How Do Lockbox Services Work?

As a homeowner’s association or condominium owner’s association, it is important to have association dues and other fees processed quickly and credited accurately to the proper accounts. With Tidewater Property Management, association members can send payments directly to their property management company, where employees process the payments, update the account records, and forward the fees to the financial institution used by the association. Lockbox services make the process faster and more efficient by allowing payments to be sent directly to the financial institution thorough a lockbox.

What Are the Benefits of a Lockbox Service?

A lockbox is a PO box that is accessed directly by a bank or financial institution on behalf of the property management company and the community association. Payments are sent to the lockbox, where bank personnel receive them, process them, and credit the appropriate accounts. Transaction records are then sent to the property management company to update individual accounts for association members. This eliminates the extra payment processing that is normally done by the property management company and can provide several benefits, including:

• Faster payment crediting – Association members will have their payments credited to their accounts faster, avoiding unnecessary late fees and other problems.
• Quicker access to capital – For an association, the fees collected will be deposited and available faster, allowing quicker payment for vendors and other obligations.
• More accurate direction of funds – Lockbox services help to avoid commingling of funds and allow the proper accounts to be credited quickly and accurately.
• Better reporting – Payments are processed in a consistent manner with accurate reporting for accounting purposes.
• Improved accuracy – Lockbox services are designed to accurately process payments with reliable methods to deal with potential problems such as missing account numbers, illegible checks, or incorrect payment amounts.

In short, lockbox services make the payment process easier, faster, and more efficient for all parties involved, including association board members, homeowners, and the property management company itself.

Lockbox Services for Associations in Maryland, DC & Virginia

At Tidewater Property Management, we use lockbox services extensively, and we can help associations choose the best lockbox services to meet the needs of their community homeowners. Since 1989, we have been providing comprehensive property management services throughout Maryland, including association management, rental management, property maintenance, real estate service, and more. To learn how we can help make processing payments quicker and easier with lockbox services, call us today at (443) 548-0191 or contact us online!