Just elected HOA treasurer? Here's your financial roadmap.

The HOA treasurer is responsible for the financial oversight of the association. Core duties include: maintaining the association’s bank accounts and financial records; tracking dues payments and managing delinquent accounts; preparing and presenting monthly financial reports to the board; overseeing the annual budget development and monitoring budget-vs-actual throughout the year; managing the reserve fund and ensuring reserve contributions match the reserve study; coordinating with the association’s accountant or auditor for annual financial review; and signing checks or authorizing payments within board-approved limits. The treasurer is a fiduciary — acting in the interest of all homeowners, not any individual. Most HOA treasurers are volunteers with no accounting background. Software like Hivepoint is specifically designed to make these tasks manageable for non-accountants.

Request these immediately: (1) Access to all bank accounts — checking and savings. Require a signature change at the bank before the prior treasurer loses access. (2) The current fiscal year’s approved budget and year-to-date actuals. (3) The most recent balance sheet, P&L statement, and cash flow statement. (4) The current accounts receivable aging report — who owes money, how much, and for how long. (5) The reserve fund balance and the most recent reserve study. (6) Any outstanding vendor invoices or payables. (7) Prior year tax returns and financial audit or review reports. (8) All bank statements for the past 12 months. Get everything before the prior treasurer becomes unavailable — financial transitions are where records most commonly get lost.

Dues collection involves four steps: (1) Assessment — the board adopts a budget and sets the annual or monthly assessment. Hivepoint tracks the assessed amount per lot. (2) Billing — send statements or invoices to homeowners. (3) Payment tracking — record when payments are received and apply them to the correct lot ledger. (4) Delinquency management — identify accounts past due, follow the collections policy in the governing documents (late fees, demand letters, liens), and escalate per the board’s resolution. The biggest mistake new treasurers make is not having a delinquency policy and applying it inconsistently. Inconsistent enforcement creates legal exposure. Your CC&Rs and collection policy should be followed the same way for every homeowner.

Reserve funds cover the repair and replacement of common area components with a limited useful life — roofs, parking lots, pool equipment, fencing, HVAC systems, elevators, etc. The reserve study tells you how much each component costs, how long it lasts, and how much you should be setting aside annually to replace it when the time comes. A new treasurer should immediately review: (1) the current reserve fund balance, (2) the most recent reserve study (if there isn’t one, commission one), (3) whether the current assessment includes an adequate reserve contribution. Underfunded reserves are the most common financial crisis in HOAs — the prior board collected too little and now there isn’t enough money to replace the roof. Don’t inherit that problem without knowing it exists.

It depends on association size, state law, and governing documents. Many states require HOAs above a certain size or revenue threshold to conduct an annual financial review or audit by a licensed CPA. Some HOA bylaws require an audit regardless of state law. Others only require a compiled financial statement. As a new treasurer, check your governing documents first, then your state’s HOA statute. Even when not legally required, an annual CPA review is good practice for associations with significant assets or complex finances — it provides an independent check on the treasurer’s work and protects board members from liability. For smaller HOAs with straightforward finances, a compilation may be sufficient.

Yes. Hivepoint is built for volunteer HOA treasurers managing real money without an accounting background. It tracks dues payments against the homeowner roster, maintains a running balance per lot, generates P&L and budget-vs-actual reports, and keeps a full audit trail of every financial entry. If your association is upgrading from spreadsheets or a manual ledger, the transition to Hivepoint is handled during onboarding — we import your chart of accounts and existing balances so you start with accurate records. Note: Hivepoint does not do bank reconciliation, payroll, or vendor payment management — it handles the HOA-specific financial workflows that general accounting software doesn’t cover.