Search Better, Smarter, and Faster.

Need help finding what you're looking for? Let us lend a hand.

You asked for it and we delivered! We are excited to announce new functionality to make it even easier to find information on your website.

More is less. Using a larger number of keywords now returns a smaller set of concise results. Keyword searches are now treated as “And” searches, so only site content that contains all of your keywords will appear within the search results. Additionally, search results are now conveniently ranked based on relevancy, with the most pertinent matches displayed first.

The Advanced Search tool has also been expanded with an easy to fill in form for advanced search options. To use this form, just click on Advanced Search from the Search page. This form offers numerous options to make your searches more precise and produce more useful results.

With Advanced Search, you can search for content...
...with all of the words
...with the exact phrase
...with at least one of the words
...without the words

The Advanced Search will even let you target a search by area of your site, such as the “2007 Meeting Minutes” folder within the Resource Center.

Contact AssociationVoice at (303) 322-5425 ext 202 or for any questions about these new features.

Announcing the AssociationVoice Management/Accounting System Integration Program

Is your Website integrated with your Management/Accounting system?  AssociationVoice now integrates with common industry-standard management systems including C3, Jenark, RUN, TOPS, and Yardi as well as many proprietary systems.  Integration allows management, board members and residents to:

• Access current resident account balance and transaction histories
• Pay dues online via online check, credit cards, and/or recurring Direct Debit
• Keep contact information like mailing addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses up-to-date
• Submit and view the status of Architectural Requests, Service Requests, Maintenance Requests and Covenant Violations
• View community-wide maintenance activities and their anticipated completion dates
• Access secure, automatically generated and automatically posted association Board Packets and Reports for management and board members
• ...and much more! 

Look for even more features to be released by December 12th, 2007. 

The Integration program is a full featured, powerful client-server utility for migrating/managing data between proprietary Homeowners Association Management/Accounting systems and AssociationVoice Websites. 

The Integration program is designed using Microsoft's .Net 2.0 framework for use with Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Access 2007, and Microsoft SQL Server 2005.  Please note that the program is also compatible with previous versions of Microsoft products which include Microsoft Windows Server 2000, Microsoft Access 2000/2003 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000.

Contact AssociationVoice at (303) 322-5425 ext 201 or for information about pricing and features currently available for your system.

Announcing Advanced Directory Search Capability

Need help finding a specific directory listing?  The new Google style advanced search capabilities allow you to quickly find what you are looking for.  Enter just the first few characters of a first name, last name, middle name, nickname, street name, street number, unit number, phone number, email address, account number… and select Search.  We’ll search the entire directory to locate the listing.  And since Residents can maintain their own listing, you’ll be guaranteed to have the most up-to-date information to reach them.

The Advanced Search function even helps you to create targeted searches using individual fields or multiple fields at once.  Any custom directory field(s) your community has in place, like Neighborhoods or Buildings, is automatically available within the Advanced Search as well.

The new Search Field Setup allows Site Administrators to have complete control in determining who gets access to specific search fields.  For example, allow Board Members and Manager Security levels to search by Account Number while preventing Residents use of this capability.  In fact, Residents won’t even see the option appear when they log in.

Management Firms and Master Associations with multiple association Websites have the additional capability to search across all of their properties by simply placing a check mark in the “Search all associations” check box and then entering what they are looking for.  When you find the listing, just click on the listing and it will automatically take you to their community’s Website.

We’ve even added a “Display My Listing” link at the top of the directory search page allowing Residents to easily make their listing viewable to other owners with a single click.  Information that an owner has not selected to be viewable to other owners, like mobile phone numbers or emergency contact information, is still available to the Board, Manager and Site Administrator security levels and is indicated as private by a yellow lock icon.

Enhanced Website Security Measures

Several new security measures have been released that have again set the standard within the Community Association Industry and offer you and your residents an unequalled level of protection.  The new security measures include Secured Socket Layer 128 bit encryption (SSL) being added for the Sign In and Sign Up pages as well as the encryption of Session Cookies.

As you may already be aware, the online payment pages for making payments with Credit Cards, ACH, and eChecks are currently protected with Secured Socket Layer encryption.  By adding this same level of protection to the Sign In, Sign Up, and Session Cookies we can assure the growing threat of Sniffers stealing your or your residents Sign In Information are stopped in their tracks.  This becomes especially important to those residents who may use the same Sign In Name and Password for all of their online activity, such as managing bank accounts or credit cards.

These new capabilities are just another step in a long series of precautions that AssociationVoice has implemented over the years to ensure your and your residents’ information is kept safe.  Also know that AssociationVoice actively manages Firewall protection, Intrusion Monitoring, and Real-Time Backup of your site’s content.

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of CAI's New and Expanded Web Site

Web sites have become an important communications tool for most organizations.  This certainly is the case with the Rocky Mountain Chapter of CAI.  While the Chapter has had a web site for several years, it had become obvious during the past year that the site should be upgraded in order to serve the members more effectively.

Once the decision was made to upgrade the web site, a process was initiated to identify a provider of the technology most suitable for the association.  A search of web site providers rather quickly narrowed the field to a few firms with the necessary experience and technical capability for servicing the Chapter’s specific requirements.  Fortunately, the firm found with a combination of the best system and staff for our purposes was located right in our “backyard,” which was AssociationVoice^SM, headquartered in Denver.

