Cara - Smart HOA Management System

Full Accounting Suite — Included

Why Cara?

Most HOA tools give you spreadsheets. We give you real, audit-ready books — with full double-entry accounting built in, not bolted on.

Killer Feature

The Only HOA Platform
With Real Books.

Every bill, payment, payroll run, and petty-cash expense auto-posts a balanced journal entry behind the scenes. Run a trial balance, income statement, or balance sheet on any day of the year — no month-end scramble, no CPA hand-wringing.

Chart of Accounts — pre-seeded for HOAs

Auto-Posted journal entries

Trial Balance — live balanced indicator

Income Statement & Balance Sheet

General Ledger with drill-down

Bank Reconciliation — live matching

Fiscal Period Close & lock

Full Audit Trail — void, never edit

See All Accounting Modules

Trial Balance BALANCED

Cash in Bank₱ 1,842,350

AR – Dues₱ 328,900

Dues Income(₱ 1,954,000)

Payroll Expense₱ 412,500

Petty Cash Expense₱ 48,720

Total Debits= Total Credits ✓

Live snapshot — updates with every posted entry

Double-Entry Accounting

Chart of accounts, manual & auto-posted journal entries, general ledger with drill-down — the same system CPAs expect, running live from your billing data.

Financial Statements

Trial Balance, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows, and Changes in Equity on demand — bundled into a one-click, board-ready PDF pack, with fiscal period close to lock the books after month-end review.

Bank Reconciliation

Match bank statements item-by-item with a live cleared-balance tracker. Payments post on the actual date paid, and every non-cash payment is tied to a bank or e-wallet account, so your reconciliation lines up. Voided entries preserve a full audit trail — nothing is ever silently deleted.

Maker–Checker Approvals

Require a higher officer to sign off on disbursements, vendor payments, and fund transfers above a peso threshold you set — with separation of duties, so nothing hits the ledger unapproved. Turn on two-person verification for office-collected payments, court fees and expenses too: whoever records one can’t also approve it, and a wrong entry goes back to the cashier for correction instead of being keyed again.

Payables & Disbursements

Vendors, accrual bills, and AP aging, plus numbered disbursement vouchers with a printable, signature-ready voucher (amount in words + payee acknowledgment) and a check register.

Fixed Assets & Depreciation

Track capital assets and post depreciation automatically, with budgets vs. actual, reserve/sinking funds, and inter-fund transfers — all flowing straight into the books.

Books That Always Tie Out

One definition of outstanding and billed on every screen and report, tied to the receivable control account. Each bank account owns its own ledger account, and a built-in health check flags any drift between bank and ledger or billed charges and income — with one-command repairs.

Income by Source

Every due type, amenity, and shop product can credit its own income account — dues, water, facility rental, merchandise, and permit fees land in the right line of the income statement automatically.

Advances & Bonds

Money paid ahead is held as a member advance and applied to later bills; renovation construction bonds sit as a liability until inspection, then are refunded or retained — both kept properly off income until earned. A bond can’t be entered twice, and one entered in error is voided with its entry reversed.

BIR-Ready Books & Tax

Built for registering the association’s computerized books of accounts with the BIR, and producing the withholding figures and certificates your accountant files. Rates and deadlines: confirm with your accountant.

Books of Accounts

General Journal, General Ledger, Cash Receipts and Cash Disbursements books for any period, as PDF and CSV. Every page carries the registered name, TIN, RDO, address, acknowledgement certificate no. and “Page X of Y”; voided entries stay listed, struck through, so the entry-number series has no gaps.

BIR Registration Pack

One ZIP to support the association’s CBA application: system description, chart of accounts, process flowcharts, sample books, statements and receipts for a month you pick, CSV copies, and a draft sworn statement.

Registered-Books Controls

Once the acknowledgement number is entered, bulk deletes, data wipes and in-place repairs of posted entries are refused, and reopening a closed month needs a superadmin. Voids always reverse their entry; issued receipts are never overwritten — reissues are archived and marked.

Expanded Withholding

An editable ATC table, a usual ATC per vendor, and tax withheld at payment to 2145 with the net to cash. Produces 0619-E, 1601-EQ by ATC, a 2307 per payee (PDF) and the QAP (CSV).

Payroll Withholding

Leave the Tax field blank and it is computed from the TRAIN brackets; minimum wage earners get ₱0. Produces 1601-C by month, a 2316 per employee (PDF) and the employee alphalist (CSV).

Numbering & Receipts

A Document Numbering report flags gaps and duplicates in journal, receipt and voucher series. Receipts are Acknowledgement Receipts marked not valid for input tax, recording your BIR-authorized invoice / OR number on each — Cara does not issue BIR invoices.

