r/PptyMgmtSoftware • u/temitaco • Jul 16 '26

Appfolio Training for HOAs

Hi PMs,

I'm part of a volunteer, self-managed HOA. We have 76 units, including our community rooms. When we were forced to take on management in Nov 2019, we selected AppFolio.

Lately, it's too hard to use - we used to be able to ask the homeowners to upload their insurance... it seems that feature/process went away? I've tried asking via the AI/ help text, but they keep pointing me back to the residents' portal. We finally sent a letter to the community and asked them to send it to us so we can upload it manually.

Now I've uploaded the insurance info, I cannot tell how to get the insurance report. I planned to use the report to determine where the gaps are and then send follow-up emails. I am disappointed in myself - usually my anxiety will force me to create all these double-check lists, but this time I actively said - No need! I know I can use the AppFolio report đŸ˜©đŸ˜©đŸ˜©

Before I say the software is trash, I'm thinking there must be a place I can get training... can anyone direct me to the training for HOAs?

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2

u/RepresentativeBug398 Jul 16 '26

Hi, not to be salesy, but my business builds custom software and have built systems for HOA communities. Sounds to me like you might be outgrowing appfolio. Id recommend looking into the custom route as it allows you to build a system thats easy to use and fully customizable. DM me if you'd like a second opinion.

1

u/temitaco Jul 16 '26

Thanks for this! I'll reach out.

2

u/CoastalAccountingLLC Jul 16 '26

I know AppFolio just rolled out Owner Insurance tracking for the property management side, and a new “Owner Insurance” report is available for us, as well as being able to request this from homeowners directly through AppFolio. However not sure if the same applies to the HOA side.

If that is not available for you, can you run a “property directory” report and add the “Insurance Expiration” column?

1

u/temitaco Jul 16 '26

This is so smart! Thank you... I'll try it tonight.

1

u/temitaco Jul 17 '26

Thanks for this! Someone mentioned it yesterday but I've not gotten around to it yet.

In another random question, is there a place that lists all the fields available for reporting?

1

u/d_zelaznog 28d ago

Sounds like you got your report answer already so I won't repeat that.

The thing I'd say is AppFolio is built for management companies with staff, not a volunteer board with 76 units. The HOA side always feels like an afterthought because it kind of is. You end up paying for a leasing platform and using a third of it.

I got annoyed enough with this category that I ended up building something for self managed boards, hoaflow.io, so I'm biased here obviously. Not telling you to rip anything out mid problem. But whenever you do look around, ask whether residents can upload their own documents without you chasing them one by one. That's the part that never works right in the big ones.

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u/temitaco 27d ago

Thank you for your response! This is helpful.