Frequently Asked Questions

Most communities finish setup in under 30 minutes. You'll create your account, add your community profile, invite members, and configure Aldea Pay if you want online dues collection. The guided setup walks you through each step. For larger communities or migrations from another platform, our support team can help — email support@aldeahq.com.

No. Aldea HQ runs in any modern browser on phones, tablets, and computers — no installs, no app-store accounts. Every community gets its own subdomain (e.g., yourcommunity.aldeahq.com) so members access your portal directly from a link or bookmark.

Aldea HQ is built for community members, not power users. The interface is intuitive — sign in, see announcements, pay dues, find documents. We provide member-facing onboarding emails, admin training resources, and our support team can walk a board through the platform on a quick call before launch.

Yes. Every plan includes a 14-day free trial — no credit card required. You can configure your community, invite members, post announcements, send a test payment request, and explore every feature before deciding.

Community News lets you post rich-text announcements with images, attachments, and engagement tracking. Members get notifications when something new is posted, and you can see who's read each update. Use it for board updates, event reminders, maintenance notices, and policy changes.

Members submit maintenance requests, complaints, or questions through a simple form. Admins triage by priority, assign to specific board members, track status, and add comments. Both sides get notified of updates, so nothing falls through the cracks.

The handbook supports 11+ admin-defined categories — bylaws, CC&Rs, amenities, pet policy, parking rules, meeting minutes, financial reports, and more. Upload documents or write rich-text content directly. Everything is searchable, organized, and survives board turnover.

Members receive smart notifications in-platform and via email — for new announcements, ticket updates, payment reminders, and document changes. Notifications are role-aware (admins see what admins need, members see what members need) and can be tuned per user.

Admins invite members by email through the dashboard. Each invitee gets a secure link to create their account. Only invited members can join — Aldea HQ is private by default, so your community is closed to outsiders.

Yes — upload your community logo and it appears throughout the platform on your dedicated subdomain. Color theming is currently limited to the default Aldea HQ palette; expanded brand-color options are on the roadmap.

Yes. Every community gets a dedicated subdomain (e.g., yourcommunity.aldeahq.com) where members access your portal. The subdomain reinforces your community's identity — it's your space, not a generic shared platform — and is included on every plan.

Yes. Admins can publish a member directory with role-based visibility — show only names, or include contact info and roles, depending on what your community has agreed to share. Members control what they expose; admins control what's visible by default.

Aldea Pay is integrated payment collection built into every Aldea HQ plan. It's powered by Stripe Connect and lets your community collect recurring dues, send one-time payment requests, issue refunds, and chase overdue members — without adding a separate payment platform.

Aldea Pay charges 1-1.5% per payment plus standard Stripe processing fees passed through. There's no monthly subscription fee for Aldea Pay — it's included on every Aldea HQ plan, including Starter at $49/mo.

Stripe is the underlying payment processor — Aldea Pay is the layer that turns Stripe into a community-management tool. You get autopay enrollment per member, recurring dues schedules, special-assessment payment requests, automated overdue reminders, and a member-facing payment history — none of which Stripe alone provides.

Yes — both. ACH bank transfers carry lower processing fees and are typical for monthly dues; credit cards are convenient for one-time payments. Members choose at checkout. ACH availability depends on your country and Stripe Connect configuration.

Yes. Members enroll in autopay from their account, and Aldea Pay charges their saved payment method on each due date. Members get receipts after every charge and can cancel or update their payment method at any time. Admins see autopay status on the member roster.

Yes. Admins create a one-time payment request — pick the amount, due date, and which members it applies to. Members receive an email with a payment link. Aldea Pay tracks who's paid, who's overdue, and sends automated reminders.

Yes. Admins issue full refunds from the payment detail screen. Refunds reverse through Stripe to the original payment method per Stripe Connect terms — typically 5-10 business days, varying by payment method. The activity log records who issued the refund and why.

