Are you looking to figure out which condo or homeowners' association (HOA) property management software solution is best for you?
Luckily, there are many options out there and a lot to consider before pulling the trigger.
Software is invaluable to investors and real estate professionals of all kinds, including the following:
- Landlords with a few condos to their name
- Large community association managers
- Property management companies with massive portfolios
That being said, it's important to know what features and functionalities you need to maximize efficiency at your level.
In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps to help you answer that question for yourself.
From talking about what features are typically available in your average condo management or HOA community management software to providing a full-fledged breakdown of the top software, we'll cover it all.
To begin, let's start with the basics...
What Is HOA and Condo Management Software?
HOA or condo management software gives managers the ability to streamline the management of the properties board members oversee, even for self-managed associations.
It can include these features and more, depending on the software:
- Accounting
- Work order management
- Fee and other payment collection
- Community calendar management
Here, we are talking about one overarching umbrella of systems that covers HOA software, condo management software, condo accounting software, community management software, and related tools.
Due to the overlap between homeowners' associations and condominiums, these two types of property management needs are often combined into one software.
Some are full-blown property management solutions that help with managing condominiums and HOA communities from within the software, among many other things.
Others are more specialized, forgoing certain general property management features to focus on one area, like HOA community management.
They might still have features like the accounting and work order management that property management software typically has, but others might not.
In exchange, though, the programs often have other specialized features, such as community management tools for HOAs to make the administrative work more manageable.
What Features Can You Expect from HOA and Condo Management Software?
So far, we've touched on some of the features you can expect from condo or HOA management software.
Let's now dive into the details so you have a complete picture of what to expect if you decide to invest in property management software.
These are features that you can often find in HOA and condo management software:
- Built-in accounting: Enjoy automatic payments and fee collection as well as integrations with dedicated accounting software like QuickBooks.
- Work order management: Receive and communicate maintenance orders directly with the tenant or community member and track the work order through to completion, among other potential features.
- Reporting: Have all your data in one place, along with the ability to run reports regarding payments, events, etc.
- Community management: Easily organize committees and subgroups thanks to dedicated HOA software.
- Communication: Communicate with community members through various means directly from an app or cloud-based software, centralizing and simplifying everything.
- Built-in tenant/community member portals: Give members a central place to get all the information regarding maintenance requests, payments, important community dates, etc.
The exact features you can expect from a particular property management software depend on that specific solution and what it specializes in.
In general, a good HOA or condo management solution can do a lot to make managing your properties or community easier:
- Reduce paperwork
- Automate and streamline tasks
- Simplify reporting
- Enhance community connection and communication
- Centralize tasks to reduce time and effort to get things done
- Minimize mistakes by reducing the to-and-from contact on those tasks
Association and property managers face a unique set of challenges that often require multiple processes and systems to operate efficiently.
There's managing the properties themselves, including handling maintenance, collecting payments, managing accounts, overseeing multiple community calendars simultaneously, and more.
That's why having a single tool to pull everything together into one dashboard—one central location where you can see everything in a matter of a few clicks—is so incredibly valuable.
What Is the Best Software for You? Try the Top-Rated HOA and condo management tool
Now you know the value of an excellent property management tool, whether condo or homeowners association software.
The next thing to think about is what type of property management tool best suits you and your needs.
If you're an HOA manager, a specialized HOA management software tool that provides specific community management tools might be the way to go.
A robust property management tool like DoorLoop, the best best HOA management software, could be the perfect fit if you manage condos or co-ops.
With DoorLoop, you get access to:
- One central dashboard to manage everything: Eliminate the need for bouncing around between spreadsheets, accounts, and documents. Now, you'll have everything in one place.
- Work order management: Make creating work orders, tracking progress, and even communicating directly with tenants and residents on their maintenance requests easier than ever.
- Built-in CRM and tenant portal: Make communication easier by having one central location where tenants can get everything, from updates on their maintenance requests to making payments.