A contract was signed with AssociationVoice^SM  (“AV”) in the second quarter of 2003.  AV is known as the premier provider of  “Smart Technology” for the community association management industry.  Not only does AV have excellent technology, but also it has experienced personnel who really understand the community association management field and, importantly, who work cooperatively toward the client’s objectives.  By recognizing that web site development was not the Chapter’s business, partnering with a highly capable firm afforded a definitively superior product in less time, at a lower cost, and with fewer headaches than had the Chapter attempted alone to undertake the development in-house.

With AV’s web technology, support, and staff training, we were up to speed in a relatively short time, and the provision of content went quite smoothly.  Moreover, the Chapter’s staff controls the site’s content and design, as well as maintenance of the site, receiving technical assistance from AV on an as-needed basis.  Although other components are available and may be added, some of the principal features offered initially were:

• OfficeLink
• Online Resource Center
• Search Assistant
• Do-it-yourself WebPublishing
• Calendar
• Service Directory
• Job Bank

The new web site “went live” on November 1, with a different address of HOA-Colorado.org.

The best means to see and to appreciate the many useful features of the site is simply to tour the site.  This completely interactive and state-of-the-art Internet toolset dramatically improves the Chapter’s communications and management operations, while extending numerous opportunities to its members in communicating, gathering and sharing information, and becoming more involved.  Members, board members, and committees may share knowledge, ask questions, get answers, and keep each other informed - entirely online at anytime and from anywhere one has an Internet connection.

Check it out!  You will like it!  Then, give the Chapter feedback on how the site could be improved further to better meet your needs.

By Jerry D. Boswell, D.B.A., CFA

Announcing The New Link Builder

AssociationVoice’s self-publishing capabilities just got even better!

You've asked for it and we've delivered.  Adding hyperlinks to online forms, events, news articles, and items within the Resource Center is now as easy as 1-2-3.

Include links to agendas and past meeting minutes.  Enter an Alert about an important announcement you'd like to make and link to more detailed information anywhere on your site.  With the new Link Builder you can also create links to any page on your site, regardless if it displays on the menu.

Simply 1) Select the Insert Link button; then 2) Browse to the item you want to link to; and 3) Insert the Link.

Whatever your needs, with the new Link Builder capabilities, you'll find that ensuring your site is easy to navigate and that nothing is ever more than a click away is as simple as 1-2-3.

Announcing The New WebPublisher

AssociationVoice’s unparalleled Do-it-yourself WebPublisher capabilities just got even better!

The new WebPublisher is as easy to use as any word processor and doesn’t require you to have Web programming experience.  Format text, include numbered lists, bulleted lists, adjust paragraph alignment, insert symbols and underlines, add pop-up hyperlinks with titles, insert unlimited pictures and images and re-size them directly on the page, create tables, and even spell check your work.

Whatever your choice, with the new What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get view, you have complete control over the content and design of your site to enhance your association communication efforts.

Use the WebPublisher to create:

• Informational pages about your association
• Board and committee happenings pages
• Important numbers and contacts pages
• Step-by-step educational guides for common association procedures
• Frequently asked questions pages
• Real estate listings
• And much more…

Learn more about it by calling us at (800) 959-3442.

Announcing Advanced Calendar Capabilities

AssociationVoice’s Calendar capabilities just got even better!

You've asked for it and we've delivered.  Besides being as easy to use as any Word Processor, we've added the ability to enter Recurring Events in any permutation imaginable.  Enter your monthly Board meetings or even enter National Holidays.  With the new advanced Calendar capabilities you can load your association's Calendar for the entire year within a matter of minutes.

You can also enter Multi-Day Events once and have the event automatically appear within the convenient Month-At-A-Glance view for each day of the event.

For Management Firms and Master Associations we've created the ability to designate Master Events which will appear within all your associations' Calendars with a click of a button - that's great for entering office closures or upcoming Board Workshops. 

Whatever your needs, with the new advanced Calendar capabilities, you'll find that keeping your association's Calendar current just got even easier.

Software makes managing an association a little easier

By Pamela Dittmer McKuen
Special to the Chicago Tribune

Computer software streamlines our lives in countless ways. For homeowner associations, technology can help community associations manage their affairs and reduce costs.

Information, please. AssociationVoice is an Internet-based, subscription management program that quickly gives homeowners the information while reducing demands on the property manager. Two primary features are the Management Office, which performs routine clerical functions, and the Resource Center, which contains association documents. The Management Office permits owners to send comments and questions, set up electronic funds transfer to pay their assessments, check payment histories, request maintenance, register satellite dishes and report covenant violations.

"If you envision an association as a hub with spokes, the manager is in the center," said Drew Regitz, operations manager and one of the founders of the Denver company. "Everything goes to the manager, who then disseminates information to the appropriate person. If someone wants to find out what his balance is, he calls the manager, who calls the accounting group to forward the information. We have automated that process, which adds convenience and saves calls to the manager."

The Resource Center contains downloadable information files such as architectural change request forms, meeting agendas and minutes, financial reports, governing documents, newsletters and welcome packet.

"Homeowners can find out what happened at the last meeting and what is on the agenda for the next meeting," said Regitz. "And having historical archives helps with board transition issues."

Other available features include membership mailings, surveys, voting, events calendars and discussion forums.

To get started, associations must collect copies of the documents they want online. If the documents aren't in electronic form, AssociationVoice will scan them. Subsequent documents such as newsletters and meeting minutes, which are usually composed on computer these days, can be posted in a few easy steps.

Subscription costs vary according to association size and level of customization but start at $50 per month. For more information, call AssociationVoice at 800-959-3442 or log onto AssociationVoice.com.

Copyright, Chicago Tribune