Credit Cards For Dues Has Worked Well

Last month, we discovered that about 24 of the home owners out here had not paid their 2015 dues. This was mostly because the management company the HOA once employed was not doing their job. We sent letters to those 24 and gave them until tonight to come current. Since I began using QuickBooks do to are accounting, we activated the feature to accept credit cards. When someone wants to pay by credit card, we email them an invoice that has a link for them to pay online. We also include a $7.05 credit card processing fee so we do not lose a dime when they pay. Again, with tonight being the deadline, I emailed out 8 people a reminder that the deadline is midnight tonight. In less than an hour, 5 paid by credit card. It's a very cool feature to have and I recommend it.

Gregg

Gregg,

Congratulations on the collection effort. I am a firm believer that the easier it is to pay the more likely you are to get paid. On-line payments with credit cards is the way many of us pay our bills.

In 2010 I opened a new checking account and was issued a starter checkbook with ten checks to use until I ordered personalized checks. Five years later I still have two of the starter checks and have never ordered any other checks. I pay by debit card whenever I can and use the bank's bill pay service for those Neanderthals who insist on a paper check.

There have been some discussions in the past on this forum about whether the HOA should eat the processing charges just like any other merchant. I lean toward it being a legitimate business expense but I also urge shopping around for better rates. $7.05 per transaction is a bit pricey. The hidden issue is that there is an enormous cost in handling checks, preparing deposit slips, driving to the bank, and waiting in line for the teller, but that cost is usually borne by the poor schmuck who volunteered to be treasurer or it just gets rolled into the management company's fees. If you computed the actual costs of processing each check you would find that it is about the same as taking credit cards.

I am not a fan of collecting dues on Credit cards... If the system works so well... Why don't apartment complexes accept these type payments? It's usually check or cash with receipt for late rent...

Not to through a wrench into the works but... Credit cards are part of a bankruptcy filings. Not so sure if I want someone to put charges on their credit cards, when if/when they file bankruptcy deals will be worked out. I find people who tend to use credit cards to pay such bills like HOA dues, are not necessarily financially stable. They may even try to stop payment. What then can the HOA do?

I consider HOA dues on the same level as Utility payments. You don't pay your electric bill on credit cards do you? Most utility companies I don't believe accept those payments. That is because credit cards have their own set of rules and ramifications versus cash... I'd rather have the cash than payments based on credit...

As long as they pay, who cares. If it goes to bankruptcy, the association has already been paid, DUH.

Our MC uses a lock box system which accepts all forms of payments, transfers, etc. They also issue a quarterly payment book. Make it easy to pay and more will pay. It is that simple.