Written by: Luis Teran, Co-founder, CEO, TenantEvaluation
Key Takeaways for Florida HOA Boards
- Florida HOAs face 8–10% average delinquency rates and 49,447 lien filings in 2025, with manual check collection consuming substantial administrative time and creating legal risk under F.S. 720.3085.
- Automation follows a clear four-step process: data audit, workflow configuration, resident onboarding with autopay enrollment, and a parallel billing cycle before cutover.
- Automated systems enforce statutory payment-application order, reduce delinquency from double digits to single digits, and keep bad debt near 1–2% of assessments while eliminating manual ledger errors.
- Direct-to-association fund handling protects float and control, while ACH autopay keeps transaction costs lower and supports Florida compliance better than card-heavy or funds-holding platforms.
- TenantEvaluation is the only platform combining resident onboarding with TEpayments by Zinc, with payments sent directly to the Association’s designated account so TenantEvaluation never holds the funds.
The Real Cost of Chasing Checks in Florida HOAs
Florida led the nation in HOA lien activity in 2025 with 49,447 filings, or 17.4% of all U.S. HOA liens tracked that year. That volume reflects persistent delinquency in many self-managed and smaller associations. Reducing delinquency even a few percentage points can save Florida HOAs significant money each year.
The administrative burden compounds those losses. Collections and accounting tasks consume a large share of a community manager’s working time. Collecting a delinquent account often triggers legal and administrative fees that quickly erode assessment revenue.
Florida Statute 720.3085 raises the stakes by imposing a rigid, multi-step collection path that boards must follow exactly. The statutory collection path is sequential: a 30-day Notice of Late Assessment before attorney’s fees can be added, then a 45-day Notice of Intent to Record a Claim of Lien sent by certified and first-class mail, then lien recording, then a 45-day Notice of Intent to Foreclose, followed by judicial foreclosure. Missing a single step or applying a payment in the wrong order can void the lien and force the association to restart the process.
Florida law mandates that every payment be applied first to accrued interest, second to administrative late fees, third to collection costs and attorney’s fees, and finally to the delinquent assessment principal, regardless of any owner instruction. Manual tracking of this sequence is where many errors occur. A compliant automated system enforces this order on every transaction and preserves lien validity.
Late fees are capped at the greater of $25 or 5% of the delinquent installment under F.S. 720.3085(3), and only simple interest at up to 18% per year is permitted. If delinquency exceeds 15% of units that are 60 or more days past due, GSE condo rules treat the project as non-warrantable, which directly affects owner financing and resale values. These cascading costs make automation a practical necessity rather than a convenience.
Four-Step Automation Framework for Florida HOA Payments
Automation of HOA payment collection follows a four-step process that any Florida board or CAM can complete, even though many HOAs currently spend 60 to 90 days building electronic dues systems from scratch.
- Audit and prepare your data. Export your current owner roster, open balances, and payment history. Standardize emails, confirm every unit has a mailing address, and flag non-standard dues amounts. This cleanup typically takes 1–2 hours and prevents import errors downstream.
- Configure the payment workflow. Connect the association’s designated bank account, then set assessment amounts, late fee rules, and payment-application order to match F.S. 720.3085(3)(b). With TEpayments by Zinc inside TenantEvaluation, each association defines what is collected and at which stage, so the workflow adapts to the property’s process.
- Invite residents and enroll autopay during onboarding. HOAs that build autopay enrollment into the initial portal onboarding flow see higher enrollment rates. Default autopay to ON with a clear explanation of charges and timing. Owners who prefer manual payment can opt out with a deliberate action.
- Run a parallel cycle, then cut over. Run both old and new systems for one full billing cycle. Confirm balances, test automated reminders, and validate statutory payment-application order before retiring manual processes.
The payoff appears in the numbers. No CFPB report in the evidence found delinquency rates dropping from 17% under manual systems to 6% with autopay for HOAs or any other context. Well-managed communities that rely on autopay and clear workflows typically keep bad debt near 1–2% of total assessments.
