Property management companies, landlords, and homeowner’s associations (HOAs) have banking needs that are far more complex than those of a typical nonprofit or small business. Property management companies and HOAs play a crucial role in Michigan, as many condominiums and neighborhoods have them, and there are numerous vacation properties where owners rely on someone to manage them.
Property managers and HOAs oversee the physical maintenance of properties and the financial needs of their owners while maintaining separate accounts for their operating funds, security deposits, and rents or membership dues. They must accomplish all of this while avoiding fraud and complying with federal, state, and local laws. Failure to do so could result in costly fines or even lawsuits.
Banking services for property management companies can assist with this by offering cash flow management, customized lending solutions, and tools to enhance efficiency and financial stability through budget forecasting, account management, and effective payment processing. Whether you’re a property manager, part of an HOA management company, or an HOA member, the right banking services can help keep members and owners satisfied while alleviating some of the stress involved in running such an operation.
Maintaining Cash Flow
Whether you are a landlord, a property manager, or running an HOA, the cash flow from rents and fees is the lifeblood of your operation. You must account for these funds and monitor payments while managing late payments, vacant units, operating costs, and unexpected events. Additionally, you will need to provide financial reports to members, owners, or investors that reflect the money you receive and the money you spend.
The right cash flow management strategy can help you track your funds and expenses while ensuring there is enough cash on hand to cover your bills and make any debt payments. This is especially important in the event of unexpected costs or revenue losses. If your operations experience seasonal fluctuations in revenue or expenses, cash flow management can help you prepare for these changes and maintain a stable position throughout the year.
A Streamlined Approach to Property Management Banking Solutions
We offer business banking for property managers and HOA banking services through our PropertyPro Banking*. It lets you view and manage key information about all your properties in a single view and is customizable to meet your needs. It can help you with cash flow projections, owner distributions, and issuing financial reports. This alleviates some of the stress of property management while improving efficiency.
Improved Payment Methods
Members and tenants can pay their rent or association fees through a link on your customizable portal, which accepts automated clearinghouse (ACH) transfers, plus debit card and credit card payments.
Full FDIC Coverage
We offer insured cash sweeps (ICS) and a certificate of deposit account registry service (CDARS). Each of these spreads large deposits among participating banks, so even large account holders can maintain full protection from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) while also earning interest on their deposits.
Fraud Prevention Tools
Check Positive Pay* automatically compares the checks you issue against all checks presented for payment against your account. The dollar amount, check number, and account number are all verified before disbursement.
ACH Positive Pay* lets you put filters and blocks on your accounts, and all ACH transactions are automatically compared to the list of authorized companies on your accounts, from your business checking or business savings accounts.
Flexible Lending Solutions
Just as PropertyPro Banking makes it easier for you to manage your funds, it also streamlines any borrowing needs you may have, such as a business line of credit that’s available whenever you need, or a term loan for repairs, property improvements, etc.
Avoid Comingling of Funds
While real estate management requires separate accounts for rental income, security deposits, and business or HOA operations, overseeing them can become complicated. Failing to segregate these funds may lead to legal issues and difficulties tracking transactions. Our PropertyPro Banking simplifies the management of these individual accounts, ensuring that all transactions and deposits are handled correctly.
Bookkeeping Made Easier
While it is important to maintain segregated accounts, particularly trust accounts, these must be reconciled periodically, at least once a month, to ensure every account balance aligns with your financial records. For many property and HOA managers, this can be a time-consuming headache. PropertyPro Banking, can help you identify any discrepancies and maintain accurate accounting of your transactions, while reducing the likelihood of human errors. This also simplifies the auditing process.
Commercial Banking for Real Estate Businesses
Whether you manage numerous buildings or a few flats, our PropertyPro Banking can help you boost productivity. Imagine having customizable financial reports, streamlining your rent collection and security deposits. This can aid you in resolving delinquent accounts and managing evictions, if necessary, as well as creating reports for the owners.
HOA Banking Services
Using PropertyPro Banking can help you consolidate your fee collection, bill payments, and financial reporting requirements into an easy-to-use platform. It can help you manage all the association’s financial records and make it easier to file the organization’s tax returns. You can also use it to monitor and pursue any delinquent payments, collect late fees, and special assessments.
Use Autobooks for Easy Invoicing and Payments
Imagine being able to send a professional-looking invoice electronically. Recipients can pay with any major credit card, debit card, or through an ACH transfer, having the funds deposited directly into your checking account within two business days. There’s no need to transfer funds from a payment app to your account. Nonprofits and associations can also use it to receive donations or membership dues.
That’s what Autobooks* has to offer. You can create the same kind of invoices you would if you were using paper, complete with your logo at the bottom to enhance credibility. Autobooks simplifies tracking payments, both current and past due, as well as setting up recurring invoices. You can automate the process and apply automatic late fees for any overdue payments.
It’s a simple process. You create an invoice using the Autobooks app, and it generates a secure payment link that you send by text or place on a webpage. You’ll have a unique URL to use for payments and can share it by text, email, or add it to a webpage or social media profile. Customers get a receipt, and you receive a payment notification.
The payments you receive are listed chronologically. You can filter the list to search for specific payments and even generate a spreadsheet. Additionally, Autobooks lets you send digital invoices to customers, receive digital payments right into your checking account, and manage cash flow — all from inside West Shore Bank’s online and mobile banking.
We’re Here to Help
We believe in a personalized relationship with all our business banking and HOA customers. We can help you set up and manage your PropertyPro Banking and you’ll receive expert advice from people who understand the local property management community. We can help you set up trust accounts for any security deposits you may hold, which can help you avoid any legal entanglements from issues like commingling of funds. Please contact our Treasury team or learn more about PropertyPro Banking.
*Products and services may require enrollment, other terms, conditions and fees may also apply. Third party service. Third-party charges may apply. Other terms and conditions may apply.
