Preventing Board Burnout with Homeowners Association Software

HOA management teams are the wheels that keep an association running. For a self-managed HOA, these crucial responsibilities fall on the shoulders of board volunteers rather than an HOA management company. Board volunteers are tasked with a variety of duties, including but not limited to:

• overseeing the HOA’s activities
• running meetings and recording minutes 
• managing the HOA’s records and essential documents
• preparing annual budgets and audits
• tracking violations and maintenance requests
• collecting dues and fines for violations
• settling disputes from residents 

This list, which isn’t even exhaustive, would be a lot for anyone to handle, but remember that an HOA does not employ board members. Board members complete all of this work on a volunteer basis. Many of them have full-time jobs and/or challenging caregiving duties of elderly parents or young children outside of their responsibilities as board members. Juggling the demands of managing an HOA on top of day-to-day life can quickly become overwhelming, causing board members to get burnt out and even quit their positions. Homeowners association software can help.

The Role of Homeowners Association Software in Alleviating HOA Management Burdens

Homeowners association software can lighten the load of HOA board volunteers. Automating processes frees up time and improves accuracy by eliminating the potential for human error. As board terms end and new volunteers take over tasks, having automated processes ensures consistency across transitions. 

But, not all homeowners association software is created equal. Consider some of these features when shopping for the right product for your self-managed HOA.

Automatic Texting, Phone Calls, and Emails

Managing a community of people is a challenging feat. With automated communication features, board volunteers can schedule phone, text message, or email reminders. 

Examples of reminders that board members could program are:

• monthly reminders to pay dues
• reminders of seasonal tasks, such as raking lawns 
• reminders of upcoming events 

Scheduling these ahead of time allows board members to dedicate time within their busy schedules when they have openings, rather than needing to make time to compose emails before the first of the month. It ensures that things are not missed due to the heavy demands of board members’ schedules. 

Easy-to-use communication tools allow HOA management to build better relationships with community members through transparency. Providing timely updates when decisions are made, or things change due to external forces shows community members that they can rely on HOA management to keep them in the loop. 

Using automatic communication tools empowers HOA management to quickly provide updates in situations like:

• bad weather with downed trees and powerlines
• crimes reported in the neighborhood
• change of policy by board of directors

Polls and Voting Technology

Not only can advanced communication tools in homeowners association software make it easier to update residents on changes, but polls and voting technology simplify the process of seeking community involvement in such decisions.

Nearly 10 percent of HOA residents across the country find that the board of directors in their association does not strive to serve the best interests of the community as a whole. Being more intentional in collecting homeowners’ input can change this statistic. 

Going door to door every time the board makes a major decision is unrealistic, and even that might not be the best way to hear from every community member. People might not be home or not answer their door. Board members could put people on the spot and not give them the time to consider all of the options properly. 

Inviting people to a town hall to share their thoughts allows them to prepare ahead of time, but not all community members have the time to attend events outside of the demands of their work and homes.

Utilizing polling and voting technology in homeowners association software ensures all opinions are heard. With this feature, users can:

• Create surveys with essay-style questions or multiple-choice answers.
• Use pictures or text to create questions.
• Send the survey to all homeowners or a select group. 

PayHOA’s feedback tools allow responses to be anonymous or tracked by the homeowner. Allowing residents to give feedback anonymously ensures they feel comfortable voicing their genuine opinions and know they cannot be held against them. Once residents complete surveys, board volunteers can look at individual responses or see answers as a percentage, giving a more accurate view of the community’s thoughts than going door to door or inviting members to voice their thoughts. 

Financial Services 

An association’s financial health is of utmost importance to community members, and it should also be to HOA management. But, financial responsibilities are extensive, time-consuming, and complicated. 

Financial best practices include: 

• maintaining the association’s funds, including operating and reserve funds
• reconciling bank statements monthly
• establishing long-term budgets for association finances
• keeping thorough financial records
• disclosing detailed summaries of financial standing to community members

Automating day-to-day processes frees board members’ time and energy to dedicate to big-picture planning. Board members can use homeowners association software to automate processes like:

• collecting dues
• bank ledger syncing 
• generating accounting reports

Automating financial processes reduces the risk of human error, ensuring your financial records are accurate. As a result, using homeowners association software like PayHOA throughout the year simplifies large financial projects like preparing a budget or conducting an audit.

PayHOA’s software has over 25 reports available, and custom reports can be created. Some of the reports that can be automatically generated include:

• balance sheet
• general ledger
• profit and loss statement
• budget vs actual
• bank reconciliations

Board volunteers can use PayHOA to build a budget within the software and compare it to actual data throughout the year, continuously monitoring the financial health of the association.

Automatic Integrations for a Happier Board and a Better Managed Association

Automating processes improves and simplifies budgeting, dues collections, financial reporting, and more, opening board members up to spend their time and energy working toward a purpose. By spending less time on draining and monotonous tasks, board members can rediscover their profound impact on their communities, avoid overwhelm and stress, and circumvent burnout. 

But not all homeowners association software will be the right fit for your association. PayHOA’s mission is to make life easier for HOA management with an all-in-one software platform that manages payments, accounting, communication, owner requests, violations, and documents in one place.

The software is intuitive, and PayHOA’s support team is a call away. We even offer a bookkeeping service that can significantly reduce the hours your board dedicates to accounting. 

Not only does using PayHOA’s bookkeeping service free volunteers time but it also:

• Offers the highest levels of security for accounting. 
• Brings years of experience across all 50 states to manage your finances.
• Protects your association from internal fraud with an unbiased set of eyes on your financial documents.
• Supports your association through changing board terms.

We invite you to set up a 15-minute exploratory call to learn how PayHOA’s homeowners’ association software can reduce the risk of burnout for your HOA board. We know you value your board members and the time and expertise they bring to the association. Given the time and tools to succeed, we think you’ll be impressed with what they can do. 

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PayHOA offers an HOA management software solution for HOAs of any size or managerial priorities. To find out if PayHOA fits all your HOA management needs, try our software free for 30 days.