Assocation managers are overwhelmed with work and expectations yet can't find a path to move forward to a digital management platform. HOAs have been slow to adopt technology, mostly due to the perception that software can’t resolve the special legacy issues that they have.

This perception encourages association boards and managers to avoid the challenge or perceived turbulence of progressing to digital management systems and just stick to the status quo.

Given understaffing, growing association sizes, increasing regulations and expectations, rising costs, and limited budgets, it’s not hard to understand that even the most talented team is hard-pressed to keep its association running smoothly. Rather than doing more with less and increasing pressures on management staff, a better solution is to review automation and digital services possibilities and confidently discuss how the transition could be accomplished.

Many digital service providers go beyond software to give added guidance and support for the transition. The longer managers wait, the weaker their ability to meet the association’s challenges. In 2024, HOA management should emphasize moving forward confidently knowing they have the right technology partner.

Sticking With the Status Quo

Associations still prefer spreadsheets and paper documentation, which require manual work and rework. Payments made via cash, manual processing of dues, manual notices of fees or fines, disjointed telephone conversations, slow architectural reviews, lack of awareness of residents’ views, manual amenity bookings, and not having a single dashboard from which to run the business make for a halting, uncertain, and slow organization.

With the quickening pace of association business, business transactions, and increasing costs (along with resident expectations of online service), associations are making the move to all-digital management solutions.

Adopting Online Tools to Streamline HOA and Community Management

From accounting to meetings to resident communications, workloads need to be streamlined. And streamlining is the key word in progressive associations. While automation is the latest buzzword in property management, not all processes can be automated or managed by artificial intelligence. Instead, software that streamlines tasks is helping to process and manage work at a higher level to remove the workloads that bog down teams.

Although work task time and errors are reduced, a benefit that is not mentioned enough is the additional time generated for staff to focus on high-impact work. And modern SaaS (software as a service) systems provide much-improved financial/operational insights. Real-time insights help spot trends while they’re happening to enable better responses.

Rising Association Workloads Come From All Areas

1. Administrative Complexities: Painfully slow paperwork, dues collection, and record-keeping on paper create tedium and frustration
2. Communication Issues: Delayed, untimely communication with members allows for more miscommunication and frustration and a lack of timely feedback from residents
3. Financial Management: Uncertain budgeting decisions, accounting, and financial reporting
4. Legal Compliance: Adhering to laws and regulations governing HOAs
5. Member Engagement and Feedback: Encouraging active participation and responding to feedback

Transition to Digital: The Rise of Online Tools

A wide array of software solutions have arisen to meet the burgeoning demand for comprehensive association management software. Managers discover many have a unique selection of services for HOAs, condo associations, or community associations, while others offer a comprehensive platform.

Key Online Tools for Efficient HOA Management

Each HOA or community association has its unique management issues; however, many of those can be resolved via a digital management system, and the greatest benefits appear from the following:

• Financial Management Tools – Online dues payment, budgeting software, and financial tracking
• Integration Capabilities – How these tools work together for seamless management
• Communication Platforms – Bringing conversations, announcements, discussions, and surveys under one communications system, with reach via email and SMS
• Document Management – Secure storage with fast, easy search and access to HOA documents
• Online Voting and Survey Tools – For online voting and polling to gather feedback and improve decision-making.
• Maintenance and Issue Tracking Software – Managing maintenance and architectural requests efficiently with everyone on the same page

Case Study of an Association That Made the Transition

An Ohio-based property association with about 900 properties and a marina found that their legacy system simply couldn’t keep up and was becoming a liability. They contacted a major association property management system provider.

The association’s system contained customized data, which made the transition to modernization difficult. They resolved the issue by
adopting the property management system with a new website and had the property management team migrate their data securely and
successfully to the new digital system. It is important to note that many times the software provider needs to go beyond the usual to
help associations modernize.

In the end, the customer enjoys an affordable, fully modern, SaaS-based platform that will integrate their business operations under one dashboard. The all-in-one dashboard offered by many software providers is a powerful benefit. Not having to work with old legacy processes and multiple apps is an advantage. There are challenges to converting, which is why associations have been slow to adopt technology. Overcoming this lack of confidence is part of the modernization solution.

Moving to Digital Solutions Confidently

Procrastination is a normal response to challenges, but when managers move forward, many issues that are manual or nontechnical in nature will disappear entirely.

Numerous associations have already made the full transition to digital association management software and are enjoying the benefits. Creating a fresh plate is the first step to a healthier, more fit and viable association business.

Peter Koch is an experienced startup founder focused on building and growing the industry’s preferred property management platform. He has spent over 20 years as a property manager and is now motivated on the continuous development of ManageCasa™ as one of the industry’s top property management software solutions. Questions about HOA or community association software can be directed to Peter at ManageCasa.

(* Article originally appeared on ECHO – Executive Council of Homeowners)

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