# HOAs and community associations

Canonical: https://finbryn.com/us/industries/hoa-community-associations

Finbryn provides bookkeeping and board reporting for self-managed and small homeowner associations, keeping operating and reserve funds in separate ledgers. Each month the board gets a package with budget versus actual, assessment and delinquency aging, and a reserve balance tied to its schedule, in QuickBooks Online or AppFolio.

## Where the books usually hurt

- Operating and reserve money sit in one pool, so nobody can say what the reserve really holds

- Assessments and late fees are posted by hand and delinquency aging is rebuilt before every board meeting

- Volunteer treasurers rotate off and the books change style with each one

- The annual return and the year-end handoff to the association's CPA arrive late and incomplete

## Two pots of money, one bank statement

Most associations hold an operating account and a reserve account, and many volunteer treasurers track both in one spreadsheet. The Community Associations Institute Foundation estimates there are 373,000 community associations in the US ([CAI Foundation statistical review](https://foundation.caionline.org/publications/factbook/statistical-review/), as of 2025), and each is governed by a volunteer board of owners. The usual failure is mixing the funds, so the board cannot say what the reserve actually holds.

Finbryn keeps operating and reserve as separate funds with separate reconciliations. The reserve ledger is tied each month to the schedule your board uses, which comes from whoever the board hired to prepare its reserve study. We do not prepare that study or advise on funding levels; we make sure the money the books show matches the schedule the board is holding.

## Assessments, delinquencies and the board package

Dues are billed on a calendar, late fees are charged by rule, and some owners pay in installments. Whether you use AppFolio, Buildium, CINC Systems, PayHOA or plain QuickBooks Online, we post assessments and receipts, age delinquent balances, and produce a ledger per unit that is ready for a board decision or an attorney referral. The monthly board package is short: budget versus actual, a delinquency report, the check register and both fund balances.

Vendor payments get tracked for year-end 1099 reporting, so the W-9s are collected before the checks are cut.

## Form 1120-H and the year-end handoff

Many associations elect to file [Form 1120-H](https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1120-h) under section 528, due on the 15th day of the fourth month after year end. We prepare the income and expense data and the workpapers for that return. The return is prepared and signed by the association's credentialed preparer, who obtains the board's consent under IRC 7216 before return information is shared with us as a service provider. Any financial review or audit your state or governing documents require is performed by an independent CPA; we prepare the schedules that CPA requests.

## What financial report does a board owe its owners?

That depends on state law and the governing documents. Florida's homeowners' association statute steps up from a report of cash receipts and expenditures to compiled, reviewed and audited statements as revenue rises ([Fla. Stat. 720.303(7)](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0720/Sections/0720.303.html), 2026 statutes, read 2026-10-19). We prepare the ledgers, the reserve schedule and the support an independent CPA practice asks for. Finbryn is not a CPA firm and does not issue audit, review or compilation reports.

## Working together

The association owns its file. A named pod manages the account, a recorded handover note travels with each treasurer change, and books close on a calendar agreed at onboarding. Associations with a messy year usually start with a [catch-up project](/services/bookkeeping/catch-up-cleanup-bookkeeping) before [monthly bookkeeping](/services/bookkeeping/monthly-bookkeeping). Pricing is on the [pricing](/pricing) page.

Associations and managers who also hold rentals can read about [property management bookkeeping services](/industries/real-estate-property-management).

Associations that are also nonprofits can read about [nonprofit bookkeeping](/industries/nonprofits).

Software we work in: QuickBooks Online, AppFolio, Buildium, CINC Systems, PayHOA

## Frequently asked questions: HOAs and community associations

**Q: Do you tie the reserve balance to our reserve schedule?**

A: Yes. The reserve fund is reconciled each month to the schedule your board holds. We do not prepare reserve studies or advise on funding levels. Checked 2026-10-09.

**Q: Can you prepare Form 1120-H data for our association?**

A: Yes, as preparation support. We prepare the income and expense workpapers; the return is prepared and signed by the association's credentialed preparer, who obtains consent under IRC 7216 first.

**Q: How do you handle delinquent owners?**

A: We age balances by unit each month and give the board a delinquency report and per-unit ledger. Collection decisions and legal referrals stay with the board and its attorney.

**Q: Do you manage the association?**

A: No. We do bookkeeping and reporting only. Property operations, owner communication and vendor selection stay with the board or its manager.

**Q: Which platforms do you work with?**

A: QuickBooks Online, AppFolio, Buildium, CINC Systems and PayHOA, using their ledger and delinquency exports.

**Q: What are the HOA audit requirements?**

A: They vary by state and by your governing documents. Florida's homeowners' association statute scales the report with revenue and parcel count, from a cash receipts report up to audited statements ([Fla. Stat. 720.303(7)](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0720/Sections/0720.303.html), 2026 statutes, read 2026-10-19). Check your own state's statute and bylaws. An independent CPA practice performs any compilation, review or audit; we prepare the ledgers, the reserve schedule and the support it requests. Finbryn is not a CPA firm and does not issue audit, review or compilation reports.

**Q: Do you work with self-managed associations?**

A: Yes. Bookkeeping and monthly board packages for boards that manage themselves, or that use a manager for operations only.

**Q: Can you keep operating and reserve funds separate?**

A: Yes. Each fund gets its own accounts and its own reconciliation, with the reserve balance tied to the schedule the board uses.

**Q: What are the common bookkeeping challenges for an HOA?**

A: Treasurer turnover, hand-posted assessments and a reserve balance nobody can tie to a schedule come up most. We build the chart of accounts and monthly package around those patterns.

**Q: What software do you support for HOAs?**

A: We work in QuickBooks Online and association platforms such as AppFolio, Buildium and CINC Systems, using their ledger and delinquency exports. If you have no file yet, we set one up in the association's name.

## Contact
- Phone: +1 (312) 313-7376
- Email: hello@finbryn.com
- Booking page: https://finbryn.com/us/book