How to use your free board templates.
Plain, no-nonsense spreadsheets for self-managed and volunteer boards who want to track the money side themselves — written so a non-accountant treasurer can actually use them. Open any .xlsx in Excel (just open it) or Google Sheets (File → Import → Upload). The shaded columns calculate themselves — variance, balances, remaining life, the straight-line set-aside, and COI days-to-expiry with an EXPIRED / RENEW SOON / OK flag.
When you outgrow spreadsheets, we recommend PayHOA for dues/payments and QuickBooks for the books. BoardPath handles the governance side — what your documents require — alongside whatever you use for the money. (BoardPath never touches your bank account.)
Five free workbooks.
Download what you need — each is a branded, formula-driven Excel workbook with a worked example row to delete.
Two ideas that matter more than the spreadsheets.
1. Operating money vs. reserve money — keep them separate.
Your HOA has two pots of money, and most self-managed boards’ #1 mistake is mixing them. The operating fund is day-to-day money — landscaping, utilities, insurance, small repairs — replenished by regular dues. The reserve fund is savings for big, predictable replacements — roofs, roads, pool equipment — usually required to be kept separate. Don’t “borrow” from it to cover operating shortfalls without the right approvals. Every template here has a Fund column so you always know which pot a number belongs to.
2. Two sets of eyes on every dollar.
Have a second board member review and approve payments. It protects the volunteers and prevents the worst case — boards really have watched a treasurer quietly drain the account. Note who approved each expense; there’s a column for it.
What’s in the pack, and how to use each one.
Annual Budget — Operating vs. Reserve
Download .xlsx ↓What it’s for: Plan the year’s income and spending, with operating and reserve money kept apart.
Columns: Category · Fund (Operating/Reserve) · Annual Budget · YTD Actual · Variance (auto) · Notes
How to use it: List every income and expense category, mark its fund, and put your planned amount in Annual Budget. Each month, update YTD Actual. If a category’s Variance goes negative (overspending), that’s your early warning — handle it before it becomes a special assessment. A TOTAL row sums the money columns automatically.
Expense Tracker
Download .xlsx ↓What it’s for: A running log of every payment out — so you can reconcile the bank and answer “what did we spend on X?”
Columns: Date · Payee / Vendor · Category · Fund · Amount · Payment Method · Check / Ref # · Approved By · Notes
How to use it: One row per payment. Always fill in Approved By (your two-sets-of-eyes rule). At month’s end, the total here should match what left your bank account.
Dues / Payment Ledger
Download .xlsx ↓What it’s for: Track assessments owed and paid, and see who’s behind (delinquent).
Columns: Unit / Address · Owner Name · Amount Due · Due Date · Amount Paid · Date Paid · Method · Balance (auto) · Notes
How to use it: One row per unit per billing period. A positive Balance means they still owe — your starting point for the collections steps your documents and state law allow (reminder → late fee → lien).
Vendor & Insurance (COI) Tracker
Download .xlsx ↓What it’s for: Track who you hire and — critically — whether their insurance certificate (COI) is current.
Columns: Vendor Name · Service · Contact · Phone / Email · Contract Start · Contract End · COI On File (Y/N) · COI Expiration · Days to Expiry (auto) · Status (auto) · Notes
How to use it: One row per vendor. Fill the COI Expiration date and the Status column flags EXPIRED / RENEW SOON / OK by itself — so a vendor never quietly keeps working with lapsed insurance. (COI = Certificate of Insurance, proof a vendor carries coverage.)
Reserve Component Schedule
Download .xlsx ↓What it’s for: List the major things you’ll eventually replace, how long they last, and how funded you are — the heart of reserve planning.
Columns: Component · Placed-in-Service Year · Useful Life (yrs) · Remaining Life (yrs, auto) · Current Replacement Cost · Straight-Line Set-Aside (auto) · % Funded · Notes
How to use it: List each major component with its placed-in-service year, useful life, and today’s replacement cost. Remaining Life and the Straight-Line Set-Aside (cost spread evenly across its useful life) calculate themselves. A professional reserve study does this rigorously — this template helps you understand and track it between studies.
The handful of rules worth following.
- Keep operating and reserve separate — use the Fund column, ideally separate bank accounts.
- Two sets of eyes on every payment (fill in Approved By).
- Use a real payment rail for dues — Zelle or PayHOA, not a personal Venmo. Free, traceable, reconciles cleanly.
- Keep it handoff-ready — the next treasurer should be able to open these and understand them cold.
- Back it up in shared cloud storage your whole board can reach.
Quick glossary
Operating fund — day-to-day money. Reserve fund — savings for major replacements. Assessment / dues — what owners pay the HOA. Special assessment — a one-time extra charge for an unbudgeted cost. Delinquency — unpaid dues. Lien — a legal claim on a unit for unpaid dues. COI — Certificate of Insurance. Reserve study — a professional plan for funding major replacements. Variance — the gap between budgeted and actual. Reconcile — confirm your records match the bank.
The money side is yours. The governance side is ours.
These templates handle the dollars. When the question is what your community is actually allowedto do — assessments, collections, votes, notice — BoardPath answers it cited to your own CC&Rs, bylaws, and state law. It’s the governance platform for self-managing boards.
Templates are a starting point and reflect common HOA/condo practice — not financial, tax, or legal advice. For taxes (your HOA likely files an 1120-H) and audits, use a CPA.