For HOA managers, a successful client relationship is based both on trust and performance. There’s no part of the job where that is more apparent than in accounting. HOAs rely on their management companies to reconcile their accounts, track every transaction, and prepare them for tax season. An HOA’s books are where an association manager can demonstrate their value, pointing to on-time payments, profitable projects, and cost-effective repairs.
With so much riding on accurate bookkeeping, the right software can be a deciding factor in whether your accounting process is an asset or a liability for your business. This guide and video will take a close look at some of the top HOA accounting software options on the market, comparing features, pricing, and benefits so you can choose the solution that best meets your needs.
What Is Hoa Accounting Software
Let’s start with the basics. HOA accounting software is software that’s designed specifically to handle the various financial operations that go into running an HOA. This includes everything from budgeting and billing to financial reporting and tax prep. HOA accounting software focuses on managing and automating tasks such as collecting dues, allocating funds, and preparing financial statements. The end goal is more efficient financial oversight for HOA boards and managers.
HOA management software, while including the features of accounting software, encompasses a broader set of functionalities aimed at the overall administration of an HOA. Beyond financial management, it supports communication with residents, enforcement of community rules, and maintenance tracking. Again, these tasks can be automated with the right software, tightening up operations and reducing the effort that comes with manual operations for an HOA.
HOA Accounting Software vs Other HOA and Property Management Software
The distinction between HOA accounting software and HOA management software lies in their scope of features; the former concentrates on financial tasks, while the latter offers a comprehensive suite of tools for broader HOA management. Both differ from property management software, which is tailored for managing rental properties and real estate portfolios, focusing on tasks such tenant screening, lease management, and property maintenance, not necessarily tailored to the unique governance and financial structure of HOAs.
As we’ll see, software that focuses exclusively on HOA accounting isn’t always the superior option. Often, you’ll be able to see more benefit from accounting tools that are integrated into a broader system for managing HOAs. Comprehensive software lets you link other types of operations, such as resident outreach, maintenance project management, and board communication to your accounting process to help your entire business run more smoothly.
The Main Benefits of Accounting Software for HOAs
You might be tempted to stick with generic accounting software because it’s familiar, but HOA finances have unique complexities that these tools just aren’t built to handle. Trying to make them work often creates more manual work and increases the risk of errors.
Specialized HOA accounting software is designed for the specific needs of community associations. Key differences include:
- Fund accounting: Keeps operating funds separate from reserve funds for compliance
- Per-unit billing: Handles dues and assessments on a unit-by-unit basis
- HOA-specific reporting: Generates delinquency reports and budget versus actuals
When your accounting is integrated with other management functions, you can connect violation fines directly to resident ledgers and track vendor payments for maintenance projects all in one place. This creates a single, reliable system for your entire operation.
Choosing the Right HOA Accounting Software
Not all HOA accounting software will include the same range of benefits. Typically, the features in these solutions fall into a few important categories. Truly effective software should have flexible, easy-to-use tools that address the needs of each:
Financial Reporting Capabilities
With the right tools, you can generate accurate and comprehensive financial reports automatically. Key reports include:
- Balance sheets: Show assets, liabilities, and fund balances
- Income statements: Track revenue and expenses over time
- Cash flow statements: Monitor money movement in and out
Automating report creation keeps your numbers accurate and consistent, reducing the time your team spends on manual reporting.
Expense management is another important feature to look for. Software should make it easy to track and categorize every expenditure for better budgeting and financial planning.
Bank Integration
Some HOA accounting software options feature bank integration, a powerful functionality that connects the software with the association’’s bank accounts directly. This integration enables automatic bank feeds, where transaction data from the bank is imported into the accounting software in real time or at scheduled intervals. This seamless connection eliminates the need to enter transaction data manually, simplifying the workflow for HOA managers.
Transactions are recorded as they happen, without the need for manual input, ensuring that the financial records are always accurate and up to date.
