Why Every HOA Should Run This One Spreadsheet Before a Capital Project

The HOA capital project spreadsheet we ask boards to build before every vote is not fancy. It is a 24-month monthly cash flow projection across three funding scenarios. Boards who build it never argue about the decision. Boards who skip it argue for months and often make the wrong choice.

Here is what the spreadsheet contains and why it works.

The Three Scenarios

Column A: no action. The board defers the project and hopes reserves catch up. This scenario exists to make its own case, usually a bad one.

Column B: special assessment. One-time collection over 6 to 12 months. Enter the per-unit amount and the share you expect to collect on time.

Column C: loan. 15-year amortized payment. Add it to monthly dues starting month one.

The Rows That Matter

Row 1: Starting Operating Cash

Today's balance. Not the reserve balance. The operating account, which is what pays contractors on Monday morning.

Row 2: Monthly Dues Collected

Current dues times unit count times expected collection rate. Pull the rate from your last 24 months of financials rather than guessing.

Row 3: Operating Expenses

Landscaping, management, utilities, insurance, routine repairs. Twelve line items in most associations.

Row 4: Assessment or Loan Cash Inflow

Column B fills months 1-12 with expected assessment collection. Column C shows loan proceeds hitting in month 3 (typical closing timeline).

Row 5: Project Payments Out

Contractor draws. Usually 30 percent at start, 40 percent at milestone, 30 percent at completion. Match your project schedule.

Row 6: Ending Operating Cash

Row 1 plus rows 2 and 4 minus rows 3 and 5. This is the number that tells the truth.

Row 7: Reserve Balance

Starting reserve minus project draws paid from reserves. Some projects deplete reserves entirely. Some leave a cushion.

Why the Spreadsheet Ends Arguments

Directors argue about opinions. They stop arguing when they see negative numbers in row 6.

Column A almost always shows a shortfall by month 8. Row 6 dips below zero. Association cannot make payroll. No action becomes a math problem, not a policy debate.

Column B shows a big collection in months 1-6, then a hardship-driven shortfall in months 9-15. Owners who cannot pay on time pull the collection rate down. Row 6 dips.

Column C stays flat. Loan proceeds arrive in month 3. Monthly payment starts month 4. Row 6 breathes.

The Assumptions Boards Fight About

Contingency on the Project Cost

Size the project with a contingency of roughly 20 percent on top of the contractor's number. Directors who have not run a big project want to use the bid as the cost. The spreadsheet resolves the argument: run both. If the decision changes with the contingency and not without it, the assumption matters. If it does not change, stop arguing.

Interest Rate, and a Reserve Cushion

Use the rate on a current term sheet, or the default in our HOA loan calculator. Then keep 10 to 20 percent extra in reserves so the loan payment holds through a hard year. Rates and costs move; the projection needs to survive a bad year, not only an average one.

Collection Rate on Regular Dues

Pull your last 24 months of financials. Do not guess. Boards tend to guess high.

How Long This Takes

Two hours for a board treasurer with basic Excel skills. Three hours if the last reserve study is more than four years old and someone has to reconcile line items. Faster than three months of arguing.

What We Tell Boards

We say the same thing to every board. If you cannot build the 24-month projection, you cannot vote the project. Not because you lack authority. Because you lack information.

Directors owe owners the analysis. Owners owe themselves the analysis. Anyone signing a $3 million commitment without a monthly cash flow projection is signing blind.

We Will Build It With You

Our free capital planning tool runs the gap and the cost of each funding route per unit per month in your browser, with nothing uploaded and nothing stored. Or book a free consultation and we walk your treasurer through the projection live; once we are working together, the AI-enabled client portal is where your board completes the intake form and uploads its documents; our AI pulls the key figures and our team vets them. There is no upfront cost, and we are paid at closing. You keep the spreadsheet whether you take a loan or not.