The problem: billing fees with Excel and WhatsApp
In most condominiums billing works like this: a spreadsheet with the units, a WhatsApp group where residents send photos of their receipts and a manager who reconciles everything by hand at the end of the month. It works while the condominium is small. Then come the payments nobody recorded, the residents who swear they paid and the delinquency nobody can calculate with certainty.
How billing works in CondoCMS
1. Fees generate themselves
On the 1st of every month, CondoCMS generates the charges for every unit from the configured concepts: the regular fee by ownership share, fixed amounts or special assessments approved by the assembly. Generating a month is idempotent: running it again doesn’t duplicate charges.
2. Residents report payments with a receipt
From their portal, owners see their balance and report a payment, choosing the method (SINPE Móvil, transfer, deposit and others) and attaching the receipt. No more photos lost in the chat.
3. Management confirms in one click
Management or the treasurer sees the payments waiting for review, opens the receipt and confirms or rejects it. Once confirmed, the payment is applied automatically: to the oldest debt first and, on a tie, to the late fee before the fee. Any excess stays as a credit balance for next month.
4. Delinquency calculates itself
Each charge keeps its outstanding balance, so delinquency doesn’t depend on adding up payments by hand. Management sees which units owe, how much and for how many days. The late fee is applied automatically after the due date at the rate the condominium sets, and a weekly reminder goes to anyone with an overdue balance.
Built for Costa Rican law and practice
- Ownership share (coeficiente de copropiedad) as the basis of the calculation, as set by Law 7933.
- Colones as the currency, with local formats throughout.
- A traceable history of every charge and payment, which makes the debt certificate needed for court collection easy to produce.
- Electronic invoicing built in if the condominium must issue receipts to Hacienda. See electronic invoicing for condominiums.
Who uses it
- Management: generates the month, reviews payments and follows up on delinquency.
- Treasurer: approves payments and reviews finances.
- Auditor (fiscal): sees everything in read-only mode.
- Owners: check their account statement and report payments from their phone.
If fee calculation still causes arguments in your condominium, read our guide on how to calculate the maintenance fee.
Frequently asked questions
How does CondoCMS calculate each unit’s fee?
Each billing concept can be a fixed amount or be calculated by ownership share. When generating the month, the system splits the budgeted amount among the units and adjusts rounding cents on the last unit, so the total matches the budget exactly.
Can residents pay by card inside CondoCMS?
Today residents pay through their usual channel (SINPE Móvil, transfer, deposit or other) and report the payment with the receipt in their portal. Management confirms it and the system applies it to the account statement.
What happens to the debt if the unit is sold?
Each charge records who owned the unit when it was generated, so the history isn’t lost with the sale and management can issue a debt or good-standing certificate.
Can we bill special assessments?
Yes. Special assessments, late fees and fines are billing concepts of their own and appear on the same account statement as the regular fee.