Plus Everything Else Your HOA Runs On

Smart Billing & Collection

Automated billing schedules, tiered water consumption, parking fees, late penalties, and saved member groups for households on different rates. Print itemized statements for every household in one click — meter readings, every charge, month-by-month arrears in a paper-saving two-column list and a scan-to-pay QR — every bill broken into line items, plus branded PDF receipts, a Statement of Account itemized by particular and month, demand letters, and real-time collection tracking. A household's details changed after billing? Regenerate just that bill in one click, with balances and books kept correct.

Office Cashier

Record walk-in payments at the counter and split each one across the bill’s line items. Overpayments are held as an advance on the member’s account and applied to a later bill. Non-cash payments must name the receiving account and carry their reference number, and verification can be limited to designated staff.

Cashier Closing & Paper Receipts

At day’s end each cashier counts the drawer against everything they recorded; a checker confirms, any shortage or overage posts to Cash Short and Over, and the cash goes to the bank in one click. Official receipt booklets are issued per cashier, each OR number is used once, and skipped numbers are flagged.

Facility Collections

Collect for court time and hall hire by the hour — members or guests, no bill needed. Each collection gets its own receipt and posts straight to facility rental income, never touching a member’s balance.

Shop & Merchandise

Sell shirts, vehicle stickers, construction permits, and event slots at the counter or in the member portal shop. Items track stock and average cost; services can cap slots. Every sale issues a receipt and posts income, cost of goods, and inventory automatically.

Gate Pass & Security

QR-coded visitor passes, guard station scanner, vehicle registry with sticker tracking, and real-time entry/exit logging.

Emergency Broadcast

One-click alerts for typhoons, floods, and security incidents. Household check-in system with real-time accountability dashboard.

Water Meter Management

Walk the meters with an Excel template that arrives pre-filled with every household’s previous reading — upload it back and review before anything is recorded. Separate Residential & Business tiered rates, computed per household and folded into the monthly bill. Households with 3+ months of unpaid water land on an automatic For Disconnection list — flagged on the dashboard, the member's record and the printed bill — then tag them disconnected or reconnected and track them in their own report.

PWA Mobile App

Install on any phone as an app. Offline bill viewing, push notifications, mobile bottom navigation for on-the-go access. Give the member portal your own name and home-screen app label.

Dashboard Analytics

Collection trends, outstanding balances by block, water consumption charts, revenue vs expenses, member growth — all at a glance.

Payroll & Personnel

Complete personnel management with salary computation, deductions, payslip generation, and integrated expense tracking for HOA staff.

Amenities Reservation

Online booking for clubhouse, pool, courts, and function halls with time-slot management, approval workflows, and usage calendar. You choose which amenities members can reserve in the portal.

E-Signatures

Digital document signing with bulk signature requests, real-time tracking, and signature verification — eliminate paper-based approvals.

SMS Broadcasting

Integrated SMS service for payment reminders, emergency alerts, and announcements — reaching members even without internet access.

AI-Powered Platform

Smart chatbot assistant, AI content writer for announcements & memos, intelligent billing insights, and auto-triage for maintenance & grievances.

General Assembly

Full assembly management with agenda building, attendance check-in, proxy voting, resolution recording, and meeting minutes.

Security Patrol System

QR checkpoint scanning, patrol round tracking, incident reporting with photos, and guard shift management for complete subdivision security.

Service Provider Directory

Verified and accredited service providers with member ratings, reviews, and contact info — your community's trusted vendor listing.

Utility Analytics

Water consumption trends, monthly billing analysis, payment history visualization, leak detection alerts, and spending insights for members.

QR Code Payments

GCash and Maya QR code integration for instant mobile payments. Scan and pay directly from your bill — no bank transfers needed. Members submit the date paid, the receiving bank or e-wallet account, and proof (photo, screenshot or PDF); staff get an instant email alert and verify against the bank record before a receipt is issued. A reused reference number, receipt number or proof screenshot is flagged as a possible duplicate for staff to confirm first.

Import & Export

Bulk-load your whole roster from a formatted Excel workbook — dropdowns, validation and a row-by-row preview before anything is saved. Export members, billing, and payments back out to Excel.

Go-Live Migration

Bring unpaid balances over from manual billing, month by month, so aging and penalties start from the real dates — not your go-live day. Receivables post straight to the ledger and tie to every member.

Financial Transparency

Public-facing financial reports showing collection rates, income/expense breakdowns, and monthly trends — building trust with residents.

Move-In/Out Processing

Streamlined property transfer workflow with clearance verification, approval process, and completion tracking for smooth transitions.

Community Calendar

Unified calendar view of all community events, assemblies, and activities. Members stay informed about what's happening in the subdivision.

