FISHERS, IN – HOA Start, a provider of HOA management software, has launched a bookkeeping service designed to handle monthly financial management for self-managed homeowners associations. The service, called HOA Start Bookkeeping, integrates with the company’s existing HOA management software, which already handles online payments, member communication, document storage, online voting, and community websites.
Self-managed boards typically manage their books through a property management company, an outside accounting firm, or a volunteer treasurer. HOA Start’s service aims to replace all three by providing professional bookkeeping at a cost that the company says is about a third to half of what associations pay property managers or outside firms. The service handles the full monthly financial cycle, including bank reconciliations, accounts receivable tracking (including processing fees from online dues collection), vendor accounts payable, reserve balance accounting, and compiling balance sheets and profit-and-loss statements.
According to HOA Start, the service addresses a common issue: when a treasurer or property manager leaves, financial history and institutional knowledge often depart with them, leaving incoming boards with gaps that may go unnoticed for months. By handling bookkeeping monthly rather than quarterly or annually, the service provides current financial pictures and reduces time spent reconstructing records.
Financial transparency is increasingly a legal requirement. States like Florida have statutes (Florida Statutes 718 and 720) that require condo and homeowners associations to keep financial records accessible to residents, and board members have a fiduciary duty to manage funds responsibly. Accurate, current bookkeeping is essential for compliance, but many self-managed boards relying on manual processes struggle to maintain it.
“HOA Start Bookkeeping has been an absolute pleasure to work with. The service is affordable, highly professional, and incredibly reliable,” said Tyra Watts of LaPlace HOA, a customer quoted in the announcement.
Clayton Thompson, CEO of HOA Start, said, “We started the year as a software company. We’re becoming a software-and-services company, and eventually a software, services, and solutions company. HOA boards are looking to hand off the work that pulls volunteers away from their communities. Bookkeeping is one of the clearest examples of that.”
The company has indicated that additional financial services, including reserve planning support, are planned as part of its broader community association software and services offering.
