ board members. Instead of spending all day creating spreadsheets, charts, and graphs, you can select the information you want to share with your clients and automatically generate a report from within the software. Then, you can email this report directly to the board members.

Using association accounting software to generate financial reports means less work for you, and lower costs for your clients because they won’t need to hire an external CPA. It also makes it much easier to calculate taxes and conduct internal financial audits.

To learn more about how CINC Systems association accounting software can help your management company save money, request a free demo or call (855) 943-8246.

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As anyone involved in a homeowner association (HOA) or condominium association (COA) knows, management duties can be a full-time job. That’s why many HOA/COAs hire outside association management companies. An association manager can handle many tasks for an HOA/COA.

Depending on the association’s needs, a management company can assist with accounting, collect resident fees, process work orders, schedule services, and more. Association managers are expert advisors who will streamline daily operations and help ensure the HOA/COA’s long-term success.

Because of this, clients may have misinformed expectations about your role. However, there are many things an association management company DOESN’T do for its clients. Here are some of the responsibilities and tasks an association manager won’t do.

Every Association/Manager Relationship Is Unique

Overall, the difference between an association and an association manager can be compared to the difference between a boss and an employee. Association board members are usually residents who volunteer and are elected to lead the community. They may have a better feel of what’s best for their association, but lack the time and qualifications/experience to physically manage it.

The HOA/COA board makes big decisions and sets goals for the community, then hires the association management company to carry out their wishes. However, every business relationship is unique. Some HOA/COAs may hire a management company to handle the association’s daily logistics, while others may use managers as consultants. They may ask the association management company to give advice on the community charter or other leadership topics.

This means there’s always a potential exception to every rule. In general, there are certain tasks or responsibilities an association property manager won’t handle for its clients.

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Represent Residents in Board Meetings

Association managers are involved in many of the tasks that help create a thriving community. The best association management companies take pride in their work and feel passionate about supporting their clients’ HOA/COAs. They are friendly with residents and easily approachable. However, despite this, they are not members of the community.

This means it’s inappropriate and unprofessional for an association manager to represent residents in board meetings. Association managers may be present at a meeting to observe or deliver reports, but they can’t speak on behalf of residents or the board, or give their own opinions about resident issues.

Establish Fees and Set Payment Schedule

Association managers often collect association fees as part of their job. Using software like CINC Systems, they may create a web payment portal where residents can pay dues via credit card or e-check. Managers may also follow up with residents who are delinquent with their payments and inform them about late fees.

However, association managers don’t establish these fees. They don’t set the amount or the payment schedule. The board determines the amount and frequency of resident payments and late fees. An association property manager simply enforces the policy and accounts for the transactions.

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Create Budgets for the Association

Similarly, association managers don’t set the budget for an HOA/COA. Although they may sometimes act as consultants and offer professional advice, the final budget is always created and approved by the association’s board.

Association managers are responsible for general ledger accounting, paying vendor invoices, processing resident fees, and creating financial reports for HOA/COA leadership. Based on these duties, they can alert their clients when the association needs to adjust its budget. But the client always makes the final call.

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Accounting or Financing for Residents

Despite their financial responsibilities to the association and its board, association managers never do any kind of accounting for individual HOA/COA residents. They are not authorized to waive fees or security deposits, issue loans, or perform other financial work for an association’s residents on a person-by-person basis.

Maintenance and Repairs

Association managers do handle maintenance and repairs for HOA/COAs. With an association management software platform like CINC Systems, they often set-up web portals where residents can submit work orders online. They schedule work and pay vendor invoices accordingly.

However, association managers do not perform physical maintenance or repairs themselves. They are not general contractors, plumbers, or electricians. It is inappropriate for a community member to ask association managers to fix anything. It may also violate the HOA/COA’s liability policy.

Basic Monthly Services

HOA/COA property managers also do not do basic monthly services such as landscaping, waste disposal, or cleaning common areas. Instead, an association manager will hire professionals for these tasks.

They will schedule the work, perform inspections to ensure that the service was done correctly and on-time, and pay the vendors. But service work itself is not part of your association manager’s job.

Security or Law Enforcement

Often, a homeowner association or condominium association chooses to provide extra security for residents. This may include a gate with an on-duty guard, as well as security officers to monitor surveillance cameras and patrol the association’s grounds.

The association management company will often hire professional security and handle their contracts. They will never do the security company’s job. Despite handling complaints and mediating resident disputes, an association manager is not qualified to protect residents’ physical safety.

If a crime has occurred within the association or a resident is in danger, the HOA/COA manager may call security, contact local law enforcement, or both. They will not take the law into their own hands.

They WILL Improve HOA/COAs with CINC Systems

Now that we’ve discussed some of the duties that an association management company won’t do, here’s something they will do: improve their clients’ HOA/COAs with CINC Systems cloud-based management software.

CINC System offers a wide range of features to make your job as an association manager easier and more efficient than ever. CINC Systems will allow association property managers to help their clients’ HOA/COAs thrive and grow.

To learn more, click here or call 855.943.8246 for a free CINC Systems demo.

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It can be a lot of work to run a homeowner association (HOA) or condominium association (COA). A successful HOA/COA requires hard work and can be a significant time commitment. From communicating with residents and enforcing rules, to maintaining the grounds and coordinating repairs, association management comes with many challenging duties.

That’s why many HOA/COAs benefit from hiring an association management company. An association property manager helps clients with many different aspects of their business. Managers often handle accounting, communications, upkeep, and more. A platform like CINC Systems can help association property managers transform their clients’ HOA/COAs into thriving communities.

If you’re wondering what your association management company can do for its HOA/COA clients, here are some of the daily tasks and big picture projects managers handle.

HOA/COA Maintenance and Upkeep

Homeowner associations and condominium associations can require a considerable amount of physical maintenance and upkeep. This may include landscaping, painting, waste disposal, septic/plumbing maintenance, electrical work, roofing, and other repairs. For large HOA/COAs, maintenance and upkeep alone can feel like a full-time job.

Luckily, an association management company can take over these duties for the association. Association managers can hire contractors and other service professionals, schedule repairs, and pay invoices once the work is complete. They can also be on-site during maintenance and upkeep to ensure that work is being done to the association’s satisfaction. If there are any issues with a contract job or additional repairs are needed, the association property manager can follow up.

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Day-to-Day Accounting Duties

Associations often require a lot of financial management. This includes paying bills, general ledger accounting, balancing budgets, and more. With the association accounting features provided by CINC Systems, HOA/COA managers can streamline all these tasks for their clients’ associations. This saves time, reduces paperwork, and ensures the association’s long-term financial health.

Additionally, HOA/COA managers can use CINC Systems to monitor their clients’ finances. With automatic bank integration, managers can link an association’s financial accounts to CINC Systems and check them in one convenient dashboard, instead of having to access multiple websites. Accounts are then updated in real-time, allowing association property managers to monitor financial transactions as they occur.

Association managers can also use accounting software to generate financial reports for their clients’ board members. This is very helpful for meetings and annual audits.

Collecting Resident Fees

Resident fees help HOA/COAs pay for maintenance, shared amenities, landscaping, and other operations. Whether paid monthly, quarterly or annually, collecting resident fees is a very important part of running an association. It can also be one of the most difficult, time-consuming tasks, which is another reason why HOA/COAs benefit from hiring a property manager.

An association property manager can collect resident fees for the association and even create web portals, allowing residents to pay online via credit card or e-check. With a CINC Systems payment portal, residents can pay all their association fees online. Fees will be automatically deposited, saving time by eliminating trips to the bank. Payment portals also make it easier for association managers to track which residents have paid on time and which ones are delinquent.

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Manage Common Areas

Association managers help their clients manage common areas such as gyms, courtyards, swimming pools, tennis courts, multipurpose rooms, and laundry facilities. Managers can perform regular inspections of these areas and arrange repairs or upgrades when needed.

With a tool like CINC Systems, HOA/COA managers can manage common areas online. They can use association management software to create web portals for scheduling, allowing residents to reserve spaces online. Rules, hours of operation, and announcements can also be posted on the web portal or emailed to residents.

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Post and Enforce HOA/COA Rules and Regulations

A successful, thriving HOA/COA will have rules to ensure a great community for its residents. These regulations can cover a wide range of topics, including quiet hours, parking restrictions, and aesthetic rules for houses and condominiums. Association managers can work with board members and residents to craft the perfect charter for the community. They can also update the rules and regulations as the community’s needs change.

Additionally, association managers will usually be the ones to enforce these rules for their clients. As the “eyes and ears” on the ground for the HOA/COA, managers are often the first to notice violations. Residents can also report problems or complaints for the association property manager to handle.

Communicate with Residents and Board Members

Communication is important for any HOA/COA, and an association management company plays a crucial role in this. Association managers use software like CINC Systems to send email announcements and newsletters to residents, prepare reports for board members, and create call logs.

An association manager is also trained to resolve disputes among residents and respond to issues. They can help board members schedule meetings, make appointments, and run community forums for resident feedback.

Perform Regular Site Inspections

Along with physical maintenance, an HOA/COA manager can perform regular site inspections for their clients. While using mobile management software like CINC Systems, they can walk or drive to different areas within the association’s grounds. If there are areas that need repairs or maintenance, they’ll be able to quickly identify the problems and solve them.

Work with Vendors

Finally, association managers will work with vendors on behalf of their clients’ HOA/COAs. Using CINC Systems, managers can create online web portals where residents can submit work orders. When they receive a work order, managers will be able to coordinate with vendors to provide repair or upgrade services.

They can also find new vendors, negotiate service contracts, and pay invoices online on behalf of the association. This helps HOA/COAs become more organized and operate more efficiently.

CINC Systems Allows Property Management Companies To Help

With CINC Systems, an HOA/COA property management company can perform many tasks for their clients’ associations. Association management and accounting software from CINC Systems lets managers handle finances, work orders, communicate with residents, and more.

If you’re not using CINC Systems as part of your association management company, click here or call 855.943.8246 to request a free demo today. See how CINC Systems can take your association management business to the next level.

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Managing a homeowner association (HOA) or condominium association (COA) can be a lot of work.
What is association management?
Association managers are usually responsible for balancing their client’s budget, collecting resident fees, processing work orders and resolving community issues, such as noise violations.

If managing an HOA/COA feels overwhelming at times, you’re not alone. At CINC Systems, we understand the challenges you face when managing an association. That’s why we created a streamlined, cloud-based platform for helping you manage any HOA/COA. Once you try association management software, you’ll discover how you can be more efficient and successful in all areas. Association management software will prove to be one of the most valuable tools available for running a client’s association.

But what does association management software actually do? How can software meet the specific, unique needs of the HOAs/COAs you manage? Will association management software help solve problems for the association? Here are some great association management software features that can help you run any HOA/COA.

Integrated Bank Reconciliation

HOAs/COAs often have complex financial structures. It’s common for associations to have multiple accounts across different banks and credit unions. Keeping track of every account can be a headache. Luckily, association management software is designed to help with this.

Association management software like CINC Systems offers integrated banking solutions. This means you can connect each of the HOA/COA’s financial accounts to your management software platform. In other words, you’ll be able to view all of your clients’ accounts in one place, instead of logging into multiple websites.

Best of all, integrated bank solutions will update in real-time, allowing you to view transactions as they happen and see all of the association’s most recent balances. This feature ensures accounts won’t become overdrawn. With CINC Systems, you can also use your CINC dashboard to easily transfer money between accounts.

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General Ledger Accounting

Association management software also provides general ledger accounting. When you use a platform like CINC Systems to handle association accounting, you’ll be able to streamline all of the HOA’s/COA’s financials. Association management software lets you manage your client’s money in the cloud and offers tools to automatically balance their books.

In the past, general accounting often meant lots of paperwork, filing, and complicated spreadsheets. Association accounting software makes this largely obsolete. You’ll also be able to use CINC Systems to generate financial reports. These reports can be customized with dynamic fields for specific data ranges, and you can easily send them to your clients via email, or give association boards access online.

Using association management software will also make it easier to file the HOA’s/COA’s taxes. All the association’s data will already be gathered in one convenient location along with a detailed history of expenditures and profits. It’s like having a CPA on your iPad!

Online Payment Portals and Invoicing

When you manage an HOA/COA, payments can be a headache. Collecting resident fees requires lots of paperwork, filing and time spent at the bank making deposits. You also need to implement a detailed system to keep track of which residents have paid and which residents are overdue.

With association management software, collecting fees becomes easy. Use CINC Systems web-based association management software to create an online payment portal for the association you manage. Residents can then pay all their fees electronically via credit card or e-check. Payments will be processed automatically, making it easy to see late fees and other violations.

Online payment portals can also be used to pay the association’s bills and vendor invoices. Vendors and service providers can submit their bills online and you can pay them in just a few clicks. Thanks to CINC System’s automatic banking integration, you’ll be able to monitor the association’s budget as payments are made and received.

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Automate Work Orders

Association management software gives an HOA/COA the ability to automate work orders. Using your CINC Systems web portal, you can offer residents the ability to submit repair requests online. Users can also include images and updates regarding their work orders. This can be done 24/7.

From the management side, you can write and manage work orders on-site and organize them digitally. Organize work orders by submission date, category or priority. You’ll be able to use association management software to organize repairs more efficiently and schedule accordingly.

Residents can then receive automatic updates about their work orders via email or online notification. This will reduce unnecessary phone calls and give you more time to focus on other projects. The use of association management software to automate work orders will benefit everyone in the HOA/COA.

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Streamline Communication with Residents

Finally, HOA/COA management software solutions will improve how you communicate with your client’s residents. Use association management software to send email newsletters, collection letters, violation notices, and other announcements. You can also employ integrated call logs.

If the HOA/COA community has shared common spaces like a gym, pool, tennis court or meeting rooms, you can use community association management software to create an online reservation system. This will give residents real-time access to the association’s resources and reduce conflicts over scheduling.

Best of all, association management software can be customized to fit any HOA/COA’s unique needs. You’ll be able to use it to communicate with residents and board members in the most efficient way possible.

See for Yourself with a Free CINC Systems Demo

Association management software offers multiple solutions for the organizations you manage. It doesn’t matter whether you’re managing a large HOA or a smaller COA. From financial management to website portals, software like CINC Systems will take any association to the next level and help you truly thrive as a manager.

Best of all, CINC Systems comes with an intuitive mobile app for managing associations on-the-go. Our platform is customizable for any homeowner or condo association. It’s the only software you will ever need.

Try CINC Systems today and see for yourself. Request a free association membership software demo now and explore all the great features this association management software has to offer.

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If you’re an association management company, it’s essential to have the right accounting system. Today, association management companies have the option to turn to websites, cloud-based apps and other online tools—such as CINC Systems—for help in handling their accounting. Before choosing an association accounting system, it’s important to understand how this software works and how it can benefit your company.

Association management accounting systems differ from traditional accounting software in many ways. First, association management accounting systems integrate industry-specific features. An accounting system created for an HOA/COA will include relevant real estate information. This means your software will enable you to track vacancies, create resident profiles, and monitor the condition of the physical properties in your client’s community.

Second, association management accounting programs can be tailored to include electronic sales documents and active property listings. They can also monitor maintenance costs and repairs, work order statuses and invoices.

How Association Management Companies Benefit from Association Management Accounting Systems

HOA/COA management accounting systems help your company at all levels, from the top down. This software offers association managers a number of options for increasing productivity in day-to-day logistics handling, improving overall communication and streamlining financial processing.

Association management accounting software helps association managers track expenses for repairs, supplies, and general maintenance. It allows them to generate invoices with one click and easily compile monthly expense reports. Plus, this software makes it easier than ever to process payments from residents.

Many of these systems are customizable, enabling you to create dynamic fields to track an HOA’s unique set of data. By using a cloud-based application or online accounting system like CINC, everything you and your association managers need will be stored in one place for easy remote access. This will eliminate messy filing systems and cut costs of office supplies.

