Financial Oversight · Reading the Packet

How to Read the AR Past Due Report

No report in the monthly packet gets read more carefully by boards than the accounts receivable past-due report. It is where the human reality of an association lives: who is behind, by how much, and what is being done. Read it well and you build credibility every month. Read it poorly and you miss the patterns that drive collection risk into the rest of the year.

The Bottom Line

The accounts receivable past-due report (the AR aging report) shows every owner with an outstanding balance at the close of the period, organized by how old each piece of the balance is — current, 30 to 59 days past due, 60 to 89 days past due, and over 90 days past due. Each account also shows a status code that tells you where the collection process stands — reminder notice, demand letter, intent-to-lien, attorney referral, payment plan, or board review. The report is the bridge between the bookkeeping ("we billed this much in assessments") and the cash reality ("but we have not yet collected this much"). Reading it well requires four skills: understanding what each aging bucket means, decoding the status column, recognizing concentration risk, and knowing when statutory cure periods apply.

Why This Report Matters More Than the Income Statement Suggests

The income statement shows recognized assessment income — billed, regardless of whether it was collected. That number can look healthy even when the cash side of the operation is under stress. The bank statements show what was deposited. The AR past-due report sits in the gap: what was billed but has not been paid, owner by owner, with the full collection history visible at a glance.

Boards almost always pay more attention to this report than the treasurer expects. They want to know who is behind, by how much, and what is being done about it. A treasurer who can answer those three questions in real time, with current escalation status and clear context, builds significant credibility on this report alone. A treasurer who cannot loses the confidence of the board faster than on any other topic.

Two skills matter here. The first is structural: reading the aging buckets and the status column accurately. The second is interpretive: recognizing when most of the past-due balance sits concentrated with a small number of owners, distinguishing collection-stress patterns from billing-cycle artifacts, and connecting the AR picture to the income statement, the cash flow, and the legal procedures that govern collection.

What the Report Contains

The AR past-due report is generated as part of the monthly close. For every owner with a non-zero outstanding balance, the report shows:

• The owner’s internal account number.
• The unit or lot identifier and property address.
• The resident or owner of record contact.
• The status — where the account currently sits in the collection escalation process.
• The four aging buckets: Current, 30–59 days, 60–89 days, and over 90 days.
• The total balance outstanding for that account.

The report runs many pages for a mid-sized association — fifty or more delinquent accounts is common. It is typically sorted by balance descending, so the largest delinquent accounts appear at the top. That sort order is deliberate. The accounts at the top of the report are the ones with the most concentrated risk and typically the most active collection process.

Two things the report does not show:

• Owners current on their accounts. They do not appear. If your community has 300 units and the report shows 47 accounts, the other 253 are current.
• The underlying transactions that built up each balance. For owner-by-owner transaction detail, you need the individual owner ledger (a sub-report kept by the management company) or the general ledger.

The Four Aging Buckets, Plain English

The four aging buckets are defined by how many days have passed since each piece of an owner’s outstanding balance became due. The columns total to the balance column; an owner can have amounts in multiple buckets at the same time.

Current

Recently billed amounts that are not yet past due. An owner who owes their assessment for the current month, but whose payment is not yet late, has a current balance — not a past-due one. The fact that an owner appears on the AR past-due report does not always mean they are delinquent. They may simply have a current-month balance not yet paid by the snapshot date. Read the next three buckets to know whether they are actually behind.

30 to 59 days past due

Amounts that are between 30 and 59 days past their due date. An owner with balance only in the 30–59 bucket is roughly one missed payment behind. This is the earliest stage at which collection escalation typically begins — usually a reminder notice from the management company or the association.

60 to 89 days past due

Amounts 60 to 89 days past due — roughly two missed payments. Concerning but not yet critical. Most accounts that reach this bucket either pay or move to formal demand processes.

Over 90 days past due

The most important bucket on the report. Balances over 90 days old are where real collection risk lives. Concentration here drives cash flow stress for the association, and accounts with significant over-90 balances are usually well into formal escalation — final notice, intent-to-lien, attorney referral, or active litigation.

The Status Column — Where the Collection Process Lives

The status column tells you what is being done about each delinquent account. Most aging reports just show buckets; the better ones — including most reports your management company produces — show the formal collection escalation step the account currently sits in. Reading the status column tells you not just how delinquent an owner is, but what action is actively underway.

The exact status codes vary by management company, but most associations use a step structure that looks roughly like this:

A few patterns to recognize:

• Most accounts that reach the intent-to-lien stage resolve at that stage. Owners take a lien threat seriously.
• Accounts at the attorney referral stage are typically the largest balances and the longest-running delinquencies. Directors should not contact these owners directly; communication runs through the management company and counsel.
• Board Review status means an action is pending the board — usually a fee waiver request, a payment plan term outside policy, or a foreclosure resolution. Bring these to the next board meeting with context.
• Payment Plan status means an active arrangement is in place. Know the terms of any plan affecting your community so you can answer board questions about adherence.

Statutory Cure Periods — the Numbers Boards Get Wrong Most Often

Before an association can foreclose on an owner’s property for unpaid assessments — or in some states, before it can initiate certain collection actions — statute requires that the owner be given a defined cure period to pay the balance. The most common error directors make is getting the cure period wrong. Two states’ rules:

Texas

Texas Property Code § 209.0064 requires that before an association may initiate certain collection actions or foreclose on its assessment lien for a residential subdivision, the owner must receive written notice and an opportunity to cure the delinquency within 45 days. The 45-day cure period is the current statutory standard — not 30 days, which is one of the most frequently misstated numbers in Texas association governance. The notice itself must comply with the form and delivery requirements of Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0056, which governs pre-enforcement notice for residential subdivision associations.

