Yes, we have an Onboarding Coordinator to make the transition easy and to ensure that your community is set up in our systems within 30 days.
No, Community Financials doesn’t charge an onboarding fee. We aim to simplify the process of switching over from a system that has not been working for you, so that your HOA or Condo Association can start saving time and money with Community Financials. (*there may be transition notice mailing charges if you don’t provide emails for homeowners or vendors).
Yes, Community Financials has an online portal where HOA or Condo owners can see their account balance, make payments, view select community documents, update contact info, and more.
Yes, we have a smartphone app with the same functionality as the online portal. Making it easy to access critical data for your HOA at home or on the go is just one of the advantages of working with Community Financials.
No, the portal and app are included at no extra charge with Community Financials services.
Homeowners can pay online by e-check or credit card, or mail a check to the bank. Simplifying the payment process helps increase compliance and avoid homeowner delinquencies.
No, Community Financials does not charge a fee for ACH payment or check payments. Homeowners would pay the processing fee if they use a credit card.
Yes, we send email reminders by default, but if we do not have an email or the homeowner prefers (and approved by the Board) we will send a paper statement or coupon book instead for an additional charge.
HOA Board members can review and digitally sign off on vendor invoices through Community Financials’ online approval process.
Community Financials processes vendor payments daily and vendors can email their invoices and be paid by ACH to sidestep mail delays.
No, there is no fee for check or ACH vendor payments through Community Financials’ online approval system.
Yes, the HOA Board can email, text, or voice broadcast messages and create custom tags to segment owner types.
Yes, the software used by Community Financials can handle maintenance tracking, violations, and ARC requests for HOA or Condo associations.
Yes, Community Financials includes demo video links in the information provided when you request a quote.
The Community Financials service agreement is for 1 year.
Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, and the best choice for your community will depend on the specific needs, goals, and resources of the HOA. To get the best of both worlds we recommend a balance of self-managing with the support of Community Financials tools and resources. Or if you are more complex hire us to handle the accounting and hire a manager to handle the physical management.
To prevent theft from happening your community can take the following precautions:
1) get bank statements with your financial reports
2) get viewing access to association bank accounts online
3) receive financial reports monthly and make sure they include a bank reconciliation report that proves the money in the bank reflects what is on your reports
4) use a system where 2 board members have to approve bills prior to payment and there is an audit trail.
All of the recommended procedures and systems are best practices and are included in Community Financials’ monthly accounting and bookkeeping services.
In our experience for smaller, simpler condominiums, HOAs, and POAs a combination of self-management and the use of a support system like Community Financials is the ideal solution. Our firm can take care of 60% of the workload, which results in significant cost savings compared to full property management.
To end your current service agreement, locate the termination paragraph in your agreement. This paragraph usually states the conditions for termination, including:
a) Terminating the agreement with 60-90 days written notice for any reason, or
b) Ending the agreement immediately due to a reason such as negligence.
If your contract term has ended and there is no automatic renewal clause, you are on a month-to-month term and can give 30 days’ notice.
Be sure to thoroughly read the termination paragraph, as it may specify that notice must be given via certified mail. In such cases, some boards opt to send a termination notice via email, indicating that a formal, mailed notice will follow.
Yes, we work with larger and more complicated HOAs, POAs, and condominiums that have either an onsite manager or use a portfolio manager that helps the board with the physical community and we handle the systems and accounting.
Financial reports are provided monthly, with the option for board members and managers to run check registers and aged receivables in real-time as needed.
Yes, we have several options 1) no budget help and you save money, 2) a budget worksheet to make budgeting easier for you and 3) we draft your budget with input from your Board or Manager.
We provide a variety of financial reports, including a balance sheet, comparative income statement showing a variance to budget for the month and year to date, check register, aged delinquency, and bank reconciliation report. These timely reports keep your board informed.
First we work to avoid delinquent payments by including emailed statements, an online portal where owners can view their billing and multiple payment options including by check, online, or with a credit card. If an owner still pays late we will add the late fee for your community and we can send friendly late payment reminders, certified mailed final notice, help the owner with a payment plan, report delinquent owners to the credit rating agency which would impact their credit score, and work with a collection agency or attorney.
No, we do not offer tax preparation; however, we provide comprehensive year-end reports for you to provide to your tax preparer and answer any questions they have.
Our onboarding team will work with your outgoing provider or board member to ensure a smooth and efficient transfer of all financial records and systems, email vendors to let them know to email or mail their bills to us, and send out a welcome notice by email with detailed instructions, all within 30 days (at no additional cost except for any USPS mailed items).
No, but we offer 3 different service levels to choose from that meet the majority of needs of our HOA or Condo association customers.
1) our customer service, we are organized to provide great service through a dedicated board client manager and homeowner customer support team; we measure email response times and live call answer percentages and then use those statistics to measure staff performance (this is the main reason for our great online reviews);
2) we use the most user-friendly software solution in the HOA and condo industry (we know we have used 4 different packages and demoed 6 others), we not only provide accounting but we have software to help the community manage itself more effectively;
3) we are niched for working with HOAs and Condo communities exclusively which allows us to help you better as we understand HOA and condo accounting;
4) our accounting staff are degreed accountants;
5) we offer additional services to help you operate your community like escrow / resale and refinance paperwork, community mailings, 24/7 emergency maintenance answering service and more.
Custom financial reports (that are supported by the software we use) are included in our Premium service package at no extra charge or Advanced reporting package. Additionally, the online portal accessible to Board members allows them to download reports to Excel and customize reports at their convenience.
Unlike QuickBooks, Community Financials is specifically designed for HOA and Condo associations, offering tailored features and support that meet the unique needs of these communities. A few examples of these are a portal for homeowners to see their balance and make a payment online, additional software to help the board with violations, architectural review and maintenance tracking, and document storage and communication tools.
Community Financials provides a more user-friendly interface, better customer support, and integrated tools for communication, document storage, online payments, which are not included or as robust in TOPS Pro. Additionally, Tops Pro is being discontinued by December 31, 2024.
Community Financials offers a seamless 30-day transition process, and a comprehensive suite of tools that make HOA management more efficient and effective compared to TOPS Pro. As the desktop version of TOPS Pro becomes obsolete, there is no better time to upgrade your community’s systems and processes while having Community Financials handle the accounting along with providing superior customer service.
Yes, we have an online learning site with how-to guides and tutorial videos and additional support to ensure board members are comfortable and proficient in using the new software tools and online portal.
The portal provides these features which in some states are required:
1) the ability for the board to share information with homeowners;
2) the portal includes a list of all homeowners and their contact information for the board;
3) in our standard and premium service levels includes tools for tracking violation and architectural review compliance tasks. Plus, we also handle resale and refinance paperwork in accordance with your state’s statutes.
No, homeowners have a separate portal with limited access to view their account ledger, make a payment, see documents that are shared with them, and in our Standard and Premium services can view open violations and reply to them, initiate and update the status of architectural requests and initiate a maintenance request. The board members have enhanced access to communicate with, manage, and review community operations and see more financial information including keeping up to date on delinquent owners.
Vendor invoices can be reviewed and digitally signed off in our online bill approval system, Strongroom, which can be accessed through the board’s online portal. This makes bill approval more convenient, provides better checks and balances and streamlines the approval process. This also allows boards to track an invoice from initial submittal to payment for visibility.
Homeowners Associations (HOAs) generally need to pay taxes on interest income. While HOAs are typically non-profit organizations, they are still subject to federal income tax on any income that is not directly related to their exempt purpose, which includes interest income.
