You have decided your current HOA software is not working — pricing, support, or the UI your members keep complaining about. Here is the realistic 2026 migration playbook: what to export from TownSq, PayHOA, Buildium, or AppFolio, what to tell your members, and a week-by-week timeline grounded in real volunteer-board cadence. And here is the second beat most migration guides skip: a self-serve platform with no annual contract, no implementation fee, no sales call, and a dedicated subdomain for your community is the right destination for the community you actually run today.
Quick Answer
Switching HOA software means moving your community's member directory, governing documents, and payment-collection from your current vendor to a new platform with minimal disruption.
4 hrs
Aldea-side setup for 50 members (+1-3 hrs vendor-side)
2-3 weeks
Fast path to first dues run
95%
Member activation by week 4
TL;DR
- Inventory + contract check — what to export, plus the auto-renewal-notice window.
- Export your data — member roster, documents, payment history.
- Set up Aldea HQ — about one hour for community settings + Aldea Pay.
- Invite members and parallel-run — one full billing cycle on both platforms.
- Cancel your old vendor — after the parallel-run proves clean cutover.
This guide is informational, not legal advice. Migration decisions intersect with state HOA statutes and your vendor contract — consult a community-association attorney for your specific situation.
Per-vendor data-export checklists (TownSq / PayHOA / Buildium / AppFolio), three member-communication email templates, a week-by-week timeline, a vendor-cancellation script, and a post-cutover verification checklist.
PDF · 275KB
Why HOA boards are switching software in 2026
The boards who actually switch tend to share three patterns: the current vendor's pricing escalated through add-ons no one approved, support tickets stopped getting answered, and members complained about a portal UI that felt like it was designed in 2010. The decision is rarely about features in the abstract — it is about a specific moment where the platform stopped doing the job a volunteer board needs done.
The platform did not stop working overnight — it stopped working faster than anyone wanted to admit, and one board meeting somebody finally said it out loud.
Switching software is not a feature comparison exercise. It is an operational move with a real cost in volunteer hours and a real risk if you skip the de-risking steps below. The good news: the playbook is short, the work is bounded, and the next board does not have to relearn it.
Per-vendor data-export realities
Each vendor handles export differently. Below is the "why boards leave" frame sourced from our HOA competitive research, followed by UI-agnostic export guidance. Specific menu paths live in the downloadable Migration Kit so they can be updated when vendor UIs change without re-publishing this guide.
TownSq
Boards leaving TownSq cite add-on fees ($20/mo each for violations, AI, architectural review) that layer on top of base pricing, plus unanswered support tickets, web/mobile UI inconsistencies, and reporting that does not reconcile for treasurers.
Look for an Export or Download Members option in account settings, typically under Admin → Data Export or Admin → Members. TownSq generally restricts export to the account owner — if that person is no longer on the board, file a support ticket early to escalate. See our TownSq comparison for a tier-by-tier breakdown.
PayHOA
Boards leaving PayHOA point to per-transaction ACH fees ($2.45) that get passed to homeowners, no native mobile app, and member onboarding friction for less tech-savvy residents.
PayHOA exports member rosters and payment history as CSV — usually 5-10 minutes of generation plus a download. Governing documents come down individually. See our PayHOA comparison for dated, apples-to-apples pricing math.
Buildium
Boards leaving Buildium cite a product target of professional property-management companies (not self-managed boards), an interface non-technical users describe as "too complex" and "antiquated," and per-transaction fees that surprise small operators.
Buildium can charge for data export and may take 3-5 business days to fulfill. Open a request through their support portal early in your migration window. There is no Aldea HQ vs Buildium comparison page yet — verify export scope directly with Buildium support.
AppFolio
Boards leaving AppFolio cite an explicit property-manager-with-50+-units focus, a $280 pricing floor and 50-unit minimum that exclude small communities, plus pricing that requires a sales call.
AppFolio is sales-rep mediated — your export path typically routes through your customer success contact. Have a written export confirmation before you cancel. There is no Aldea HQ vs AppFolio page yet.
