3 Reasons Your HOA Should Offer Online Dues Payment

I know it's hard to believe, but in 2017 there's an 88 billion dollar industry that still processes millions of payments by check. Less than 50% of the corporations in this industry even offer online payments. It's not some obscure industry that nobody has ever heard of, it's your homeowner’s association. A recent survey by Billing Tree found that while all HOAs accept checks, only about half accept online dues payment via credit cards or automatic recurring payment.  One friend recently told me, "The only reason I have a checkbook is to pay my HOA dues." Statistics like this beg the question, why in an industry that affects over 26 million homes, are so many HOAs neglecting to offer online payments to their members? There could be many reasons, it could be the cost, lack of suitable options, or maybe they just don’t know where to start. For this article, we are going to focus on the benefits of online dues payments.

It's Not Just "Nice to Have", It's Expected

Consumers are going online to shop, bank, and pay their bills. The “check” is already a thing of the past and residents are demanding more options when it comes to paying their HOA assessments. Not only do they want to pay online, they want to be able to access their payment history without having to contact the manager. While some homeowners won't ever go to your website or make an online payment, many owners are judging the HOA board and management company based on their ability to provide modern conveniences like online payments. To them, it's a sign of an outdated and neglected management system.    

Decrease Delinquency

This may seem obvious, but as HOAs make paying easier, delinquency will decrease. This is particularly true with online recurring payments. When a homeowner is deciding what bill must be paid first you can bet that the one that requires them to write a check and drop it in the mail is the last one to go out.

You're Time is Valuable, Don't Spend it Processing Checks

The HOA treasurer or manager is often tasked with collecting the HOA assessments. This process includes accepting the payment, recording it in the books, and depositing the payment at the bank. Online payments allow much of this process to be automated. No more sorting through mail, transcribing payment information into the accounting software or running to the bank to make a deposit. This need for quality online payments has even prompted us at Gladly to launch our own payment tool. Sure, online payments may not solve all of your account receivables problems, but it will save time, reduce delinquency, and make paying dues easier for homeowners.