Setting up your community for the first time

When you create a brand-new community, a guided setup walks you through four short steps. It takes about five minutes, and the two middle steps are skippable — you can come back to them any time.

Step 1 — Community info

The basics: your community's name, address, number of units, and how it is managed (self-managed or professionally managed). This step also asks about your community's legal setup in Georgia, including whether your association has opted into the Georgia Property Owners' Association Act — many communities have not, and that choice affects which statutory rules apply to things like late fees and liens. If you are not sure, your declaration or your association attorney can tell you; you can update the answer later in Settings. This is general information, not legal advice — consult an attorney for your specific situation.

Step 2 — Documents (skippable)

Upload your governing documents — the declaration (CC&Rs), bylaws, and any policies. This is worth doing early: the AI Assistant reads these documents to answer questions accurately, so the sooner they are in, the more useful it becomes. If you don't have the files handy, select Skip for now.

Step 3 — Dues (skippable)

Record your regular assessment: how much, and how often. Honest note: this creates the record only — nobody gets billed and no money moves. Automated invoicing and online payments are arriving with the payments launch and will bill from these records when they do.

Step 4 — Invite members

Add your fellow board members by email so you are not running the community alone. Each person receives a branded invitation email with a link to set up their account. You can invite residents now too, or wait until things are configured the way you want.

After setup

You land on the board dashboard. Two good next stops: Settings, to fine-tune branding, notifications, and AI behavior; and Members → Bulk Import, to load your full resident roster from a spreadsheet. The Setting up work you skipped is always waiting under Documents and Financials — nothing is lost by skipping.