POA/HOA software website up to date best choices

RayB7 (North Carolina)
Posts: 1

Posted:

I am a board member on a newly created POA and am looking for recommendations as regards software and/or webservices for community communication, development, and implementation.

Thanks for any assistance.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

Ray,

What you need to think about is what about the person who comes after me. Will they be computer literate? Will they be comfortable using any program other than e-mail? Will they even have a computer (don't laugh, we have some residents who don't own one)? Will they keep the program updated? Will they have the operating system that the program requires?

If it's a stand alone program, will the Association purchase the computer? What about licensing agreements if they don't purchase the computer? What about printers? Will the computer go home with people or stay in an office? etc.

Who is going to manage the website? Who will set it up? Who will update it (not only now but 10 years from now)?

Our Association is composed of 130 lots. We use pen and paper ledgers to track assessment payments. The Treasurer uses excel for reports (which comes with MS Office). Everyone uses MS Word and those who utilize other word processors saves it as an MS word document.

We had one person set up a database with Microsoft Access for our Architectural files. I could tell that they spent a lot of time on it by developing the different menus and entering data. When I saw it, nobody had updated it for 4 years. Appears many didn't have MS Access on their computer and those who did have it were unaware of how to use the program. We used this as an example of what happens when the next person comes into the job. Therefore, we opted to create paper files and organize them with classification folders. Now, anyone (even if they have zero computer experience) can do the job.

Our Association maintains a website which also allows the Association to use Association e-mail accounts. However, everyone tends to use their own e-mail instead.

A high school student initially set the site up for us. I have expanded what is available on the site but worry who will actually maintain it when I stop. I suspect that it will simply stay as is, not updated and, as I remove my credit card from the account - the site will simply no longer exist as nobody will think of renewing it.

Regardless of what you decide to use, keep it simple and easy to operate with little to no computer experience.

Here are some threads where this has been discussed previously:

Subject: Small HOA software package

Subject: HOA Database Software Application

Subject: HOA Software

Subject: HOA software suggestions

Subject: Budget Software

Subject: HOA Software same title but a different thread

Subject: Software

There are others. If click on the Search icon (big magnifying glass)at the top of this page and type in the word software you will get more than enough info.

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

Every single point mentioned by Tim is something that you have to keep in mind. When I became Secretary I was handed 3 rudimentary spreadsheets and the key to the file cabinet in the clubhouse. That was it. And when my term is up I will hand those same things to the next person.

Beware HOA management software you see advertised for sale. A lot of it is junk, and the stuff that's not junk is still going to be useless if nobody uses it 5 years down the road. When people are volunteers you can't demand too many qualifications for the job.

I gave a demonstration of one package to the other board members here. It was slick, not too complicated, and would make everyone's jobs less time consuming. The first reaction I got was, "Great, a new thing that somebody's got to look at every day!". And just like Tim, we also have a few owners who don't even own a computer.

IMO a viable solution has two imperatives: first, it must CLEARLY be OBVIOUS that using it will turn 10 hours of work a month into 1 hour of work. Second, you MUST be able to train someone else to use it in ONE HOUR or less. Nothing else really matters. If it's not that easy then eventually paper and pencil, spreadsheet and calculator, will win out and your uber-sophisticated computer system will sit gathering dust. YMMV. Perhaps in a large HOA or Condo some IT smarts would be necessary, but such a place would most likely be using a property manager to handle everything anyway.