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Association Management Accounting Systems Offer Many Unique Features

HOA/COA accounting systems offer many great features to help you manage your business. In general, most association management accounting programs offer the following features:

Management of Common Areas:

If an association has common areas such as a courtyard, laundry room, pool or gym, this feature will enable you to calculate the costs associated with the maintenance of these areas. You can also generate reports and update resident usage policies.

Online Payment Portal for Residents:

Save time collecting HOA fees by allowing residents to make online payments, either by auto-billing or direct payment. You can also use online payment dashboards to monitor late fees or damages incurred by misuse.

Track Monthly and Annual Financials and Operating Costs:

Association management accounting systems can assist your business by tracking financials and operating costs on a monthly or yearly basis. Many software systems can be customized to include specific regional property taxes, as well as costs like insurance, utilities, and other expenses.

Easy Integration with Banks, Credit Unions or Other Financial Institutions:

Association management software can support your clients through integration between your bank, credit union or other financial institution. You can sync up your accounts in one place and monitor an association’s finances in real-time. This can help you catch discrepancies between accounts and invoices, as well as snuff out potential fraud. You can also use association management accounting software to generate customizable, easy-to-read financial reports for business partners, residents or board members.

Accounting Software for All Types of Association Management, Big and Small

Whether an HOA/COA client is big or small, there’s a perfect association management accounting system for your needs. The creators of association management accounting software like CINC understand the unique challenges faced by different sized HOAs/COAs, so most systems are scalable.

If you manage a small association, focus on basic functions such as fee collection portals for residents, monthly expense tracking and invoicing.

For association managers operating mixed portfolios or very large communities, choose association management accounting software that offers additional options such as online work order submission pages, maintenance tracking, and advanced financial reporting.

With a little research, you’ll find the management software that’s perfect for your client and their budget. Some products, like CINC Systems, offer a one-stop shop for all your HOA/COA management needs.

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Cloud-Based Association Management Systems for Mobile Business

Many association management software is fully customizable and entirely cloud-based, eliminating the need for complex in-house servers. Cloud-based association management systems offer a number of advantages by allowing association managers to be fully mobile. This can help you save time and reduce transportation costs if your clients are spread out across a wide geographical area.

With a user-friendly iPad app, CINC Systems gives association managers the ability to take and upload photographs, send email reports with one touch, and manage work orders from anywhere. These features combine the best of cloud-based software with traditional turn-key management solutions.

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See How Association Management Company Accounting Systems Can Help An HOA/COA Grow

Association management is always evolving. Changes like government regulations and the ebb-and-flow of the economy can have a big impact on the success of homeowner or condominium-owner association’s success. Luckily, with a little advanced planning and smart decision-making, it’s easy to optimize your association management company’s structure to help your clients grow.

Using an association management accounting system can give you an edge over the competition and ensure your success as a manager. Use these online software programs and cloud-based apps to stay organized. An association management accounting system designed to handle your specific needs will help with your short-term and long-term financial planning.

Best of all, many of these systems offer free trials and demos. Why not try a new property management company accounting system like CINC Systems today?

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Association managers benefit from accounting software in several ways. The software offers key advantages over traditional paper bookkeeping and it allows you to run your business more efficiently and stay organized. No matter what kind of association you’re managing, CINC Systems accounting software will make your job  easier than ever.

Most of the accounting software available for association managers includes standard features like financial reporting, invoicing, and bill payment. You can also find specialty software that’s customizable to your association’s needs.

For example, association managers can benefit from CINC’s custom accounting software by creating web portals where homeowners can make online payments. They can also use association management software to submit work orders, track vacancies, pay bills, generate expense reports, manage the cost of the association’s upkeep, and more.

Here are some of the many benefits of CINC Systems’ association management accounting software:

CINC’s Accounting Software Helps You Manage Associations Any Time, Anywhere

Like almost everything in today’s world, association management accounting software is largely mobile. Once you set it up, you can access your accounts either with a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. This frees you up to manage your associations 24/7 from virtually any location with an Internet connection.

By going mobile, you won’t be restricted to an office. This is especially useful when managing large HOAs. You can receive and track work orders for one home while being on-site at another. This can eliminate excessive travel costs.

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Automate Payments for Bills and Other Expenses

How can association managers use accounting software like CINC Systems to save time and manage their HOAs/COA accounts more efficiently? Most association management software allows you to automate your weekly, monthly, and annual expenses. Once you create an automated payment schedule for recurring bills, you’ll save lots of time each month.

Association managers can also automate non-recurring payments, such as repair costs and upgrades. CINC’s accounting software allows vendors to submit invoices online, which you can fulfill within moments. By making the switch to CINC, you won’t need to spend time and money sending checks in the mail.

Accounting software can also send you account alerts. Association managers can receive notifications whenever residents pay fees or whenever money is deposited or withdrawn from business accounts. As a bonus, many accounting software programs and apps like CINC Systems also calculate local taxes and fees and automatically add them to your financial transactions.

Bank Reconciliation Is Easier Than Ever with CINC

Along with the  many organizational benefits of association management accounting software, these programs make it very easy to reconcile bank accounts. By linking your accounting software to your business’ bank account, you’ll be able to monitor your company’s finances alongside the information of the HOAs you manage. This feature allows you to see when checks are deposited and cleared in real time.

Using CINC’s association management accounting software in tandem with your bank also drastically reduces clerical errors. You can easily generate balance sheets, cash-flow statements, and other financial reports automatically. When it’s time to file taxes for your HOA/COA clients, these software features will give you a strong advantage over traditional accounting.

Plus, most accounting software can display your financial data in charts and graphs for improved readability. This will allow you to see a clear picture of your clients’ overall finances. You can also sort your data by category to generate unique, custom reports for investor meetings and presentations.

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Manage Work Orders, Building Maintenance, and Resident Information

CINC Systems allows you to customize accounting software to meet associations’ unique day-to-day logistics needs. It lets you handle work orders entirely online. You can create dynamic online web portals or dashboards where residents can submit work orders 24/7, eliminating the often lengthy process of paper filing.

Association management software will then help you sort work orders by priority and category, connect to vendor lists to find the right contractor for the job, and monitor completion status.

CINC’s association management web portals also enable you to track regularly scheduled building maintenance, as well as cleaning and landscaping services. Support staff can even upload photographs as work is being performed. The right accounting software can be your eyes and ears on the ground when you’re not able to be on-site.

Additionally, association managers can benefit from accounting software by using it to create and maintain a database of resident information. Track fee payment history, parking assignments, and other resident info from one convenient website or mobile dashboard. This eliminates the need for complicated paper filing.

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Use Online Association Management Accounting Software to Streamline HOA Properties

Finally, accounting software benefits association managers by improving online accessibility for homeowners association (HOA) and community properties. Depending on your client’s needs, accounting software can be customized to create online reservation systems for shared spaces like gyms and barbecue areas.

Overall, accounting software offers a number of key benefits for association managers. A new accounting system is a valuable investment that will quickly pay for itself and help you grow your business.

Try CINC’s online property management accounting software for your homeowner association or condo association clients and see the difference. Whether you’re looking to receive fee payments, process work orders, or streamline tax data and financial reports, accounting software will make a direct, positive impact on your association management team.

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Managing a homeowners association (HOA) or condominium-owners association (COA) is a big responsibility. Even when you’re working as an employee, being an association manager comes with many challenges. However, these challenges also yield big rewards for you and your clients. A well-managed HOA/COA contributes to the long-term success of your business.

When you’re managing an HOA/COA, CINC Systems  association management software is your best friend. Association management software offers a wide range of features that can help you and your homeowner or condominium-owner clients. It can help you streamline your business procedures, enable you to keep your finances organized, allow you to communicate more easily with board members, and expedite the processing of maintenance requests.

Whether you’re managing a huge HOA with dozens of homes or a smaller condominium association with just a few units, our association management software will help you get the job done. The right association management software can be customized to meet all your clients’ needs, too.

How can your association management business benefit from association management software, specifically? Here are a few reasons why association managers love using software and cloud-based apps to help manage their HOA/COA clients:

HOA/COA Management Software Gives You a Live Snapshot of Financial Health

Most HOA/COA management software can be linked to your association’s bank accounts. This lets you monitor your accounts in real-time from your laptop, tablet, or smartphone. Depending on the management software you use, you may also be able to receive notifications of financial transactions such as withdrawals, deposits, and account credits as they happen.

In short, our association management software will give you a live snapshot of your association’s financial health. This means you can see how well your organization is following its budget and easily track expenses.

You can also generate financial reports for specific time periods or transaction types, which can be emailed to board members or shared via secure web connections. Keeping your association’s finances online will help you file taxes, annual budgets, or self-audits.

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HOA/COA Management Software Enables Association Members to Pay Online

Paying dues and fees with paper checks can be a headache. It takes time to collect, sort, and wait for deposits to clear, not to mention travel time to the bank. Checks also require more office work because you need to track who has paid and who hasn’t, and balance the books yourself. Luckily, an  HOA/COA management software like CINC Systems can make this arduous process obsolete.

With CINC Systems HOA/COA management software, you can easily create an online payment portal. Members of the homeowner association or condominium-owner association you manage can then pay fees online or by phone from any location, 24/7.

Association payment fees can also be auto-scheduled and auto-debited through CINC. By using an online payment portal, it will be easier than ever for your clients to stay fiscally responsible.

CINC Systems HOA/COA Management Software Can Automate Your Clients’ Bills

Every homeowner or condominium-owner association requires regular services. In addition to utility bills and vendor payments, the association may have regular costs such as waste disposal and landscaping.

Paying vendors’ invoices used to be a hassle, with different amounts due at different times, but CINC’s association management software allows you to schedule all bills in advance. Vendors can also submit invoices online, which can be paid in one click. Plus, with real-time access to an HOA or COA’s bank account balances, you can help them avoid the inconvenience and stress of overdrafts.

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CINC Management Software Streamlines Work Orders and Repairs

CINC’s association management software can help association managers go fully paperless. In addition to creating web portals for HOA/COA member fees and automating association bills, you can also implement an online system for work orders.

Residents can submit work orders online and even take pictures or videos of items that need repairing. This can be done online or by phone. It’s easy and convenient.

Association management will be further facilitated by your newfound ability to sort work orders by time received, priority, difficulty, and category. CINC Systems association management software also allows you to integrate your work order system with a vendor list. For example, if a member submits a work order related to an irrigation system, you can pull up your landscaper’s information with a few clicks and call them right away.

HOA/COA members can also track the status of their work order in real-time. This transparency will improve the relationship between residents, board members, and association management.

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CINC’s HOA/COA Management Software Increases Efficiency and Communication

Often, one of the greatest challenges facing association managers is the community itself. Residents may have disputes with one another over issues such as noise or parking violations, unauthorized construction, and other neighborly disagreements. They may also experience discontent with board members and association managers. Even the most well-managed, harmonious HOA or COA has occasional communication problems.

Luckily, this is another area where CINC Systems can come to the rescue. Our software allows association managers to create an email directory, an events calendar, and send announcements online. If your clients have shared spaces such as a gym or rec room, you can use our software to manage an online reservation system for them.

The Best HOA/COA Management Software for Your Association Management Business

Depending on the size of HOAs/COAs you manage and their unique individual needs, you’ll be sure to find the association management software that works best for you and your clients. Many programs and apps can also be fully customized to fit the demographic profile of the HOA/COA you manage.

How will you choose the best HOA/COA management software for your business? That will depend on the needs of your HOA/COA clients. No matter their size, we have the perfect software or app for you.  Try CINC’s association management software today and see how it can help your business run more smoothly than ever.

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When you manage a homeowner association (HOA) or condominium association (COA), it’s important to protect your client’s information. Association managers often have access to highly sensitive data such as HOA/COA financial accounts and other residents’ personal information. Therefore, we recommend having several safety protocols in place.

A software platform like CINC Systems takes data security very seriously and employs many state-of-the-art safeguards to protect client information. With CINC Systems, all the data for the associations you manage will be safe in the cloud. Still, it’s important to consider security protocols. Understanding the safety measures that protect your clients’ association information will help put their minds at ease.

If you find yourself wondering what safety protocols should be in place when managing association information, consider the following.

Choose the Best HOA/COA Management Software

First, do your homework and choose the best association management software for your company. Look for HOA/COA management software that is reliable. Read online reviews or talk to other association managers to learn about their experiences using association management software.

We also recommend talking to the management company about their system. Ask them how their software protects your clients’ data and find out how often they issue updates. Hackers often find new ways to steal data, so it’s important to choose software that receives regular security updates. Make sure you purchase HOA/COA management software that has an active customer support team available to help you in the event of any security emergencies.

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Find Out What Encryption Is Used

Today, almost all data stored in remote online servers (also known as “the cloud”) will be encrypted. Encryption means your HOA/COA client data will be “scrambled” when it gets uploaded. If someone accessed the data, it would be useless gibberish unless their computer software had the right key to decode it.

Software companies use many different types of data encryption. Currently, a type of encryption called 256-bit SSL is considered the most secure, as it is very difficult to crack without a decryption key. Talk to your HOA/COA management company and find out what type of encryption they use to protect your data.

Ask About Server Types

Next, ask your association management company about the servers that their system is housed on. A server is a computer dedicated to storing and processing remote data in the cloud. Thanks to encryption and other security measures like firewalls, servers are usually very difficult to hack. However, it has been known to happen.

That’s why the best HOA/COA software platform will spread user data across multiple servers, not just one. Then, even if some of your clients’ account information is compromised in a security breach, other data will remain untouched on separate servers. Many software companies even store different servers in different physical locations–sometimes in different timezones–for additional protection.

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Research Firewalls and Antivirus Software

Firewalls and antivirus software are also very important safety protocols for your clients’ HOA/COA information. A firewall refers to software or hardware that adds extra digital “layers” between computers, making them more difficult to hack. Your association management software company most likely uses several firewalls to protect your data in the cloud. However, we also recommend installing a firewall on your own company’s computers to be extra safe.

Antivirus software, meanwhile, protects your computer from malware. Malware often gives hackers “backdoor access” to your software data, sometimes without you being aware of it until it’s too late. There are thousands of different types of malware that can be accidentally installed on your computer by opening a spam email or clicking a bad link. Luckily, antivirus software protects you from this. It can catch malware before it gets installed or removes it from your computer if it still sneaks in.

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Use Super Secure Passwords

Most data breaches are the work of sophisticated hackers. However, sometimes they happen due to sheer human error. One of the biggest risks to your HOA/COA management company’s information is sharing passwords among employees. Make sure each employee who uses your company’s software has their own account with their own unique password. Never share passwords with anyone.

It’s also important to create secure passwords. You’ve heard this before, but it is tried and true… don’t use a password that would be easy for someone else to guess, such as the name of your management company or personal information like the name of your dog. Instead, experts recommend using a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Make your password at least eight characters long (16 is ideal) and get creative. Substitute numbers for letters (such as “4” for “A”) and use unique acronyms that only you would know.

Experts recommend changing your software passwords every 90 days. Additionally, never store your passwords in an email, spreadsheet, or Word document on your computer. If you have difficulty remembering your password, try using a keychain app like LastPass.

Assess Safety Protocols at Physical Locations

Finally, assess the safety protocols at physical locations. Although most data breaches occur online, it’s important to make sure your clients’ information is still secure in its physical location. Talk to your association management software company about the security measures they employ for their servers. Most companies store their servers in secure locations with security cameras and alarms.

Consider your own security, too. Make sure your office has protections in place to prevent theft. Use locks for desktop computers and laptops, and store tablets in a safe when not in use. When you or your employees work remotely, make sure you never leave your laptop or tablet unattended.

Protect Your Association Management Information with CINC Systems

CINC Systems uses the best safety protocols to protect your association management information. With CINC Systems, we take every precaution to make sure your clients’ data is secure in the cloud.

Although there’s always the remote possibility of a data breach, the benefits of HOA/COA management software far outweigh the risk. Using CINC Systems will give your business the tools to succeed and grow. From accounting features to online work order processing and more, CINC Systems is the only association management software you’ll ever need.

