The 2021 billing season for Community Associations and Homeowner Associations is in full swing. Over the past 90 days, millions of homeowners all over the country have received some sort of communication piece, invoice, or Coupon Book to generate the lifeblood of each association – The Homeowner Assessment. Budgeting and billing has taken up a lot of time and energy over the past few months, but now that those items are in the hands of the homeowners… what happens next. Here are a few tips that may help drive down delinquencies, give visibility to Management Companies, and ease the pain of the delinquency season kicking off in January.
In January, each payment for Associations throughout the country has a due date of January 1. There are a few outliers where fiscal years deviate from the calendar year, but for the most part, January 1 is the day. This means the majority of Annual payments, Monthly Payments, Semi-Annual, Quarterly and even a special assessment has a payment (hopefully) on its way back to your Management Company, so lets try to make that a little easier this year.
- Studies show that when homeowners receive their billing document or notification of new charges electronically, they are more likely to pay electronically. This electronic adoption and automation can give visibility for the association because of the turnaround time in how those payments are made. Homeowner adoption of electronic payments have gone through the roof in the past few years, and the easier the payment process (or the less logins) the better and faster those payments come in. So step 1 – Offer electronic statements and payments.
- Drive ACH adoption – ACH in the simplest terms is a pull of funds from the end-user who has provided their payment information to the party that they owe the money. This process can seem daunting at first, but there are many ways for homeowners to provide their permission for ACH adoption. Let them fill out a form (PDF or Electronic) in their portal. Send out an e-blast regularly to communicate the option is available with a sample form attached and instructions. Include the ACH form in the billing document that is sent when you generate your billing. Each ACH payment, should give more visibility into those payments, drive down delinquencies and make it easier for the end user.
- Utilize rules and processes – How are the delinquencies tracked? Often times Accounting team members and managers are working off reports, paper, ledgers, etc. to discuss and work through each delinquency. But that’s just a quick snapshot, and with grace periods all over the board – 5th, 10th, 15th, 25th, end of month… how do you keep track. Let software do it…. Not only are you tracking the grace period, but then you have to track the delinquent amount. Each association has a specific delinquency policy… other than payment plans that are initiated with the help of an attorney for best practices, set it and forget it. Rules can tell you each day, who is delinquent, what they owe, and what the next action is. In fact, the next action should be taken by the software. Step the homeowners through the process automatically, creating the communication, and appropriate charges… and communicate that with the homeowner.
Here’s the deal – faster communication using technology, offering easy payments leads to happier homeowners more likely to pay on time. This allows Associations their best shot at maintaining their cash flow throughout the year while minimizing disruptions for your Accounting team and Managers. Board members also gain visibility and you look like a rock star, with more time on your hands to grow grow grow.
