How Dues Collection Works (Board Guide)

Once your HOA has connected a bank account via Stripe, Fourplex can automatically collect dues from members who enroll in autopay. This article explains how to configure collection, what happens when payments succeed or fail, and how to monitor coverage across your units.

The board's dues management surface is the Dues tab in the dashboard (previously called "Billing"). It is organised into four sections described below. Stripe payouts and payment disputes live under Finances, because those lists can include dues, utilities, and one-time assessments.

What's in the Dues tab

The Dues tab is divided into four sections you can switch between using the navigation at the top of the page:

• Dues & late fees — the monthly payment ledger showing each unit's dues status for the year, along with per-unit recurring dues settings and the option to record a manual payment.
• Transactions — a chronological list of every dues and assessment payment processed through Stripe, with filtering by date range.
• Assessments — one-time charges (special assessments) separate from recurring monthly dues. Create and track assessment charges here.
• Settings — dues schedule, Stripe payout timing, reminders, and payment fee policy.

Payout history and payment disputes are on Finances → Payouts and Finances → Disputes. Expand a payout to see every line item behind it — each month of dues and each one-time assessment, grouped by unit — along with the payout total. If Stripe setup is complete but no members have paid yet, Payouts shows a "No payouts yet" state until Stripe creates the first payout.

Setting up dues collection

Your HOA's business website

Stripe requires every business to provide a public URL. During dues setup you'll see three options:

1. I have a website — paste your URL.
2. I have a social media page — Facebook group, Nextdoor, etc. Stripe accepts these.
3. Use the site we generated for you (default) — we publish a public page at <your-hoa>.hoasite.org with the info Stripe needs. No setup on your end.

See Your HOA's public website for details on what's on the generated page and how it stays private from search engines.

Steps

Before members can enroll in autopay, the board must:

1. Complete Stripe Connect setup (go to Dues → Settings in the dashboard and follow the "Connect your bank account" steps).

2. Configure the monthly dues amount in Dues → Settings. You can set a default amount for all units and set a unit dues amount for specific units.

3. Choose the Autopay date, from the 1st to the 28th. This is the bill's due date and the day autopay withdraws the full dues amount for enrolled members, at 8:00 a.m. in your community's time zone. Every dues bill is issued and emailed 14 days earlier. For a date on or after the 15th, that is in the same month (the 15th issues bills on the 1st; the 20th issues them on the 6th). For a date from the 1st to the 14th, the bill is issued late in the previous month: autopay on the 1st issues November's bill on October 18. There is still one bill per month. Residents paying manually can pay any time from when the bill is issued until the due date. Card payments usually clear the same day; bank (ACH) payments take 4 to 7 business days on average and show as Processing until they clear. The default is the 15th.

   Before you save, the settings screen previews when the first affected bill posts and when it is due. After you save, you'll see a confirmation, and a schedule that starts later shows a line such as "Starts with your November bill: posts Oct 18, due Nov 1". Moving the date earlier can put two bills close together in the month you switch (for example, moving from the 28th to the 1st: October's bill is due October 28 and November's bill posts October 18, due November 1); the preview shows both dates. If a bill posts late, for example because the schedule was saved late, payments setup wasn't finished, or a temporary problem with the payment processor stopped it from posting on its day, only that bill's due date moves so residents still get 14 days. Later months keep the date you chose. Existing schedules don't change until you edit them.

4. Choose the first billing month. It must be the current month or a later one. To collect dues for earlier months, create a one-time assessment instead (see Back dues for months before billing started below).

Once these steps are complete, members will see an option to set up autopay in their portal.

Monitoring autopay coverage

Go to Dues → Dues & late fees in the dashboard. The dues ledger shows every unit's payment status by month. Use this view to quickly identify units that are overdue or have a failed payment requiring follow-up.

Each month cell shows one status:

• Issued — the bill was sent and no payment has started yet.
• Pending — the month is expected but no bill has been issued yet.
• Processing — a payment was submitted and has not settled yet.
• Paid — the payment settled.
• Overdue — the due date passed with no payment.
• Failed — a payment attempt did not go through.

Only paid and processing months count toward the collection rate. An issued bill counts once a payment starts.

Select a paid month's cell to view its details. The Settled row shows the day, month and year the payment settled in your HOA's timezone. This can differ from the month the dues cover: September dues paid on October 1 show Day 1 of Oct 2026, while the heading and ledger column still say September. This date display does not change the amount paid or when dues are collected.

Below the ledger, the Open balances card summarizes every unit that owes money, largest balance first. Each unit's balance combines its overdue and failed monthly dues with any unpaid one-time assessments, so the amount reflects everything that unit owes. The note under each unit breaks this down (for example, "3 mos behind … +1 assessment"). Select a unit to open its payment details.

Due-today water or trash charges already covered by service autopay are not debt, so they do not appear in Open balances. The Dues history view instead shows an Autopay scheduled summary. Future assessment-backed charges are also excluded from debt and appear in a separate Upcoming charges summary. If a utility payment fails or needs action, it returns to the open balance for manual follow-up.

On Dues → Settings, the setup table is also unit-based. If a unit has multiple owners, Fourplex shows them together on one row, and Send reminder emails every owner on that unit.

What happens when a payment fails

Stripe automatically retries failed payments on a smart-retry schedule. Members receive an email after each failed attempt with the next retry date.

