Bookkepper resigned, Presdent offering to be bookeeper for free

Hi Evelyn:

Generally the Treasurer would be responsible unless the HOA does hire a bookkeeper. If the President wants to do the job you at least have one individual (Treasurer) handling certain items such as receiving and depositing dues, pay bills, etc. and the (President) as bookkeeper which would be a double check. The Officers would have the authority to do these items themselves or to outsource. To volunteer and not be paid is no conflict of interest for conducting the association business.

It csn be President-Treasurer but not President-Secretary.

A little too much work but not a conflict. It is for the President and Secretary typically can't be the same person. It may be best for the President to be one or the other for their own sanity. I'd suggest allowing to bid this job out to a real accounting contractor. That is what we used.

I've taken some accounting courses just enough to know what to check on but would NOT have wanted to tackle that job as President. Best to raise some funds and hire an expert.

By the way how big is the HOA? Just curious because if it's less than 10 then the answer may be different...

the pres can do it, however, make sure you have double signatures on the checks, and a second set of eyes seeing the accounts every so often.

FYI, the president CAN BE PAID to be the book keeper too. I bet your rules say they can't be paid as board members, but you've already established that the duties of book keeper are NOT board member duties, so even if the president does them, he/she does them under a different hat, and can be renumerated for that time.

It's NOT a good idea to pay anyone in your VOLUNTEER HOA. I would have an issue with that. If they have their own licenses and insured business with board approval to work as their contractor then okay. Our Treasurer was our accountant but was also a owner/member of the HOA.

You also NEVER EVER relieve someone from paying dues in turn for their services. The HOA can pay them the SAME amount as the dues but NOT forgive them. It adds to confusion when and if that relationship goes sour.

You paid contractors and those with li8cences to be in business. You should NOT pay someone in an ELECTED VOLUNTEER organization who choose to volunteer to be in that position. I as President would never or could never ask my membership to "cook the books" so that I got paid in doing my duties as President. If I am to hold a meeting I don't call it something else so that I would receive money for that. A board member or officer and even a regular member in a HOA should NOT be compensated for something they volunteer to do. If you offer me a contract with terms and conditions that clearly isn't volunteering it is asking to be paid.

The poster's President could be offering to add this service as bookkeeper as part of their duties as president as that can be part of the job at times. I get tired of hearing those who think they need paid or someone else needs paid for EVERYTHING they touch or do. Sometimes doing something is the reward itself. I've always said being President of a HOA is Thankless job but one I was thankFULL to have....Knowing the difference between opening your wallet and opening up is something some people never get...

My point is that I don't like those people who say for EXAMPLE have accounting capabilities and volunteer to be a HOA's Treasurer. They then get into that position and then petition the board that since "Others get paid" to be accountants for HOA's that that position should now be "Paid" because accountants get paid. If you become a Treasurer of your HOA you are VOLUNTEERING your SKILLSET because you know it's something you can contribute. Don't volunteer if your just going to try to find a way to fund your income. HOA's are funded and run by it's members for it's members. Does it seem fair that the one position that may even require resemblance of a trained skillset such as Treasurer gets paid while others don't?

You volunteer your skillset to help the overall goal in a HOA. If you want paid, then don't volunteer and ask for a receipt instead. I'd have more respect for you if you did...(I had a problem with an ex-president who did this behavior).

I am confused why a Treasurer wouldn't be a board member? They are usually an OFFICER position on the board like Secretary or Vice President. Now due to the nature of that job HOA's may use that position more as a "figurehead" position to satisfy the documents. The actual accounting is farmed out to a MC or paid accountant without a board position.

The HOA can keep this type of setup with a non paid board member in the Treasurer position just to keep up the quorum and board voting resposibilities. A HOA could use the Treasurer as a liason to the paid accountant to make the reports and such. It could be helpful but they wouldn't have any more control over the budget than any other board member.

The Treasurer and even the Secreatarial position can be a complicated one. I always appreciated the Vice President position because it was truly a defined "Figure head" position. They just have to hold a meeting if the President can't make it...LOL. That's what our documents defined anyways. (No offense to you Vice Presidents out there...I was one for a year).

Our HOA the officers are derived from the Board. The general membership votes on the board members. The board members then elect amongst themselves who will be the officers of the HOA. There is no assigning officers positions. If your not elected to the Board you don't qualify for an Officer Position.

Hi John … LOL if I get individuals royally reading their docs I love it.

In mine the Board may elect or appoint the additional officers or hold the positions themselves. Currently the positions are held by the Board, but the alternative is an option if desired. It also probably can vary by different states, but I know there was a poster about a year ago who had similar docs and do not remember which state they were from.

Back to the original question:

Bookkeeping is not normally a function of a director, who is a volunteer. While it is nice of the president to volunteer to perform this additional duty, I would strongly recommend against it.

Volunteers are great when their task is specific and has a definite end-point, such as planning the annual picnic. Volunteers should never be used when the task is both vital and never-ending. No matter how enthusiastic the volunteer is today, they will burn out quickly. Sooner or later someone will criticize or question their work and all hell will break loose because the volunteer feels he has given his all to the job.

In my POA we relied too heavily on volunteers for positions that should have been paid. One of our former presidents voluntarily ran a website with all our documents posted back to the beginning of time. When the board hired a new management company that would also provide a website, the former president went off the deep end feeling that the contribution of her website was not appreciated. Since she owned the website herself, she took it down immediately. We also have a volunteer position to manage road maintenance (we have nearly 300 miles of dirt roads to maintain) and this is very much a full-time job. This job is usually undertaken by a board member and several have gotten so burned out they quit the board without notice.

I can only imagine the disaster that will happen down the road when your president/bookkeeper feels that his work is not appreciated. Your association's entire financial history could end up in the city dump out of spite.

Thank the president for his offer -- I am sure he means well -- but find another bookkeeper.