Community Incidents

Report and track community safety incidents with location mapping, severity levels, and resolution tracking for a safer neighborhood.

Complaint Tickets

Structured complaint management with ticket tracking, status updates, threaded replies, and resolution workflow for resident concerns.

Lost & Found

Community lost and found board where members report missing or found items, track claim status, and reunite belongings with owners.

Skill Exchange

Community skill-sharing marketplace where residents offer and request services — tutoring, repairs, cooking — building stronger neighborhood bonds.

Household Helpers

Register household staff (maids, drivers, nannies) with background info, manage gate access permissions, and track entry/exit records.

Material Distribution

Manage community material distribution events with recipient tracking, distribution receipts, and inventory deduction for relief goods and supplies.

Member Spotlights

Highlight outstanding community members with featured profiles, achievements, and contributions — fostering recognition and community spirit.

Activities & Attendance

Track community activities, events attendance, and member participation with check-in tracking and engagement analytics.

Officers & Board Directory

Maintain the HOA board directory with positions, term dates, and ordering — showcase current officers on the public site and member portal. A spouse or household member can hold an office, not only the registered owner.

Full Double-Entry Accounting

Audit-Ready Books, On Autopilot

Every bill, payment, payroll run, and petty-cash expense is automatically posted as a balanced journal entry. Run a trial balance, income statement, or balance sheet any day of the year — no month-end scramble.

Chart of Accounts

Pre-seeded HOA chart covering assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses. Add custom accounts anytime; system accounts are protected.

Auto-Posted Entries

Bills, verified payments, payroll disbursements, and petty-cash activity all generate balanced journal entries automatically — zero manual bookkeeping. Undo a mistaken billing run and its entries reverse while earlier balances and meter readings are restored.

Financial Statements

On-demand Trial Balance, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, Changes in Equity, and General Ledger drill-down — plus a one-click board-ready PDF pack, all from live data.

Bank Reconciliation

Match bank statements item-by-item with a live cleared balance. Close fiscal periods to lock the books after month-end review.

Approval Workflow

Threshold-based maker–checker sign-off on disbursements, vendor payments, and fund transfers — with separation of duties so nothing posts unapproved. Optional two-person verification for office-collected payments, court fees and expenses.

Accounts Payable

Vendors, accrual bills, payments, and AP aging — recognize expenses when incurred and settle payables straight from the books.

Disbursement Vouchers

Numbered vouchers with a printable, signature-ready document — amount in words, payee acknowledgment, and officer signatories — plus a check register. Everyday expenses are recorded on one screen with the supplier’s receipt photo and post as a voucher once approved. Expanded withholding tax is deducted at payment, with the net paid shown on the voucher.

Fixed Assets & Reserves

Capital asset register with automated depreciation posting, budgets vs. actual, reserve/sinking fund appropriation, and inter-fund transfers.

Maker–checker approvals · Manual journal entries for adjustments · Void with reason (never edit) · Built-in books health check · Historical income import for months before go-live · Books of Accounts PDF & CSV for BIR registration

AI-Powered Features

Intelligent HOA Management

Harness the power of artificial intelligence to automate tasks, generate content, and gain actionable insights — all built into your platform.

AI Member Chatbot

Members get instant answers about their bills, payments, events, and community info through a smart floating chat assistant on every page.

AI Content Writer

Draft professional announcements, memos, email blasts, notices, and event invitations in seconds with configurable tone and quick templates.

AI Billing Insights

Get AI-generated executive summaries of your collection performance, delinquent accounts, risk areas, and actionable board recommendations.

AI Maintenance Triage

Automatically categorize and prioritize maintenance requests, detect safety concerns, and suggest resolution timelines as members type.

Works with OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, or any compatible AI provider. Configurable from the admin settings panel.

90+ Integrated Modules

Every aspect of HOA operations covered under one roof.

Billing & Collection

Dues, water, parking, member groups, itemized statements, bill regeneration

Payments & Receipts

Online & counter payments, per-line split, advances, proof review, duplicate flags, invoice / OR no. recorded