If all retries are exhausted, the member receives a final failure notice and the payment status in your dues ledger shows as Failed — action required. Board members receive a daily digest email summarizing all final failures across the organization, so you know which units need direct outreach.

You can opt out of this digest in Settings → Notifications.

After a failed payment, the member can pay the same bill again from their portal. The month shows as Processing while a bank payment clears and as Paid once the payment succeeds, at which point the member gets a receipt. If the new payment is also declined, the month stays Failed.

Manual collection for non-autopay units

Members who do not set up autopay can still pay manually through their portal (or you can record a check, cash, or other payment on their behalf via Dues → Dues & late fees → Record Manual Payment). The dues ledger distinguishes between autopay-configured units and those still on manual collection.

Board members' own dues

Board members view and pay their own unit dues in the member portal (accessible from the account menu), not from the board Dues tab. The board tab is for managing dues across the entire HOA.

Common questions

What processing fees are charged?

A processing fee is added to each payment: 3.5% + $0.50 for cards, and 1.2% (capped at $50.00) for ACH bank transfers. By default, this fee is passed through to the member; your HOA can choose to absorb it instead under Dues → Settings. The fee appears as a separate line item on the member's receipt.

Can the board change the dues amount after autopay is set up?

Yes. Updating the dues amount in Dues → Settings applies the new amount to bills that have not been issued yet. A bill that is already issued keeps its amount, and no credit or extra charge line is added to make up the difference.

Does autopay collect prorated dues when a member enrolls mid-cycle?

No. Autopay does not make an immediate partial charge or create a stub invoice during setup. The member's first autopay withdrawal happens on the next HOA due date and collects the full dues amount.

What if a unit has a different dues amount than the default?

Set a unit dues amount in Dues → Settings → Units. That unit is charged its own amount; all others are charged the default. Like the default, a unit dues amount applies only to bills not yet issued.

How does autopay change if the board updates the autopay date?

A new autopay date applies to bills that have not been issued yet. Each issued bill keeps the autopay date shown on it. Members do not have individual charge-day settings.

Why is the bill issued 14 days before autopay?

So residents see the exact bill before any money leaves their account. Each resident gets an email when the bill is issued. If autopay is already on, that email shows the frozen processing fee, the total, and the autopay date. If autopay is off, it shows the principal only and a reminder to set up autopay. Turning autopay on after the bill is posted does not collect that bill. The resident pays it manually, and autopay starts on the next bill. When they pay it online, the processing fee for the card or bank account they choose is added at checkout and shown before they confirm. Once a payment has been attempted, that fee stays the same on that bill if they need to try again. Residents have 14 days to review the bill, ask a question, or pay another way.

What happens to dues for a unit nobody has joined yet?

Each month's bill is recorded for the unit on its posting day but not sent, because there is no one to bill yet. On the dues ledger the month shows Waiting for owner with its amount. It is not counted as overdue or in the open balance, and no late fee can be added. Resend the unit's invite from Members. When an owner or co-owner joins, every held month posts to them right away, oldest first, and each is due 14 days after it posts. They get the usual bill email for each month and pay them from Pay Bills. Autopay never collects these back bills; it starts with the next bill after they turn it on.

Back dues for months before billing started

Dues setup does not accept a first billing month in the past. If your HOA needs to collect dues for earlier months, go to Dues → Assessments and create a one-time assessment for the amount owed. Assessments have a due date you choose and are paid manually; they never use autopay. If your HOA already has a past first billing month saved, you can still change the amount or autopay date without changing it.

What is a dispute and what do I need to do?

A dispute (also called a chargeback) happens when a member contests a payment with their bank. Stripe manages the dispute process. You can see all open disputes in Finances → Disputes. If a dispute requires your input, Stripe will prompt you through the same tab.

HOA-local collection timing

For HOA-local billing, Fourplex issues each dues bill 14 days before your autopay date and starts authorized autopay at 8am in the HOA’s timezone on the autopay date, after required notice. If a bill is issued late, its autopay date moves later so residents still get the full 14 days. The issued bill keeps its amount, and when autopay was already on, its processing fee and total. Changing the payment method or fee settings later does not reprice that bill. Turning autopay on after the bill is posted does not collect it. A scheduled bank payment can be deferred to satisfy advance notice without a late-fee penalty caused by that delay. Processing means payment has started; Paid follows confirmed settlement. Existing legacy bills retain their original invoices and payment schedules.

If your payments setup isn't finished when a dues bill is due to post, Fourplex holds that month instead of sending it. No bill, payment or resident bill notice is created. The Dues ledger and the resident portal show the month as Held ("On hold until payments setup is finished"). It isn't counted as owed or overdue, and late fees can't be added to it. When setup is finished, the bill posts automatically and residents get a full 14 days to pay from that day. Board members see a banner until then, and we email the board before the first bill and weekly while bills are held.

Preparing an HOA-local dues invoice does not charge the resident. Once its disclosed collection time arrives and the required authorization and notice are satisfied, Fourplex submits payment for that same issued bill. A payment already processing or paid prevents another automatic collection; a payment that needs resident action remains available for follow-up.

When Stripe accepts an HOA-local dues bank debit, its payment appears as Processing while the bank outcome is pending. Fourplex does not treat a ready billing clock as settlement or send a payment receipt before confirmed success. A processing payment prevents a second automatic collection for that issued bill.

Published processing rates can differ for an HOA with agreed terms or an absorption policy. Review the fee shown before confirming; finalized invoices and past receipts retain their original terms. See processing fees.