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 five sections described below.

What's in the Dues tab

The Dues tab is divided into five 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.
• Payouts — shows when collected dues are expected to land in your HOA's bank account and which payments make up each payout. If Stripe setup is complete but no members have paid yet, this section shows a "No payouts yet" state until Stripe creates the first payout.
• Disputes — chargebacks and payment disputes on dues and assessment payments, kept in sync automatically from Stripe.

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 override it for specific units.
3. Set the dues due date (1–28). This is the day of the month when autopay withdraws the full dues amount for enrolled members.

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.

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.

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.

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% + $0.30 for cards, and 0.9% (capped at $5.00) 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 will apply the new amount to all active autopay subscriptions going forward. The change takes effect on the next billing cycle — current-month charges already in progress are not affected.

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 per-unit override in Dues → Settings → Units. Members with a per-unit override are charged their custom amount; all others are charged the default.

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

When you update the due date, Fourplex automatically updates active autopay subscriptions to use the new HOA due date. Members do not have individual charge-day settings.

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 Dues → Disputes. If a dispute requires your input, Stripe will prompt you through the same tab.