Automatic reconciliation of bank statements is much simpler with bank integration. The software can compare bank transactions with the recorded entries, highlighting discrepancies and allowing for quick corrections.
Payment Processing Options
Online payment systems in HOA accounting software offer various payment processing options:
- Credit/debit cards: Card payments typically authorize in near real time for a convenient resident experience
- ACH drafts: Lower fees for recurring monthly dues
- Recurring payments: Automatic monthly collections reduce late payments
Key benefits:
- Improved cash flow: Faster payment collection for more reliable income
- Reduced administrative work: Less manual payment tracking
- Additional revenue: Convenience fees can offset processing costs
Tax Preparation
HOA accounting software comes with various tax preparation and reporting capabilities.
One key feature is access to templates and automation for tax-related documents, such as 1099 forms, which speeds up the preparation process for filings like the Form 1099-NEC, required for payments of $600 or more to independent contractors.
Some software can handle the calculation of taxable income, considering the specific tax exemptions applicable to HOAs, which may elect to file using specialized tax returns like Federal Forms 1120H.
Software can also help create detailed financial reporting, which is also incredibly useful for tax preparation. It can categorize income and expenses in a way that aligns with tax reporting requirements, making it easier to identify relevant financial information for tax filings.
Integration with Other Apps
Integration between HOA accounting software and other HOA management apps, as well as tools commonly used by HOA managers, is important for several reasons. First, it promotes a streamlined workflow between systems. For instance, resident information updated in a management platform can automatically synchronize automatically with the accounting software, keeping consistent records across the board.
Integration also gives you a more complete view of the association’s operations, which can prove invaluable to understanding your finances. Having a system that connects your financial data with other parts of your operations, such as maintenance expenses, dues collection, and amenity bookings, makes it easier to have a complete view of your association, and make better informed decisions that benefit the overall effectiveness of your services.
Integrated systems enhance the transparency and accessibility of information, as well. Integration with client and resident portals along with other communication tools gives board members and residents convenient access to relevant financial and operational reports, fostering trust and engagement within the community.
Finally, software should adapt to your business’s needs, not the other way around. With flexible technology, you can add on the right solutions over time, giving you more mileage and versatility out of your initial HOA accounting software investment.
Other Factors to Consider When Choosing HOA Accounting Software
There are a handful of other capabilities that any effective software should include:
A web-based platform makes your accounting tools accessible from any location at any time, allowing managers to perform financial operations, access reports, and communicate with stakeholders without being tied to a single physical office. This flexibility is important for timely decision-making and enhances the responsiveness of HOA management to residents’ needs and financial questions.
Security is non-negotiable when dealing with the financial data of an HOA. A secure software platform protects sensitive information from unauthorized access, cyber threats, and data breaches, maintaining the trust of community members and upholding the integrity of the HOA’s financial management.
Software that is intuitive and user-friendly reduces the learning curve for managers and staff, facilitating more efficient use of the software’s features.
Finally, budget-friendliness makes advanced financial management tools accessible to HOAs of all sizes. It ensures that the benefits of streamlined financial operations, improved accuracy, and enhanced transparency are not out of reach for smaller associations with limited budgets.
1: Buildium: Great All-in-One HOA Accounting & Management Software
Buildium® is an HOA and property management platform that is purpose-built for the industry. With a broad toolkit of features, it can streamline almost all of your community association management tasks, from day-to-day bookkeeping and operations to strategic marketing and vendor management. The software is also flexible, so whether your portfolio contains exclusively HOAs, COAs, a mixture of both, or an even more diverse mix of associations and rental properties, Buildium has you covered.
Features
Buildium’s features cover all the major bases when it comes to HOA accounting, but also extend to several other parts of HOA management.
You can collect dues and other fees as well as pay bills online in a simple-to-use interface. All these transactions can be recorded and accessed easily and at anytime as part of Buildium’s accounting software.