Request a free demo today or call 855.943.8246 to see how CINC Systems can help you and your association management company.

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Homeowner associations (HOAs) and condominium associations (COAs) often need repairs and maintenance As an HOA/COA manager, you’ll often interact with vendors and contractors on the association’s behalf. me associations also employ private security for their community.

In addition to hiring vendors and contractors for the HOA/COA, part of your job may include handling service contracts, communicating with the vendor or contractor, monitoring work, and paying invoices for the association. In some cases, you’ll be working with a vendor or contractor for a short-term project, such as painting a common area. Other times, the vendor or contractor will have an ongoing relationship with the association, as is the case for maintenance workers, landscapers, and private security.

It’s important to choose reliable vendors and contractors who deliver quality work. As an HOA/COA manager, your clients trust you with great responsibility for the well-being of their community. If you hire someone who does a poor job, their performance may reflect badly on you.

That’s why it’s important to vet anyone who performs work for the association. When you’re hiring a new vendor or contractor for the HOA/COA you manage, we recommend looking for the following conditions.

Effective, Prompt Communication

First, how well does the vendor or contractor communicate? Do they answer your questions in a clear, patient manner? When you send an email or leave a message, how long does it take them to reply?

Strong communication skills usually reflect integrity and hard work. It’s important that you develop a positive professional relationship with all vendors and contractors you hire for your clients’ associations.

To get a sense of a potential vendor or contractor’s communication skills, make sure you conduct an in-person interview. This is especially important for long-term contracts for any workers who will be a regular presence in the community, such as security guards.

When you interview vendors and contractors, pay attention to your gut and look out for any “red flags.” Ask yourself: would you hire this vendor or contractor for your own home? If not, don’t hire them for your clients.

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State and Local Licensing

Next, look for state and local licensing. Licensing requirements will vary from place to place. They also depend on the type of work being done. For example, a handyman hired to perform a small repair job probably won’t need to be licensed because most states have a legal precedent called a “Minor Work Exemption.” However, a contractor hired to do renovations needs to be fully licensed for the state and county.

Do your homework and figure out what kind of license each vendor or contractor needs to have before you hire them. Ask the business owner about their licensing, then confirm their answers on your own. Business licenses are public record, so you’ll be able to search online at the country registrar or local Better Business Bureau. When you vet potential vendors and check for the business’ licensing, remember to make sure that their license hasn’t expired.

Insurance Compliance

Certain types of vendors and contractors are also required to carry insurance. Again, this will vary depending on the circumstances and it’s something you’ll want to research as you begin the vetting process. Your client’s association should have its own liability policy, however, it’s important to make sure that vendors and contractors also have the necessary minimum coverage, including Workers Comp insurance

As you consider a vendor or contractor for your clients’ HOA/COA, ask them to provide copies of any applicable, required insurance policies. Keep a copy for your records and call the insurance company to verify that the policy is currently active.

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References and Reviews

When vetting vendors and contractors for an HOA/COA, ask for references from the business’ previous clients. Most businesses will be happy to do this (it’s a big red flag if they refuse). Talk to these previous clients and bring a list of any questions you may have. Ask them about the process of working with the vendor or contractor, as well as their overall satisfaction with the work completed.

Bear in mind that the vendor or contractor won’t offer a testimonial from an unhappy former customer. That’s why we also advise doing your own research on the internet. Use sites like Facebook, and Google Reviews to see what others have to say about the business.

However, with online reviews, remember that people often exaggerate–especially if they’re posting on a semi-anonymous site like Yelp. Use your judgment. If a vendor or contractor has mostly four and five star reviews but one reviewer says they’re terrible, that reviewer may be holding a grudge or complaining about something unreasonable. If you find a really bad review, it’s okay to ask the business owner about it.

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Employee Background Checks

As an association manager, it’s your responsibility to consider the safety of your client’s HOA/COAs and the residents who live there. Therefore, you may wish to perform background checks on workers before you hire a new vendor or contractor. This is an extra important consideration if you are vetting workers who will regularly interact with residents, such as security guards.

There are many free or low-cost online services that allow you to search public criminal records and perform your own background checks. Use one of these services to search for the names of anyone you’re considering hiring for the HOA/COA.

Privacy Policy and Terms of Service

Finally, talk to the vendor or contractor about their privacy policy and terms of service. Since they’ll be working near homes, it’s important to confirm that anyone performing work for the HOA/COA will use discretion and respect residents’ privacy.

Don’t forget to discuss the terms of service. Ask for a written document called a Service Level Agreement (SLA). This will clearly define the work being performed by the vendor or contractor, including the timeline for the project and expectations about payment. A trustworthy, reliable professional will have no problem giving you an SLA. If they refuse or seem hesitant, that’s a red flag.

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When you’re managing vendors or contractors for your HOA/COA clients, the right software will make all the difference. Try CINC Systems today and see how our association management platform can help your business. To request a free demo call (855) 943-8246.

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Homeowner associations (HOAs) and condominium associations (COAs) have many rules. As an HOA/COA manager, enforcing these rules is part of your job. Your clients may also ask you to act as a consultant when they revise the association’s rules or create new ones. As a professional association manager, you have valuable insight into the types of rules that help a community thrive.

But what types of rules can homeowner associations regulate? Unlike an apartment complex with renters, the membership of an HOA/COA consists of property owners. This means residents have different legal rights. When someone buys property in a community that has an association, they agree to follow the association’s rules and regulations.

Residents will receive a copy of these rules and regulations before they buy their property. However, they may have questions about the rules or ask for clarification. Helping residents understand and follow the rules is one of your responsibilities as the HOA/COA manager. From time to time, you may also be responsible for issuing new documents as the association updates its community guidelines.

To help your clients run a great association, you’ll want to understand the type of rules an HOA/COA can legally regulate. Every association is different. Rules will vary based on the community’s membership, as well as state or local laws. However, the following categories often fall under the HOA/COA’s authority.

Common Areas

Most HOA/COAs have common areas shared by all residents. Depending on the size of the association, common areas can be as small as a mailroom or as large as a private park. The HOA/COA may include a laundry room, swimming pool, tennis courts, gyms, or multi-purpose rooms for events.

Because these areas are open to everyone in the association, it’s the HOA/COA’s job to set the rules. This can include hours of operation, as well as specific rules about using the space. For example, a swimming pool will have rules about how many people can be in the pool at a given time. Make sure you know the rules for each common space so you can enforce them as needed.

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Quiet Hours and Noise

An association can also regulate noise levels for the community. This is one of the many reasons why people choose to live in an HOA/COA rather than an unregulated neighborhood. The HOA/COA can set quiet hours, ensuring there’s no loud music or other disturbances to wake people in the middle of the night. Often, quiet hours are different on weekends and holidays.

Sometimes, noise restrictions are generalized, such as no loud noises after 10 pm on weeknights. Other times, the rules specify decibel levels. A decibel is a measure of noise that can be determined by using a device called a decibel meter. Some HOA/COA managers carry decibel meters to determine when a resident is violating quiet hours.

Architecture and Home Construction

Although all homes in an HOA/COA are owned by individual residents, the association has the power to regulate certain aspects of architecture and construction. For example, the HOA/COA can set restrictions on exterior paint colors, roofing materials, and porch design. The association can also require residents to gain approval from the board before doing construction on their homes.

As an HOA/COA manager, you’ll assist your clients by helping residents file paperwork or schedule meetings with board members about architectural changes or upgrades. You will also look out for illegal construction within the community and report any unauthorized building to your clients.

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Home Landscaping

Similarly, an association can set rules about landscaping. This will be different for every community. Some associations only require residents to make sure their yards are well-kept, while others have very specific guidelines about the types of plants and flowers they can have. Certain plants may be prohibited for aesthetic or environmental reasons.

Make sure you understand the HOA’s/COA’s rules about landscaping so you can help enforce them. You also need to be available to answer questions from the residents. Landscaping rules can be a common source of misinformation or confusion.

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Pets

Depending on the association, there may be different rules regarding pet ownership. This can include the types of animals residents are allowed to have. For example, the HOA/COA may allow dogs, but only if they’re under 10 pounds.

The HOA/COA can also limit the number of pets per household and enforce guidelines about cleanup, spaying and neutering, vaccinations, and animal noise. Familiarize yourself with each of your clients’ pet regulations so you can make sure residents follow the rules.

Visitors and Private Events

Some HOA/COAs set rules about visitors and private events. They may limit the number of people allowed at parties and set rules about visitors using common areas. Additionally, it’s common for associations to regulate the number of days guests may stay in a resident’s home. Guests who stay for an extended period of time may cause liability issues for the association.

Make sure you understand all the rules pertaining to visitors and private events in the HOA/COA communities you manage. Be available to assist residents who have questions, and monitor the community for violations.

Home Businesses

Many associations prohibit residents from running businesses out of their homes or restrict the type of businesses that are allowed. For example, the HOA/COA may allow a freelance graphic designer to have a home office, but prohibit residents from manufacturing items for retail sale in their garage.

Often, these rules are imposed based on the city’s local zoning laws. It’s a good idea to research municipal codes for your clients so you can better assist with the enforcement of the HOA/COA’s guidelines.

Association Fees

Finally, the HOA/COA sets rules about resident fees. Resident fees fund the infrastructure for the association’s community, from common areas and maintenance to security. As such, the HOA/COA can set the fee amount and fee payment schedule. It can also raise fees as needed.

As the HOA/COA manager, collecting these fees is one of your main financial responsibilities. With your association accounting software, you can create an online web portal where residents can pay fees online. You can also generate a list of who has paid and who hasn’t, which will help you collect late fees more efficiently.

Help Enforce the Rules with CINC Systems

Using HOA/COA management software will help you enforce your clients’ rules and regulations. Try CINC Systems today and see how our association management platform streamlines your business. Request a free demo by calling (855) 943-8246.

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Homeowner associations (HOAs) are complex organizations. Comprised of multiple homeowners and governed by an elected board, HOAs can have a wide range of different needs. Ensuring the success of an HOA requires lots of time, hard work, and dedication.

Since board members usually have full-time jobs outside of the HOA, the best solution for running an HOA is to hire an outside management company. That’s where you come in.

As you build a successful HOA management company, some potential clients may wonder if they need your services. In most cases, the answer is yes. HOAs need a management company to help them operate. Whether big or small, there are several reasons why an HOA needs an association manager to help their community. With your knowledge and experience, you can ensure that your HOA clients establish and maintain a thriving association that benefits all members.

Every HOA is unique, with different goals and challenges. However, all HOAs share certain organizational structures, legal requirements, and financial needs. By understanding this, you can tailor your association management business to any client.

Here are several common reasons why an HOA needs a management company:

1. Manage Daily Tasks and Big Projects

Most HOAs need a manager to help with daily tasks. This includes mundane yet important duties such as collecting the HOA’s mail, inspecting the grounds, and acting as an accountant. As an association manager, it’s part of your job to look after your clients’ budgets. Using software like CINC Systems for general ledger accounting and automatic bank reconciliation, you can monitor your clients’ bank accounts in real-time and protect the HOA from fraud.

Additionally, an HOA needs a management company to help facilitate big projects. Whether it’s an upgrade to common areas, a new construction project, or other long-term endeavors, an HOA manager can help their clients plan for the future. This includes acting as a consultant and offering advice to the board, as well as executing project plans.

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2. Enforce the HOA Rules

HOA management companies are also necessary to help an association enforce their rules. To help your clients make sure that their communities remain desirable places to live, you can do two things.

First, make residents aware of the HOA’s bylaws and rules. Legally, the HOA must provide each homeowner with a copy of its rules by distributing a governing document known as the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC R). This is given to each new homeowner when they purchase their property.

However, some residents may not read the rules very carefully or forget them over time and lose their copy of the CC R. By using your association management software to create a resident portal with a digital copy of the CC R, you can ensure that everyone in the HOA understands the rules.

Second, you can help your HOA clients enforce the rules by handling violations on the association’s behalf. Depending on the nature of the violation, you may choose to issue a verbal warning, followed by a written warning, and then impose fines or restrict privileges.

3. Ensure Legal Compliance

HOAs are legal entities that are required to comply with various local laws and civic codes. These legal requirements can be long, complex, and change over time, so the HOA’s board members need help ensuring compliance. As an association manager, you can assist with this.

As you begin working with a new client, make sure they have the necessary HOA governing documents such as articles of incorporation, association board bylaws, and the CC R mentioned above.

Then, review the HOA’s various permits and licenses. Make sure everything in the HOA is up to the current code. If there are areas where the association is in violation, such as a structure built without the correct permits, help your clients work with their city or county to comply.

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4. Collect Resident Fees

Next, an HOA needs a management company to help collect resident fees. Resident fees are crucial to the operations of an HOA. Fees cover maintenance and repairs for common areas, monthly bills, the association’s reserve fund, and more.

In the past, collecting resident fees was arduous and time-consuming. However, with cloud-based association management software like CINC Systems, this task becomes easy. Association managers can use CINC Systems to create an online payment portal for their clients’ residents. This gives residents the ability to pay electronically.

Then, fees are automatically deposited into the HOA’s funds. Association management software like CINC Systems also lets managers easily generate a list of overdue or incomplete payments. To see how CINC Systems can help your association management company collect resident fees, call (855) 943-8246 today to request a free demo.

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5. Hire Vendors and Pay Bills

Associations need outside vendors. Whether it’s a one-time repair or ongoing services such as security and landscaping, HOAs need professionals to help maintain their community. As the association manager, it’s your job to vet new vendors for your clients. If your clients have existing contracts, you can also take responsibility for reviewing their work and making changes if the vendor’s service isn’t adequate.

In addition to hiring vendors, an HOA needs a management company to help them pay the bills. Association managers help the HOA stay fiscally organized using software like CINC Systems. Association management accounting software allows vendors to submit invoices electronically. Then, the HOA manager can easily pay the outstanding amount from the HOA’s funds.

6. Handle Resident Communications

Finally, an HOA needs a management company to help handle resident communications. This includes making announcements about fees, board meetings, new or updated rules, and other information that affects your client’s community.

HOA managers also assist their clients by communicating with individual residents about specific issues. This could include mediating a dispute between neighbors or keeping a resident updated about the status of a work order. When an HOA has a big community with dozens of families, they’ll need a management company to help them stay on top of communications.

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Homeowner association (HOA) management companies are not strictly regulated. If you’re wondering who regulates HOA management companies, the answer varies by region. Also, most HOA laws affect the association itself, rather than management companies hired by the association.

As an association manager, it’s important to understand all types of HOA regulations — whether these regulatory laws target your clients or your own management business. Understanding who regulates HOA management companies will help you keep your business in good standing with your clients and their community. By enhancing your knowledge of HOA law, you can also provide better service to HOA board members.

The legal aspects of HOA management are often complicated and confusing. But they don’t have to be. With a little research, you can learn all about the HOA regulations in your area. Resources such as HOA Leader are a great place to start. Then, if you need clarity on a particular regulation, you can consult your county registrar’s office.

Whether you’re starting a new HOA management company or just brushing up on your industry knowledge, it’s important to understand who regulates HOA management companies. This will help your business avoid incurring fines, sanctions, and other legal repercussions. It will also keep you from losing clients.

The Association’s Board

Although it’s not a government entity, the primary regulator for an HOA management business is the client’s board. As an association manager, you’re often given tremendous power within the HOA — and with great power comes great responsibility, as the saying goes. HOA managers have access to the association’s financial accounts, private data about residents, and more sensitive information. You’re also expected to enforce rules for residents on the HOA’s behalf.

Unfortunately, there have been cases where unscrupulous HOA managers took advantage of their position. Due to the nature of an HOA, they’re often targeted for fraud and embezzlement. An HOA manager can help protect the association from these problems, but many boards will also keep a close eye on your activity.

To reduce fraud and other abuses of power, many HOAs will impose certain regulations for the management companies they hire. For example, you may be required to have multiple board members authorize a new vendor, bill payments over a certain amount, and more. Usually, you’ll establish these rules with each new HOA client as you negotiate your contract.

