Do we have to pay for meetings our manager attends?

Frequently, past a certain number. Many agreements include a set number of meetings per year in the base fee and bill for the rest, sometimes with an after-hours surcharge if your meetings run in the evening.

Count your real cadence before you shop: regular Board meetings, the annual meeting, budget workshops, and any committee meetings where you expect management to attend. A Board meeting monthly plus an annual plus two budget sessions is fifteen, not twelve.

Then require every proposal to state meetings included, the charge per additional meeting, and the after-hours rate. It is one of the most common gaps between the quoted price and the invoice.

Ask what attendance actually means as well. Preparing the packet, attending, and producing draft minutes within a stated number of days are three separate pieces of work, and some firms include the first two and bill the third. A Board that waits five weeks for minutes cannot approve last month's business at this month's meeting.

Also confirm whether a virtual meeting is charged at the same rate as an in-person one. Since most associations went hybrid the answer varies, and it is rarely volunteered.