You Manage The Association, We'll Handle The HOA MRI Accounting Services.
MRI was built for commercial leases and CAM recovery, not for association dues and reserve funds. When a management company puts an HOA on the same MRI instance it runs for its commercial portfolio, the association inherits billing logic and a chart of accounts built for tenants and rent rolls, not owners and restricted reserves.
Homeowner Associations Accounting Inside MRI
What Changes When You Run This Vertical On This Platform
Where it breaks
Reserve funds have no native restriction in MRI
MRI's billing module is charge-code based, built to recover CAM and post rent. Association dues and special assessments get set up as charge codes inside that same structure, and there is no native fund class that marks reserve cash as restricted. When operating comes up short, the fastest fix is a journal entry pulling cash from the reserve account, coded as a transfer rather than a loan. Nothing in MRI stops that entry or flags it. It sits quietly in the general ledger until a board member or auditor pulls the reserve fund's cash balance and it does not match the reserve study.
How REA handles it
We rebuild fund separation inside MRI's structure
We set the GL up so reserve cash sits in its own fund with its own balance sheet, separate from operating, using MRI's project or job-cost segmentation rather than relying on a single charge code to keep them apart. Any transfer between funds gets booked as an interfund loan with a repayment schedule, not a one-line journal entry. Special assessments get their own charge code, mapped to a capital contribution account instead of ordinary income. Every reconciliation ties the reserve fund's GL balance back to the reserve study line by line, so a gap between the two surfaces before the audit does.
What we check in your MRI instance
- Reserve fund coded separately from operating cash
- Interfund transfers booked as loans, not transfers
- Special assessment charge codes mapped to equity
- Assessment billing module reconciled to GL postings
- Chart of accounts checked against the reserve study
- Delinquent owner aging tracked by unit, not lease
The Full Scope of the Engagement
Two Pages Carry the Detail
This page covers what is specific to running Homeowner Associations books in MRI. The complete service scope, process, and pricing conversation live on the two pages below.
The vertical
Homeowner Associations Accounting
Full scope, monthly process, property types, FAQs and the team on the account.
See the Homeowner Associations pageThe platform
MRI Bookkeeping
What MRI does well, where its accounting breaks, and how REA works inside your own instance.
See the MRI page- 01
Trust Accounting
Tenant, owner, and security deposit money kept separate, tied out, and ready for a state audit at any time.
- 02
Bank Reconciliation Services
Every operating, trust, and escrow account reconciled on a fixed schedule, with the variances chased down rather than carried forward.
- 03
Accounts Payable & Receivable
Vendor invoices coded and paid, tenant receipts applied, management fees taken, and owner distributions cut on time.
- 04
Bookkeeping Cleanup & Catch-Up
Months or years of unreconciled books diagnosed, corrected, and brought current so the numbers you report are numbers you trust.
- 05
CAM Reconciliation
Common area maintenance pools built from the lease terms, reconciled against actuals, and billed or credited with a defensible tenant statement.
Experts In All Property Types
Residential, commercial and everything in between. The asset class changes what the books have to prove, and our teams are staffed accordingly.
- Single-Family
- Multifamily
- Student Housing
- Affordable Housing
- Community Associations
- CommercialSee the page
Check Out What Our Clients Have To Say About Us
Property Managers, Investors & Owner Operators
Onboarding and responsiveness
Real Estate Accounting truly is a special company. They helped as if they were a part of our company, with the concern and caution as an employee would have, but even more. They quickly ascertained our needs and developed an effective team to help with our accounting needs. They were extremely responsive and always accurate. I would recommend their services to anyone who needs help with their property management accounting.
Smaller portfolio, still looked after
Adam the owner took a personal interest in my situation and was willing to work with me to see if his company was a good fit. I may be too small for them but I would highly recommend them to anyone considering a bookkeeper for their property management business.
Came from a bookkeeper who did not know real estate
Following a series of erroneous financials from my previous bookkeeper, who lacked expertise in real estate, it's been truly remarkable to receive not only accurate financials on a consistent basis but also proactive advice without prompting. The REA team is a game-changer in real estate accounting!
230+
Property Accountants
30M+
Commercial Sq. Ft.
Up to 50%
Saved vs In-House
Every month
On-Time Close
Running Homeowner Associations On Something Else?
Same Vertical, Different Platform
- AppFolioHomeowner Associations bookkeeping in AppFolio
- BuildiumHomeowner Associations bookkeeping in Buildium
- EntrataHomeowner Associations bookkeeping in Entrata
- QuickBooksHomeowner Associations bookkeeping in QuickBooks
- Rent ManagerHomeowner Associations bookkeeping in Rent Manager
- YardiHomeowner Associations bookkeeping in Yardi
- RealPageHomeowner Associations bookkeeping in RealPage
Frequently Asked Questions
Our management company runs commercial buildings on MRI. Can our HOA go on the same instance?
Yes, but the setup needs to be built for it, not inherited from the commercial side. MRI's default billing logic is built around leases and CAM recovery, so an association placed on that structure without changes will end up with owner charges and reserve cash running through the same fund logic as tenant billing. We set up a separate chart of accounts and fund structure for the association before any dues get billed through it.
How do you keep our reserve fund from getting drained to cover operating shortfalls in MRI?
We set the reserve fund up as its own segment in the GL with its own balance sheet, so it does not sit as one line inside a combined cash account. If operating needs to borrow from reserves, the entry is booked as an interfund loan with a repayment schedule, not a transfer. That loan stays visible on every financial statement until it is repaid, so the board sees it and the reserve study still reconciles to the actual balance.
Does MRI handle special assessments correctly, or do we need separate software?
MRI can handle special assessments correctly, but not out of the box. Its billing module is built around recurring charge codes for rent and CAM, and a special assessment set up the same way posts as ordinary income instead of a capital contribution. We set up a distinct charge code and GL mapping for special assessments before the first one gets billed, so it lands in members' equity where it belongs and does not inflate the operating income statement.
Ready for Accurate Homeowner Associations Books in MRI?
Schedule a call with our team to talk through your MRI instance, what it is doing to your homeowner associations financials, and what REA would take on.