As volunteers, HOA board members are not always able to sufficiently manage their responsibilities, either because of a lack of expertise or due to time constraints. One of these responsibilities is to handle the financials of the association. A good way to make sure you are covered, financial management-wise, is to outsource HOA accounting services to professionals.
Reasons to Outsource HOA Accounting Tasks to Professionals
If your association, like everyone else, is looking to cut costs, then you should outsource accounting services to a professional financial services company. Outsourcing accounting services is a cost-effective solution that can save your association a large sum of money in the long run. Instead of employing your in-house accountants, bookkeepers, and CFOs, it often makes much more financial sense to outsource HOA accounting duties whenever they may be needed.
Even if your HOA is currently self-managed, outsourcing your association’s finances is a smart move that can pay off in the long run. Outsourced financial professionals offer a high level of experience, expertise, and value. Here are the top reasons why you should outsource HOA financial accounting tasks to experts:
1. The Professionals Have the Necessary Experience and Expertise
The financial professionals at reputable HOA accounting companies know what they are doing. Having worked with a diverse set of clients, they have the knowledge and experience to help your association achieve financial success. Just as importantly, they have the necessary flexibility to respond to issues as they arise and mitigate potential setbacks.
When you outsource, you place your accounting in the hands of experienced professionals. These professionals understand industry standards and requirements, ensuring their work is held to a high standard.
Experienced accounting professionals have the tools and the knowledge to help board members make smart financial decisions for their community. They can provide deep financial analysis and financial health forecasting by developing strong short-term and long-term financial strategies.
Furthermore, they can use their experience to contribute to your association’s success in several ways. This includes managing several tasks, such as assessment collections, accounts payables, creating detailed financial reports and analysis, and more!
Reputable financial services companies also employ professionals who can give you expert guidance. Get advice from someone with a high degree of subject matter expertise. Professionals know how to set up a stock option plan for your employees, implement a Key Performance Indicator report, and analyze financial reports.
When you outsource, it is the job of an experienced, reputable accounting service provider to give you expert guidance and keep you aware of changes in the law that can potentially affect your association.
2. The Professionals Use the Latest Technology
Most reputable HOA accounting companies have the latest tools and accounting technologies. These tools allow them to solve complex problems quickly and easily. Additionally, they use available online resources such as online payment, with auto-debit payment and credit card payment options available. Online resources allow community members easier methods of payment and communication, which saves your association both money and time.
Your community association likely does not have the resources to access the latest accounting technology and online tools on their own. As such, partnering with a reputable financial management company can greatly benefit your team in many ways. On the same note, using the latest technology will greatly enhance security and protect your association’s sensitive information.
Professionals also use strict safeguards to ensure confidentiality, controlled access, and reliable data backup. Many people do not think about security, but it is an integral part of financial success. When you enlist the help of a professional financial services company, they can identify previous security vulnerabilities and address them accordingly.
3. The Professionals Will Get It Done on Time
If you are looking for timely and reliable service, outsource your HOA accounting with a reputable financial services company. Choosing a high-quality service provider allows you to rest easy knowing that the work will be done accurately and on time. If you’d like, get referrals from other HOAs and associations to ensure that the company you go with is reputable.
4. The Professionals Can Save You Money and Increase Efficiency
Outsourcing your accounting needs with a professional financial services provider can save you big money over the long haul. Most importantly, you can avoid unnecessary and excessive operational costs when you outsource HOA accounting services.
Often, managers believe that in-house staff will be less expensive than outsourcing, based on their hourly wage. Yet, many fail to consider costs on top of salary and wages, such as training, supervising, benefits, and payroll taxes. In the end, the total compensation for an in-house staffer is far higher than outsourcing.
5. The Professionals Can Increase Your Operational Efficiency
If outsourcing HOA accounting obligations is cheaper than hiring in-house, why aren’t more associations doing so? Cost savings are a big upside of outsourcing your association’s accounting. Another major benefit of outsourcing is that you can more efficiently use your existing personnel.
For example, if you outsource routine and/or basic accounting tasks, your in-house staff can focus their time, resources, and energy on more important tasks and core services. Plus, outsourcing removes the unnecessary burden of finding meaningless or relatively unimportant work to fill up the schedules of your in-house accounting staff.
When you outsource accounting services, you only pay for the services that you need. This, in turn, saves you big money. Because of this, you can focus your resources and staff on important business development measures. Instead of burdening staff with basic accounting tasks, allow your team to focus on addressing initiatives that most help your association’s financial viability.
6. The Professionals Make Communicating Easy
Many associations don’t want to initiate the outsourcing process because that means your accounting team is not on-site. They believe communication will suffer, but most outsourced accounting professionals are just as responsive, if not more so.
Advancements in technology have made it much easier to communicate. Tools such as video meetings, conference calls, and group emails are effective ways of having face-to-face interactions with your outsourced personnel. Plus, in case of an emergency, an outsourced agency is merely a phone call, video chat, or email away. Outsourced financial professionals are by nature very flexible and can work with problems that come up unexpectedly.
Outsource Your HOA Accounting Needs Today
Finances and budgeting are often the most difficult work for board members to manage, especially if nobody on the board has a background in finance. Spending your members’ dues responsibly and protecting your association’s financial health is a top responsibility of the board. For this reason, you should outsource HOA accounting for better management.
Your association has its own set of unique outsourced accounting needs. Find an outsourcing company that invests in your association’s success and helps address the challenges and issues your association is facing. We are just one call away.
RELATED ARTICLES:
- Why Does Your Self-Managed HOA Need Financial Management Services?
- What Are The Standard Financial Statements For An HOA?
- The Best HOA Accounting Method: Cash, Accrual, Or Modified Accrual?