- Robust accounting: Accept a diverse range of online payments like credit cards and ACH, manage your entire chart of accounts, issue owner payments, and more.
- Reporting: Have all your data in one place, along with the ability to run financial reports regarding payments, events, etc.
- Community management: Organize committees and subgroups easily with dedicated HOA and condo manager software.
- Communication: Communicate with community members through various means directly from an app or cloud-based software, centralizing and simplifying everything.
- Built-in tenant/community member portals: Enjoy a central place where members can get all the information regarding maintenance requests, payments, important community dates, etc.
Want to see what it can do for you first-hand?
Schedule a free demo today to see what a robust management tool can do for you.
10 of the Best HOA and Condo Management Software of 2024
Below, we've broken down each of the 10 best condo and HOA management software based on several items:
- Strong points
- Notable features
- Pricing model
Keep in mind that some of these tools require you to contact the vendor first to schedule a demo (they tend to be on the pricier side). In that case, you'll need to take that first step to get pricing information.
When that's the case, we've noted as such within that tool's pricing section.
With that said, let's get started.
Wild Apricot
Wild Apricot is a robust software for small community associations with tons of features and incredible ease of use.
The only real negatives are that it doesn't offer calendar management or work order management, which can be make-or-break depending on what you're looking for.
Features include:
- Event management
- Committee management
- A variety of payment process options
- Website management
- Member database (though there's no property database to go with it)
Pricing
Wild Apricot has quite a few pricing tiers. It starts at $60 per month with its basic plan for up to 100 contacts. Its extensive Global plan covers up to 50,000 contacts for $900 per month.
Wild Apricot doesn't tier its features, so you get all of the tool's features no matter which plan you get.
PayHOA
PayHOA services HOAs and property management companies and is known for its super responsive and helpful customer support, among other things.
It also has the full range of features you'd want from an HOA management tool.
The only drawback is it doesn't offer mobile app functionality.
Features include:
- Member and property database
- Committee management
- Calendar management
- Work order creation and tracking
- Payment processing
Pricing
PayHOA's most basic plan starts at $49 per month for up to 50 contacts, while the max-level tier is $199 per month for up to 500 users.
All features are included for all pricing tiers.
EmpoweredHOA
EmpoweredHOA is a dedicated HOA management tool with a simple and easy-to-use interface and solid online documentation that makes getting started easier.
However, it doesn't offer online support or training webinars (a standard in the space), and it has neither property nor member database functionality.
Features include:
- Work order management
- Website support
- Calendar management
- Solid documentation
- Event and committee management
Pricing
EmpoweredHOA doesn't offer its pricing publicly, so you'll need to contact the company to schedule a demo and learn more.
Condo Control
Condo Control is a complete condo accounting software geared toward condominium and co-op managers and HOAs.
It's unique in that it has more robust property management features while also having several of the unique HOA community management features of a dedicated HOA software.
Features include:
- Community management, including bulletin boards and voting
- Violation tracking
- Event management
- Payment processing
- Security and concierge features, such as visitor parking
Pricing
Condo Control lists tiers on its website but doesn't offer its pricing publicly, so you'll need to contact the company to schedule a demo and learn more.
eUnify
eUnify is a complete property and HOA management tool known for its quick response times and regular feature updates.
However, users sometimes report issues with the software, particularly with executing operations tasks (though because the team's response time is fast, issues are taken care of quickly).
Features include:
- Work order creation and tracking
- Calendar and committee management tools
- Various payment process options
- Website management
- Member and property database
Pricing
eUnify doesn't offer its pricing publicly, so you'll need to contact the company to schedule a demo and learn more.
FRONTSTEPS
FRONTSTEPS boasts its ability to service the entire lifecycle of a community, from the home builders to HOAs, property managers, and even security.
Users report that while the software is easy to use, it can feel a bit clunky and less efficient than some of the other tools on the market.