Yes. Aldea Pay sends a daily email reminder to members whose payments are overdue. The reminder fires once per day until the balance is settled. Custom cadences and per-member pause are on our roadmap.

Stripe pays out collected funds on a rolling schedule — typically 2 business days (T+2) for standard US bank accounts, configurable in your Stripe Connect settings. Admins see pending and available payout amounts in the dashboard.

You'll connect a Stripe Connect account, which takes about 10-15 minutes. Stripe verifies your community's identity (community name, banking info, an admin contact) before activating payouts. Once verified, you can start collecting payments same-day.

Aldea HQ provides the operational tools — financial records, board communications, document storage, member directories — that support compliance with state HOA laws. We aren't a legal service and don't offer legal advice, but boards using Aldea typically find audit trails, document retention, and member-notice requirements much easier to meet.

Florida HB 919 and HB 1203 expanded financial-transparency, document-access, and board-notice requirements. Aldea HQ provides the operational tooling Florida boards commonly use to organize records under these statutes — a digital handbook for CC&Rs, bylaws, financials, and meeting minutes; an activity log of board actions; and Aldea Pay's per-payment audit trail. Aldea HQ is not a substitute for legal counsel — consult a Florida HOA attorney for compliance review.

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 sets requirements for documented board procedures, member notices, and financial transparency. Aldea HQ provides the structured handbook, member-notice tooling, and per-payment financial records Texas boards commonly use to organize records under Chapter 209. Aldea HQ is not a substitute for legal counsel — consult a Texas HOA attorney for compliance review. See the guide linked below.

The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act sets disclosure, meeting-notice, and document-access requirements for California HOAs. Aldea HQ's handbook, news feed, and member directory provide the operational tooling California boards commonly use to organize records under Davis-Stirling. Aldea HQ is not a substitute for legal counsel — consult a California HOA attorney for compliance review. A California-specific guide is on our blog roadmap.

Aldea HQ's tooling — document storage, member notices, financial records, activity logs, payment audit trails — is used by boards in most US states. State HOA statutes vary widely, and Aldea HQ is not a substitute for legal counsel. If your board needs state-specific compliance review, work with an HOA attorney who can map our tools to your state's requirements.

Member data is protected with enterprise-grade authentication (Clerk), encrypted storage, role-based access controls, and continuous security monitoring. Aldea HQ runs on hardened cloud infrastructure with separate production environments, audit logging, and Sentry-backed error monitoring. We follow industry-standard practices and continually update our security posture.

Only authorized administrators in your community see member contact details — and only for the members in their own community. Aldea HQ is multi-tenant, meaning each community's data is isolated. Member-to-member visibility (directory, contact info) is controlled by admins through role permissions and individual member preferences.

Aldea HQ is privacy-first by design — no advertising, no data selling, no third-party tracking inside member portals. Communities own their data; we are the custodian. We publish a clear privacy policy, support data export, and follow responsible data-handling practices throughout the platform.

You keep full ownership. Before cancellation, admins can export member data, financial records, and documents. We provide a transition window during which your community remains accessible read-only, then permanently delete the data per our retention policy. We do not retain or repurpose your community's information after deletion.

Yes. We provide a transition playbook — communication templates announcing the change, member-onboarding emails, and a phased plan for running parallel during the switch. Most communities cut over to Aldea HQ within 2-4 weeks of starting setup.

Just the basics: your community name, address, an administrator contact, and your member list. Members are added through the admin dashboard during setup — for communities under 200 members this typically takes one evening. Larger communities can email support@aldeahq.com for migration help.

Yes. Every account gets access to setup documentation, video walkthroughs, and email support. Professional and Business plan customers can request a guided onboarding call where we configure your community alongside you and answer board-specific questions.

Yes. Members create their account using whatever email address you have on file for them — no separate Aldea account required. They receive an invitation link, click through to set a password, and they're in.

Your community admins can resend invitations, reset member passwords, and help with login issues directly from the dashboard. For deeper technical issues, members can contact your admin (who escalates to us) or, on Professional and Business plans, contact our support team directly.

