Question 1

Is my banking information safe?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely. We use Stripe to process all payments — the same company trusted by Amazon, Target, and millions of businesses worldwide. We never see, store, or have access to your bank account numbers or credit card details. All payment data goes directly to Stripe's PCI-compliant servers.

Question 2

Who can see my personal information?

Accepted Answer

Only authorised members of your HOA can see your information. Board members can see resident contact information to manage the community. Regular residents can only see what other neighbours have chosen to share in the directory. We never share or sell your data to third parties.

Question 3

Who can see the HOA's full financial books?

Accepted Answer

Community admins and treasurers always have access to the full HOA finance area (overview, transactions, budget, reports, payments, and related tools). Other board-type roles can be granted HOA Financial Access by an admin or treasurer when they need to help with the books; without it, they see resident-style finance views such as their own dues. Residents see their invoices and payment history — not the association's full ledger.

Question 4

Where is my data stored?

Accepted Answer

Your data is stored on secure cloud servers in the United States. We use enterprise-grade security including encryption at rest and in transit, regular backups, and industry-standard compliance.

Question 5

Can I export my data anytime?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely — your data always belongs to you. You can export your resident list, financial records, and documents at any time as CSV or PDF files. There's no lock-in, and you're always in full control of your community's information.

Question 6

How do you make money if the basic plan is free?

Accepted Answer

We charge a small platform fee on online payments: 1.2% for cards and 1% for ACH (capped at $8) on the free plan, or 1% for cards and 0.8% for ACH (capped at $5) on Board Automation. Standard Stripe processing fees also apply on resident payments. Stripe Connect account costs (active account, payouts, verification) are billed by Stripe to your dues deposit balance — not as separate KindHOA invoices. Board Automation subscription ($29/mo) is billed separately in the app.

Question 7

Can residents pay by check?

Accepted Answer

Yes. While online payments are convenient, residents can always pay by check. Board members can manually mark invoices as paid when they receive checks. There's no fee for processing manual payments.

Question 8

How quickly do we receive the money?

Accepted Answer

Funds are deposited directly into your HOA's bank account through Stripe. Standard payouts arrive in 2 business days. You can track all payments and payouts in your dashboard.

Question 9

What payment methods do residents have?

Accepted Answer

Residents can pay with credit card, debit card, or ACH bank transfer. ACH transfers have lower processing fees (0.8% capped at $5 vs 2.9% for cards) and are popular for larger payments like annual assessments.

Question 10

Can we set up automatic recurring payments?

Accepted Answer

Residents can enable auto-pay (free) to automatically pay their dues on the due date. Boards can set up recurring dues schedules (Board Automation) to automatically create and send invoices each month or quarter — no manual invoicing needed.

Question 11

Are there any fees for connecting a bank account?

Accepted Answer

Connecting your HOA bank for vendor payouts and setting up your Stripe dues deposit account follow Stripe's standard Connect onboarding. Stripe may charge verification or account fees directly to your connected account — KindHOA does not send separate infrastructure invoices for these.

Question 12

How many vendors can receive ACH payouts?

Accepted Answer

There is no fixed cap. Each vendor you connect for ACH goes through Stripe Connect onboarding. Stripe's connected-account and payout fees apply to your community's dues deposit account as vendors become payout-active. Disconnect a vendor's payment account when you no longer need ACH payouts to that vendor.

Question 13

Does KindHOA bill Stripe Connect fees separately?

Accepted Answer

No. KindHOA no longer sends monthly infrastructure pass-through invoices. Stripe debits Connect costs (active account, payouts, verification) from your dues deposit account balance. KindHOA's revenue comes from the platform fee on online payments and Board Automation subscriptions.

Question 14

Is KindHOA really free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. KindHOA Good Neighbor is $0/month forever for self-managed HOAs — resident portal, online dues (Stripe), maintenance, ARC, violations, documents, announcements, and formal elections. Board Automation is $29/month flat for recurring dues, Smart Assistant, email broadcasts, and more. No per-unit software fees. Stripe processing and KindHOA's small platform fee apply only when residents pay online.

Question 15

How long does it take to set up?

Accepted Answer

Most communities are up and running in about 15–20 minutes. You'll create your account, add your community name, and import your resident list (via CSV or manually). Connecting your bank account for payments takes an additional 5–10 minutes through Stripe's secure onboarding.