It makes up for this somewhat with a robust feature set that offers everything you'd want from a condo management or HOA tool.
Features include:
- Mobile app functionality
- Great training tools
- Community and committee management
- Work order creation and tracking
- Payment process
Pricing
FRONTSTEPS doesn't offer its pricing publicly, so you'll need to contact the company to schedule a demo and learn more.
CINC Systems
CINC Systems is designed for condo and HOA communities and is known for its great automated workflows and ease of use.
It also has Apple app functionality, with Android functionality in the works. However, it doesn't currently offer online support.
Features include:
- Event and calendar management
- Member and property database
- Work order creation and tracking
- Website management
- Mobile app functionality (iOS only, no Android)
Pricing
CINC Systems doesn't offer its pricing publicly, so you'll need to contact the company to schedule a demo and learn more.
Yardi Condo Management
Yardi offers many different property management tools, but its condo management solution is specifically designed for condo and HOA communities.
In general, Yardi's known for having a sleek, easy-to-use design with robust features.
Features include:
- Calendar management (no event management)
- Documentation management
- Property and member databases
- Work order creation and tracking
- Robust reporting
Pricing
Yardi's pricing is different from other solutions in that it prices based on the type of property instead of pricing tiers.
For associations, Yardi offers a Breeze Premier plan that costs $1 per unit per month with a $400 monthly minimum.
HOALife
HOALife is specifically designed for HOA managers and offers one of the more HOA-focused collection of features on this list.
The company even offers in-person training for those getting started with the software, something almost no one else offers.
However, it doesn't offer calendar or event management, which might be a deal-breaker for some, depending on what you're looking for. They're on the pricey side too.
Features include:
- Work order management
- Violation tracking
- Reporting
- Committee management
- Member and property database
- Mobile app functionality
Pricing
HOALife has a plan for small associations that costs $95 per month for up to 100 properties. You can add more properties for $0.50 per month, up to 500 total. This is only for one association.
It also has a plan for larger associations, which costs $295 per month for up to 500 properties. You can add more properties for $0.35 per month without limit. You can have more than one association on this plan.
Rentec Direct
Rentec Direct is another comprehensive property management solution with robust features, including extensive work order tracking tools.
However, it's known for having a bit of a dated and complex interface that can take some getting used to.
Features include:
- Robust reporting
- Payment processing
- Tenant portal to communicate on maintenance issues and other requests and make payments
- Work order creation, progress tracking, and vendor payments
Pricing
Rentec Direct has a variety of pricing tiers based mainly on the number of units. It's one of the more affordable options on the list, starting at $45 per month for up to 10 units.
For $65 per month, you get up to 50 units; for $110 per month, you get up to 100; and for $550 per month, you get up to 500.
Depending on the package level, Rentec Direct also offers a few additional feature add-ons, such as tenant screening for between $10 and $18 per month.
Which Condo or HOA Management Software Will You Choose?
Which tool you choose depends on what features are most beneficial to you, your needs, and your budget.
Take the time to review the information throughout this guide to make an informed decision.
Whichever you choose, do your homework and remember that property management software should be a tool that helps automate and streamline your processes, not get in the way.
And don't forget to check out DoorLoop, our complete property management software solution.
With DoorLoop, you'll be able to take advantage of a plethora of features:
- Full-service work order management, from creation to tracking
- A complete suite of accounting tools, from automatic payments to accounts management
- Tenant portal and communication, making tenants happier and more satisfied while simplifying your workload
- One central dashboard to manage everything, so you no longer have to bounce around between spreadsheets, accounts, and documents
- Built-in CRM and tenant portal that gives tenants a place to get everything from updates on their maintenance requests to a means to pay rent
- Reporting tools that keep your data all in one place and enable you to run reports regarding payments, events, etc.
- And much more
Schedule a free demo to see what DoorLoop is all about!
Learn More!
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