Comparing PayHOA and Other Payment Platforms
Pricing transparency remains a persistent gap in the HOA software market. The table below compares 2026 published or publicly documented cost structures for platforms most often evaluated by Florida boards and CAMs. All figures reflect publicly available information as of July 2026.
| Platform | Base / Monthly Fee | ACH Fee | Card Fee | Fund Handling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PayHOA | Starts at $49/mo for up to 25 units and scales by unit count | Typically $2–$3 per ACH transaction | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction | Funds routed through platform before association account |
| ManageCasa | Per-unit subscription; pricing requires quote | ACH fees apply; rate varies by plan | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction | Platform intermediary model |
| Square | No monthly fee for basic processing | No native ACH autopay for HOA recurring dues | 2.6% + $0.10 (in-person); 2.9% + $0.30 (online) | Funds held by Square before payout, with a 1–2 business day delay |
| TenantEvaluation / TEpayments by Zinc | Pay-per-application; no upfront subscription fee | ACH fees apply | Configurable per association | Payments go directly to the Association’s designated account; TenantEvaluation never holds the funds |
Fund handling often creates the largest hidden cost. When a platform holds funds before releasing them to the association, the board loses float, visibility, and direct control. ACH transactions usually cost the association far less than credit card transactions once interchange and PCI costs are included. Steering residents toward ACH autopay keeps costs predictable and supports Florida compliance.
Choosing HOA Payment Software for Florida in 2026
Florida associations in 2026 need payment software that meets four specific criteria. The platform must enforce Florida Statute 720.3085 payment-application rules automatically, drive high autopay adoption through onboarding, move funds directly to the association’s account, and connect resident onboarding with dues collection in a single workflow.
TenantEvaluation is the only platform that combines resident onboarding with TEpayments by Zinc, with payments going directly to the Association’s designated account so TenantEvaluation never holds the funds. TenantEvaluation was founded in 2007 and provides resident screening services for community associations nationwide; one client handbook states it has served 50,000 communities, processed over one million applications, and generated over $45 million in revenue for clients. Its pay-per-application model removes upfront subscription costs and allows the platform to generate revenue for the association.
Florida condominiums with 25 or more units must make certain records available online. TenantEvaluation’s connected workflow satisfies those requirements inside the same platform used for screening, approvals, and lease tracking, so boards avoid juggling multiple vendor logins.
Common Board Complaints and How TenantEvaluation Solves Them
Florida HOA boards and CAMs repeat the same operational frustrations across communities. Each concern has a direct answer inside TenantEvaluation.
“Square is free but there’s no autopay for dues.” Square has no native recurring ACH autopay for HOA assessments. Without autopay built into onboarding, enrollment rates stay low and many residents remain on manual payment cycles that drive delinquency. TEpayments by Zinc defaults autopay to ON during resident onboarding, which supports higher enrollment.
“We’re still chasing checks every month.” Many HOA leaders still accept checks as a primary payment method. The practical fix is not banning checks, since Florida boards generally cannot require electronic-only payment without a governing document amendment. The fix is making ACH autopay the easy default so most residents stop writing checks on their own.
“There’s no visibility between application fees and recurring dues.” When payment collection lives in a separate system from resident onboarding, boards see two disconnected ledgers. TEpayments by Zinc collects application fees, deposits, and recurring dues inside the same onboarding workflow CAMs already use. Boards gain traceable records and clear visibility into every dollar from application through occupancy.
“We don’t know if a payment was applied correctly under 720.3085.” Manual ledger entry carries a 1–4% error rate that can create incorrect balances, improper lien filings, and resident disputes. An automated system enforces the statutory payment-application order on every transaction and produces an audit-ready record for each account.
30-Day Migration Checklist for Florida HOAs
The four-step process above provides the framework. The checklist below expands those steps into eight day-by-day tasks that cover the full migration from manual check collection to automated ACH and autopay inside TenantEvaluation.
- Days 1–3: Data preparation. Export owner roster (name, email, unit, mailing address), open balances only (not full payment history), and current governing documents. Remove duplicate entries, standardize email formats, and flag non-standard dues amounts. Retain old spreadsheets in read-only format for at least 12 months.
- Days 4–5: Governing document review. Confirm CC&Rs and bylaws permit electronic payments and authorize late fees. Florida boards cannot require electronic-only payment without a governing document amendment, so keep check acceptance as an ongoing option.
