+ Base fee
Normalized to a common monthly basis regardless of whether the quote was per-door, flat, or a percentage of budget.
Home › The BoardMatch Report
The deliverable
The BoardMatch Report
One document that makes incompatible proposals genuinely comparable — same rows, same definitions, same three-year basis — projects what each will actually cost, and flags what a Board would otherwise find out after signing.
It does not contain a recommendation. There is no winner marked, no star rating, and no ranking we impose. The comparison is the deliverable; the decision is yours.
The bid matrix
Every proposal is a column. Every comparison point is a row. Below is a fragment from a 250-unit HOA bid.
Sample comparison — 250-unit HOA
4 proposals
| Company A | Company B | Company C | Company D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee model | Per unit | Per unit | Flat monthly | % of budget |
| Headline quote | $14.00 /unit | $15.20 /unit | $4,200 /mo | 6% of budget |
| Year 1 base fee | $42,000 | $45,600 | $50,400 | $47,400 |
| Annual escalator | 5% fixed | CPI, cap 3% | None | Tied to budget |
| Onboarding fee | $8,500 | $4,000 | $0 | $12,000 |
| Est. ancillary (yr 1) | $8,800 | $4,700 | $2,300 | $10,400 |
| 3-year Total Cost of Management | $147,026 | $159,079 | $158,100 | $188,148 |
| Scope coverage | 16 / 22 | 19 / 22 | 22 / 22 | 20 / 22 |
| Board meetings included | 6 of 12 | 12 of 12 | 12 of 12 | 10 of 12 |
| After-hours meeting surcharge | $95 /hr | None | None | $75 /hr |
| Named manager | Named, CMCA | Named, AMS | Named, PCAM | Not named |
| That manager’s portfolio load | 14 communities | 9 communities | 6 communities | Not answered |
| Manager turnover, last 12 mo | 31% | 18% | 11% | Declined to disclose |
| Financials delivered by | 25th | 15th | 10th | 20th |
| Reviewed by an accountant | No | Yes, CPA | Yes, CPA | No |
| SLAs contractual | Aspirational | Contractual | Contractual | Aspirational |
| Software platform | Vantaca | CINC Systems | Vantaca | Proprietary |
| Auto-renewal clause | Evergreen | 1-yr, 60-day notice | 1-yr, 30-day notice | Evergreen |
| State license verified | CAM + CAB | CAM + CAB | CAM + CAB | CAB expired |
This is a worked example, not real bid data. The companies are anonymous placeholders and the figures are constructed to show how the comparison behaves. The point it makes is real: Company A wins the headline and loses the decision, because a 5% fixed escalator compounds, onboarding runs high, the assigned manager carries 14 other communities, financials arrive on the 25th, and six of this Board’s twelve meetings bill extra plus an after-hours surcharge.
Total Cost of Management
The headline number is the least useful number in a proposal. TCM projects three years of all-in cost: base fee, escalator compounding, onboarding, transition, and the ancillary fee schedule priced at your community’s actual volumes.
× Escalator
Compounded across the term. A 5% fixed increase and a CPI-capped-at-3% increase diverge by thousands by year three.
+ Onboarding
Initiation, transition-in, and any setup charge, amortized across the term so it is visible rather than absorbed.
+ Ancillary
Your actual volumes against their fee schedule: meeting counts, collection actions, resale certificates, ARC reviews, mailings.
Flags the report generates automatically
Auto-flag
Escalator above CPI
A fixed percentage increase that outpaces inflation, with the compounded dollar impact over the term shown in plain numbers.
Auto-flag
Portfolio load above median
Communities per manager is the best single predictor of the unreturned-phone-call complaint. Published on every proposal.
Auto-flag
Meetings included below your cadence
Your Board said twelve. The proposal includes six. Every additional one bills, plus an after-hours surcharge.
Auto-flag
Onboarding above market
Flagged when initiation exceeds the category median for your size band by a stated multiple.
Auto-flag
Fee schedule stale
Ancillary fees must be re-attested every 180 days. The date is shown.
Auto-flag
Evergreen auto-renewal
Contracts that renew silently unless notice lands inside a narrow window, paired with your actual notice deadline.
Auto-flag
Financials after the 20th
Late close cycles are the single most common accounting complaint Boards report.
Auto-flag
SLAs stated but not contractual
A response-time promise that is not in the agreement is marketing, not a commitment.
Auto-flag
Declined to disclose
Turnover, portfolio load, or fee lines left blank render as visible non-answers, not empty cells.
Start with what you already know.
You know your unit count. You know what your current management does well and what it does not. That is enough to begin.
Free for Boards. No calls until you ask.