Using the software, you can enable automatic bank statement reconciliations for your bank and automate late fees and reminders, tracking payment patterns to identify any red flags. Delinquencies and violations are trackable from within the desktop and mobile apps, with the ability to add custom categories and alter permissions for violations for each user.
You can also create, monitor, and maintain budgets for each association, tracking budgets vs. actuals. You can share insights formally with easy-to-generate financial reports, and also give boards real-time access to data.
You can even get ahead of tax season by prepping your 1099s on-platform and before the IRS opens filing. You can then submit forms digitally in just a few clicks.
Beyond these accounting features, Buildium gives you access to a full suite of maintenance, repair, and vendor management tools that link back to your books, so you can keep track of each vendor payment, work orders in progress, and outstanding invoices.
HOA residents can use Buildium’s Resident Center to make payments online, reach out to your team, access important notifications, and submit maintenance requests, while board members can use Buildium to access details pertinent to them, such as financials, by-laws, policies, and meeting minutes.
And, if these features don’t cover all your pain points, find tools that do through Buildium’s ever-growing Marketplace of software partners. Each partner is fully integrated with Buildium’s platform and includes their own set of features, designed specifically for association and property management. Some association-specific partners include:
-  Axela Technologies® (streamlined collections)
- CondoWorks® (accounts payable automation)
-  HomeWiseDocs® (sale and refinancing documentation management)
We’ll delve into the technology behind each of these platforms further down in our list.
In addition to these features and partners, Buildium also has an integration with Alliance Association Bank® ConnectLive™ API. The integration:
- automatically retrieves and posts lockbox transactions from the previous banking day directly into Buildium.
- enables the bank to receive an updated validation file from Buildium daily, automatically posting payments to the appropriate homeowner’s account or directing the payment to our accounts receivable research portal for proper handling.
Pricing
Buildium offers three pricing tiers, all of which include:
- Accounting
- Â Maintenance Task Management
- Â Violations
- Â Online Portals
- Â Resident & Board Member Communications
Each of the three tiers is designed to meet community association managers’ needs at different growth phases:
Essential: Starting at $62/month (current pricing), Essential includes Buildium’s core features for getting day-to-day operations running from a central platform.
Growth: Starting at $192/month, Growth includes unlimited eSignatures and additional tools to optimize and scale.
Premium: Starting at $400/month, includes everything in Growth plus Open API and Priority Support.
2: CondoWorks: Software to Automate Your Accounts Payable
CondoWorks, another industry-leading software platform that handles all the data extraction, invoice routing, and coding work involved in accounts payable. It keeps all your invoices readily available in one place. From the platform you can approve invoices and pay invoices through your preferred method in just a few clicks.
By syncing CondoWorks with Buildium, you can extend these time- and cost-saving automations across your entire accounting system.
Features
CondoWork’s features are all about efficiency and making it easier to build stronger relationships with vendors, homeowners, and board members. They include the ability to:
- Â Extract and sync key invoice data automatically
- Â Connect to online utility portals directly and download invoices as they are released
- Set up a structured process for working with vendors along with duplication screening and insurance compliance alerts
- Keep a complete record of invoices and the history of routing and approvals for more accurate audits
Pricing
CondoWorks does not disclose general pricing information on its site. You’ll need to reach out to them directly or request a demo for more details.
3: PayHOA: HOA Accounting Software for Smaller Businesses and Self-Managed Associations
PayHOA® is a community association management platform with solutions focused on self-managed associations, property management companies, and general HOA bookkeeping.
Its tools lack some of the integrations and customization capabilities of other options on this list, so it may not be an ideal fit for larger or growth-focused HOA management companies.
Features
PayHOA’s features are intended to automate several day-to-day accounting processes. You can record and edit transactions directly in a module that the company describes as being comparable to QuickBooks and other small business accounting software.
You can also use the platform for cash and accrual reporting, with the option to filter by date, chart of account category, among other criteria.