It’s important to remember that you’re hired to operate the HOA and help with administration. You enforce the rules, but you don’t make them. If your client’s board comes to you with new guidelines for your job, always listen and accept them.

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States, Counties, and Cities

If you violate a client’s rule, you’ll probably just get fired. However, violating government regulations for HOA management companies can carry more severe consequences. You may be heavily fined or even have your business license revoked.

Business regulations vary by region. It’s a good idea to spend some time familiarizing yourself with your local laws about HOA management companies and small business ownership in general. Some states are heavily regulated, while others barely impose any statutes at all.

Then, within each state, there are individual counties and cities that can have their own regulations. You might operate your HOA management business in a state and a county that are very relaxed about HOA laws, but exist in a city with tighter local regulations

We recommend checking with your local government to be sure you know all the rules that apply to your business. You can also seek assistance from your local Chamber of Commerce. If you’re still not sure about which local regulations apply to your HOA management business, it might be worth it to have a consultation with an attorney who specializes in this topic.

Federal Law

With regard to federal law, there is currently no nationwide regulation that specifically applies to HOA management companies. When dealing with the federal government, use common sense and follow the rules that apply to all businesses. Avoid illegal activity, respect the rights of your employees (if you have any), and file your business taxes on time.

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How to Avoid Regulation Violations

Understanding who regulates HOA management companies is only one part of the equation. Once you understand the laws that govern your company, the next step is making sure you never violate them.

To ensure that your association management company complies with the business regulations in your region, there are several best practices you should employ. We recommend the following:

Use HOA Accounting Software

Accounting for HOAs can be very complicated and it’s easy to make mistakes if you’re managing your clients’ finances the old-fashioned way. Using calculators, files, and spreadsheets are also very inefficient. By switching to accounting software that’s designed for HOA management, you can manage your clients’ money with efficiency and transparency.

With CINC Systems, our cloud-based accounting software offers many features to help your business. Try CINC Systems for collecting your clients’ resident fees, tracking deposits and expenditures in real-time, and generating customized financial reports. Cloud-based HOA accounting software like CINC Systems also keeps your clients’ private data much more secure than other accounting methods.

Conduct Your Business with Integrity

When it comes to running a successful HOA management business, integrity is everything. Clients need an HOA manager they can trust and rely on. If you follow the rules you and your client established in your contract, you’ll have nothing to worry about. Always stick to your project deadlines, listen to your clients’ feedback, and follow through with your promises.

Communicate Openly with Clients

Similarly, make sure that you communicate openly with your HOA clients. By being transparent in your business dealings, you’ll earn the HOA’s trust and the board can loosen its regulations toward you. Always return phone calls and emails in a timely manner, ask questions when needed, and speak up when you need your client to give you direction.

Although some HOAs want to be very “hands off” and let their association managers handle most of the community’s needs, others want to be more involved. Make sure you and your client agree to a balanced communication structure.

By following these best practices, you’ll dramatically reduce the need for your clients’ HOA board to regulate your operations.

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Every business needs a website. As a homeowner association (HOA) manager, your website can help you attract new clients and build your reputation in the industry. You can also use your HOA website to interface with your clients directly, using integrated web portals to streamline your business process.

Perhaps you’re launching a new HOA management company and need to build a business website from scratch. Maybe it’s time to simply update your current website to include new features. In the past, building a website required long hours of work and deep knowledge of complicated coding. However, today there are a variety of platforms, such as SquareSpace and Wix, that allow you to create a fully functioning business website in minutes, without zero tech knowledge.

As you plan your new HOA business website, consider the features you’ll need. Websites are powerful marketing tools that show current and potential customers why your services are better than your competitors. Your association management software can help you build an HOA website by adding dynamic, interactive elements for current clients, while helping you broaden your audience for new business.

Integrated Web Portals

One of the many benefits of association management software is that it enables your business to go paperless. New age HOA management software like CINC Systems have made old paper-based systems like filing cabinets and spreadsheets obsolete. These new systems can help you with internal business procedures, such as client financing, as well as assist in daily tasks that involve interacting with the association’s members.

Many association management software programs offer the ability to create online web portals for your clients’ association membership. Web portals can be customized for different features related to life in the HOA. They make association participation easier for residents while improving the efficiency of your own job as the HOA manager.

Association management software can help you build an HOA website by integrating these web portals directly onto your company’s site. To learn how you can do this, explore the features of your HOA management software and talk to the customer service of your website’s hosting company. Once you’ve decided to integrate web portals and taken steps to begin this process, here are three key features to include in your HOA website:

1. Resident Fee Processing

Processing resident fees is one of the best reasons to implement an HOA web portal on your website. As an HOA manager, collecting resident fees on your clients’ behalf is an important duty. After all, resident fees fund the HOA’s projects, contribute to repairs and upkeep, and even pay your salary!

Every HOA has a different protocol for collecting fees. Some may collect fees annually, while others may require residents to pay each month. Regardless of the fee schedule,it is your job as an HOA manager to collect the payments, deposit them, and follow up with any residents who are past due.

Adding a payment portal to your HOA management business’ website can give your residents an option to pay the fees online. This is easier for everyone involved. Residents can schedule payments ahead of time, and you’ll save time because fees are automatically deposited into the association’s bank account. Plus, an online payment portal can instantly generate a list of residents who are yet to pay, eliminating the need for complex, manual data processing.

2. Vendor Invoices

Association management software can also help build an HOA website by creating a web portal for vendor invoices. Most associations hire regular vendors. Whether this is a construction company hired for a specific project on a communal property, or regularly scheduled services like landscaping and waste disposal, vendors are constantly submitting invoices that need to be paid. As HOA manager, you’re the one who pays them.

By creating a web portal for vendor invoices, your association management software will dramatically streamline this process and increase your overall efficiency. Similar to a web payment portal for residents, vendors can use the portal on your HOA website to submit their invoices electronically. Then, you can pay them directly from the client’s bank account with the click of a button.

A web portal for vendor invoices also allows you to track the HOA’s bills. This helps you stay organized and ensure that invoice payments are always completed in a timely manner.

3. Work Orders

Finally, an association management software program can help your business create a great HOA website by generating a web portal for work orders. With a web portal for work orders, residents can open tickets online, any time, 24/7. They can also upload photos of the issue that needs to be addressed.

Once submitted, you’ll receive the work orders in your association management software dashboard. You can organize the work orders by category, submission date, and priority. This allows you to plan repairs more efficiently. Then, as the work begins, you can send electronic updates to the resident who opened the ticket.

Using an integrated web portal for work orders is a much better process than the traditional method of filing paperwork in a physical inbox. By including the work order feature on your website, residents will appreciate the efficiency of your management business, that is both modern and customer-friendly.

For a free consultation, call 855.943.8246

Create Web Portals with CINC Systems

If you’re not using association management software with web portal integration features, you’re missing out. See how this feature can dramatically improve your HOA management business by trying CINC Systems today! Request a free software demo or call us at (855) 943-8246.

Client Reviews

Finally, association management software can help you build an HOA website by giving you an opportunity to collect client reviews. As a business, user testimonials are a valuable marketing tool for attracting new customers. Feature quotes from happy clients on your HOA website can show potential customers how your business helps HOAs thrive and function effectively.

Use association management software to collect online feedback from your existing clients via your program dashboard. Then, choose the best reviews, get the client to give you permission to feature their words on your site, and post great quotes for the whole world to see.

To see how CINC Systems association management software can help, request a free demo or call (855) 943-8246.

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There are several ways a homeowner association (HOA) can reduce costs, increase efficiency, and add property value to the homes in the community. As an HOA manager, you can assist your clients with these endeavors. HOA managers often act as trusted advisors to the association’s board members, so your input can help guide their decisions for improving the HOA.

Why is it important for you to know how HOAs can increase property value, improve efficiency, and reduce costs? When your clients thrive, so does your association management business. Helping the HOAs you manage to become better communities will reflect positively on your company. This boosts your reputation and helps you attract more clients.

Here are several ways an HOA can reduce costs, increase efficiency, and add property value. By helping your clients implement these steps, you’ll ensure that their communities function smoothly and grow.

Review Monthly Expenditures and Annual Budgets

It’s important for an HOA to keep its costs low. Fewer expenses mean that the association won’t have to increase monthly dues or charge assessments. Cost-saving efforts also keep the association in good financial health so the board doesn’t have to draw from its reserve fund.

There are several ways you can help your clients reduce their costs. First, review the HOA’s monthly expenditures and its annual budget. Identify how the association is spending its money so you’ll have a baseline reference point.

We recommend using CINC Systems’ association accounting platform for this. CINC can automatically generate financial reports, which are full of valuable data about the HOA’s budget. You can organize these reports to reflect specific time periods or expense categories and send them to board members by email.

Once you’ve used CINC Systems to get the HOA’s financial snapshot, you can look for any areas where the association is spending too much money. Then, you can advise the board on a strategy to reduce these costs.

For a free consultation, call 855.943.8246

Assess Insurance and Other Operating Costs

Using financial data about the HOA’s budget and expenditures, you can assess how much the client is paying for liability insurance and other operating costs. This may include monthly services like utilities for common areas, waste disposal, monthly maintenance, and private security.

The HOA can reduce costs and increase efficiency by streamlining these services and eliminating unnecessary perks. For example, if the HOA provides free WiFi for a shared community space, you may be able to help the client save money by downgrading to a less expensive internet package.

Switch to Cloud-Based HOA Management Software

Next, we recommend switching to cloud-based HOA management software like CINC Systems. This gives your business numerous benefits, which transfer to your clients’ HOAs. Using cloud-based software is a great way to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and help HOAs add property value for several reasons.

For example, cloud-based software can replace traditional software like spreadsheets and calendars. You can use it to create an online web portal for the HOA’s residents, where they can pay fees and submit work orders electronically. Cloud-based software saves time and increases efficiency.

Being cloud-based means that the client’s data is stored online, rather than existing on a single computer or harddrive. This enables managers and board members to access data remotely from any location. It also helps you go mobile, so you can manage your client’s association anywhere.

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Revise Contracts with Service Providers

Next, you can help your clients improve their community by revising contracts with service providers. Look at the relationships your client has with its vendors, such as businesses that provide repairs or landscaping. Often, the terms of these contracts can be revised to cut costs for the HOA.

If a vendor isn’t open to renegotiating, you can help the HOA find a new service provider and solicit bids from potential businesses.

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Install Solar Panels

Often, the measures that reduce costs and increase efficiency also add property value to the HOA’s homes. One of the best ways to do all three is to install solar panels.

Despite the initial expense, solar panels help the HOA save costs over time because they can provide power to common areas and streetlights. This means the association won’t pay hefty utility bills. Additionally, solar panels can help the HOA qualify for state or local tax incentives.

Because solar panels are also great for the environment, they improve property value. The client’s HOA becomes a more desirable community and attracts new homeowners.

Make Changes to Landscaping

Similarly, making changes to landscaping increases the HOA’s property values and lowers expenses. One of the many reasons why people choose to live in a community with an HOA is that the HOA guarantees a certain standard for aesthetic qualities, like landscaping.

By improving the landscaping in community areas, you’ll help your clients’ HOA improve property values overall. You can also implement changes to save money, such as installing drought-resistant plants that require less water.

Optimize Maintenance Schedules

When it comes to efficiency, one of the biggest problems for many HOAs is the maintenance schedule. You’ll be able to help the associations you manage to become much more efficient by improving this.

Using CINC Systems to create an online web portal for work orders, you’ll be able to organize work orders by priority, submission date, and category. This enables you to schedule work much more efficiently. For example, you can schedule all electrical work to be done in a single day, instead of paying for an electrician to make separate trips throughout the week.

Help Your Clients Get More from Their HOA with CINC Systems

Using CINC Systems is one of the best ways to help your clients’ HOAs reduce costs, increase efficiency, and add property value. Our cloud-based association management software platform includes several key features that make it easier than ever to manage an HOA, including built-in accounting features.

To see how CINC Systems can make a difference for you and your clients, click here to try a free software demo.

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Do you know what a quorum is? What about a motion or a proxy? Although you don’t need to be fluent in “legalese” to be a homeowner association (HOA) manager, there are several common terms you need to know. Understanding HOA lingo will streamline your business and improve how you communicate with your clients.

Smaller HOAs are often less formal and won’t be so stringent about using proper terminology, while others may make you feel like you’re speaking a foreign language! When you’re running an HOA management business, you need to be able to handle all kinds of clients. Be ready to adapt to each HOA’s unique community culture. Learning common HOA terms will help you “talk the talk” with your clients.

If you’re new to HOA management or simply need a refresher, there are several basic terms you need to know.

Why You Need to Know HOA Terminology

First, it’s very helpful to understand the context of using HOA terminology. Where can you expect to use this lingo? Should you use these terms when you deal with your clients’ residents and vendors, or just board members?

As with anything related to HOA management, each of your clients will have unique needs and preferences so there’s no one-size-fits-all answer about using HOA terminology. However, in general, you’ll be using HOA lingo most often when you work with board members. Direct communication with residents and vendors is less formal.

HOA terms are also used if you’re conducting business on the HOA’s behalf, such as working with a CPA or an attorney. HOA terms are common in the industry. Because everyone uses a standard definition for these terms, it makes communication easier when you’re discussing the association with third parties.

For these reasons, it’s important to know general HOA terminology. The definitions below are some of the most common terms. For more obscure, in-depth definitions, we recommend checking out this HOA glossary.

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Definitions of Common HOA Terms

Bylaws

HOA bylaws are the governing rules that determine how the association conducts its business. They cover rules for the association’s board members, rather than rules for residents such as quiet hours or parking restrictions. For example, bylaws generally answer the following questions:

• Voting Consensus: When the HOA is debating a new rule or a change to the community, how many votes are needed to pass it? What happens if there’s no majority? Is there any avenue for recourse and appeals?
• Board Meeting Schedules: How often does the association board get together for meetings? How many meetings are open to residents? What is the protocol for canceling or rescheduling a meeting?
• Association Board Attendance: At a given meeting, how many board members need to be present to conduct a vote? What happens if a board member cannot attend?
• Board Member Terms, Elections and Recalls: How long does each board member serve? When are elections held? What happens if the community wants to recall an elected board member?

Motion

In HOA terminology, a motion is any proposal for action within the association. A motion could be the introduction of a new community rule, a new project, or other changes that affect the association and its members.

Usually, any member of the association can introduce a new motion at an open board meeting. However, the protocol for introducing a motion may be different depending on the HOA; motions are another subject covered by the HOA’s bylaws.

There are six types of motions:

1. Main Motions: These introduce a new topic, usually a single specific issue. A main motion cannot be made while the board is still voting on another motion.
2. Subsidiary Motions: As the name implies, subsidiary motions are changes or amendments to the main motion that’s still under consideration. When there’s a subsidiary motion, it must be voted on before the main motion.
3. Privileged Motions: This type of motion will bypass the vote for other motions. Privileged motions are usually for time-sensitive matters, such as emergency repairs.
4. Incidental Motions: An incidental motion is a response to board procedures and must be voted on before main motions and subsidiary motions.
5. Reconsidered Motions: Usually addressed when there’s no other pressing business, a reconsidered motion is a motion that covers unresolved business.
6. Pending Motions: A pending motion occurs when the board states a motion but hasn’t yet brought it to a vote.

Proxy

A proxy is someone who votes on behalf of an HOA member. Each member of the association is guaranteed the right to vote on motions at board meetings. When a member can’t be present for a meeting, he or she can send an official proxy to vote in their place. Often, members must designate their proxy in writing. Some associations are beginning to automate their proxy protocol online.

Quorum

In the HOA business, a quorum refers to the minimum number of members who must attend each meeting. Without reaching a full quorum, the HOA board cannot conduct votes or other official business and meetings must be rescheduled. Quorums are defined in the HOA bylaws and may also be affected by state or local law.

