10th
Monthly financial package delivered — every month, no exceptions.
Financials your board can actually trust.
In-house accounting, monthly packages by the 10th, live reserve tracking, and variance analysis that flags problems before they become emergencies — for fully managed associations and for self-managed boards that just want their books done right.
Monthly package by the 10th Live reserve tracking Dedicated accounting manager
Why this is its own service
Community managers shouldn't double as accountants. Ours don't.
Most management firms run community accounting on the side — a manager hand-keys deposits, reconciles when they can, and presents financials they may or may not fully understand. The numbers go in front of boards who never had the data to challenge them. That's how communities end up underfunding reserves for a decade without realizing it.
CPE separates the work. A dedicated, in-house accounting team — with an accounting manager available directly to boards — owns the books. Community association managers are trained to read and present those financials confidently. Reserve studies stay live through monthly tracking. Boards make decisions on data they can audit, not on a quarterly snapshot.
1‑page
Live reserve snapshot updated monthly via our Smart Properties partnership.
0
Variances left unexplained — every abnormal line is flagged proactively.
Direct
Line to the accounting manager — boards don't route through a community manager.
What's included
Nine practices that run every month, the same way, on the same schedule.
Discipline is the differentiator. The package isn't fancy — it's reliable, on time, and reconciled.
Monthly financial packages
Balance sheet, income statement, accounts payable register, accounts receivable aging, bank reconciliations, and YTD budget-to-actuals — delivered by the 10th of each month.
Variance analysis with narrative
Every abnormal line item is flagged with a short written explanation. Boards see the why, not just the number.
Receivables & collections
Active monitoring against each community's adopted collections policy. Escalation triggers, late-fee handling, and attorney coordination when required.
Integrated banking & disbursement
Operating and reserve accounts held at established community-banking partners. Payables run on a defined cadence with board controls in place.
Live reserve tracking
Through our Smart Properties partnership, your reserve study is brought current monthly — actual contributions, interest, and expenses against projections, on a single page.
Annual budget development
Operating budgets tied to real asset conditions and historical line-item data. Reviewed with the board across a multi-meeting cycle, not dropped in a packet.
Audit & tax coordination
We work directly with the community's CPA on annual audits and tax filings. Documents are organized digitally so the audit process doesn't consume your manager's quarter.
Manager financial training
Our community association managers are trained on balance-sheet and income-statement fundamentals — so the conversation in your board meeting is informed, not deflected.
Owner portal & e-statements
Owners see statements, pay common charges, and access community documents through the CINC portal. Boards see real-time AR aging anytime.
Reserves, kept live
A reserve study is only useful if the board looks at it more than once a decade.
Reserve studies historically have one big flaw: they go stale. The community pays for a professional study, the board reviews it once, and within 18 months the contribution levels are no longer matching the assumptions. By the time the next study is commissioned, the gap is real and the conversation gets uncomfortable.
CPE partners with Smart Properties to publish a one-page monthly synopsis that brings the study current — incorporating actual contributions, interest earned, and capital expenses. The board sees, in real time, where reserves sit against the projection. Discrepancies get caught early. Updates to the underlying study happen less often, because the day-to-day data is already there.
- Monthly one-page summary, delivered with the financial package.
- Actuals tracked against the most recent professional study.
- Fewer reserve-study updates required — less expense over time.
- Funding conversations grounded in data, not in anxiety.
Who this is for
Three different relationships, the same standard.
Fully managed communities
Accounting is built into every full-service management engagement. The accounting manager and community manager work from the same system — no handoffs between firms.
See full-service managementSelf-managed boards
Keep operational decisions in-house while outsourcing the financial discipline — monthly packages, reserve tracking, AR management, and audit support.
Request an accounting proposalTransitioning communities
Moving from one management firm to another — or from self-managed to fully managed? Accounting is usually the first thing we stand up. The financial baseline informs everything after.
Talk to us about a transitionFrom the books we keep
Boards notice when the financials show up on time, every time.
"We finally have financials we can take to a bank. The package is on the 10th, every month, without us asking."
Treasurer Self-managed townhome HOA · New Haven, CT
"The reserve one-pager changed how we run our budget meetings. Funding decisions used to be guesses — now they're conversations about real data."
Board President 120-unit condominium · Shoreline CT
Pricing & proposals
Accounting fees depend on your community — but we'll show you the math.
Fees vary by unit count, transaction volume, bank-account structure, and whether the engagement is accounting-only or part of full-service management. We don't publish a flat per-unit rate, but we'll walk through the components openly during the proposal call so there are no surprises.
- No setup fees for new engagements — onboarding costs are absorbed.
- Month-to-month after year one — you're never trapped if the relationship isn't working.
- Bundled audit support — annual CPA coordination is included, not a line item.
- Transparent scope changes — if your community's needs shift, we explain the impact before changing anything.
Frequently asked
What boards want to know before moving the books.
Can we hire CPE for accounting only — not full management?
Yes. Accounting-only is a common engagement for boards that prefer to manage operations themselves but want professional financial reporting, reserve tracking, and audit support. The scope is defined up front and the financial package runs on the same monthly schedule as our fully managed communities.
What software do you use?
We currently run on CINC and are migrating to Cinc Sync in 2026. Both are purpose-built for community-association accounting, with integrated banking, AR aging, and owner-portal access. Owners pay common charges, see statements, and access community documents through the portal regardless of which platform you're on.
Will our community keep its existing bank?
Often — yes. We work with established community-banking partners and can keep existing relationships intact when they're working well. If your operating or reserve accounts could be earning more, we'll show you the comparison; the decision stays with the board.
How does the reserve tracking actually work?
Your reserve study (commissioned independently) lives in our system. Each month, the accounting team imports actual contributions, interest earned, and capital expenses tagged to reserve components. Smart Properties generates a one-page synopsis showing actuals against projections. The board sees it as part of the regular financial package.
Do you handle the audit?
We coordinate with your community's CPA — we don't perform the audit ourselves (which keeps the audit independent). Records are organized digitally, reconciliations are current, and the prep work that historically eats a manager's quarter happens in the background.
How quickly can you transition our books?
Most accounting-only transitions run through day 30. Days 1–7 handle bank-signature changes and prior-period reconciliation; days 8–15 import the prior year's GL and stand up the owner portal; days 16–30 produce the first full financial package on the new schedule. The 87-step checklist runs the relevant portion for accounting-only engagements as well.
For boards considering a change
Your board deserves a partner — not an order-taker.
If your community is ready for clearer communication, stronger planning, and dependable execution, we'd welcome a conversation. No pitch deck — just a candid discussion of where you are and where you'd like to be.