Run your self-managed HOA competently — in a few volunteer hours a month.
CommonKeel is the practical operating desk for volunteer presidents, treasurers, and secretaries of self-managed HOAs and condo associations (roughly 5–250 units). The exact spreadsheet, checklist, comparison table, or statute citation you need — free, ungated, and vendor-neutral.
11 working files: dues tracker, budget workbook, meeting agenda & minutes, transition checklists, and more. No email required. See what’s inside.
Updated July 3, 2026
Why volunteer boards use CommonKeel
Roughly a third of America’s community associations are self-managed: no management company, just neighbors doing the work around full-time jobs. Almost everything written for that audience is published by software vendors reviewing themselves, management companies arguing you need a management company, or law firms writing for one state.
We write from the volunteer board’s side of the table. Every comparison uses a published, weighted scoring methodology. Every legal statement carries its statute citation and a verify-current-law caveat. Every commercial relationship (there are none active today) is covered by our disclosure policy. Every page shows its update date.
Find what you need
The Complete Guide
How to run a self-managed HOA: finances, dues, reserves, meetings, records, vendors, and when to bring in professionals. Start-to-finish.
Best HOA Software
Nine vendors scored against a transparent weighted rubric built for volunteer boards — with the rubric published before the scores.
Software Pricing, Normalized
Published prices converted to per-unit, per-month figures so you can actually compare — with a verification date on every row.
Free Templates & Spreadsheets
Dues tracker, annual budget workbook, agendas and minutes, vendor scorecards — ungated Excel and Word files that actually work.
Finances & Reserves
Reserve studies for small associations, the real cost of self-managing vs. hiring a manager, and budget fundamentals.
Reserve Calculator
Component-level reserve contribution calculator with a plain-English explanation of every assumption. Free, no signup.
State Requirements
Reserve, records, meeting, and election rules for 12 states — every claim tied to a statute citation with a last-verified date.
Start Here
Just joined the board? A condensed first-90-days path: what to get, what to verify, what can wait.
Professional Services
When a job needs a CPA, attorney, or reserve specialist. Directory in development — here’s what’s coming.
How we earn your trust
- Published methodology. Comparison criteria and weights are defined before any product is scored. Read the rubric.
- Honest labeling. Our comparisons are based on vendor documentation and public sources — we say so plainly and never claim hands-on testing we haven’t done. Editorial standards.
- Full disclosure. As of July 3, 2026 we have no active paid relationships with any vendor. If that changes, it will be disclosed on every affected page. Disclosure policy.
- Primary sources. State-law pages cite statutes directly, with access dates, and tell you to verify current law. What we are not.