Question 16

Can I import my existing resident list?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can upload a CSV file with resident names, addresses, and email addresses. We provide a template to make formatting easy. You can also add residents manually one at a time.

Question 17

Do all my residents need to create accounts?

Accepted Answer

No. Residents don't need accounts to receive invoices or pay dues — they can pay via emailed invoice links. However, residents who create free accounts get access to the directory, community feed, document library, and can track their payment history.

Question 18

How do I invite my board members?

Accepted Answer

After creating your community, you can invite other board members by email. They'll receive an invitation link to create their accounts with board-level access. You can have multiple board members with full administrative access.

Question 19

Can I try it before committing my whole community?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. We recommend starting by adding yourself and a few trusted board members first. Explore the features, create a test invoice, and get comfortable before inviting all residents. The free tier has no time limit.

Question 20

What features are included in the free plan?

Accepted Answer

Good Neighbor (free) includes: unlimited residents; online payments (KindHOA's tier-specific platform fee + Stripe processing); manual invoice creation & bulk invoicing; the HOA finance hub (transactions, budgets, reconciliation, treasurer report previews—you can generate on screen; downloadable/print worksheets plus 1120-H prep unlock after upgrade); maintenance (1 photo); ARC requests (3 files combined: photos or documents, up to 5MB each); physical mailings (pay per letter by card — First-Class from $3.99); board-only polls; resident directory (CSV import is included — CSV export requires Board Automation); community feed, messages, inbox, a document library, 5 GB of community file storage (years of typical HOA documents and photos), calendar (10 events/month), announcements (5 per month); public subdomain site; optional community web address in Essentials (~$29.99/yr); audit log viewing in-app (CSV export requires Board Automation); and email notifications. Smart Assistant requires Board Automation.

Question 21

What does Board Automation add?

Accepted Answer

Board Automation lowers KindHOA's platform fee per payment, bundles Smart Assistant + document indexing, recurring dues schedules, automated late fees, HOA-wide emailed announcements (+ optional email-all-residents broadcasts), polls that residents can participate in alongside board-only ballots, Vendor Bids, 8% off physical-mail postage plus AI letter drafts, downloadable .ics calendar files for any event, richer history and attachment limits, 25 GB of community file storage (room for thousands of typical HOA documents and years of photos; expand anytime with Extra Storage at +25 GB for $5/month), treasurer download/1120-H prep, CSV export for neighbors + audits, unlimited concurrent opened violations versus the Good Neighbor cap, website BYO domain connect, Board Presence / Community Email in Essentials (real domain + official board@ email — KindHOA handles mail security setup), and priority email support.

Question 22

How much file storage does each plan include?

Accepted Answer

You shouldn't have to think about storage. Good Neighbor includes 5 GB and Board Automation includes 25 GB across documents, feed photos, ARC/maintenance attachments, announcements, and similar uploads — enough for years of typical HOA records (bylaws, minutes, budgets, and community photos). Most communities never come close. On Board Automation with a payment method on file, Extra Storage packs (+25 GB for $5/month each) are available from Essentials if you ever need more. Existing files always stay available.

Question 23

Can we work on next year's budget before it's official?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Use budget proposals to model category lines for an upcoming fiscal year, then publish them into the adopted budget when the board votes to approve. Your fiscal start month keeps Overview, Budget, and reports aligned with how your community actually plans.

Question 24

Can we create custom dues categories?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can create custom finance categories like 'Operating Fund,' 'Reserve Fund,' 'Special Assessment,' etc. This helps organise your bookkeeping and makes it easy to see where money is coming from.

Question 25

Does KindHOA support multiple board members?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can have as many board members as you need. Each gets their own login and can access administrative features. You can also designate different roles if needed.

Question 26

Can residents submit maintenance requests?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Residents can submit maintenance tickets for common-area issues. Board members can assign tickets, add comments, and track status from open to resolved. It's all documented for your records.

Question 27

Can the board send physical mail (First-Class or Certified) from KindHOA?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Community Operations → Mailings lets boards draft letters (templates on every plan; AI draft on Board Automation), choose First-Class or Certified, pay postage by card, and track delivery. Good Neighbor list prices: $3.99 / $12.99 / $17.99; Board Automation gets 8% off. Postage is pay-per-letter — not part of the subscription. Learn more at kindhoa.com/features/physical-mail.