Recusal

When an HOA member can’t vote on a motion due to ethical or legal concerns, they must recuse themselves. This means their attendance is recorded but their vote is nullified. A recusal usually occurs when the member has a conflict of interest with the proposed motion. For example, a member should recuse themselves if they’re a general contractor bidding on a construction job for the association.

Try CINC Systems

If HOA lingo is still confusing, CINC Systems is here to help! Our software platform for association management and accounting helps your business run more smoothly by automating many daily tasks. This frees you up to focus your energy elsewhere, such as studying new terminology.

To see how CINC Systems can help you deliver the best quality service to your HOA management clients, give us a try and sign up for a free demo.

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Are your clients’ homeowner associations (HOA) prepared for winter? If you’re an HOA manager who works in a cold climate, falling temperatures and inclement weather can introduce new challenges. Winter storms can cause property damage, interrupt services, and create many problems for HOAs and their residents.

To ensure that your clients make it through the winter without issues, you’ll need to help the HOA with winter maintenance. So start tracking the weather and get ready to assist the association with snow-proofing and rain-proofing. With the right maintenance plan in place, life in the HOA’s community can continue uninterrupted.

Give your HOA clients and their residents’ peace of mind for the winter, so they can enjoy a cozy night-in without worrying about problems caused by the cold. Here are our top six winter maintenance tips for HOAs.

Tip #1. Schedule Snow Removal in Advance

First, schedule snow removal before the first storms of the season. This is a crucial part of HOA winterization. Look at the HOA’s budget to determine how many funds are available for spending on snow plowing, road salting, and removing snow from rooftops.

Then, check the weather forecast. If meteorologists are anticipating an extra snowy season, you may need to advise the board to draw from the HOA’s reserve fund. Don’t skimp on these services. Too much snow can damage properties and create safety hazards for the community.

If your client’s HOA already has a snow removal service in their vendor directory, schedule their services in advance based on weather estimates. (Note: The snow removal service will most likely be prepared to accommodate you with its own recommended schedule.)

If the client doesn’t have an existing vendor, or they were unhappy with their service from the previous season, spend time finding a new snow removal service to hire. Ask for recommendations from other vendors or go online for reviews. Make sure that the service provider includes everything you need for your client’s HOA, including winter road maintenance.

For a free consultation, call 855.943.8246

Tip #2. Inspect HVAC

HVAC is short for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. These systems maintain indoor climate control, ensuring that every building is hospitable and welcoming. In winter months, HVAC can also be a matter of safety. If indoor temperatures dip to extreme lows, it can be dangerous to occupants.

This means it’s imperative that all HVAC systems in your client’s HOA community are in perfect working order. As with snow removal services, inspect the community’s HVAC before the cold snap hits. After all, you don’t want your clients to discover that their heating system doesn’t work in the middle of a freezing blizzard!

HVAC systems can include furnaces and central heat, which are obviously the most relevant systems for the HOA’s winter maintenance. In late fall, hire an HVAC repair company to inspect the heating in all of the HOA’s common areas, such as lobbies, athletic facilities, laundry rooms, and shared parking garages.

You can also alert residents that HVAC repair is coming, so they can submit online work orders for broken heating to your CINC Systems web portal ahead of time.

Tip #3. Prepare the HOA’s Pipe System

If you’re managing an HOA in a region where temperatures can dip to freezing levels, make pipes a high priority for winter maintenance. When water freezes, it can wreak havoc on pipes and sewage systems.

Repairing the damage from frozen pipes can be a huge expense. Help your clients avoid this by implementing the following:

• Drain water from sprinkler systems. You won’t be watering the lawn or shrubs on the HOA’s property, so protect the sprinkler system by draining the water and turning it off. Make sure any outdoor faucets or showers are also disabled for the winter.
• Drain and seal off outdoor pools. Dealing with a frozen swimming pool is a headache that no HOA manager should have to handle, not to mention the damage that ice can cause to a pool.
• Add insulation to exterior pipes. If there are any exposed pipes on the HOA’s property, protect them with thermal padding and/or tarps to keep them from freezing.
• Make sure attics, basements, and storage areas are well-heated. Even if these areas aren’t frequently visited by residents, they may contain crucial piping systems for the association’s buildings. Make sure the heat stays on in these areas.

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Tip #4. Plan for Power Outages

Nothing’s worse than a power outage in the middle of a big winter storm. Although you can’t anticipate a power outage, you can help your clients prepare. This is especially important for HOAs located in regions that receive heavy snowfall, as well as HOAs with a large population of seniors.

If it’s in the winter budget, acquire backup generators and battery-powered heaters for the HOA’s common areas. We also recommend preparing emergency supplies. Pack several kits with flashlights and batteries, blankets, first aid supplies, and portable hand/foot heating packs.

Make sure these emergency kits are easily available in the HOA’s common areas so residents can access them during a power outage.

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Tip #5. Inspect Roofs and Building Exteriors

Another important tip for HOA winter maintenance is building inspection. Rainstorms and snowfall can cause severe damage to buildings that aren’t properly sealed and insulated. They can also cause inconveniences for residents.

We recommend hiring a general contractor to examine the HOA’s rooftops for leaks and look at building exteriors to make sure all common areas are properly sealed. Repairing a small leak or a gap in a window will be much easier than recovering from the damage caused by flooding or other weather-related problems.

Tip #6. Keep Residents Informed

Finally, you can help your clients make sure their HOA runs smoothly during winter months by keeping residents informed. Be sure to disperse information about snowplow schedules, inspections, and emergency protocols in advance of any storms. You can also issue severe weather alerts so residents can prepare their own homes.

Using the CINC Systems association management platform, you can create a resident web portal and post this information online. To see how CINC can help your association management business, click here to request a free demo.

Call 855.943.8246 or complete a contact form

Ordinances play a vital role in shaping a home homeowners association (HOA). As an HOA manager, you’ll need to understand what ordinances are and how they work. In a nutshell, an ordinance is any law or regulation enacted by a municipal body. Ordinances cover a wide range of topics that affect HOAs, from rules about architecture to home businesses.

Learning about HOA ordinances is important so you can deliver the best services to your clients. Association managers often act as consultants for their clients, providing the HOA board with guidance about new projects or other aspects of community development. Knowing state and local ordinances will enable you to advise your clients with greater accuracy.

Here’s more information about HOA ordinances, as well as common ordinances. As with any topic related to HOAs, remember to do your homework and understand the specific laws that apply to your clients based on your region. However, the following types of ordinances are among the universal rules and regulations you’re more likely to encounter.

HOA Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions

First, let’s take a look at how ordinances are established. In addition to local laws and civic codes imposed by the HOA’s city, many association ordinances come from a document called the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC Rs).

Every HOA has CC Rs. CC Rs define the rules for the members of the community and can cover a wide range of topics that affect daily life within the HOA. These regulations are voted on by the board and the HOA members. When a new homeowner enters the HOA, the association board is required to provide them with a copy of the CC Rs.

As an HOA manager, make sure you’re intimately familiar with the most recent updated version of your clients’ CC Rs. You can also make the CC Rs available online by creating a resident web portal with CINC Systems or other association management software. This is important because many ordinances are violated by accident simply because the violator doesn’t know the rule (or forgot).

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Common Types of HOA Ordinances

Architectural Guidelines

Many HOA ordinances govern the architecture of homes in the community. This includes aesthetic rules, such as color for exterior paint or design elements like window shutters and porches. Architectural ordinances can also determine rules for home add-ons.

For example, it may be against an ordinance to add a second story to a single-story home or convert a garage into an apartment. Ordinances can also require homeowners to follow specific measurements, such as maintaining a minimum distance between their neighbor’s property.

Guests

When someone purchases a home in the HOA and agrees to abide by its CC Rs, they’re agreeing to follow the rules set forth by the guest policy. Guest ordinances are intended to prevent illegal renting, reduce noise, and resolve parking issues within the community. Every HOA is different.

Some may allow visitors to stay for seven nights, while others may allow longer periods with special written permission. As the HOA manager, you’ll need to understand all ordinances that apply to overnight visitors so you can properly enforce them on the HOA’s behalf.

Rental Rules

An HOA can be a complicated legal entity because its ordinances apply to privately owned property. Whereas homeowners who don’t belong to an HOA are generally free to rent their home to anyone they like, if they belong to an association there will be ordinances that govern rental rules.

Some HOAs ban renting outright, while others require that prospective renters get approval from the board and pass a background check. Today, many CC Rs are also being amended to include usage policies for short-term renting such as Airbnb.

Vehicle Operations

Another type of common association ordinance governs vehicle operations. Along with parking for regular cars, vans, and trucks, vehicle ordinances usually cover the rules for RVs, commercial vehicles, boats, dirt bikes, and vehicles that may not be “street legal.”

For example, an ordinance may declare that RVs can only park in a specific area, rather than on a street in front of someone’s home. Vehicle ordinances also set speed limits and other traffic laws on the HOA’s private roads.

Construction

In addition to architectural ordinances, many HOAs have regulations about other aspects of construction. This includes the process for obtaining permits, construction hours, where workers can park their vehicles, and more.

Construction ordinances may require residents to receive approval from the board or submit an environmental impact report to ensure that their construction won’t negatively affect the community.

Noise (Quiet Hours)

One of the many advantages of living in a community with an HOA is the ordinance regarding noise. Association ordinances usually set specific “quiet hours” for the community, as well as limits on the decibel level allowed. This helps eliminate loud parties, excessive music, or other noises that disturb the peace.

Quiet hours may differ for weekends and holidays. They can also cover vehicles in the HOA so that drivers aren’t allowed to blast loud music from their cars.

Home Businesses

Additionally, many HOAs have ordinances regarding home businesses. They define what is and isn’t allowed for homeowners who run a business. For example, residents may be allowed to operate a digital business or sell handmade goods online, but not be allowed to receive clients or conduct business on the HOA’s premises.

The ordinances for home businesses in an HOA will also define repercussions for violating the rules and set a protocol for warnings and punishments.

Property Maintenance

Finally, association ordinances usually cover rules for property maintenance. Although the association covers landscaping and other types of maintenance for common areas within the HOA, it’s the homeowner’s responsibility for taking care of their own property.

This includes lawn care, trimming trees on the property, repairing visible damage to the home’s exterior, and more. Property maintenance ordinances ensure that no one in the association allows their home to deteriorate and negatively impact property values in the neighborhood.

How CINC Systems Helps Enforce HOA Ordinances

CINC Systems helps association managers enforce ordinances by allowing you to create an online web portal where residents can download a digital copy of the CC Rs and other rules. To see how CINC can help your business, click here for a free software trial.

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Homeowners association (HOA) fees are the lifeblood of the organization. Also known as dues and assessments, HOA fees are paid by all members of the association. HOA fees cover basic operating costs and maintain the HOA’s special reserve fund, an account reserved for emergencies and unexpected expenses. As an HOA manager, you’ll likely hear a lot of questions about HOA fees. One of the most common questions is, are HOA fees negotiable?

The short answer is no. When a property owner joins an HOA, they are required to pay the fees as outlined in the association’s governing documents or Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs). Most members are happy to pay these fees because of the benefits they enjoy as part of the HOA. However, as with anything related to HOA management, there may be unique circumstances where HOA fees can be changed or submitted under an alternative payment plan.

As the HOA manager, it’s unlikely that you’ll be directly involved with financial negotiations between your clients and their members. These affairs are typically handled by the HOA board directly. However, your clients may defer to your expert advice and experience as an association manager to assist with issues pertaining to HOA fees. It’s also common for residents to approach managers when they have questions.

By understanding the answer to the question of whether HOA fees are negotiable, you can offer better service as an association manager and help your clients improve their community.

Understanding HOA Fees

First, it helps to understand HOA fees. In general, there are two types of HOA fees. The first type of fee is called a due. HOA dues are fixed, regular fees paid by each member of the association. HOA dues can be paid monthly, quarterly, or hourly depending on the association’s bylaws.

HOA dues cover the association’s daily operations. This includes paying for maintenance and repairs on shared-use areas, as well as costs associated with upkeep. For example, HOA dues can pay for landscaping and waste disposal services. 25% to 40% of HOA dues also goes into the association’s reserve fund. The money set aside in the reserve fund is then used to pay for special projects or cover emergency spending.

HOA assessments are special fees paid on a one-time or short-term basis. Assessments are levied in addition to regular membership dues. They are mandatory, however, the payment schedule for assessments may differ from normal dues as outlined in the CC&R or bylaws. HOA assessments may be levied once a year or as needed.

HOA assessments pay for costs not covered by regular dues. For example, assessments may fund new construction in common areas, or upgrades to equipment in a communal gym facility. HOAs can also charge assessments when the normal monthly dues fail to cover their anticipated expenses.

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When Are HOA Fees Negotiable?

As an HOA manager, it’s helpful to understand the context for negotiating HOA fees, even if it’s unlikely that you’ll be directly involved.

As previously mentioned, HOA fees are usually mandatory and non-negotiable. Although HOA fees may change over time, the decision to increase or lower fees is made by the association’s board, not individual members.

Changes to fees are usually issued at the beginning of the year, following an audit of the HOA’s budget and finances. However, changing HOA fees can be a different process for each unique HOA. Be sure to consult your clients’ HOA bylaws and CC&Rs to understand the rules regarding changes to HOA fees.

For residents, one of the few opportunities to negotiate HOA fees occurs during the home buying process. When a potential buyer is considering purchasing a home that belongs to an HOA, he or she can negotiate with the home’s seller to lower the price based on HOA fees.

Additionally, if the home has any title liens because of unpaid HOA fees, the potential buyer can negotiate with the seller to pay these back fees rather than accepting the debt after the sale. This tactic is often employed during real estate negotiation for HOA properties.

How to Change HOA Fees

When residents approach you with questions about how to negotiate for lower HOA fees, let them know their options. In general, the best way to change HOA fees is to join the association board. You can help members by informing them about the board’s election process and sharing a copy of the HOA bylaws. However, it’s important to remain impartial.

HOA members can also try these steps to lower their association fees:

• Request a copy of the HOA’s current budget and spending records.
• Petition the board to reduce ongoing costs, such as landscaping.
• Ask to see the HOA’s insurance premiums and other bills to find out if the association is overpaying for services.
• Petition the board to perform a financial audit and reassess fees with a CPA.
• Petition the board to defer nonessential projects to lower or eliminate assessments.

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Make HOA Fees Easier with Online Payments

While HOA fees may not be negotiable, you can still make the payment process easier for your clients’ residents by implementing a payment web portal. With association accounting software like CINC Systems, you have the tools to receive, process, and deposit HOA fees completely online.

HOA residents love this option because it’s easier than mailing checks. It also helps you manage your HOA client finances more effectively because it saves time. By collecting HOA fees in an online payment portal, you won’t have to waste your valuable time going to the bank.

Plus, an online payment portal makes it easy to see which residents have paid their fees, and which still owe. This helps streamline the collection process.

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For collecting HOA fees for your clients, you need powerful software that delivers great accounting tools. Using CINC Systems, you’ll be able to assist your clients and their residents with all aspects of fee collection as well as other financial duties. To see how CINC Systems can help you grow your HOA management business, click here for a free software demo.

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Managing a homeowner association (HOA) requires solid bookkeeping skills. You need to be organized, detail-oriented, and capable of tracking large volumes of paperwork. Although HOA management software can help your company go paperless and streamline your organization, it’s still important to keep certain records for your clients.

How long does an HOA need to keep records? Are certain types of records more important to keep than other types? What are the best ways to securely store records for HOAs? By learning the answers to these questions, you can assist your clients with all their record-storing needs. This will enable you to provide better service and improve your business as an HOA manager.

At CINC Systems, we’re committed to helping you improve your clients’ HOAs and ensuring your success as an HOA management business. That’s why we’ve compiled the following tips to help you understand how long an HOA needs to keep records. Learn the basics of HOA record-keeping below.

Why Keeping HOA Records Is Important

Keeping HOA records is important for several reasons. First, HOA records create a literal paper trail of the association’s business affairs. Because an HOA is governed by an elected board, the community’s leadership changes over time. Records help ensure that there are no gaps in the HOA’s business affairs just because someone leaves the organization.