- Days 6–8: Platform configuration. Connect the association’s designated bank account. Configure assessment amounts, due dates, grace periods, late fee rules capped at the greater of $25 or 5% per F.S. 720.3085(3), and payment-application order. Define what TEpayments by Zinc collects and at which stage of onboarding. (Step 1 and Step 2)
- Days 9–10: Internal training. Train CAMs and the board treasurer on the dashboard, delinquency reports, and automated reminder schedule. Confirm role-based access controls and audit trail settings. (Step 2)
- Days 11–14: Resident communication. Send an announcement email and a mailed letter for owners without email on file, since 75–80% of HOA owners may never see association emails sent by the board. Include a one-page setup guide with screenshots, fee disclosures in clear dollar amounts, and a firm deadline for portal activation. (Step 3)
- Days 15–21: Portal invitations and autopay enrollment. Send portal invitations with a single magic-link email per household. Default autopay to ON during the onboarding flow. Many residents activate after the first invitation, so send one reminder email for the remainder. (Step 3)
- Days 22–28: Parallel billing cycle. Run both old and new systems simultaneously for one full billing cycle. Compare balances, confirm automated reminders run on schedule, and validate statutory payment-application order on test transactions. (Step 4)
- Days 29–30: Cutover and review. Confirm clean reconciliation, retire manual check-tracking spreadsheets, and schedule a board review at 60–90 days to assess collection rate, autopay adoption percentage, and average days outstanding. (Step 4)
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to migrate a Florida HOA to automated payments?
Most Florida HOAs complete the migration in 60 to 90 days, as outlined in the four-step process above. Communities with 50–150 homes usually finish data cleanup, platform configuration, resident communication, and the parallel billing cycle with part-time effort. The majority of that time goes into data preparation rather than technical setup. Boards that spread the work across several meetings may take longer, but the parallel billing cycle should always cover at least one full billing period before the legacy process is retired.
Does Florida law require HOAs to accept electronic payments?
Florida Statute 718.111(12), as amended by HB 1021, requires condominium associations with 25 or more units to make certain records available electronically. For HOAs governed by Chapter 720, there is no equivalent statutory mandate that requires electronic payment acceptance. Florida boards generally cannot prohibit lawful tender such as checks or money orders unless the governing documents are amended by the required supermajority vote. The practical approach is to make ACH autopay the easy default while keeping check acceptance available.
What happens if a Florida HOA applies a payment in the wrong order under F.S. 720.3085?
Florida Statute 720.3085(3)(b) requires every payment accepted by an HOA to be applied first to accrued interest, second to administrative late fees, third to collection costs and attorney’s fees, and finally to the delinquent assessment principal, regardless of any restrictive endorsement or owner instruction. Applying payments out of this statutory order can void a subsequently recorded lien, expose the association to legal challenge, and require costly re-processing of account histories. An automated payment system that enforces this order on every transaction removes that manual error risk and produces an audit-ready record for every account.
How does TEpayments by Zinc differ from a standalone payment processor like Square?
TEpayments by Zinc operates as a connected payment workflow integrated directly into the TenantEvaluation resident onboarding platform, not as a standalone payment processor or generic online payment tool. Each association defines what is collected and at which stage of onboarding, so the workflow follows the property’s process. Payments move directly from the applicant to the Association’s designated account, and TenantEvaluation never holds the funds. Square, by contrast, holds funds before releasing them to the association, has no native recurring ACH autopay for HOA dues, and operates outside the resident onboarding workflow, which creates the fragmented visibility between application fees and recurring dues that boards often describe as a core pain point.
What autopay enrollment rate should a Florida HOA expect after migration?
Florida HOAs that integrate autopay enrollment into the initial resident onboarding flow can reach high enrollment rates. When autopay appears as a separate optional step after portal invitation, enrollment usually drops. Workflow placement drives the difference. Defaulting autopay to ON during onboarding, with a clear explanation of charges, timing, and opt-out steps, captures most residents at their highest engagement point. Communities that reach strong autopay enrollment typically see delinquency fall compared to self-managed HOAs that rely on manual collection.
Conclusion: Moving Florida HOAs to One Connected Workflow
Manual check collection costs Florida HOAs revenue, administrative hours, and compliance standing under Florida Statute 720.3085. The four-step migration of data preparation, platform configuration, resident onboarding with autopay enrollment, and a parallel billing cycle before cutover delivers measurable improvements. The lien volume cited earlier, nearly 50,000 filings in a single year, reflects the scale of the collection crisis. Associations that reduce their share of that total are the ones that replace check chasing with automated ACH, statutory-order payment application, and connected onboarding-to-dues workflows.
TenantEvaluation’s integrated approach, which combines onboarding and payments in one workflow with direct-to-account fund movement, addresses every dimension of the collection problem outlined above. TenantEvaluation was founded in 2007 and provides resident screening services for community associations nationwide; one client handbook states it has served 50,000 communities, processed over one million applications, and generated over $45 million in revenue for clients. With its pay-per-application model, the platform generates revenue for the association instead of drawing from it.
TenantEvaluation brings FCRA compliance, biometric identity verification through IDVerify, accelerated approvals through QuickApprove, and a connected payment workflow into one platform for community associations.
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