Notes and guides
Longer notes and short answers for a board that wants the reasoning, not a feature list. Filter by the job you are working on.
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- A violation letter that names the rule Name the rule, the fix, the date, and how to be heard. Keep the photo with the letter. Courtesy first.
- Best HOA software for a self-managed board: what to weigh Weigh four things: look first, tied balances, the meeting included, and a price you can read.
- Collecting HOA dues without a personal payment app Dues belong on the association's record — not in a director's personal payment app.
- Getting three bids without an email pile Same scope and questions to every bidder, one reply date, answers lined up on the vendor record.
- HOA elections without the drama: nominations, ballots, a count in the open Fix nominations, ballot, count, and minutes before the names are known. Procedure keeps the vote calm.
- HOA software cost, in the open Read three numbers before you sign: the plan price, the per-door past the flat band, and the pass-throughs.
- How to report a problem to your HOA (and actually get it on the record) Address, dated photo, and one sentence on what is wrong — then send it on the channel the board names.
- Meeting minutes that survive the next board Minutes record decisions — motion, vote, money committed — kept with the meeting, not a transcript of the talk.
- Moving from a spreadsheet to HOA software Keep the spreadsheet as the archive. Bring the file you have; a person approves where each row goes.
- Quorum and proxies without the chase Work one roster before the meeting: present, by proxy, not yet. Remind only the doors still missing.
- Records a resident can ask for — and what stays board-only Bylaws, minutes, and financial summaries are commonly readable. Drafts and other doors' private facts stay board-only.
- Reserves in plain words: what the roof fund is for A reserve is money set aside by name for big future work — the roof, the lot, the fence — paid a little at a time.
- Selling your home: the resale packet, without the scramble Ask the board for the resale packet the day you list. Name your door and closing date.
- Should the HOA have its own bank account? Yes. Open an account in the association's name. A director's personal account mixes the funds.
- The agreement, the price, and the insurance expiry on one record Who, what it costs, when it ends, when insurance lapses — four answers on one vendor record.
- The annual meeting, run by volunteers who have done it twice Settle what owners will decide and the count you need four weeks out. Send the packet three weeks out.
- What do my HOA fees pay for? Your fees pay for shared work: common areas, insurance, and money set aside for next decade's roof.
- When the old board will not hand over the files Rebuild from the bank, vendors, filings, and papers residents already hold. Then keep the record so you never rebuild again.
- HOA budget template (the one-page version a resident can follow) One page: money in, money out, what goes to the reserve, and what is left — from the same books.
- HOA dues letter template (the first note about a balance) Send the first note while the balance is small. Name the door, the amount, and the date.
- HOA meeting agenda template (copy it, send it before the meeting) Write the agenda the week before. Name the decision each item needs. Send it with the packet.
- HOA meeting minutes template (copy it, then keep it with the meeting) Copy the template below. Fill what the meeting decided. Keep adopted minutes with the meeting record.
- HOA violation letter template (courtesy first, then this) Courtesy note first. When you need the formal letter, keep it flat: fact, rule, fix, date, hearing.
- An annual budget the whole board can read One page a resident can follow: in by door, out by the work it buys, reserve named, what is left.
- Handing the treasurer job to the next volunteer Hand over tied totals, open doors by name, the next dues date, and vendor agreements — in one place on day one.
- Moving an HOA into new software Bring the file you already have. A person approves the mapping. Invite residents only after balances tie.
- The file you hand a CPA Hand one date-range bundle from the same books: assessments, payments by door, invoices paid, and the totals.
- What this software will not do We keep the record. We do not manage your association, keep books as a service, or say what the law requires.
- When a resident asks who mows Keep who, how to ask, the price, and the end date on one vendor record. Answer from there.
- When dues are late: a courtesy first, then a record Start with a courtesy while the balance is small. Keep every later step on the door's record.
- When the HOA balances do not match Name three totals and stop: charged, came in, and the bank. Do not ask residents to pay until those three agree.
- When the HOA meeting packet is in three places Put the agenda, last minutes, and vote papers on the meeting a few days before. Do not hunt three inboxes the night of.
- When the notice only lives in email Keep the notice as one record on the association. A person approves it, then send that record — not a sent-folder copy.
- The hard week after the ledger is the vendor file Everyone plans for moving the balances. The question that arrives in month two is who mows, under what agreement, and for how much.
- Why a $0 statement makes owners pay late If the portal says $0 on the first of the month, an owner believes it. The charge posts on the fifth, and now the board is chasing a payment nobody meant to skip.
- Six questions to ask any HOA software before you sign Bring these to every vendor, including us. A good answer is specific. A vague one tells you where the work will land.
- Moving an HOA's books without retyping them The old manager sends a pile of PDFs. The default is someone retyping them for weeks. We think the pile should be the input, and a person should be the check.
Nothing matches both filters.
Read less, check more.
Open the sample association.
We do not manage your association, keep its books as a service, or give legal or accounting advice. The board still decides.