When a new member joins the HOA’s board, he or she needs to understand the association’s history in order to make informed decisions. HOA records provide detailed information about the association’s finances, development projects, repairs, codes and bylaws, governance, and more. This is also important information for you to possess as the HOA’s manager.

Second, the HOA may be legally required to keep certain documents, such as tax records and previous versions of governing documents such as the Covenants, Conditions Restrictions (CC Rs). These legal documents are important for internal audits. Plus, they help protect the HOA in the event of legal disputes.

But do all records need to be kept indefinitely? If you or your client balks at the idea of endless record storage, don’t worry. Not all HOA records must remain stored indefinitely. Below, we’ve broken down which records your client’s HOA needs to keep permanently and which ones can be discarded after a certain period of time.

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Permanent Records

As the name implies, permanent records must be kept by an HOA indefinitely. Permanent records contain vital information pertaining to the HOA’s governance and therefore need to be available at any time for members and managers to reference.

For an HOA, the following types of documentation fall under the category of a permanent record:

• Board meeting minutes
• Executive session minutes
• Special committee minutes
• Original and amended articles of incorporation
• Original and amended bylaws
• Original and amended CC Rs
• Legal settlement agreements
• Legal deeds and titles

Additionally, there are several types of financial records that must be kept permanently. These financial records include:

• Tax ID issuance notices
• Annual corporate tax returns
• Documents granting tax-exempt status, if applicable
• CPA prepared financial statements
• Yearly general ledger statement

Certain construction and maintenance records should also be kept among the HOA’s permanent records, if they apply to your client’s properties. For example, blueprints, use permits, and documents related to architectural changes should be kept indefinitely for future reference.

Four Year Records

Other HOA records only need to be kept for four years. After this time, the records can be discarded. Four-year records for HOAs include legal documents, financial documents, business correspondences, and other types of documents. This includes:

• Member check-in sheets, ballots, and proxies for meetings
• Deposit slips and canceled checks
• Paid bills, invoices, and collection documents
• Employee time cards and payroll tax returns
• Monthly general ledger statements
• Documents related to insurance claims
• Important business or legal correspondences
• Association newsletters

Keep your clients’ four-year records in a separate storage area for easier access and perform an annual review of these documents. Once a document passes the four-year mark, it can be safely destroyed to clear space for more records.

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One Year Records

In addition to permanent records and four-year records, HOAs also have certain records that must be kept for one year. These records usually concern smaller, short-term projects or one-time business transactions.

Advise your HOA clients to keep these records on-hand for quick, easy reference. Then, as you help your clients perform an internal record audit at the beginning of each year, you can discard any of these records past the one-year retention mark.

HOA records to keep for one year include:

• Meeting agendas
• Monthly financial statements (other than general ledger)
• Documents related to projects that have been completed or issues that have been resolved
• “Light” correspondences with residents

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Other Records

Finally, it’s important to remember that there’s an exception to every rule. For example, there may be unique circumstances where your HOA clients must keep certain four-year records for a longer period of time while a legal action is being resolved. A client’s HOA may also have documents that aren’t listed above and will need to be sorted for record-keeping on a case-by-case basis.

It’s also recommended to make note of any advice that the HOA has received from CPAs or legal counsel. As with many aspects of the HOA business, there’s no “one size fits all” answer for keeping records. Be prepared to improvise and offer new, creative solutions for your clients who need special management.

Best Practices for Record Storage

Now that you know what documents HOA needs to keep, and for how long, it’s time to help your clients implement some best practices for record storage. We recommend using uniform-sized file boxes, such as bank document boxes. Write the contents on the outside of each box and mark them with the date so they can be sorted by one year, four years, or permanent retention. Then, store these boxes in a dry, secure area with limited access.

When it comes to HOA management, organization is key. You can help your clients become more organized by trying association management software like CINC Systems. Click here to request a free demo.

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A homeowners association (HOA) can be a complex organization with many moving parts. HOAs represent the best interests of the homeowners in their community while providing various services and amenities. To do this, HOAs collect fees from residents and control various financial funds to pay for them. As an HOA manager, you’ll assist your clients by managing their finances. One of the best ways to do this is by assisting with financial audits.

HOA audits provide board members and residents with valuable insight about their association’s financial health. An audit can also highlight areas of financial risk, such as budgetary problems or even financial fraud. Performing an audit is essential for an HOA’s ongoing financial health and its future success. However, when done correctly, the audit process can be long and expensive. This may make board members reluctant to perform audits on an annual basis, especially if it’s a smaller HOA comprised of part-time volunteers.

However, HOA audits are very important. Regularly scheduled audits can catch small issues before they blow up into huge problems that impact the entire HOA. They also provide board members and managers with information that can be used for future budgeting, setting fees and assessments, and other financial decisions. So how often should an association be audited?

In general, experts recommend doing an HOA audit once a year. Many HOAs do their audit at the beginning of the year in January or at the end of the fourth quarter in December. Often, a schedule for auditing is defined by the board members in the HOA’s bylaws and governing protocols.

However, there are certain situations that affect how often an HOA should be audited. Here’s some information to help you answer the question of how often an HOA should be audited so you can assist your clients.

State Laws About HOA Audits

Certain states have stricter laws about HOA finances and regulations. These laws can dictate the circumstances surrounding HOA audits, such as how frequently they need to occur. HOA state laws may also outline the protocol for members asking for an audit of their association.

If you manage an association in one of the following states, do your homework and make sure you fully understand the state laws regarding HOA audits.

Texas: In Texas, it matters whether you’re managing an HOA or a condominium association (COA). COAs are legally required to perform an annual audit, however, HOAs are not. Still, experts recommend performing an annual audit regardless of whether it’s required by law.

California: According to California’s state HOA laws, audits must be done once a year. However, it’s up to the HOA’s board to decide when the audit actually occurs; there is no specific deadline, as long as it’s performed within the fiscal year. Additionally, HOAs in California must provide its members with an audit report within 120 calendar days of finishing the audit.

Colorado: Similar to California, Colorado allows HOA board members to decide when and how often it performs a financial audit. However, if the HOA’s expenditures or revenue for the year exceed $250,000, then the HOA’s members can formally demand an audit by gathering votes from one-third or more of the total membership. Smaller Colorado associations, or Colorado associations that make less than $250,000 in revenues or expenditures, can still be petitioned — however, the members in this situation can only petition for a financial review, not a full audit.

Michigan: In Michigan, HOA members can petition to have an audit at any time. However, a majority of owners can also vote to opt-out of auditing.

Florida: For associations based in Florida, HOAs with more than $500,000 in revenue are required to conduct yearly financial reporting if 20% of the members vote for it. With a majority vote, members can also demand a higher level of financial audit to be finished within 90 days of the vote or before the end of the fiscal year.

Other States: The HOA laws in other states vary with regard to auditing. To assist your clients in these states, consult the HOA’s bylaws as well as local legislation. If you need further help, consult a local attorney.

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HOA Audits Are Worth the Time and Cost

Regardless of the legal requirements for HOA audits, you should encourage your clients to audit their association finances at least once a year. Audits provide you and your clients with powerful information that can help with decision-making, budgeting, and other financial planning. Taking the time to do an audit once a year will help the HOA avoid greater mistakes further down the line.

Try CINC Systems to Help with HOA Auditing

To make auditing easier for your clients’ HOAs, you can assist the board by providing clear financial reports with all the necessary data. One of the best ways to provide financial reports is with association accounting software like CINC Systems.

With CINC Systems’ cloud-based accounting software for HOA managers, you’ll receive powerful financial tools to help you streamline your clients’ auditing process. CINC Systems gives you the ability to generate electronic financial reports for your clients with the click of a button. Reports can be customized for specific data sets, such as expenditure categories or specific dates. These reports can then be emailed to board members, CPAs, or anyone else involved in the HOA’s audit.

To see how CINC Systems accounting software can help you with your HOA management business, click here to request a free demo.

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A homeowners association (HOA) audit is a thorough, detailed review of the association’s finances. HOA audits are an important tool for ensuring the association’s lasting success. As an HOA manager, it’s unlikely that you’ll be performing audits yourself. However, you will be called upon to assist your clients and advise them during the process of an audit.

For example, HOA managers can help their clients’ associations prepare for an audit by gathering documentation. You can also use association accounting software like CINC Systems to generate electronic financial reports for your clients, which they can then email to a certified public accountant (CPA) or legal tax counsel.

In some cases, homeowners can demand an HOA audit. This type of audit can potentially occur at any time of year. However, whether or not the members of the association have called for an audit, it’s a good idea to perform an HOA audit once a year. When it comes to HOA audits, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

To assist your clients with their association’s finances, here’s what you need to know about HOA audits.

HOA Audits Vs. Financial Reviews

Whether you’re new to HOA management or simply brushing up on the basics, it’s important to learn the difference between an audit and a financial review. Both HOA audits and financial reviews examine the association’s current financial status. Both provide valuable information that can help the association board make better, more informed choices.

However, a financial review is much smaller in scale than an audit. In a financial review, the HOA (or its CPA) will review financial records for basic information, such as monthly income and expenditures. Financial reviews are useful for creating budgets and other short-term financial management.

An HOA audit takes financial reviewing to the next level. Under the guidance of a CPA, the HOA performs an in-depth analysis of its financial profiles. Then, the CPA verifies all the information presented in these reports. For example, he or she may contact debtors and creditors to verify the outstanding amounts of various accounts payable and accounts receivable.

During an audit, the CPA and the association will also cross-check the HOA’s financial reports with its physical records. This means examining meeting minutes, invoices, bills, and general ledgers to ensure that the information in the HOA’s accounts is truly accurate.

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Benefits of an HOA Audit

Because of everything involved in the audit process, HOA audits can be very time-consuming and costly. However, HOA audits are an important “investment” for your clients. In addition to providing the association board with valuable data about the HOA’s financial health, HOA audits can help you and your client catch minor issues before they become big problems. Skipping an audit can end up being a very expensive headache for the HOA.

HOA audits ensure that the association budgets correctly, spends and saves wisely, and helps catch fraud and accounting errors. If your client believes their HOA is immune to financial misplanning or financial fraud, remind them that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Even small HOAs can be subject to financial problems.

For example, HOA members may accidentally pay for repairs from the wrong account, or make deposits incorrectly. These mistakes may be innocent and small in scope, but over time they can ruin the financial viability of an HOA. By encouraging your clients to perform regular HOA audits, you’ll help them avoid these problems.

Types of HOA Audits

There are different types of HOA audits, each designed to fit the unique needs of your clients’ associations. If your client works with a CPA, the CPA will be performing a type of audit that falls under Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures (GAAP). GAAP audits are often the most expensive and time-consuming type of HOA audit.

As an alternative to a GAAP audit, you can assist your HOA clients with one of these types of audits:

• An Agreed-Upon Procedures Engagement: Also known as a targeted examination, this type of audit focuses on specific financial areas that are more prone to accounting errors or other issues.
• A Review Audit: A cursory look at financial statements, which ensures that they conform with GAAP procedures for future audits.
• A Compilation Audit: The simplest type of audit, a compilation is essentially a restatement of the HOA’s prior financial statements.

Each type of HOA audit has pros and cons. Depending on the needs of your client and the advice of their CPA, you can help your client choose the best type of audit for each HOA.

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State Laws Governing HOA Audits

Some states have specific laws about HOA audits. These laws can require the HOA to perform an audit on a specific timeline, such as once a year, or require the audit to include certain types of financial data. State and local laws can also govern how the HOA disperses audit information to its members.

As you do your homework for your clients and brush up on relevant laws, make sure you understand how the HOA’s local regulations affect auditing and other financial issues. If you have specific concerns, contact a local government representative or an attorney.

Here are some states that have laws about HOA audits:

• California: The decision to audit is up to the board, however, an audit must be performed at least once a year. The final report must be dispersed to members within 120 days of the end of the year.
• Colorado: Although the board also decides when to perform an HOA audit, members in Colorado have the power to demand an audit of the association’s total revenue or expenditures exceeds $250,000.
• Florida: In Florida, auditing takes a petition by 20% of the HOA’s members.
• Texas: Texas law does not require HOAs to perform an annual audit. However, individual HOAs can define their own rules for audits in the association’s governing documents.

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Try CINC Systems for HOA Financing

If you’re getting ready to assist your client with an HOA audit, try CINC Systems. Our cloud-based accounting software for HOAs can help you stay organized and prepare all the financial reports you and your clients will need. For more information, click here to request a free demo.

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Association management software is one of the most powerful tools available for your association management business. Like any small business owner, choosing the best software for your company can make a big impact on your bottom line. Association management software helps you increase efficiency and grow your business.

Whether you manage a large homeowners association (HOA) or a smaller condominium association (COA), association management software is key to your success. The right association management software gives you the ability to manage all aspects of your clients’ HOA/COAs. Association management can often be a difficult job, but association management software makes it easier than ever!

If you’re wondering how association management software can improve your business and help you do a better job for your HOA/COA clients, keep reading. The following features make association management software one of the best investments you can make.

Automate HOA/COA Fees and Assessments

Association management software is a versatile system that includes many useful tools. One of these tools is the ability to automate HOA/COA fees and assessments. With software like CINC Systems, you can create an online web portal for collecting fees electronically, 24/7. This can be a significant improvement for you, your clients, and your clients’ residents.

By using association management software to collect payments online, you’ll cut back on trips to the bank because funds are immediately transferred to your clients’ accounts. Then, you’re able to monitor the account balances as they update in real-time. Additionally, you can use this feature to generate a list of which HOA/COA members are behind on payments, as well as the amount they owe.

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Process Work Orders Online

With association management software, you can also process work orders online. Use your HOA/COA management software to create a web portal where residents can submit work orders and maintenance requests online. Unlike paper forms, you’ll be alerted immediately when these requests arrive. There’s no need to go on-site to collect them from a mailbox.

Then, you can automatically sort these work orders by date, category, or priority. This allows you to streamline the repair process. For example, you can easily organize work orders so that all HOA plumbing problems are addressed at the same time. Once the work has been completed, you can also update the ticket online to let residents know that the issue has been resolved.

Set up Automatic Bill Pay

When you manage an HOA/COA, one of your key roles is to assist your clients with their association’s finances. This means ensuring that the HOA/COA never falls behind on its bills. Depending on the client, the HOA/COA may have recurring bills that include utilities, landscaping, waste disposal, private security services, and more.

Using association management software, you can make this process easier than ever. Instead of setting reminders for payments, writing and mailing checks, and balancing the HOA/COA’s ledger by hand, you can set up automatic payments for bills online via your association management software.

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Protect Your Clients From Financial Fraud

Like any organization where multiple people have access to financial accounts, an HOA/COA is always at some level of risk for fraud. As an HOA/COA manager, you can help your clients avoid this by keeping a close eye on withdrawals, deposits, and other financial transactions. After all, the sooner you catch financial fraud, the sooner you can prevent it from becoming a bigger problem.

Using association management software can help you with this. With a feature called automatic bank reconciliation, you can link all of your clients’ financial accounts to your HOA/COA management software’s dashboard. This allows you to monitor your clients’ financial transactions as they occur in real-time. By doing this, you can protect the association from fraud.

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Track Income and Expenditures

Proper budgeting is crucial to the success of any association. As an HOA/COA manager, you can assist your clients by keeping them on track with income and expenditures. This means monitoring the association’s financial transactions and seeing how each transaction affects the HOA/COA’s account balance.

With the automatic bank reconciliation features of your association management software, this becomes an easy task. Instead of logging into different websites to check on your clients’ accounts, you can view everything in one place in your online association management software’s dashboard.

Generate Financial Reports

Association management software also gives you the ability to generate financial reports for your clients. As an HOA/COA manager, you’re responsible for presenting valuable financial data to your clients. This helps the association’s board create budgets and informs decisions such as whether to raise fees or levy assessments.

