Apartment Association Accounts: Setting Up the Books in Year One

The first treasurer of a new apartment association usually inherits a notebook, a bag of receipts and some cash in a drawer. If the books are not set up properly in year one, every later committee spends its time arguing about old numbers. Good apartment association accounts are less about software or accounting jargon and more about a few habits started early.

Start with one bank account and two signatures

Open a bank account in the association's name as soon as the ad hoc committee is formed. Your bank will tell you what documents it needs, usually including a resolution of the committee and a copy of the constitution or by-laws.

Set it up so that two committee members must sign every cheque or approve every transfer. This protects the treasurer as much as the owners.

If you plan to keep a reserve fund, open a second account for it now. Keeping reserve money separate from day-to-day cash is far easier to start than to fix later.

Record opening balances honestly

Your first entry is what the association already has and owes on day one:

• Cash in hand
• Bank balance
• Any advance service charge or reserve money received from the developer
• Amounts owners already owe
• Bills already due to suppliers or staff

Write these down, have two committee members sign the list, and keep it on file. Every future report builds on this starting point.

Receipts for every taka in

Every payment from an owner or tenant should get a numbered receipt, whether it was paid in cash, by bKash, Nagad or Rocket, or into the bank. A good receipt shows:

1. Receipt number
2. Date
3. Flat number and payer name
4. Months or charge it covers
5. Amount and payment method
6. Name of the person who received it

Never reuse or skip numbers. If a receipt is spoiled, cancel it and keep the copy.

Vouchers for every taka out

Every expense needs a voucher with the supplier's bill or a signed note attached. Use a simple approval rule — for example, the treasurer prepares the voucher and the president or secretary approves it. This "maker and checker" habit is the single best defence against mistakes and suspicion.

Tip: Pay suppliers from the bank wherever possible. Cash payments are harder to prove later.

A simple structure for your apartment association accounts

You do not need a complicated chart of accounts. A new association can start with heads like these:

Keep the same heads every month so reports are comparable over time.

Monthly routine for the treasurer

1. Bank all cash collected within a few days.
2. Match the bank statement with your receipts and vouchers.
3. Update the dues list and send reminders.
4. Prepare a one-page summary: opening balance, income, expenses, closing balance.
5. Put the summary on the notice board or share it with all owners.

Say a 40-flat association collects ৳2,00,000 in a month and spends ৳1,72,000. The summary should show exactly that, with the ৳28,000 difference visible in the closing bank balance. If the numbers don't match, find out why before the month closes.

Year-end and audit

At the end of the first year, prepare:

• Receipts and payments account
• Income and expenditure account
• Balance sheet
• List of owner dues
• List of unpaid supplier bills

Have the accounts reviewed by an auditor or an internal audit committee, as your constitution requires, and present them at the annual general meeting. When a new committee takes over, hand over the bank documents, receipt books, voucher files and the signed year-end figures together.

Mistakes new associations often make

• Treasurer keeping association cash in a personal account
• No receipts for "small" cash payments
• Spending reserve money on running costs
• Reports shared only when someone complains
• No written handover when the committee changes

If your organisation is a cooperative society rather than an apartment association, Somity Keeper is built for savings, loans and instalment collection — and Somity Keeper Lite is the lightweight option for small groups.

How Society Keeper helps

Society Keeper gives a new association full double-entry accounting without needing an accountant on the committee: receipt, payment, supplier bill, journal and contra vouchers with maker-checker approval, an editable chart of accounts, and opening balances. Reports such as the trial balance, cash and bank book, receipts and payments, income and expenditure and balance sheet are ready at any time, and an auditor role can view the books without changing them. Explore more guides on our blog.