Creating Your HOA — Fourplex Help

What information do I need to create an HOA?

You'll need:

HOA name — the name of your homeowners association
HOA email address — the custom Fourplex address for your community, such as clover-densmore@hoamail.app
City and state — where your community is located
Number of units — how many units are in your community (Fourplex supports 4–100 units during signup)
Founder details — your name and board role

You'll enter these during the initial sign-up flow. When you enter a valid unit count, Fourplex automatically shows the matching plan for your community size and lets you choose monthly or yearly billing. During signup, you'll also choose your board role, such as President, Treasurer, or Secretary. Additional details like formation date and fiscal year start can be added later in Settings.

How do I create a new HOA?

When you sign up for Fourplex for the first time, you'll be guided through a short creation flow:

Enter your community name and choose your HOA email address.
Add your city, state, and number of units.
Once the unit count is valid, Fourplex automatically shows the matching plan and lets you choose monthly or yearly billing.
Add your founder details, choose your board role, and confirm.
You'll land in the Onboarding Center at /onboarding, where you can continue setup. Your dashboard is also available as soon as the HOA is created.

After creation, the Onboarding Center guides you through the remaining setup steps.

What is the Onboarding Center?

The Onboarding Center is an interactive checklist at /onboarding that tracks your HOA's setup progress. Board members can see it from the sidebar.

It has seven sections, completed inline without leaving the page:

Complete community details — confirm your HOA's address, type, and give each unit a name (like A, Garden, or 101). This section must be completed first — it unlocks the rest of the checklist.
Complete your profile — add your name, phone number, and other personal details.
Set up payments — connect a Stripe bank account to enable online dues collection.
Invite board members — bring in your Treasurer, Secretary, and other board members.
Invite homeowners — invite unit owners and residents.
Upload documents — add any HOA governing documents, rules, or records.
Set up compliance reminders — add preset reminders, create your own compliance reminders, or skip this optional step and come back later.

Each section shows a completion indicator once the relevant action is taken. Sections 2–7 become available after you complete Community details.

Do I need to complete all the onboarding steps before using Fourplex?

No. The full dashboard is available immediately after creating your HOA. You can use the Inbox, Documents, Calendar, and other features before finishing the checklist.

The onboarding steps are not a gate for using the app — they're a guide. The one dependency: completing Community details (including naming your units) unlocks the remaining checklist sections. Until that step is done, the other sections show as locked.

Why do I need to set up an HOA email address?

Your HOA's Fourplex email address (like clover-densmore@hoamail.app) is how external mail reaches your Inbox. Homeowners and vendors can email that address, and it appears in the Inbox for board members to read and respond to.

If you skip this step, the Inbox will still work for internal communication, but you won't have an address to share externally.

You choose this address during signup. If you need help with email settings later, use the app's email settings area or contact support.

When should I set up billing?

Set up billing (connecting a Stripe bank account) when you're ready to collect dues online. It's not required to do during initial setup — you can invite members, manage documents, and use other features without it.

If your HOA currently collects dues by check and you're not ready to switch to online payments, skip the billing step for now and return to it later from the Billing area.

Can I change my HOA's name, address, or unit count after creating it?

Yes. Go to Settings in the sidebar to update any of these fields. Only the President can make changes in Settings.

How do I find the Onboarding Center?

The Onboarding Center appears on the main dashboard after your HOA is created. If you've dismissed it or navigated away, look for an Onboarding or Setup link in the sidebar or at the top of the dashboard. It remains visible until all steps are marked complete.

What happens after all onboarding steps are complete?

The Onboarding Center is marked complete and stops showing prominently on the dashboard. Your HOA is fully set up: email is configured, members are invited, and billing is ready if you enabled it. From this point, the dashboard shows your regular activity — Inbox, meetings, documents, and finances.