HIRING AN ACCOUNTANT

Next question I would have is.... how much are you going to charge?

If he is going to do "it all" you need to lay out specifically what he is going to do and not do so there are no surprises.

just curious about the size of your condo association.
Also, I don't understand Steve's question "How much are you going to charge?" I think Michael is the treasurer of the association, and is not being paid.

So basically you are talking collecting, posting into some sort of accounting program, and depositing 16 checks and write out what 12 checks a month to pay the bills, and then reconcile the bank statement. You are looking at about 1 hr a month worth of work and this accountant wants $200! Can I apply for this job? LOL Keep looking

I would want to know more details. Are they insured and for how much? Our contractors must have atleast a 1 Million dollar insurance policy. Do they have proof of a business license? Can automatic deposit be set up with the bank your going to use? Do you need to pay for their supplies such as ledgers, checks, and other tools? Our check ledger supplies cost about $500 - $700 annually. They were special checks that required a two-signature system.

Speaking of a two-system check system. Will your HOA want to do this? We had to have the signature of the accountant and 2 board members. It was usually the Officer's of the HOA. They had to have a signature card on file at the bank in order to sign. This provided assurance that the checks written were reviewed and agreed upon by the board prior to being issued/cashed.

Will your HOA be able to afford this service? That is the most important part. Will there need to be a raise in dues to cover this additional cost? How will they collect the dues and enforce late fees?

We had an accountant for our HOA instead of a treasurer. The Accountant company owner was a member of our HOA. It was a good relationship and worth having. You just want to make sure you have reviewed the details prior to hiring. Only sign a 1 year contract even if offered a discount for multiple years. You want to make sure your HOA has an "out" in case things don't work out as planned.

Kind of a waste of money. The banks cashing the checks dont care if there are 2 signatures or not, your own bank doesn't care if there are 2 signatures or not. Two signatures is a false sense of security. You could achieve the same control by having 2 people in the HOA just sign the bill signifying you looked at it and approve it.

We use online bill pay from our bank to cut checks to vendors. Cost? Free.
Ledger? Free. Electronic. If you hard copies for proof, the bank mails statements each month, no charge.

We use mint.com to monitor the finances. Its free. I recommend it even if you have a management company. You can even set it up to notify you by email or SMS every time a check is cashed, or written from online bill pay, etc. I have ours setup to notify multiple board members for every transaction over $1. Its best that everyone aware of the finances immediately instead of surprises at the end of the quater or end of the year.