If you have been running things in a Facebook group or on Nextdoor, this migration guide is not quite for you — see our social-media alternative guide (or Aldea HQ vs Facebook Groups and Aldea HQ vs Nextdoor) for that journey.
How to migrate: the 5-step HOA software switch
Step 1 — Inventory your data and check your vendor contract
Before you touch the export button, list the mission-critical documents, current member roster, and payment history you need for handover. Then read your current vendor contract end-to-end with three questions in mind:
- Auto-renewal notice window — 30, 60, or 90-day cancellation notice is common. Miss the window and you owe another full year.
- Account-owner export rights — TownSq, Buildium, and AppFolio often restrict export to the original signer. If that person is off the board, escalate to vendor support before Step 2.
- Data-deletion clause — will the vendor delete your records on cancellation, or retain them? Know before you cancel.
Step 2 — Export your data
Pull every piece of data the association needs to keep operating: member directory, governing documents, recent meeting minutes, payment history, financial records, and any saved communications. Save it locally, then back it up to wherever the board already keeps records — cloud drive, paper file, or both. Per-vendor specifics live in the downloadable Migration Kit.
Step 3 — Set up Aldea HQ
Sign up, name your community, pick your subdomain (e.g., yourhoa.aldeahq.com), configure roles, upload governing documents into the Community Handbook, and connect Stripe via Aldea Pay for dues collection. Set-up time is about one hour for a 50-member community; Stripe Connect verification adds 1-2 business days outside Aldea's control. See /pricing for current tiers.
A note on fees: Aldea Pay adds 1-1.5% on top of standard Stripe processing — published transparently, not buried behind a sales call. See /faq#aldea-pay for the current rate.
Step 4 — Invite members and parallel-run one cycle
Send Aldea HQ invitations to your member roster. Member entry is one-at-a-time today (about one minute per member); CSV import is on our 2026 roadmap. For a 50-member community that is roughly 50 minutes; for 100 members, ~5 admin hours total Aldea-side.
Now the de-risking move: run Aldea HQ and your current vendor in parallel for one full billing cycle. Send the first month's dues request through the new platform, watch the payments come in, verify members can log in and find their governing documents. The parallel-run is the answer to "switching means a billing cycle of confused members" — no blackout, no missed collection, no member-access surprise. Budget for one month of double-platform fees as a transition cost.
Most members never noticed the cutover — that is the win.
Step 5 — Cancel your old vendor
After parallel-run proves a clean cutover, send written cancellation following your contract's notice window. Confirm in writing that your data has been exported, and request the vendor's data-deletion or data-retention policy post-cancellation. If you get stuck, reach out via /contact — Aldea HQ's support team has watched a few hundred cutovers go through.
Records-retention: the association keeps the records, not the vendor
Three state statutes set the practical floor for what the association must keep — and they apply to the association itself, not the cancelled vendor. Export everything before you cancel, because the cancelled vendor is not your records custodian. The association is.
- FL§720.303 — Florida associations must retain financial documents for seven years and governing documents permanently. See our Florida HOA Laws 2026 guide for the full Chapter 720 context.
- CA§5210 — California's Common Interest Development Act sets tiered records-production windows for current-year and prior-year records. See our California HOA Laws 2026 guide.
- TX§209.005 — Texas associations must produce requested records within ten business days. See our Texas HOA Laws 2026 guide.
The compliance posture is simple: the association must keep, retain, and maintain its own records — the cancelled vendor is not the records custodian after cancellation. Every required record (minutes, financials, contracts, reserve studies, audit trails) must be exported and held by the association before cancellation, so that records requests after the switch can be answered without relying on a former vendor. For more on Aldea HQ's role-based access, encrypted storage, and the rest of our trust posture, see /security.
The cancelled vendor is not your records custodian — you are.
Now that you have seen the timeline and the records-retention realities — here is the kit you can take into your next board meeting.
Per-vendor data-export checklists, three member-communication email templates, a vendor-cancellation script, and a post-cutover verification checklist.
