Setting Up Autopilot Collections

Stop Chasing Payments

One of the most common frustrations for board members is collections — figuring out who owes what, sending invoices, following up on late payments, and having awkward conversations with neighbors. Nestingbird's autopilot collections handle all of this automatically so you can focus on running your building instead of chasing checks.

Prerequisites

Before enabling collections, you'll need a few things in place:

• Units set up — each unit needs a unit number and ownership percentage. See Setting Up Your Units.
• An approved budget — approving your budget sets each unit's monthly assessment amount based on their ownership percentage. This is what determines how much each owner pays. See Creating Your Annual Budget.
• Invoicing enabled — turn on invoicing under Settings → Invoicing. Enabling it runs a short setup that adds a payment method and creates your HOA's Stripe account. The payment method covers platform fees (1.2% card / 1.0% ACH per transaction, capped at $8), and a Stripe account is created either way — it's what lets you collect payments online, even if some owners ultimately pay you directly.

How It Works

Once your budget is approved and invoicing is enabled, Nestingbird handles everything automatically:

1. Three days before the 1st, Nestingbird generates invoices for every unit based on their assessment amounts.
2. On the 1st, each unit owner receives an email with their invoice and your association's payment details — bank account information and Zelle — so they know exactly where to send funds.
3. Every month, the cycle repeats. When a new budget is approved, unit fees roll over to the new amounts automatically — no manual updates needed.

How Owners Pay

Because online payments are set up when you enable invoicing, every invoice email includes a "Pay Now" button for online payment (card or bank), alongside your association's manual payment details for owners who prefer to pay you directly:

• ACH bank transfer — owners send payment directly to your HOA bank account using the routing and account numbers you provide in Settings.
• Zelle — owners send payment to the email or phone number you provide in Settings.

When an owner pays online, the invoice is marked paid automatically. For payments received by bank transfer, Zelle, or check, the board marks the invoice as paid in Nestingbird to keep the ledger accurate. Each unit has a complete payment ledger showing every invoice, payment, and outstanding balance.

Autopay vs. Manual Payment

Owners choose how they pay:

• Charge automatically — owners who save a payment method are charged on the 1st. No action required from the owner or the board.
• Pay online or directly — owners who prefer to pay manually use the "Pay Now" button on their invoice email, or send funds via the bank transfer and Zelle details shown there.

Online payment is especially useful for fines, deposits, and special assessments — larger one-off charges that owners may prefer to pay by card rather than out of their bank account.

To set up Stripe Connect, navigate to Settings > Payment Information and follow the Stripe onboarding flow.

Payment Information in Settings

The bank details and Zelle information you enter in Settings > Payment Information appear on every invoice email sent to owners. Make sure these details are accurate and up to date — they're how owners know where to send their payments. If your association changes banks or updates its Zelle contact, update these fields in Settings and all future invoices will reflect the new information.

Tracking Delinquent Accounts

Nestingbird tracks payment status for every unit in real time. From the Finances > Invoices tab, you can see at a glance who's paid, who's pending, and who's overdue. The board receives a monthly report of all overdue units, including each month that's missing, so you always have a clear picture of outstanding balances.

Automatic Late Reminders

Nestingbird automatically sends monthly email reminders to owners with overdue balances. These reminders are sent privately — other members won't know who is behind on payments. The reminders continue each month until the balance is resolved, so the board doesn't need to send awkward follow-up emails or make uncomfortable phone calls.

Special Assessments and Fines

Beyond regular monthly assessments, you can also use collections for:

• Special assessments (coming soon) — one-time charges for unexpected costs (roof repair, legal fees). Create a special assessment with board approval and invoices generate for every unit automatically.
• Fines — charges for rule violations. Fines appear on the owner's ledger alongside their regular assessments.