SOA & Demand Letters

Statement of account by particular & month, collections

Payroll System

Personnel, salary, payslips, computed withholding tax

Petty Cash

Fund tracking, expense logging

Budget Management

Allocations, period tracking

Bank Accounts

Multi-account, transaction tracking

Chart of Accounts

Assets, liabilities, equity, P&L

Journal Entries

Auto-posted + manual, with voiding

Financial Statements

Trial balance, IS, balance sheet

Bank Reconciliation

Statement matching, fiscal close

Books Health Check

Bank & income drift checks, repairs

Beginning Balances

Arrears import, month by month

Historical Income

Pre-go-live income & expenses by month

Books of Accounts

Journal, ledger, cash books — PDF & CSV

BIR Registration Pack

CBA application documents in one ZIP

Withholding Tax

EWT & payroll: 0619-E, 1601-EQ, 1601-C, 2307, 2316

Document Numbering

Gap & duplicate check across series

Water Meter

Excel batch readings, tiered rates

Water Disconnection

3+ months unpaid list, disconnect / reconnect

Parking Management

Slot rental, billing integration

Vehicle Registry

Plate tracking, sticker issuance

Gate Pass

QR codes, guard kiosk

Maintenance

Request tracking, photo evidence

Reservations

Amenity booking, time slots

Facility Collections

Court & hall fees, guest receipts

Renovation Bonds

Deposit, inspection, refund / retain / void

Contractors

Vendor management, contracts

General Assembly

Agenda, voting, resolutions

Emergency Broadcast

One-click alerts, SMS & email

Disaster Prep

Check-in, evacuation maps

E-Signatures

Digital signing, bulk requests

SMS Service

Globe Labs, broadcasts

AI Grievances

Smart categorization & routing

AI Chatbot

Member assistant, bill queries

AI Content Writer

Draft announcements & memos

AI Billing Insights

Smart analytics & reports

AI Maintenance Triage

Auto-categorize & prioritize

Security Patrol

Checkpoints, rounds, incidents

Service Directory

Verified providers, reviews

Utility Analytics

Water trends, leak detection

QR Payments

GCash, Maya scan-to-pay

Import & Export

CSV import, Excel export

Financial Transparency

Public financial reports

Move-In/Out

Transfers, clearance

Community Calendar

Events, activities view

Pet Registry

Vaccination tracking, alerts

Members & Households

Directory, privacy settings

Onboarding Wizard

Multi-step member setup

Notifications

In-app, email, push, SMS

Reports

Aging, collection, annual statement

Polls & Surveys

Community decision-making

Meeting Minutes

Assembly records

Memos & Email

Templates, blast campaigns

Chat Channels

Community messaging

Suggestions

Feedback system

Grievances

AI-powered filing & resolution

Projects

Milestones, photos, tracking

Volunteers

Slot signup, distribution

Inventory

Item borrowing & returns

Shop & Merchandise

Counter & portal sales, stock, permits

Documents

Upload, share, download

Blog & Gallery

Posts, photos, comments

Timeline

Community history

Badges & Certs

Achievements, certifications

Member Cards

Digital ID, PDF download

ACL System

Role-based permissions

Audit Logs

Activity tracking, compliance, locked destructive actions

Database Backup

One-click full backup from Settings

Guard Kiosk

PIN login, entry/exit logs

Community Incidents

Report, track, map incidents

Complaint Tickets

Issue tracking, resolution

Lost & Found

Item tracking, claims

Skill Exchange

Community skill-sharing

Household Helpers

Staff registry, gate access

Distribution

Relief goods, supplies

Member Spotlights

Featured members

Activities

Events attendance, check-ins

Officers & Board

Directory, positions, terms

Accounts Payable

Vendors, bills, AP aging

Disbursement Vouchers

Signature-ready, check register

Expenses

Receipt photo, approval, posted

Cashier Closing

Drawer count, short/over, deposit

Paper Receipts

OR booklets, each number once

Approval Workflow

Threshold maker-checker sign-off

Fixed Assets

Register, auto depreciation

Fund Transfers

Bank, petty cash, reserves

Reserve Fund

Sinking-fund appropriation

Module Launcher

Searchable quick-access grid

Benefits for Your Community

Transform how your HOA operates from day one.

Eliminate Paper-Based Processes

No more manual logbooks, handwritten receipts, or lost documents. Everything is digital and searchable.

Real-Time Visibility

Dashboard analytics give board members instant insight into collection rates, outstanding balances, and community health.

Save Hours Every Week

Automated billing, penalty computation, aging reminders, and report generation free up your staff for what matters.

Enhanced Security

QR gate passes, vehicle tracking, and guard station interface improve subdivision security management. Staff, member and guard kiosk logins lock temporarily after repeated failed attempts, uploaded files are checked by their real content and can never run as scripts, password reset links expire, strict browser security headers (CSP, HSTS) are sent on every page, and SMS integrations use secure webhook verification.

Built with Proven Technology

CI4
PHP Framework

Bootstrap 5
Responsive UI

MySQL
Database

DOMPDF
PDF Generation

Chart.js
Analytics

PWA
Mobile App

Kept on an up-to-date, regularly audited framework and libraries.

See Cara in Action

Real screens from the admin portal — dashboards, reports, and books, all from live data. Click any image to enlarge.