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Getting Started with Nestingbird

Getting Started • Updated 4 days ago

Welcome to Nestingbird

Nestingbird helps your HOA understand its costs, build a budget, and keep track of payments — all in one place. This guide walks you through the first things to do after signing up so you can get the most out of the platform right away.

Step 1: Take Your Building Health Score

The first thing you'll do is take the Building Health Score — a free assessment that evaluates your association across six dimensions. It takes about three minutes.

  • Reserve Health — how well-funded your reserves are and whether you're saving enough for major expenses.
  • Compliance — whether your governing documents and insurance are current and accessible.
  • Governance — how active and organized your board is, from meetings to elections.
  • Financial Transparency — whether your finances are tracked, categorized, and visible to your community.
  • Maintenance Planning — how well you're tracking building systems and planning for capital improvements.
  • Community Engagement — how responsive your board is to homeowner requests and communication.

The assessment asks about your building's basics:

  • Building details — type (condo, townhouse, etc.), number of units, age, monthly charges, and amenities.
  • Governance — board size, meeting frequency, management structure, and reserve study status.
  • Financials — operating balance, reserve balance, average monthly expenses, and outstanding loans.

After the questionnaire, you can optionally upload documents to give Nestingbird more context for a deeper analysis:

  • Bylaws or CC&Rs
  • Insurance policy
  • Financial statements
  • Meeting minutes
  • Reserve study

Once submitted, Nestingbird generates your score with a breakdown by dimension, an AI-powered analysis, and specific recommendations tied to features in the app. You can share the results with your board by email directly from the results page.

Step 2: Complete Your Property Information

From your Dashboard, you'll see a series of setup cards that highlight what still needs attention. Start with the basics:

  • Association name and email — so members know who communications are coming from.
  • Insurance policy number and expiration date — Nestingbird uses this to send automatic renewal reminders before your coverage lapses.
    See Managing Your Insurance Policy.
  • Utility account numbers — water and electrical accounts for your association's records.

Missing fields show a badge on the card so you can see at a glance what still needs filling in.

Step 3: Upload Your HOA Documents

Upload your two foundational documents: bylaws and insurance policy. These are essential for compliance scoring and are made available to owners and board members who need them. You can upload directly from the Dashboard or forward documents by email to your account's Document Mailbox.

For a full walkthrough, see Uploading Bylaws & Governing Documents.

Step 4: Set Up Your Units

Units are the foundation of your financial structure — each one represents an ownership interest with a percentage that determines its share of monthly assessments. You can populate units by uploading your declaration (Nestingbird extracts unit numbers and ownership percentages automatically) or by adding them manually. Once your units are created, invite your members and assign them to their units to establish current ownership.

Setting up units unlocks online collections, invoicing, and accurate resale disclosures. See Setting Up Your Units for a complete walkthrough.

Step 5: Invite Your Members

Invite your fellow board members and unit owners so they can access the Dashboard, review documents, pay assessments, and participate in governance. The easiest way is from the Units tab — click the transfer icon (left-right arrows) on any unit to invite a new owner by name and email. They'll receive an invitation to claim their unit and set up their account.

Having at least three board members on the platform improves your Governance score, and inviting all owners enables online collections, election voting, and the ticket system.

What to Tackle Next

Once the basics are in place, here are the highest-impact things to focus on — each one moves the needle on your Building Score and makes your association easier to manage:

  • Connect your bank account — automatically import transactions so you have real-time visibility into your finances. See Connecting Your Bank Account.
  • Create your annual budget — the budget wizard walks you through reviewing last year's spending, setting a reserve rate, and planning for capital projects. See Creating Your Annual Budget.
  • Schedule board meetings — set up a recurring meeting schedule so your board stays on track. See Scheduling & Running Board Meetings.
  • Track your building systems — catalog major systems like HVAC, roofing, and plumbing so you can plan maintenance proactively. See Tracking Building Systems.
  • Enable 22.1 disclosures — if you're an Illinois condo association, fill out the disclosure questionnaire so owners can generate compliant resale packages. See Enabling 22.1 Resale Disclosures.

Your Building Score Keeps Improving

Your Building Score updates as you use Nestingbird. Every document you upload, meeting you record, transaction you categorize, and system you track contributes to a higher score. Think of it as your association's progress tracker — the more you put in, the clearer the picture of your building's health becomes.

Need Help?

Browse the topics in our Help Center for detailed guides on every feature, or email us at support@nestingbird.co any time.