Without association management software, creating a financial report for your client could be a huge, time-consuming task. Thankfully, software like CINC Systems lets you generate reports automatically with the click of a button. You can even customize reports to reflect specific data, such as different financial categories or time periods. Then, you can send each report electronically via email. This saves time printing and mailing presentation materials.

Go Paperless

As with any business, association management can quickly generate a long paper trail. But with association management software, most of your business can now be handled online. From work orders to paying bills, you can process these tasks for your clients electronically.

Going paperless has many benefits. It will help your business save money by eliminating printing and paper costs. It also saves you and your clients valuable time. Using association management software to go paperless also makes your company more environmentally friendly.

Work Remotely

Finally, association management software enables you to work remotely. By choosing cloud-based association management software like CINC Systems, you receive mobile capabilities that let you manage your clients from anywhere.

Working remotely helps you work more efficiently. Using CINC Systems on your tablet or laptop, you can manage the assets for one client while being on-site to supervise a project for a different client. It’s a win-win for everyone.

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To see how CINC Systems association management software can help your business, click here to request a free demo.

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Are you thinking about starting an association management company? Or maybe you’re association manager looking to brush up your skills and increase your knowledge of this exciting industry? In either case, you may be wondering what an association management company does.

The simple answer is that an association management company assists with various aspects of operations, financing, and logistics for homeowner associations (HOAs) and condominium associations (COAs).

Every association is different. Depending on the unique needs of your individual client, your association management company may have different duties. However, many aspects of association management are universal for all HOA/COA managers. As an association manager, it’s important to understand the basic services you’ll be expected to offer your clients.

Keeping reading to learn what an association management company does for its HOA/COA clients. Understanding each of these responsibilities will enable you to deliver the best quality service as an association manager.

Consult with Board Leadership

Whether it’s a large HOA or a smaller COA, every association has a governing board that sets policies and guidelines for the community. The association board sets the budget, approves new projects, and makes leadership decisions that affect the daily lives of residents. This includes everything from fee increases to changes in open hours for community areas.

As an association manager, you can act as an advisor to your clients’ boards. You may have more experience with HOA/COAs than board members, who are elected from within the association’s community, and therefore your expert opinions can help the board members make more informed decisions. You may be called upon to help the board make decisions regarding the annual budget, changes in community rules, or other aspects of the HOA/COA’s operations.

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Financial Management

Associations are complex financial organizations. One of the primary roles of an association management company is to assist with the management of the HOA/COA’s finances. This includes collecting fees and assessments, paying bills, advising on the annual budget, and monitoring transactions to prevent fraud.

You may also be called upon to help your clients by providing financial reports. With association management software such as CINC Systems, you can generate detailed reports automatically. Then, you can send these reports electronically to your clients’ board members to help them with the annual budget, audits, or tax filing.

Manage Common Resources

Association management companies also help clients operate common areas used by the association’s residents. This can include mail rooms, laundry facilities, multi-purpose rooms, gyms, swimming pools, and more. Part of your job as an HOA/COA manager may include the upkeep for these areas.

Additionally, your association management company can assist your clients with the HOA/COA’s common resources by posting open hours, rules, and other information pertaining to each community area. You can even use your association management software to create a web portal where residents can access this information online.

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Collect Association Dues

Associations are primarily funded by membership dues paid by the community’s residents. These dues include a regular membership fee, which may be paid annually, quarterly, or monthly. In special circumstances, the HOA/COA may also charge members a one-time assessment fee for emergency repairs or other sudden expenditures.

Your association management company helps HOA/COAs collect and process these dues. In the past, most dues were paid by check or direct withdrawal. Now, thanks to software like CINC Systems, you can expedite the process for your clients by creating an online payment portal. This gives residents the ability to make their payments online, automatically, 24/7.

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Help Enforce the Rules

Enforcing the HOA/COA’s rules is another common responsibility for association management companies. Every association has a governing document known as the Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions or CC&Rs. The CC&Rs outline the rules for each community, from restrictions on noise to rules about holiday decorations.

HOA/COA management companies assist their clients by helping enforce these rules. This includes issuing warnings and citations to members who violate the community’s guidelines. You can also help your clients by making the CC&R’s easily available to members via an online web resident web portal.

Process Work Orders

Associations require regular maintenance and repairs for community areas such as lobbies and shared facilities. As an association management company, it’s your job to ensure that all repairs are processed in a timely manner.

Using your association management software, you can create a web portal where residents can submit work orders online. They can even upload photos of the work that needs to be done. Then, you’ll be able to organize each work order based on category, priority, and date submitted. You can also send electronic updates to the resident who submitted the work order.

Oversee Projects

As an association management company, you may also find yourself responsible for your clients’ projects. This may include new construction or upgrades to the HOA/COA’s shared spaces.

Depending on the needs of the project, your company may be tasked with hiring vendors, as well as acting as an on-site coordinator to oversee construction. Association management companies may also fulfill vendor invoices for their clients.

On-Site Inspections

An association management company can also be the “eyes and ears” on the ground for its clients. This means performing on-site inspections. Observe the HOA/COA’s common areas for issues that need repairs, as well as violations by residents.

If there’s an issue you can resolve without going to the clients’ board, you can then take action directly. Otherwise, you can alert your clients to the problem and assist them with the next step in its resolution.

Communicate with Residents

Finally, association management companies help their clients by communicating with residents. This includes letting residents know about changes to fees, new community guidelines, and other information that needs to be dispersed.

You can also provide residents with copies of the CC&R’s and other governing documents as needed.

Association Management Companies Use CINC Systems

One of the best tools for an association management company is CINC Systems. To see how CINC Systems can improve your HOA/COA management business, click here to request a free demo.

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One of the best things you can do for your homeowners’ association (HOA) clients is to help them save money. As an HOA manager, you’ll assist your clients with their budgets, payments, and other fiscal requirements. When you can do more to help them save money, you’ll be able to offer even more valuable service and set your HOA management business apart from the competition.

To help your clients’ HOAs save money, use an integrated banking system. Integrated banking has several key advantages over traditional banking. When properly implemented, integrated banking will help you manage your clients’ associations more efficiently than ever. This will enable you to help your clients save money.

Here’s how integrated banking can save money for your clients’ HOAs.

What Is Integrated Banking?

First, to understand how integrated banking helps HOAs save money, it’s important to learn what integrated banking means and what sets it apart from other banking methods. If you’re not familiar with integrated banking, the term may sound vague or confusing. However, integrated banking actually describes a very specific type of banking.

In an integrated banking system, different software systems are able to “speak” to one another by exchanging data. This means that the information in one account can be viewed in another account, even if that second account exists on a completely different platform. How does this affect HOA finances?

With integrated banking for HOAs, you can link each of your clients’ financial accounts to your HOA management accounting software. In other words, you won’t need to login to individual banking websites to view your clients’ finances. All the data you need will be easily available on your accounting software’s dashboard.

While this might not sound like a game-changing feature, it can actually make a huge impact on your HOA management business. Integrated banking streamlines many aspects of financial management for you and your clients. By saving time, you’ll automatically save money. But you’ll also help your clients get more from their HOA budget by utilizing the great features offered by integrated banking.

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Best Type of Software for HOA Integrated Banking

To use integrated banking features to help your clients’ HOA save money, it’s important to choose the best type of integrated banking software. While there are many options available, we recommend choosing software that’s specifically designed for HOA accounting.

HOA accounting software like CINC Systems is fully customizable and offers multiple great tools for your association management business, including integrated banking. Consider your business’ software budget and choose a program that offers the integrated banking features you need.

Integrated Banking Features to Look For

If you’re selecting HOA accounting software with integrated banking features to help your clients’ HOAs save money, there are certain key features to look for. Make sure you invest wisely and choose software that’s easy to install, simple to use, and versatile.

Any integrated banking software for HOA management should include the following features:

Real-Time Account Updates

First, make sure that the software’s integrated banking features include real-time updates. This means that the accounts that have been synched to your software dashboard will reflect financial information live, as it happens. Real-time account updates enable you to monitor your client’s financial transactions as they occur.

This will help you save money for your clients because it will enable you to make better decisions about spending. For example, let’s say you need to hire a contractor to perform work for the association. If you see that an account balance is lower than projected after a recent transaction, you’ll be able to choose a contractor with a more appropriate rate or potentially postpone the work. This will help the HOA save money.

Data Encryption

It’s also recommended to choose integrated banking software that uses secure data encryption. Data encryption ensures that your client’s financial information is safe from unauthorized third-parties as it travels back and forth between your system and the bank’s. Encryption works by “scrambling” the data with an encryption key, so it can’t be viewed by anyone else.

Online Payment Portals

Next, look for integrated banking software that includes the option to create an online payment portal. An online payment portal is a website where the HOA’s residents can pay their fees and assessments electronically via credit card or e-check. This makes the collections process easier than ever.

This great feature helps your client save money because it optimizes your time as a manager. In the past, collecting and processing payments by hand could take several days. HOA managers needed to collect each check, deposit it, wait for the check to clear, then cross-reference the payments with a member directory to ensure that everyone has paid on time.

Integrated banking dramatically cuts down on the time spent collecting and processing resident fees. With the extra time, you’re able to take on more projects for your client. Thus, they get better value for your work.

Electronic Bill Pay and Invoicing

Another way that integrated banking can help an HOA save money is through electronic bill pay and invoicing. Make sure that any integrated banking software you choose for your HOA management business offers this feature.

With electronic bill pay and invoicing, you can handle all accounts payable and accounts receivable electronically. Utilities and other recurring monthly bills can be paid automatically, as well, so you don’t even have to think about it.

By paying bills and processing invoices online with integrated banking, you ensure that your clients never miss a payment. This means they’ll never lose money on late fees or penalties.

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Integrated banking is one of the best ways for an HOA to save money. As an association manager, it’s your job to help your clients stretch their budgets and receive the highest quality service without breaking the bank. The features of an integrated banking system can streamline your business.

To experience this optimization, as well as great money-saving features, try CINC Systems today.

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A homeowners association (HOA) budget serves many purposes. To be an effective HOA manager, it’s important to understand how a budget serves your clients. Although an HOA budget is created by the association board and approved by its members, you’ll still play a vital role in this aspect of financial planning. Therefore, it helps to learn the purpose of an HOA budget.

Knowing the purpose of an HOA budget can help you do your job more efficiently and ensure that your association clients remain in good financial health. An HOA’s budget can affect the choices you make as an HOA manager on the association’s behalf. Additionally, although you’re not responsible for setting the budget, you may be called upon to advise the board as they assess the HOA’s annual finances.

Budgeting is a vital aspect of financial management. By understanding how a budget serves your clients’ HOAs, you’ll be able to implement strong financial best practices. Here are some of the reasons why it’s important for an HOA to have a budget.

Build and Maintain a Reserve Fund

One of the purposes of HOA budgeting is to build and maintain the association’s reserve fund. An HOA reserve fund is essentially a savings account for the association. As opposed to the general operating fund, which is used to cover ongoing monthly expenses, the reserve fund is set aside for unanticipated costs and emergencies. For example, if there is damage to a communal property due to bad weather, the money to cover repairs will be drawn from the reserve fund.

In general, between 25% and 40% of resident fees are deposited into the HOA’s reserve fund. However, this number may be adjusted if the reserve fund becomes depleted unexpectedly or if the HOA experiences other financial issues concerning the fund. With a budget, the association’s board can assess the reserve fund’s status and determine how much money needs to be set aside for it.

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Pay for Maintenance and Upkeep

Budgeting also helps the HOA determine how to manage its money with regard to regular maintenance and upkeep costs. These costs are covered by the general operating fund and may consist of services like landscaping, waste disposal, security, utility bills, and general repairs to common areas.

When budgeting for an HOA, encourage your clients to set aside funds for each specific operating cost. Then, you can use HOA accounting software like CINC Systems to monitor spending in these areas and determine whether the association is staying on track. If the HOA is consistently overspending, the budget can be adjusted accordingly. This is one of the most important purposes of an HOA budget.

Make Informed Decisions

An HOA budget measures the financial pulse of your clients’ associations. By using this data, you can assist your clients by making more informed decisions about the HOA’s management. When it comes to financial management for HOAs, knowledge really is power!

For example, examining the HOA’s budget can help you when hiring new vendors. If the HOA only has a certain amount of money set aside for a construction project, you can use the information to help you evaluate bids from contractors. Budget knowledge also informs decisions about contract renegotiation.

By generating financial reports with your association accounting software, you can also share detailed budgeting information with your clients’ board and their residents. This will help the community whenever there’s a vote for a new project proposal or another issue that may impact the finances of the association. Budgets allow decisions to be made with greater accuracy and transparency.

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Hold Members Responsible

Another purpose of an HOA budget is to hold board members responsible for their spending. Although no one likes to think about board members committing financial fraud or making mistakes that damage the association, these situations are an unfortunate reality for many HOAs. As an HOA manager, part of your job is protecting your clients from financial mismanagement.

With an HOA budget, you’ll know exactly how much money is meant to be spent each month, which accounts are being used, and where the money goes. Then, using automatic bank reconciliation to monitor your clients’ accounts in your HOA management software, you can watch for any unusual spending. If something in the budget seems “off,” you can examine this and spot any potential fraud or misuse.

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Set Financial Goals

Budgets also help HOAs establish financial goals for the future. As a record of the association’s financial history, budgets provide very valuable information for fiscal planning. You and your clients can examine budgets from previous years to see how the HOA’s expenses and income have changed over time.

Then, the HOA’s board can make better decisions about the association’s financial goals. The next year’s budget can be adjusted to reflect these goals. For example, if the association wants to increase its reserve fund, the budget can be changed to direct more income into this account.

Calculate Resident Fees

Finally, an HOA budget helps managers and board members calculate resident fees. Looking at the budget can tell you where the HOA may have overspent or under-earned, and fees can be increased accordingly. If needed, the HOA can also issue special assessments (one time fees) to cover specific costs.

Just remember to check the association’s Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) and its bylaws to ensure that any changes to resident fees follow the appropriate protocol.

Build an HOA Budget with CINC Systems

Now that you understand the purpose of a budget for HOAs, it’s time to find the best association accounting software to help you assist your clients. With CINC Systems cloud-based accounting software, you’ll gain powerful tools for all aspects of financial management for HOAs. CINC Systems can streamline your business and help you provide even better service to your clients.

If you’re not already using cloud-based accounting software for HOA budgeting, try CINC Systems and see the difference. Click here to request a free software demo.

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Homeowners associations (HOAs) keep a lot of records, including governing documents (bylaws and Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions), financial reports, and more.

Many of these records are public; however, different states have different laws about which records the HOA is required to make public and how the public can obtain them. The following HOA record overview will help you understand this issue.

Types of HOA Records

In general, the records that are the most valuable to the public are the HOA’s governing documents. These documents describe how the association is structured and outlines the extent of its governing powers. HOA governing documents include:

• Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions: Commonly shortened to “CC Rs,” this document explains the association’s rules and responsibilities. CC Rs include provisions about property use, restrictions, and various community guidelines and outlines the services that the association provides its members. CC Rs also dictate the responsibilities of each association member.
• Articles of Incorporation: These HOA records are standard, necessary legal documentation, providing the association name, location, and the date it was established.
• Bylaws: Bylaws pertain to the HOA’s board, covering the rules and procedures for meetings as well as information about board elections.
• Rules and Regulations: The Rules and Regulations offer more details on the information described in the association’s CC Rs. For example, if the CC Rs mention a noise ordinance, the Rules and Regulations may state the agreed-upon “quiet hours” for the community.

Each of the records mentioned above is part of a contractual agreement entered between the HOA and all homeowners. Because one must agree to abide by these terms if they wish to buy property in the association, managers must give copies of these HOA records to all potential buyers and new homeowners.

However, other HOA records are not offered readily to the general public. Minutes from board meetings, financial records, insurance claim history, construction records, judgments, liens, street maps, and other documents are challenging to obtain.

These HOA records can only be made available to members of the association. The procedure for obtaining these documents can vary by state but generally requires a special written request.

