Files from Old Management Company (MC) are Not Compatible with New MC system

Review the contract of the previous company to see if it says how the documents must be provided (pdf, etc.).

If it supports what you are looking for, then simply request again and, if unresponsive, make a complaint on their license.

You can always consult an attorney to see what legal options are available (sometimes, a simple letter from the attorney works).

Worst case, you (or the new management company) will have to rebuild the records.

Financially, this is done by obtaining bank records (at least as far back as the last audit).

Architectural requests will be more difficult if the Association didn't keep their own copies.

Minutes might be obtainable from other members and current/past board members.

Treat this as a lesson learned and a possible solution might be to amend the current contract and all future MC contracts to specify what format the records are to be returned to the Association in (pdf, word, excel, etc.).

This article may or may not be helpful: https://tidewaterproperty.com/blog/how-to-switch-hoa-management-companies

Thank you. I think Info Tech terminology is at the root of the problem. We have the files, but I think what was not specified was a database migration requirement. The backend database is the issue. With that in mind, and I am guessing here, I think the old MC gave us all the files but may not have provided the metadata, or maybe the new IT department cannot use data mapping tools well. It's not clear because I don't think anyone has actually talked with the tech people from each company. Most of the resources mentioning this are just blah, blah, blah happy talk and don't address the matter from a technical standpoint. Migrating systems is not a cake walk. Management companies can employ this as a trap to keep customers from leaving. Volunteer-lead HOAs are suffering from what I think should be a mandatory requirement for a full compliance with data turnover. AND this should be written into laws that protect HOAs from disingenuous "compliance" of file turnover when the files are not usable in the form given. I suspect a putative attitude prevails when the old MC didn't win the contract. Data is the property of the HOA. Failure to ensure they are transferred in a usable fashion should be considered some form of theft.