PDF · 275KB
Why switchers pick Aldea HQ
Six structural differentiators — not marketing copy, things a reader can verify on the linked pages.
| # | What Aldea HQ has | Competitor failure mode this defuses | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No annual contract — cancel anytime, your data exports cleanly. | Annual lock-in at TownSq, Buildium, AppFolio. | /pricing |
| 2 | Self-serve signup, no sales call, no implementation fee. | $500-2K implementation fees + mandatory discovery call elsewhere. | /getting-started |
| 3 | Dedicated subdomain per community (e.g., yourhoa.aldeahq.com). | Generic portal sub-paths with the vendor's brand front and center. | /for/hoa |
| 4 | Aldea Pay — transparent 1-1.5% markup on top of Stripe processing, published, not hidden behind a sales call. | Most HOA platforms layer markup on card-processing fees without disclosing the structure. | /faq#aldea-pay |
| 5 | Built community-first — works for HOAs, condos, co-ops, clubs, homeschool groups. | HOA-only competitors lock you out if your community type changes. | /for/small-communities |
| 6 | Mobile-responsive web — no app-store install required for members or board. | TownSq and Buildium typically require a separate native app install for members. | /for/hoa |
100-home HOA · ~$15k monthly dues · all-in effective cost
Aldea HQ
$274/mo
$49 subscription + ~$225 Aldea Pay processing
PayHOA
$344/mo
$99 subscription + ~$245 processing ($2.45/ACH, 3.5%+$0.50/card)
Pricing and processing-fee numbers in this post are accurate as of publication. Vendor pricing changes — for current Aldea HQ tiers see /pricing, and for current head-to-head scenario math see /vs/payhoa.
Frequently asked questions about switching HOA software
How long does it take to switch HOA software?
Most boards complete the switch in 2-3 weeks of calendar time with about 4 admin hours of work for a 50-member community. Volunteer boards spreading the work across 3 board meetings typically take 6-8 weeks. The bottleneck is usually member activation, not setup.
Will our members lose access during the transition?
No — the recommended pattern is to run both platforms in parallel for one full billing cycle. Members keep access to the old platform while you stand up the new one, so there is no blackout day and no missed dues collection.
What data can I export from TownSq, PayHOA, or Buildium?
Member directory, governing documents, payment history, and communications archives are exportable from most vendors. TownSq and Buildium often require an account-owner permission escalation. PayHOA exports as CSV. The downloadable Migration Kit lists the menu paths per vendor.
Do we have to cancel our old platform before signing up for Aldea HQ?
No. Sign up, set up your community, invite members, run a parallel cycle, and only then cancel the old vendor. That is the de-risking pattern that prevents a billing-cycle gap.
What if Aldea HQ doesn't work for our community?
No annual contract — cancel anytime, your data exports cleanly. That is how Aldea HQ is built: boards deserve to pick the right platform, not feel trapped on the wrong one. Read our posture at /security and /pricing.
The Bottom Line
You are switching because your current platform stopped working for your board, your members, or both. Aldea HQ is built for the community you actually have — not the enterprise account your vendor's sales team wished you were. No annual contract. No implementation fee. No sales call. Transparent payment processing. Try it free. Parallel-run for one cycle. Decide on real evidence, not a sales pitch.
Aldea HQ vs TownSq
Side-by-side comparison of fees, features, and UX for self-managed boards.
Aldea HQ vs PayHOA
Dated pricing math and feature-by-feature comparison.
Aldea HQ for HOAs
Community-first platform built for volunteer boards — see what's included.
HOA Budget Template 2026
Free downloadable template with 30-year reserve plan.
Self-Managed HOA Guide
Companion guide for boards running their community without a management company.
Your HOA software switch checklist
- Why boards switch — jump to the switch trigger.
- Per-vendor export — see TownSq / PayHOA / Buildium / AppFolio specifics.
- 5-step HowTo — walk through inventory → export → set up → parallel-run → cancel.
- Records-retention — statute floor in the FL / CA / TX callout.
- Why Aldea HQ — six structural differentiators in Block 10.
- FAQs — five PAA-target answers in the FAQ section.
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