Who Signs the Checks

We are a professionally managed HOA. The management company has routinely paid all of our bills with Board of Director approval. The new Board has directed the management company that a member of the Board must sign all checks before they are sent out. They have even asked that the name of the treasurer be preprinted on the checks. I am wondering how other HOA's deal with signing of checks. Does the property manager alone sign them or does a Board member also sign them?

Thanks.

In our case there are people with the management company who sign the checks. Those individuals are bonded to protect us. We also receive a copy of all bank statements each month. Overall, I feel more comfortable with this arrangement then I would having BOD members sign the checks.

As a note, as long as there is a signature on the check it will go through and be paid initially. There is absolutely no routine checking of a signature on a check today. The only time it is looked at is if you claim the signature is not valid. Further, while you can probably get checks printed that state two signatures are required you will have a hard time getting banks to actually require two signatures.

As for having the treasurer's name printed on the checks, that just seems to be a waste of time and money. What happens when the treasurer changes next year?

Please make sure the bond names your association as additional named insured or that you have your own bond. Often, management companies take out bonds on their employees, but that just protects the management company owner from employees stealing, it does not necessarily mean that you would be covered.

Joe

In my community our ccrs at the states insistence put a statement in our docs under the president and the treasurers job requirements
The President or Vice President in the case of the Presidents refusal to sign checks ( in 5 years 24 times ) must sign and the treasurer must co-sign every check we have $500 dollars that is for emergency useage from the MC that is kept in a metal box at the MC office

The MC company has CHECK REQUESTS that the PM has to make out for the accouts payable dept to make out for BOD signatures. All checks are xeroxed an a copy placed in every BOD members monthly package, as well as xerox copies of every check recieved by the mc for the HOA.We use a lockbox at our Bank and I have along with the MC PM and accounting dept have online access to the Bank accounts balances 24-7 so I can work on the financials at my time not others times.

We use a company from Chapel Hill that makes our monthly statements prints them mails them and the data is transmitted to them in a confidentail computer message ( 20 years experience zero defects )

We have direct pay on the 28 electric bills, the 1 telephone bill. The balance are paid by check. I keep all the vendors checks in my possesion to make sure they are paid within 24 hours of a BOD meeting that keeps great vendors happy.

We use a company in Broward Counth called LIENCO that we send our non-payers to after 2 months missed payments they add 1500 dollars on to the amount and the owner does not refuse to pay twice we have learned the hard way.

Since we are in a HOA we have no access to public mailboxes we have nests so all BOD homes have mailboxes thats how we deliver docs and checks for signature they go to me first for cross checking then to the Pres and if she refuses to sign they then go to the VP and we press on. It may seem like a bit much but in the 21 years we have existed we have had only 1 case of theft and that was repaid by the insurance company

Have a great day everyone

Kirk,

I believe it may have to do with the size of the mgmt, but many do have an accounting dept and the PM does not write the checks or make the deposits.