The PayHOA dashboard tracks online payments, violations, and maintenance requests. HOA Managers can communicate with boards and residents through the software, as well.
Pricing
PayHOA’s pricing only covers community managers with 500 doors or less. The range starts from up to 25 units at $49 per month to 401-500 units, starting at $249 per month. PayHOA currently lists CC fees at 3.5% + $0.50 per transaction and ACH at $2.45 per payment (check the PayHOA pricing page for any updates).
4: eUnify: Established HOA Management Software That Covers the Basics
eUnify’s® HOA software has been around since 2001. It’s focused on simplifying a few key areas of HOA management, such as basic accounting, communication portals, meeting operations, and activity tracking.
Features
eUnify’s accounting features include:
- Â automated invoice processing
- Â real-time accounts receivable access and updates
- Â automated recurring tasks such as generating monthly financial packets, posting recurring charges, and bank reconciliations
- general ledger accounting
These features are backed by general management tools, including eVotingTM, automated and customizable communication tools, portals for homeowners, boards, and owners, and tracking for architectural requests, resident messages, work orders, and violations from within the platform.
Pricing
eUnify does not include pricing information directly on its site. For details, you’ll have to reach out to their team directly and request a quote.
5: FRONTSTEPS: HOA Accounting Software Focused on Cash Flow Management
FRONSTEPS® is an HOA management platform with a particular focus on accounting operations. It’s a solution designed around HOA workflows and day-to-day accounting tasks with the aim of making them more efficient over time.
Features
FRONTSTEPS puts an emphasis on core accounting functions. The platform’s main features include:
- Automated payment tools
- Â Automated account reconciliation
- Real-time homeowner ledger updates with their latest payments
- Bank integration options
- Auto-lock processing
- A mobile app to manage payments, other accounting functions, and HOA operations
- A vendor management portal
- Â The ability to set and override workflow approvals
- Â A community portal with mass email communication functionality
- Guest check-in tools
Pricing
Like many other options on this list, you’ll need to contact the company directly to get specific details on FRONTSTEPS’s pricing.
Which is the Best HOA Accounting Software for You?
There’s no shortage of choices out there if you’re looking for tools to help with HOA accounting. You might be looking for a quick fix to a particular bookkeeping issue or a more extensive solution to make your business and the associations you manage run more smoothly. Often comprehensive HOA management software offers the most benefits and value over time, more than making up initial investment costs.
There’’s no shortage of choices out there if you’’re looking for tools to help with HOA accounting. You might be looking for a quick fix to a particular bookkeeping issue or a more extensive solution to make your business and the associations you manage run more smoothly.
Key takeaway: Comprehensive HOA management software often offers the most benefits and value over time, more than making up initial investment costs.
Next steps:
- Don’t rely on online research alone
- Test platforms with your actual workflows
- Take advantage of free trials to see benefits firsthand
Whichever way you’re leaning, don’t rely on online research alone. The best way to know if a particular platform is the right fit for you is to put it to the test. Buildium offers a live guided demo and a free 14 day trial, no credit card required. Give it a spin risk free to see the benefits of purpose-built accounting tools firsthand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there different types of HOA accounting software?
Yes, HOA accounting software ranges from basic cloud-based solutions for small associations to comprehensive enterprise-level platforms with advanced features like detailed financial analysis and budget forecasting.
How do I choose the right accounting software for an HOA?
Start by assessing your HOA’s specific needs, then evaluate software features, usability, security, and costs before requesting demos and trials to test compatibility with your operations.
Can HOA accounting software integrate with other tools or platforms?
Most modern HOA accounting software offers integration capabilities with property management systems, payment gateways, banking services, and communication platforms to streamline operations and reduce manual data entry.
What is the cost associated with HOA accounting software?
Costs vary widely from modest monthly fees for basic packages to higher prices for comprehensive solutions with advanced features, bank integration, and extensive customization options.