Question 28

Can my HOA get a custom domain and board email in KindHOA?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Board Presence ($49.99/year) is one checkout for a real community web address plus five renameable officer emails KindHOA sets up for you. A community web address alone is $29.99/year on any plan; Community Email is $19.99/year with Board Automation and KindHOA-hosted DNS. KindHOA finishes the mail security setup so board@ looks legitimate to Gmail and Outlook — not personal Gmail. These are Essentials add-ons, not part of the $0 or $29/month subscription. Learn more at kindhoa.com/features/board-presence.

Question 29

Does KindHOA set up email security so board@ looks legitimate?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When Community Email activates on KindHOA-hosted DNS, KindHOA finishes the behind-the-scenes mail security setup so addresses look legitimate to inboxes. You do not paste records at GoDaddy yourself. Setup helps messages reach the inbox but cannot promise never spam. Use Community Mail for board and vendor mail; use Announcements for whole-community blasts. Details at kindhoa.com/features/board-presence.

Question 30

Can KindHOA run HOA board elections?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Formal Elections on the free Good Neighbor plan support director races, amendments, and other recorded ballots — with official notice, sealed ballots, secret voting, inspector tabulation, and a signed PDF certificate. See our guide at kindhoa.com/blog/how-to-run-hoa-board-elections.

Question 31

What is the difference between polls and formal elections?

Accepted Answer

Polls are for informal surveys (vendor preference, meeting dates). Formal elections produce certified, audit-logged results for binding votes like board seats and rule changes. Both are available in KindHOA under Polls & Voting.

Question 32

What is a quorum-only proxy?

Accepted Answer

A quorum-only proxy counts a unit toward meeting attendance without letting the proxy holder vote that owner's interest on ballot items. Our elections guide explains when to use them: kindhoa.com/blog/how-to-run-hoa-board-elections.

Question 33

Can I export my data if I leave?

Accepted Answer

Yes, your data is always yours. You can export your resident list, payment history, and documents at any time as CSV files or PDFs. We believe in data portability and will never hold your information hostage.

Question 34

What happens if I downgrade from paid to free?

Accepted Answer

You keep all your existing data. Automated features like recurring billing and late-fee calculation will pause, but you can still manually create invoices and manage your community. Nothing is deleted. Online payment fees (KindHOA platform fee + Stripe processing) and Stripe Connect account costs still apply as described on our pricing page.

Question 35

How long do you keep our data?

Accepted Answer

We keep your data as long as your account is active. If you close your account, we retain data for 30 days in case you change your mind, then permanently delete it. You can request immediate deletion at any time.

Question 36

Can we migrate from another HOA software?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you're coming from another platform, you can usually export your resident list and payment history as CSV files and import them into KindHOA. See our migration guides at kindhoa.com/migrate or contact us if you need help.

Question 37

How do I get help if I'm stuck?

Accepted Answer

Email us at support@kindhoa.com. You'll hear back from a real person — usually within a few hours during business days. We don't use chatbots or ticket queues. Board Automation subscribers get priority support with faster response times.

Question 38

Is there training for new board members?

Accepted Answer

The platform is designed to be intuitive enough that most people can figure it out without training. However, we provide a built-in help center with guides and walkthroughs. If your board needs hands-on help, we can schedule a free 30-minute onboarding call.

Question 39

What if we find a bug?

Accepted Answer

Please report it. Email support@kindhoa.com with details about what happened. We take bugs seriously and typically fix issues within 24–48 hours. We appreciate communities who help us improve.

Question 40

Can I request new features?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. We love hearing from users. Many of our features came from community requests. Email us your ideas at feedback@kindhoa.com. We can't promise to build everything, but we read and consider every suggestion.

Is KindHOA free? HOA software FAQ.

Is KindHOA really free?

How long does setup take?

How does KindHOA make money?

Is payment data secure?

Still have questions?

Keep exploring

Is KindHOA free? HOA software FAQ.

Is KindHOA really free?

How long does setup take?

How does KindHOA make money?

Is payment data secure?

Still have questions?

Keep exploring