Switching from PayHOA typically takes one to two evenings for communities under 200 members. You'll export your member list and financial records from PayHOA, set up your Aldea HQ community, add members through the admin dashboard, and reconnect Aldea Pay for dues collection. Email support@aldeahq.com if you'd like guided help.

Switching from TownSq is straightforward — Aldea HQ uses flat-rate pricing, so boards typically save 50-70% on subscription costs. You'll export your member list and any historical financial data, configure your Aldea HQ community, and connect Aldea Pay. Members access the new platform via your dedicated subdomain.

Not really. Most boards moving from spreadsheets are surprised at how quickly the operational pain disappears. You'll spend an evening adding members and uploading key documents to the handbook, then turn on Aldea Pay for dues. From there, the spreadsheet workflows replace themselves.

Property-management companies handle operations for a fee, typically $15-30 per unit per month plus assessments. Aldea HQ gives self-managed boards the tools to do the job themselves at flat-rate pricing starting at $49/mo — no per-member or per-unit fees. Boards comfortable making decisions keep control; the platform handles the busywork.

PayHOA is HOA accounting software with deep general-ledger features, tax filing, and e-voting tools. Aldea HQ is a community platform that excels with HOAs — community communication, structured handbook, member management, and integrated payments at flat-rate pricing. Boards that need full bookkeeping pick PayHOA; boards that need community operations and dues collection pick Aldea HQ.

TownSq is built for property-management companies with per-unit pricing and paid add-ons. Aldea HQ is built for self-managed community boards — flat-rate pricing starting at $49/mo, integrated dues collection on every plan, and no add-on fees for violations, AI, or website hosting. Self-managed communities save 50-70% versus TownSq.

Buildium and AppFolio are enterprise property-management platforms designed for professional managers handling lease tracking, maintenance dispatch, and accounting at scale. Aldea HQ is purpose-built for community leaders — boards, volunteers, organizers — who don't need property-management depth and want a simpler, flat-rate platform focused on community operations.

Facebook Groups and Nextdoor are social networks — your community's data lives in someone else's ad-supported product. Aldea HQ is a private, ad-free platform purpose-built for community management: payment collection, document storage, support tickets, role-based access, and a member directory. Your community's information stays under your control.

Plans scale with community size. Starter ($49/mo, up to 150 members) covers essentials. Professional ($99/mo, up to 500 members) adds enhanced tooling. Business ($199/mo, up to 2,000 members) includes analytics and API access. Enterprise (5,000+ members) is custom-priced. Aldea Pay is included on every tier.

No setup fees, no hidden costs. Your monthly subscription covers hosting, security, support, and every feature — Aldea Pay included. The only additional cost is Aldea Pay's transaction fees (1-1.5% plus Stripe processing) on payments you actually collect.

Yes. Upgrade or downgrade from your billing settings; changes apply at the next billing cycle. Cancel anytime — you keep access through the end of your current period, with full data export available before the account closes.

Yes. Pay annually and save 2 months versus monthly billing. You can switch between monthly and annual any time from your billing settings.

Email support is available on every plan. Professional and Business plans include priority response times. Enterprise customers receive enhanced support, including dedicated assistance for setup and ongoing operations. Our support team handles technical questions, feature guidance, billing issues, and operational best practices.

Our support team responds quickly to technical issues, with priority handling on Professional and Business plans. We monitor platform health continuously, and Sentry alerts our engineers within minutes of any platform-level issue. Most reported problems are resolved same-day.

Yes. We maintain a knowledge base with step-by-step guides and video walkthroughs covering every feature. Professional and Business plans include guided onboarding for new admins. The structured handbook also lets your community capture institutional knowledge so it survives board turnover.

Yes. We provide member-facing onboarding email templates, communication scripts, and engagement strategies. Larger communities on Professional or Business plans can request optional member orientation sessions. Most communities reach 80%+ member adoption within 30 days of launch with the right communication plan.