Guide for board members
HOA Treasurer Duties: The Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly Checklist
An HOA treasurer is the board member who watches the association's money: the budget, the bank accounts, the reserves and the monthly financial reports.
This page is a calendar of 19 tasks: what to do each month, each quarter and each year, and the report each task is done from. The sample association, Demo Ridge HOA with 60 homes, is invented data.
What does an HOA treasurer do?
An HOA treasurer watches the association's money for the board. The treasurer reads the monthly financial reports, checks the bank accounts and reserves, leads the budget and reports to the board.
The job is oversight. The treasurer reads and checks. Someone else may record. If you were handed the title with no job description, this page is the list: 8 tasks a month, 4 a quarter, 7 a year, and the report each one uses. Where the treasurer fits beside the board, the bookkeeper and the CPA is in HOA accounting explained for board members.
What does an HOA treasurer check each month?
Read the balance sheet and the income and expense report, confirm each bank account is reconciled, confirm the reserve transfer was made, review owners behind on dues, and report to the board.
The monthly checklist, with Demo Ridge HOA's month, invented data
| Task | Report it uses | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Read the balance sheet by fund | Balance sheet by fund | The cash in each fund and the dues owed by owners. At Demo Ridge HOA the reserve fund ends the month at $172,010 and owners owe $4,900. |
| Compare income and costs with budget | Income and expense against budget | Dues billed $21,000 (60 homes at $350) and bills paid $15,900. Any line far from its budget is a question to ask. |
| Confirm each bank account is reconciled | Bank reconciliations and bank statements | Each account has a reconciliation for the month, and its reconciled balance matches the balance sheet. Demo Ridge HOA has 2 accounts: operating and reserve. |
| Confirm the reserve transfer was made | Reserve activity | The budgeted $4,200 left the operating account and arrived in the reserve account. The reserve fund went from $186,000 to $172,010: plus the $4,200 transfer, plus $310 of interest, less the $18,500 roof repair. |
| Match reserve spending to an invoice and a board approval | Reserve activity | The $18,500 roof repair paid to Example Roofing has an invoice and a board approval in the minutes. |
| Review owners behind | List of owners behind on dues | 4 owners owe $4,900, of which $1,750 is over 90 days. The next step is the association's collection policy. |
| Review the bills before they are paid | List of bills to pay | Each bill names a vendor the association uses, matches its contract or quote, and has a budget line. |
| Present the treasurer's report | Treasurer's report | One page: cash in each fund, the month against budget, reserve activity, owners behind on dues, and the items the board must approve. |
How to read each of these reports is in HOA financial statements. Each task is a reason to ask a question, never proof that something is wrong. What a finished reconciliation looks like, and who should sign, is in HOA bank reconciliation.
What does an HOA treasurer do each quarter?
Compare the reserve balance with the reserve study's plan, review the year so far against budget, and check which contracts and insurance policies come due.
| Task | Report it uses |
|---|---|
| Compare the reserve balance with the reserve study's plan | Reserve activity and the reserve study |
| Review the year so far against budget and note each large gap | Income and expense, year so far |
| List contracts and insurance policies coming due | Contract list |
| Confirm who can sign on each bank account | The bank's signer list |
The quarter is when the treasurer steps back from the month. The reserve balance is read against the study's plan, and the year so far is read against the budget, line by line.
What does an HOA treasurer do each year?
Lead next year's budget, see the year closed, hand the year-end package to the association's CPA, report to owners at the annual meeting, and hand over cleanly to the next treasurer.
| Task | Report it uses | When in the year |
|---|---|---|
| Lead next year's budget | Last 12 months of actuals | Before the new year starts |
| Confirm the dues for the new year | Adopted budget | Once the board adopts the budget |
| See the year closed | Year-end statements | After the last month of the year is closed |
| Hand the year-end package to the association's CPA | Year-end package | After the close |
| Report to owners at the annual meeting | Year-end statements | At the annual meeting |
| See the reserve study updated on its schedule | Reserve study | On the study's own schedule |
| Hand over to the next treasurer | This checklist and the account access list | When the term ends |
The audit or review, where the association has one, is the CPA's work. The treasurer's task is to hand over the year-end package and answer the CPA's questions.
What does the HOA treasurer report to the board?
A short monthly treasurer's report: cash in each fund, the month against budget, reserve activity, owners behind on dues, and items the board must approve.
Every line of the report is copied from a statement the books already produce, so the treasurer copies numbers instead of building them. A fill-in version with a sample is the HOA treasurer report template.
Which HOA treasurer duties can be handed to a bookkeeper?
Recording dues and bills, reconciling the bank accounts, preparing the monthly statements and drafting the budget. Approving payments, signing on accounts and answering to the board stay with the treasurer.
| Handed to a bookkeeper | Stays with the treasurer and the board |
|---|---|
| Recording dues and payments | Approving payments |
| Recording bills | Signing on the bank accounts |
| Reconciling the bank accounts | Reading and questioning the reports |
| Preparing the monthly statements and the list of owners behind | Presenting to the board |
| Drafting the budget | Recommending the budget |
| Preparing the CPA's package | Decisions about owners behind |
The left column is recording and preparing. The right column is deciding, signing and answering for the money. A bookkeeper can take every task on the left and leave the treasurer with the reading.
Does an HOA treasurer need an accounting background?
No. The treasurer needs to read 5 reports and ask questions. A bookkeeper can prepare the reports, and the association's CPA does the audit or review.
The 5 reports are the balance sheet by fund, income and expense against budget, the bank reconciliations, reserve activity, and the list of owners behind on dues. Each one is on the monthly checklist above with what to look for.
Do HOA treasurers get paid?
An HOA treasurer is usually an unpaid volunteer owner. Whether a board member may be paid is set by the governing documents and state law, a question for the association's attorney.
Most treasurers serve as owners giving their time. The checklist on this page is the whole job, and a bookkeeper can carry the recording half of it.
Multifamily Bookkeeping keeps the association's books and sends the treasurer every report on this checklist each month. See our HOA bookkeeping service.