Loading User Guide...
Loading User Guide...
As a community leader, you have powerful tools at your fingertips to manage your HOA efficiently. This guide covers everything you need to know.
Managing a community is a significant responsibility, and we're here to make it easier. This guide will help you leverage all of HeyNeighbor's tools to create a thriving, connected community.
Leading a community is a big responsibility! Here are the additional tools and features available to help you manage your HOA effectively.
The Management Inbox is a shared communication hub where all admins, managers, and board members can view and respond to resident inquiries together.
Unread Alerts
Purple dot shows new messages
Subject Lines
Easily scan & prioritize requests
Separate from DMs
Private chats stay private
💡Tip: The Management Inbox is separate from regular direct messages. You can still message individual residents privately — those conversations won't appear in the shared inbox!
💬 Communication is Key
Regular updates keep residents informed and engaged. Use announcements and the forum to share news.
📊 Data-Driven Decisions
Use the analytics and reports to make informed decisions about community improvements and budgets.
🤝 Encourage Participation
Active residents make stronger communities. Promote voting, events, and forum discussions.
⚡ Streamline Processes
Use digital forms and automated processes to reduce administrative burden and improve efficiency.
Understanding who can do what in your community
HeyNeighbor uses a sophisticated permission system to ensure the right people have access to the right features. Each role is carefully designed to balance responsibility with capability.
Full System Control
Operations Management
Governance & Oversight
Specialized Groups
Community Members
Vendors & Contractors
Security First
All roles are designed with security in mind. Sensitive financial and personal data is restricted to authorized users only.
Customizable
Admins can customize certain permissions for each role to fit your community's unique needs and governance structure.
Document Permissions
Management can set document and document category/folder permission and restriction using both user role types or by assigning access to specific users.
All communication and content creation features are accessed from the web app. The mobile app is resident-focused and lacks management capabilities.
The Community Hub is your community's newsfeed. You can post two types of content here: Updates (general announcements, news, and information) and Events (community activities with dates, times, and RSVP). Both types live on the newsfeed and are automatically included in the Daily Digest email that goes out at the end of each day, so even residents who don't check the app daily will stay informed.
🤖 AI Writing Help: The AI can generate titles and descriptions for you. Just provide a few key points and let it draft the rest.
📧 Daily Digest: Updates and Events posted to the Community Hub are automatically bundled into the Daily Digest email that goes out at the end of each day. Residents don't need to check the app to stay up to date.
Community Notices are official communications from the board that get sent as both emails and in-app messages to a selected group of users, or to all users at once. Unlike Community Hub posts, notices are direct, targeted correspondence — they arrive in each recipient's message inbox on both web and mobile apps.
When creating a General Notice, you can mark it as "Mandatory." Mandatory notices are delivered even to residents who have their notifications turned off, or who haven't yet joined the HeyNeighbor platform — they will still receive an email. Use this for critical communications that every resident must see.
Immediate or daily digest
In-App Message
Always delivered to inbox
Mandatory
Reaches everyone, even opted-out
📂 Notice History: A complete history of all notices that have been sent is available in the Notice List on the Forms & Notices page. Use it for reference, record-keeping, and to track which notices have been read.
You can create group chats for your various board and committee groups for easy messaging amongst each other. Group chats are created from the Messages page — just tap the new conversation button and select the members you want to include.
💡 Tip: Group chats keep committee discussions organized and separate from resident-facing communications. You can also send direct messages to individual users.
Leverage the AI Chat feature to provide residents with instant, accurate answers about community topics.
Post questions you want residents to be mindful of:
Give the AI coached answers by uploading:
💡 Pro Tip: Committees can create living documents with answers and advice that expand over time. Upload these to supplement or replace existing FAQs in the AI's knowledge base.
The Management Inbox allows residents to message the board or management team without choosing a specific person. Any manager can respond from this shared inbox.
Purple Dot
Indicates unread messages
Shared Inbox
All managers see same messages
First Responder
Anyone can reply
💡 Note: The Management Inbox is separate from your personal direct messages. Private conversations with individual residents stay private and won't appear in the shared inbox.
📰 Community Hub Updates
Public posts → Newsfeed + Daily Digest
📋 Community Notices
Targeted messages → Email + In-App
👥 Group Chats
Internal team discussions
📬 Management Inbox
Receive resident inquiries
Guest List gives your front desk and guard team a single workflow for expected arrivals, check-ins, denials, and recurring access.
Create guard house and concierge users as Service Provider role and enable Guest List Guard. This gives full guest-list operations while keeping access appropriately limited across the rest of the platform.
Ask residents to add guests with the correct expected day and arrival time. This keeps guard operations faster and reduces calls at busy entry periods.
Never miss important community updates! Control what notifications you receive and how you get them.
💡 Pro Tip: Enable email notifications for payment reminders and vote deadlines so you never miss important dates, even when you're not checking the app!
Customize your experience and keep your information up to date. A complete profile helps you get the most out of your community platform.
💡 Getting Started Tip: Start by completing your profile information and setting up payment auto-pay. Then explore notification settings to get alerts that matter most to you!
HOA laws vary significantly from state to state. Our free compliance guides help you understand the specific requirements for your state, including meeting notice periods, voting rules, assessment limits, and enforcement restrictions.
💡 Pro Tip: Understanding your state's HOA laws helps ensure your community operates transparently and protects homeowner rights.
Want to check if your HOA's CC&Rs, bylaws, or rules comply with your state's laws? Our AI-powered audit tool analyzes your documents against state requirements.
Start Free Document AuditHere are insider tips to help you get the most out of your community platform and connect better with your neighbors!
Remember, the AI chat is always available for quick questions! You can also reach out to your community board members through the forum or contact information in the Documents section.
HeyNeighbor works perfectly on your phone! Make it even better with these mobile tricks:
🏠 Home Screen Shortcut
Add HeyNeighbor to your home screen like a real app!
🔊 Voice-to-Text
Speak your forum posts and AI questions
📷 Quick Photos
Take photos right in forms for maintenance requests
🔔 Smart Notifications
Enable for urgent alerts even when phone is locked
Use these professionally crafted letter templates to introduce HeyNeighbor to your community. Choose the style and length that best fits your community's communication preferences.
Formal, business-appropriate tone ideal for official HOA communications and board announcements.
Warm, approachable tone perfect for close-knit communities and casual communication styles.