Use the Wave app for simple invoicing
Perfect record-keeping website and mobile app for self-managed condo associations and small businessowners
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While a considerable amount of people were worried about getting coronavirus, I think I subconsciously knew I needed a distraction — something to keep me from thinking about the 14 U.S. coronavirus cases between January 21 and February 23, 2020. As luck would have it, my condo association’s president was ready to pass the torch on being a condo board member and was seriously considering selling her unit.
After multiple conversations, she kept encouraging me to run and be the condo board president in March 2020. I didn’t know much about condo associations (COAs) or homeowners associations (HOAs) and hadn’t even started writing for Go4Rent Magazine yet, so my only point of reference for property management experience was long conversations with my then-real estate attorney and a few casual conversations with the Realtor who represented my condo purchase.
Both of them had considerable knowledge about COAs, and one was a landlord. I also revisited conversations I’d had over the years with real estate attorneys via CBS Chicago’s “Let’s Get Back to Work” series.
I agreed to the nomination and was all set to have a helping hand to learn the basics. But then a few things happened that were unexpected. Our property manager at the time didn’t work out, and the prior president’s unit sold almost immediately. So now the new board was left to find a new invoicing system, keep records of owed amounts and organize upcoming assessment alerts. I needed to find invoice software fast — because Google Sheets (my go-to for daily payments) just wasn’t going to be enough to keep track of all activity for 20+ unit owners.
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Although one of my Toastmasters members (I was the president of a community group at the same time) was very excited about QuickBooks, I wanted to start with an invoicing system that was free to test out before paying anything. After spending multiple hours looking at overly complicated accounting software, I landed on the Wave app and felt like the Chicago Bulls won a seventh championship!
The Wave app was EXACTLY what I was looking for.
For the next two years, the Wave app was my go-to. It’s easy to use, along with sending and receiving monthly assessment invoices, keeping a record of onetime bills, and requesting funds from contractors (if need be). It also served as a digital address book so I could update mailing addresses, phone numbers and emails as needed.
Although Wave app users can choose to receive payments electronically via PayPal or credit cards, there’s also the invoice-only option so condo boards can choose another platform (ex. Zelle). And setting up recurring invoices was a game-changer because I could just wait until the first of the month for auto-scheduled emails to be released on each specified day. About the only time I needed to log in again was to update footer reminders if a condo board meeting was coming up or someone owed back assessments.
Recommended Read: “Before you buy the condo, contemplate the assessments ~ When the condo assessments are more than your mortgage”
Even after I was no longer on the board in the spring of 2022 (and opted out of rejoining the past two years), I still made a point of recommending the Wave app to our newest condo board treasurer. You don’t have to be a certified accountant or a tech whiz to use the software, and it’s reliable and professional.
Interested in testing out Wave?
Click here for software info for small businesses. Wave will be helpful for accounting needs come tax season too.
While this post would be considered an advertorial and I do make a profit if you join the app via my referral links, I’d already spent four years using and recommending Wave. I don’t recommend ANYTHING that I wouldn’t buy nor use myself. If you have questions about using the Wave app, leave a comment or contact me here.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the monthly posts on the third Friday.
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