HOA and CA Operations
Operations is the business
That a HOA or CA Board of Directors controls and operates
Operations connects people to services
Operations has a revenue source
The HOA Member Assessment is like paying rent to live here
The outcome of business operations is the harvesting
of value from assets owned by a business. Assets can
be either physical or intangible. An example of value
derived from a physical asset, like a building, is rent.
An example of value derived from an intangible asset,
like an idea, is a royalty. The effort involved in
"harvesting" this value is what constitutes business
operations cycles.
Operations has a purpose
Business operations encompass three fundamental
management imperatives that collectively aim to
maximize the value harvested from business assets
(this has often been referred to as "sweating the
assets"):
1.
Generate recurring income
2.
Increase the value of the business assets
3.
Secure the income and value of the business
Operations can be measured
Securing the income and value of the business
•
Desirability or demand for community membership and services
•
Ability of its customers to pay for membership and services
•
Uniqueness and competitiveness of its business model
•
Control exerted over the quality and efficiency of activities
•
Public regard for the business as a member of the community
Operations Controls and Manages
•
Process
•
Staffing
•
Location
•
Equipment and Technology
Typical Operations Processes
•
Budget
o
Quickbooks, spreadsheets and paper documents
•
Bookkeeping
o
Spreadsheets and paper documents
•
Projects and Maintenance
o
Spreadsheets and paper documents
•
Incident Management
o
Spreadsheets and paper documents
•
Payments, Billing, Banking and Accounting
o
Quickbooks, spreadsheets and printed documents like checks
•
Office Administration
o
Spreadsheets and paper documents
Typical Operations Staffing
Roles
•
Operations Manager
o
Part-time: Office Administration, Accountant, Bookkeeper, Social Organizer
•
Maintenance Manager or Maintenance Engineer
o
Part-time when needed
•
Maintenance and Grounds Staff
o
Part-time Minor Maintenance and Grounds Upkeep
•
Technology Staff
o
3rd party Quickbooks Consultant
o
3rd party Computer, Website and Internet Consultant
•
Legal Staff
o
The Board Secretary
Operations Location
HOAs and CAs do not re-locate maybe your’s is like this one
•
A park like setting of well maintained manufactured homes
•
Private roads, water and sewer lines and storm drains
o
Residents pay <50% of in-town water and sewer costs
•
Police, fire, and emergency service are provided by the City
•
Geologically stable compared to other coast locations
A Sampling of Operations Equipment
•
Pool pump & heater
•
Clubhouse heaters
•
Kitchen appliances
•
Microphone and amplifier
•
Computers and wi-fi routers
•
Copier & FAX
•
Phones
•
Clubhouse TV
•
Camera
•
Digital audio recorder
•
Clubhouse electric door
•
Kurzweil piano
Information Sources (Databases)
•
Quickbooks
o
Accounting and Vendor databases with a limited member database
•
Phone Vite: an on-line phone notification tool
•
Community Website with Document Repository
o
On-line access to HOA documents such as CC&Rs & Board Meeting Minutes
•
Spreadsheets
o
Phone directory, emergency contacts, ladies luncheon call list, birthdays, social club
list and others
•
Bulletin Boards, Printed Newsletters and Window Signs
o
Meeting notices and community notifications and information
•
Paper
o
Plat maps and other drawings and documents
•
Tribal knowledge
o
In someone’s brain based on past experiences
Property Management Database Process
Research
Review Operations processes.
Identify datasets in use.
Identify new data to store.
Create a Requirements List.
Investigate
Examine and demo several vendor
property management products that
join related datasets into a one
database with data fields and reports
that meet or exceed the requirements
in Step #1.
.
Evaluate
Evaluate products vs requirements.
Rank trade-offs and must haves.
Calculate ROI.
Select one of the following.
Continue as is.
Purchase a product.
Build a product internally.
Populate the Database
Member & Vendor data.
Maintenance Tasks.
Document Repository.
Violations & Fines.
Asset Item Details
Board & Committee data.
Types of Member and Resident Data
Plat Lot #, billing address, email address and phone numbers
Date moved in and date moved out
Emergency and away contacts and phone numbers
Birthdays & Anniversaries with do-not-print option
Clicker ID# & Gate Codes and exterior pole light maintenance records
Board, committee(s) and social club memberships
HOA and CA staff role
Area of expertise and experience that could be accessed as a volunteer
Types of Vendor Data
Contact information
o
Address, email, phone numbers, emergency contact, primary contact
Primary and secondary areas of expertise
Primary and secondary services provided for specific assets
Quality and performance rating
Federal and/or State Tax ID, Bond #, Licenses
Types of Asset Data
Infrastructure Assets
o
Preferred vendor(s) for maintenance and repair
o
Storm drain catch basin locations, incidents, inspections and cleaning records
o
Water vale locations, incidents, inspections and testing records
o
Sewer line access locations, incidents, and inspections records
o
Electrical panels and distribution box locations and incidents records
o
Fence, gate, lights and signs locations, incidents and inspections records
Building and Equipment Assets
o
Preferred vendor(s) for maintenance and repair
o
Incidents, inspections, maintenance and repair records
Amenity Assets (Pool, Billiards, Parcel Boxes, Kitchen, Library, Member Pole Light)
o
Preferred vendor(s) for maintenance and repair
o
Incidents, inspections, testing, maintenance and repair records
Types of Legal Data
Rules and Complaints
o
Initiators, descriptions, violations, fines, and resolutions
Inspections, Reviews and Audits
o
Initiators, descriptions, and resolutions
Document Repository
o
Phone Directory, Member Handbook & Board Member Handbook
o
Contracts & Procedures
Permits, Licenses and Registrations
Board History
o
Current and historical Board of Directors membership and roles
o
Current and historical Committee membership and roles
o
Meeting minutes, Member questions and concerns
o
Lawyer meetings, cases, resolutions and documents
Assets, Projects, and Maintenance
Each of these methods
store data but only one is
reasonably permanent,
easy to maintain,
requires little storage space,
and contains data and
information that can be
easily accessed, sorted,
filtered, & shared by PHBC
staff and the board.
Information Storage Technologies
Tribal Knowledge
Stone Tablets
Paper Files
Microfilm
Spreadsheets
Modern Databases
Toolkit Member and Vendor Databases
Vendor details not found in Quickbooks or a contacts database
HOA details
Information in one
place instead of
multiple files and
spreadsheets.
Resident and member details not found in Quickbooks or a contacts database
Intuitive
Pull-down menus
Predictive typing
Quickly and easily
access information.
Status
Care Giver, Resident,
Member, Guest, or
Former Resident