Board Member Onboarding Guide

Welcome to the LotWize Board Portal! This guide walks you through your first month as a board member, from initial login to full community management.

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Day 1: Get Oriented and Invite Members

Morning: Explore the Portal

Log in at /board/ and take a 15-minute tour. Click through each section in the sidebar:

• Dashboard — Your command center. See recent activity, upcoming meetings, delinquencies, and open escalations at a glance.
• Management — Amenities, architectural requests, documents, escalations, members, and properties.
• Communications — Messages, broadcasts, and your public community website.
• Finances — Budget, expenses, bank connections, and vendor records.
• Meetings & Governance — Meetings, voting, and violations.
• AI Features — Assistant and search across all community data.

Your first action: Update your profile. Add a photo, confirm your phone number, and set your notification preferences so you do not miss anything.

Afternoon: Invite Homeowners

Go to Members and click "Bulk Invite." Upload a CSV with names, unit numbers, and email addresses, or send invites one by one. Every invited resident gets a welcome email with login instructions.

Pro tip: Send a welcome Messages/Broadcasts the same day. Say hello, introduce the new portal, and tell residents what they can do first (pay dues, book amenities, update their profile).

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Day 2: Set Up Finances and Connect Your Bank

Morning: Link Your Bank Account

Go to Finances and connect your community's operating account. Transactions sync automatically, so your books stay current without manual entry. If you have a reserve account, link that too.

Afternoon: Build Your Budget

Create budget categories that match your governing documents:

• Operating: Landscaping, Utilities, Insurance, Management Fees
• Reserve: Roof Replacement, HVAC, Parking Lot Resurfacing

Set annual amounts for each. The system will track spending against budget in real time.

Your first action: Add your top 5 vendors (landscaper, pool company, insurance broker, etc.) with contact info and contract dates.

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Week 1: Full Governance Setup

Day 3–4: Violations Framework

Go to Violations and configure your violation types:

• Parking violations
• Noise complaints
• Trash/recycling issues
• Architectural non-compliance
• Pet violations

For each type, set:

• Description of the rule
• Fine amount (if applicable)
• Cure period (how many days to fix it)
• Whether a hearing is required

Why this matters: Consistent enforcement protects the board from legal challenges. The system logs every action with timestamps.

Day 5: Meeting Structure

Set up your recurring meetings in Meetings:

• Monthly board meetings (e.g., first Tuesday, 7:00 PM)
• Annual homeowner meeting (set the date now, even if it is months away)
• Committee meetings (architecture, landscaping, social)

For each meeting, create a template agenda. Standard items: call to order, approval of last minutes, financial report, old business, new business, resident forum, adjournment.

Day 6–7: Voting and Decisions

Configure Voting for upcoming decisions:

• Board elections (annual)
• Budget ratification (annual)
• Bylaws amendments (as needed)
• Special assessments (as needed)

Set eligibility rules: who can vote (owners only? weighted by unit?), proxy rules, and quorum requirements.

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Month 1: Community Presence, Reports, and AI

Week 2: Launch Your Community Website

Go to Website and build your public site:

1. Homepage — Welcome message, community photo, and next meeting date
2. About — Community history, amenities list, and board contact info
3. Documents — Post governing docs (CC&Rs, bylaws, rules) as PDFs
4. FAQ — Answer the 10 questions you get most often
5. Events — Calendar with board meetings and community events

Why this matters: A professional website reduces "how do I...?" emails and shows residents (and potential buyers) that the board is organized.

Week 3: Reports and Transparency

Generate your first set of Reports:

• AR Aging — Who owes what, how old is it
• Budget vs. Actual — Are you on track financially?
• Delinquency Report — Who needs follow-up
• Income vs. Expense — Where is the money going?

Schedule a monthly report to auto-generate and email to the board on the first of each month.

Action item: Share a summary at the next meeting. Residents respect boards that show where their dues go.

Week 4: Master the AI Assistant

Spend 30 minutes with the Assistant. Try these questions:

• "What are our top 3 expenses this quarter?"
• "Summarize all open violations."
• "Draft a newsletter about the upcoming pool renovation."
• "When did we last vote on a special assessment?"

Then try Search:

• Search "roof" across all documents, meetings, and violations
• Search "budget 2025" to find every mention

Pro tip: The Assistant and Search save hours of digging. Use them before every board meeting to build your mental snapshot of community status.

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Quick Reference: Your First 30 Days Checklist

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Need Help?

Contact support at support@sanafai.com