Frequently Asked Questions
Can Community Financials help with onboarding for my HOA or Condo association?
Do you charge an onboarding fee to the HOA board?
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).
Do you have an online portal for homeowners?
Is there a smartphone app available through Community Financials?
Is there a charge for the portal or app?
How can homeowners make payments?
Is there a fee for online or mailed payments?
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.
Does Community Financials send payment reminders to owners?
How can the Board approve vendor bills?
How do you speed up paying vendors for my HOA or Condo association?
Is there a fee for making vendor payments for HOA work performed?
Can the Board communicate with homeowners through the Community Financials software?
Does your software handle maintenance, violations, and ARC requests for HOA or Condo associations?
Can I see a demo of the HOA software?
What is the term of the Community Financials service agreement?
Is it better to self-manage an HOA or hire a management company?
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.
How do I prevent embezzlement at my HOA?
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.
What is the best bookkeeping option for small, simple or HOAs on a budget?
How do I terminate an HOA management company contract?
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.
Can we hire you to do our accounting and keep our property manager for help?
Yes, we work with larger and more complicated HOAs, POAs and condominiums that have either an onsite manager or a part time manager that helps the board with the physical community and we handle the systems and accounting.