Then, some records include a membership roster with names, addresses, and phone numbers. They also have data about membership status; for example, the HOA keeps a list of delinquent members who violate HOA rules or owe outstanding fees.

These types of personal records are not available to the public or individual members except in rare circumstances. One such case could include a written request by an attorney involved in a lawsuit with the HOA.

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Why HOA Records Matter

There are several reasons why it’s crucial to be able to access HOA records. First and foremost, making records available to the public — whether freely or by written request — guarantees a certain level of transparency, which can help eliminate potential fraud or illegal activity.

As mentioned previously, HOA records also matter to members of the public who are considering a home within the association. Potential buyers will need to understand the community’s rules and regulations, and also benefit from reviewing the HOA’s business. After all, their potential purchase is a literal investment in the HOA. Prospective buyers need to be aware of these problems if the HOA has any financial problems or other issues in its history.

Furthermore, HOA records can make a significant difference for professionals who may provide services to the association. For example, an association manager will need to review the HOA’s records to do a thorough job managing the community. They will also need access to financial documents if they are creating a new management system for the association by using association management software like CINC Systems.

CINC’s centralized platform vastly improves financial transparency, giving association managers instant access to financial records and other important records, empowering them to make informed decisions.

How to Obtain Public HOA Records

In some states, HOAs are allowed to charge for copies of public records. As an association manager, it’s unlikely that your clients will make you pay to access their documents.

However, there are several ways to bypass HOA record fees, for members of the general public who wish to learn more about the association:

• Get to Know Current Residents. HOAs may offer unique open houses and other events where prospective buyers can get to know existing residents. By befriending someone who is already an association member, the potential buyer may be able to receive their copy of the HOA records or learn more verbally.
• Search the County Public Records. The county registrar may not have every HOA record. Still, it will most likely have a copy of the Articles of Incorporation as well as information about liens, mortgages, and foreclosures of HOA properties.
• Ask the Seller Directly. Prospective buyers may also consider speaking directly to the current occupant of the home or their real estate agent.

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Questions to Ask About HOA Public Records

Upon receiving HOA records, it may be helpful to ask specific follow-up questions to understand the information better and receive clarification. These question could include:

• What is the current status of the HOA’s reserve fund?
• How have fees risen in the past, and how much are they estimated to grow in the next year? What about the next five or 10 years?
• What kind of insurance coverage does the HOA carry?
• What kind of legal action can the HOA take to enforce its rules and regulations?

Understanding which HOA records are available to the public makes it easy to see how associations function and how they help their communities.

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In most states, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically disrupted our ordinary lives. Even as the country begins slowly reopening, experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health institutions are still cautioning against in-person social gatherings. Many cities prohibit groups of 10 or more people, while others are asking residents to stay away from anyone who isn’t a member of their immediate household.

Although social distancing is helping to slow the spread of coronavirus, many people are bending the rules or outright ignoring them. What can a homeowners association (HOA) or condominium association (COA) do? Can HOAs/COAs ban people from gathering?

The answer isn’t black and white. The COVID-19 situation is changing almost every week, so we need to take the actions we need to handle. If you’re operating an association during the COVID-19 crisis, make sure you’re receiving reliable, official information from the local government. As to whether or not your association clients can prohibit residents from meeting in person, here’s a general summary of the issue.

Associations Must Follow Local Law

As with all the current laws regarding COVID-19, they vary from state to state and from city to city. It’s important to remember that associations must obey their local law above all else. Although they set rules and regulations for their communities, associations are not government authorities and cannot supersede the law.

Questions like whether an association can prohibit people from meeting in person can result in legal gray areas that may, in some cases, need to be resolved in court. If your state or city is under a “shelter in place” law, you can legally prohibit people from meeting in person because you require residents to obey the law.

However, if there are no official government prohibitions on socializing, enforcing a ban on in-person gatherings becomes much trickier. While associations can legally take steps to ensure the safety and well-being of residents, some actions may violate personal freedoms. For example, it may be impossible for an association to prohibit neighbors from gathering inside each other’s homes or standing closer than six feet when they talk outside.

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Using Emergency Powers to Limit In-Person Meetings

If there are no “shelter in place” laws in effect and your clients wish to ban gatherings in their association’s community, they do have a few options. First, refer to the association’s Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) and bylaws. The HOA/COA may be able to invoke emergency powers.

Depending on the association’s emergency powers, the board may be able to hold special meetings and temporarily pass new regulations for social distancing. For example, most HOAs/COAs have rules about visitors, such as banning visits longer than seven days or limiting the number of visitors per household at any given time.

During the pandemic, associations may be able to use their emergency powers to expand upon these visitation rules. The board can attempt to pass a vote by temporarily banning all visits from nonresidents, except for essential workers such as repairmen or in-home healthcare aids.

Similarly, an association may be able to implement much stricter parking rules temporarily. While such a measure wouldn’t eliminate social gatherings or prevent visits from outside guests, it would make visiting much harder for most people if nonresidents are temporarily banned from parking on neighborhood streets.

Temporarily Closing Pools, BBQ Areas, and Other Amenities

Associations can also discourage people from meeting in person by revoking access to shared amenities and nonessential common spaces. Pools, barbecue areas, gyms, tennis courts, and other multi-use spaces can be closed down for the duration of the pandemic. Similarly, if your client’s association has a shared patio or lounge area, you can put outdoor furniture in storage.

These measures won’t stop people who are genuinely determined to gather despite social distancing regulations likely. However, some individuals will think twice about socializing if amenities are unavailable, and there’s nowhere to sit.

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Other Ways to Protect Association Residents

If your client’s association is unable to prohibit people from meeting in person to the degree that they would prefer, there are still steps they can take to improve resident safety and lower risk of coronavirus in their community.

First, communicate with residents about the pandemic. Associations may wish to send an individual email notification to residents that provide essential health tips. This communication may include details about proper handwashing techniques, information on wearing masks, a reminder to stay at least six feet apart from people outside their immediate household, and other guidance to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Be sure to issue updates as needed.

Second, consider if there are any ways in which the association can increase sanitation for essential common areas, such as mailrooms or laundry facilities. If possible, have these areas thoroughly sanitized at least once a day. Associations may also wish to install hand sanitizer stations in these rooms.

Finally, if residents are gathering on communal lawns, mark out “social distance” zones with tape or cones. It isn’t always easy to judge when you’re six feet away from someone; in other cases, people may begin talking to a neighbor and wander closer out of habit. By providing a visual reference, residents will know where they should stand or sit to remain at a safe distance.

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CINC Brings the Community Together

No one wants to be in a position to ask whether associations can prohibit people from meeting in person. Unfortunately, situations like the COVID-19 pandemic require us to work together and make sacrifices to save lives. If you discover that your client’s residents are chafing under social distancing or other restrictions, always be firm, but remember it’s a difficult time for everyone.

At CINC Systems, we’re here to help you keep your clients’ associations safer no matter the circumstances. CINC offers a customizable website and an online account to provide homeowners with up-to-date information. Our powerful platform facilitates better two-way communication so community members can get instant answers regarding meeting restrictions including size limitations and schedules.

To find out how CINC Systems can further assist with effective crisis management communication and other issues regarding managing an association during an emergency, click here for a free demo.

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Emergencies are a part of life. Disaster can strike at any moment, without warning, and put homeowners’ associations (HOAs) in a challenging position — they can cause unexpected property damage, disrupt infrastructure, and threaten the safety of residents. Thus, HOAs have certain emergency powers.

These emergency powers may vary by state and by county. Additionally, each of your clients may have unique emergency protocols outlined in the association’s bylaws. Make sure you are familiar with the client’s Covenants, Conditions Restrictions (CC Rs), and other relevant governing documents.

While you can’t control an emergency, you can help your clients prepare. Creating an emergency preparedness plan will help an HOA protect its community in the event of a natural disaster or global events like a pandemic. We hope your clients will never need to use their HOA’s emergency powers — but if they do, make sure you know what they are!

How To Invoke HOA Emergency Powers

When it becomes necessary to expand an HOA’s powers in an emergency, there’s no “one-size-fits-all” answer. From a legal perspective, an association doesn’t have the same level of authority as a state or local government. HOAs need to abide by their governing bylaws and can’t make sudden, sweeping changes to the rules just because there’s an emergency.

Look to the CC Rs for guidance. In most cases, the rules grant the board emergency powers based on predefined terms. Here are some examples of the types of changes an HOA’s board can make in an emergency:

• They may be allowed to hold special board meetings, with less advance notice.
• They may be allowed to lower the number of members required to attend a meeting.
• They may be allowed to lower the number of votes required to approve new spending, new rules, or changes to existing governing procedures.
• They may be allowed to make sudden, unannounced changes to community rules, such as temporarily closing a pool or gym.

The specific details about these emergency powers should be agreed upon by the board’s founding members, then periodically reassessed as needed.

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HOA Financial Powers During an Emergency

As mentioned above, emergency powers frequently change the rules around an HOA’s finances. An emergency may require the association to freeze certain types of spending, such as discretionary funds while expanding the budget for repairs and maintenance.

In addition to the financial accounts for everyday operation, all HOAs require special reserve funds. Within a reserve fund, a specific portion is always set aside to cover emergencies, but any amount can be reallocated to cover costs during a disaster or crisis. For example, if an earthquake damages the roads within the community, the HOA board can use the Reserve Fund to pay for immediate repairs.

Emergencies can also give HOAs special authorization to raise membership fees or levy special assessments. Many HOAs over extra expenses or replenish the reserve fund once the crisis has passed.

Help Your Client’s HOA Be Prepared for Any Emergency

Ideally, an HOA’s emergency powers should be custom-tailored based on the type of emergency. A flood will require a different kind of emergency response than a tornado or a pandemic.

HOA emergency plans can also be divided into tiers based on the severity of the crisis. Specific crises may require the HOA to exercise a higher degree of emergency powers. The particular details of the situation can also determine how long the HOA uses its emergency powers.

For example, a one-time emergency like an earthquake may require an extension of powers that lasts for a few weeks, while an ongoing crisis such as a pandemic may require indefinite emergency powers.

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Extending HOA Powers Before, During, And After An Emergency

You and your client may have enough warning to help safeguard the association’s community with some natural disasters like hurricanes and monsoons. In these cases, the HOA may choose to pre-authorize emergency powers.

By authorizing emergency powers before a situation arises, it allows the board to use money from the reserve fund to purchase emergency supplies, backup generators, or hire contractors to install extra weatherproofing. Pre-authorization can also give you and your clients more time to communicate with the HOA’s residents.

If you use association management software like CINC Systems to provide a resident web portal for your clients, make sure emergency resources are available online. These resources may include copies of the HOA’s emergency plan and documents highlighting the association’s emergency powers under various circumstances.

During an emergency, use CINC’s customized web portal to post essential announcements and messages from the board. You can also provide real-time status updates about the current situation. Although you’ll probably be communicating this information to residents via email or letters, it’s always good to post emergency information in multiple places to improve accessibility.

Finally, make sure your clients plan to return to normal operations once the emergency ends. In some emergencies, the options may be clear and easy to execute. For example, if there’s a storm, you and your clients will be able to return to standard operations after maintenance works clear debris and make necessary repairs.

With other emergencies, particularly ongoing situations such as pandemics, the path may not be so obvious. However, you and your client should understand when the HOA’s emergency powers will end to make the transition back to standard controls as easy as possible.

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Manage HOA Emergency Powers with CINC Systems

As an HOA manager, tools like CINC Systems provide many vital solutions for your business. Use CINC Systems to make your clients’ governing bylaws available online so that residents can understand the association’s emergency powers. You’ll also find that using CINC Systems for managing work orders and repairs will make it much easier to help your clients after an emergency strikes. Click here to try a free CINC Systems demo today.

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Homeowners associations (HOA) require outside management to be successful, primarily if the associations include a large number of properties. However, even HOA board members can be confused about the difference between a community manager and a property manager. While they both play a vital role, community managers and property managers offer different services.

If you’re new to HOA management, it’s essential to understand this distinction. For example, you’ll want to avoid using the phrase “property manager” in your marketing if the services you offer fit the role of a community manager.

Recognizing the distinct difference between community association managers and property managers will improve your client interface, helping you accurately understand and respond to their needs. Understanding this difference also opens up a dialogue to discuss the expectations of your role as the association manager.

So what are the differences between HOA property managers and HOA community managers? While some professionals act as both types of managers, individual job responsibilities vary.

Property Managers: The “Small Picture” and Rental Properties

Property managers generally focus on the day-to-day. Rather than involving themselves in the overall operations of the association as a whole, their role covers smaller details and rental properties. Usually, they’re only managing a few apartment buildings or rental complexes.

However, within those apartment buildings or rental complexes, property managers are kept busy. Their daily responsibilities include a significant amount of contact with individual tenants. These managers generally collect rent, distribute notices from the property owner, and coordinate maintenance and repairs for each unit within the rental property.

Property managers are also responsible for showing vacant units to potential tenants, processing rental applications, running credit checks, and performing background checks. When a tenant leaves, the property manager inspects the unit for damages and coordinates the return of the former tenant’s security deposit.

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Community Managers: The “Big Picture” and Common Properties

A community manager, meanwhile, focuses on the broader community. Community managers also tend to be more versatile than property managers. They can manage an HOA, condominium association (COA), resort communities, and even commercial tenant associations (CTAs).

Rather than interacting with tenants daily, community managers primarily consult with the association’s board. This manager has responsibilities that revolve around the community as a whole instead of individual units. For example, they might oversee the community’s shared spaces and broader infrastructure.

A community manager schedules maintenance for swimming pools and athletic facilities, processes common-area work orders, and works with vendors that provide services to the community. If the community manager is in charge of a gated neighborhood with private roads, they may also coordinate with local government regarding maintenance and municipal codes.

Community managers generally have a higher level of overall responsibility than property managers, too. Within an association, a community manager may have to perform the following tasks:

Assist With the Association Accounting

Community managers can assist with accounting services, balancing the association’s general ledger, and monitoring its finances. Using powerful management software like CINC Systems, community managers can pull their client’s banking data onto one multi-faceted platform. Deep bank integration merged with accounting software provides real-time updates that allow the community manager to monitor income and expenditures closely.

Additionally, community managers may provide detailed financial reports to board members. These financial reports can include budget information, projected growth, reserve fund status, and other valuable business data. By using association accounting software, managers can provide customized month-end financial reporting and a board package for each association — posted automatically to the portal within days of the month’s end.

Oversee Big Projects

Community managers may also oversee big projects, such as construction and upgrades to the community’s shared properties. They may be responsible for hiring contractors, acquiring use permits, monitoring the project’s progress, and providing status reports to the association’s board members.

Enforcing Community Rules

Community managers tend to have a higher authority to enforce rules, as well. As the “eyes and ears” for the association board, a community manager is in a unique position to observe violations. Managers who have an on-site office can spot infractions as they occur, which helps keep the community safe.

Community managers can then take the necessary disciplinary action, which could vary from a verbal warning to the issuing of a fine, or the revocation of community privileges. Community managers handle violations and enforce the rules, freeing up the board to focus on leadership.

What Community Managers and Property Managers Have in Common

Although community managers and property managers are different, they do have some job responsibilities in common.

For example, both collect payment on their client’s behalf. Property managers collect monthly rent from tenants, while community managers collect association membership fees, dues, and special assessments. Both managers are then responsible for depositing the payments in their client’s account and following up with delinquent residents who have not paid.

Finally, both types of managers oversee the general well-being of their clients’ community properties, help their clients prepare for extreme weather, and assist during emergencies.

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Try CINC Systems for All Your Management Needs

Community managers can further bolster the success of their associations and enhance their communities by incorporating software that’s custom-designed for every operational need. CINC offers comprehensive property management modules to increase productivity and efficiency.

Track late fees, collection letters, violations, and homeowner ACC correspondence in one convenient place with integrated call logs, and document organization. CINC automation handles time-consuming, repetitive tasks so property managers can focus on more value-added activities.

Try CINC Systems today and see how our cloud-based association management software platform can make a difference.

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