hoa books

Started by CarolynK • 6 replies • 2538 views

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CarolynK (Alabama)
Posts: 15

Posted:

hi...can anyone share with me what types of bookkeeping you have with your hoa? had a meeting on tuesday to look at our hoa books and records and our books are basicly papers that are printed out on computer and stored in a shoe box. no ledgers, no receipts, no bankstatements, not really anything that can tell me what all our expenses are. is this normal bookkeeping for an hoa for 67 homes. i was in shocked when i saw how our books are being kept. maybe that was why i had such a hard time getting the books opened so some of the homeowners, and myself could view them. this association was started in 1989, and we just can't seem to move into the future. all our board members except 1 is in there late 60's or early 70's and we just can't seem to get them replaced. we are slowly get more younger (30 to 40 year old), moving in the hoa, but most don't even realize what a hoa is all about. any advive is welome

thanks
carolyn K

JulieS (Georgia)
Posts: 412

Posted:

We use a management company but you could easily use QuickBooks, or QuickBooks Pro to keep track of everything...receivable, payables, etc.

GeraldT1 (<Not Specified>)
Posts: 519

Posted:

CarolynK,

Hey, a shoebox is better than a paper bag, right! Honestly, you've inheritied some less than desireable bookkeeping. It's time to call a professional indpenedent (non-resident) CPA to organize what you have. Even though the bookkeeping is antiquated, it does not mean your finances are necessarily in the red.

You my dear, are the key that is going to turn and ignite your HOA in the right direction. Request volunteers to join a finance commitee, get a CPA to audit the books, finance and get an engineering study of the association elements to verify if your reserves are adequately funded.

Best of success!!
GeraldT1
NNJ

CharlesW1 (Georgia)
Posts: 826

Posted:

CarolynK,
It sounds like to me that you need to take on the responsibility to educate your neighbors now before it is too late. If they are as old as you say they are. Unfortunately they will probably “retire” or step down, either way you are going to loose them. You should start looking for replacements now and keep in close contact with these potential board members.
Ever hear of the saying “if it’s not broken don’t fix it”? This may apply to how your books have being managed. There has been no reason to update them. The shoe box may not be professional or very organized but it hasn’t been a problem thus far.

I hope you get the advice you are looking for.

Best of luck
Chuck W.

Charles E. Wafer Jr.

RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067

Posted:

Carolyn, welcome to the world of many self managed HOAs. Your bookkeeping will depend primarily on the volunteer treasurer, internal controls established (or not) by your Board, and the degree to which the treasurer complies with established controls. Regarding software, you can select one of several programs which can meet the needs of the members of your association and the IRS. There are requirements as to what must be saved and for what period of time.

You seem to care, so why not take actions to educate the homeowners about their HOA. You could also recommend they hire a professional managing agent

BradP (Kansas)
Posts: 2,640

Posted:

Carolyn:

We use Quickbooks in our association and I thought we were a little behind the times. Our treasurer has done a nice job of organizing our financials, we used to be an excel spreadsheet group. We are exploring going to a web-based version of quickbooks so the other board members have quick access to financials and to prevent having to back data up in case of a computer crash.

JulieS (Georgia)
Posts: 412

Posted:

QuickBooks is more user friendly if you are not an accountant. I have used it in my various jobs for the past 12 years. Very easy to use and you have reports at your finger tips. These can easily be exported to Excel and/or emailed.

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