If a Texas board hears anyone — manager, attorney, fellow director — refer to a "30-day cure" period under Chapter 209, the right move is to ask which statute is being cited. The current law is 45 days. Acting on the older number can invalidate a foreclosure action.

Florida

Florida’s collection statutes differ between HOAs and condominiums. Fla. Stat. § 720.3085 governs HOA collection and lien procedures, including the form of notice required before a claim of lien is recorded and before a foreclosure action proceeds. Fla. Stat. § 718.116 governs condominium assessments and includes specific lien filing, notice content, and pre-foreclosure timing requirements. Both statutes contain detailed procedural rules that the association’s collection attorney follows; directors do not need to memorize them, but they do need to know the rules exist and that procedural defects can defeat an otherwise valid claim.

What this means for the board

The board does not run the collection process. The management company and counsel do. But the board has fiduciary responsibility to see that the process is being run lawfully. A few board-level checks:

• Confirm that the collection policy adopted by the board reflects current statute, not legacy language with the wrong cure period.
• Confirm that any account at the intent-to-lien or attorney-referral stage has had the statutory notice and cure period documented.
• Confirm that the association’s counsel is the one driving the legal steps, not the management company on its own.

Concentration Risk — the Pattern That Drives Real Cash Stress

Total past-due in dollar terms is one number. Concentration — how much of that total sits with how few owners — is a different question and often a more important one.

A community with $80,000 in total past-due spread across 80 accounts at $1,000 each is a different problem than a community with $80,000 in total past-due where four accounts hold $20,000 each. The first is a broad collection-policy problem; the second is a concentrated risk that depends on resolution of just four cases.

Quick test for concentration: add up the over-90 column total. Then add up the over-90 balances of just the top five accounts. If the top five make up more than half of the total over-90 dollars, the community has concentrated risk. The board should know the names (or account numbers) and the status of each of those accounts in real time.

Five Common Misreadings

Strong Treasurer Answers to Four Common Board Questions

"How much are we owed total?"

Weak answer: "About [round number]."

Strong answer: "Total past-due is [amount]. About [percent] of that sits in the over-90 bucket. The top five accounts make up [percent] of total past-due. We are tracking [number] accounts at the attorney-referral or intent-to-lien stage; the balance of accounts is moving through the standard escalation steps."

"Is collection getting worse?"

Weak answer: "It is hard to say."

Strong answer: "Comparing this period to the prior three, total past-due is [up/down/flat]. The over-90 column is [up/down/flat]. The number of new accounts entering the escalation process is [trend]. There are [number] new payment plans this period and [number] resolutions. Overall the trend is [stable/concerning/improving]."

"Why hasn’t this owner paid yet?"

Weak answer: "I am not sure — the collection process takes time."

Strong answer: "Account [number] is at [step]. The most recent action was [action] on [date]. The next escalation is [action] on [date]. Counsel is driving the timeline. If the board wants to discuss an alternative approach for this account, that should be a separate executive-session conversation."

"Are we following the statute on collections?"

Weak answer: "Yes, the management company handles all that."

Strong answer: "Our collection policy was last updated [date] and reflects the current statutory framework — Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0064 [or Fla. Stat. § 720.3085 / § 718.116] for cure periods and notice requirements. Counsel handles the formal steps. Every account at the lien or referral stage has documented compliance with the notice and cure period."

A Five-Minute Monthly Read of the AR Report

1. Look at the over-90 column total. Compare to the prior month and to the trailing three months. Note the direction.
2. Identify the top five accounts by balance. Confirm each is in the right collection step. Any 90+ account showing Step 1 is a finding.
3. Scan for accounts in Board Review status. Those are coming to the next meeting for action.
4. Scan for accounts in Payment Plan status. Confirm you know the terms of any plan over a threshold the board cares about.
5. Note any concentration: if the top five accounts make up more than half of total over-90, flag that for the board’s situational awareness.

Actionable Takeaways

1. Open the most recent AR past-due report. Add up the over-90 column total and the top five over-90 balances. Calculate the concentration ratio.
2. Identify any account showing 90+ days past due but a status earlier than Step 3. Bring it to the manager’s attention.
3. Confirm the association’s current collection policy reflects the correct statutory cure period for your state. In Texas, that is the 45-day cure under § 209.0064 — not 30 days.
4. For any account in attorney-referral status, confirm the file documents the statutory notice and the cure period before any further action.
5. Add the AR aging summary (total past-due, over-90 total, top five balances, concentration ratio, number of accounts in each step) to your standing board financial section.

Related CIC-SC Resources

• The Volunteer Director’s 30-Minute Financial Review
• The Volunteer Treasurer’s First 90 Days
• How to Read the AP Check Register
• How to Read the Bank Reconciliation
• Director Financial Glossary

References & Sources

1. Texas Property Code § 209.0064 — Statutory 45-day cure period before certain collection actions in residential subdivision associations.
2. Texas Property Code § 209.0056 — Form and delivery of pre-enforcement notice.
3. Florida Statutes § 720.3085 — HOA collection, lien, and foreclosure procedures.
4. Florida Statutes § 718.116 — Condominium assessments, liens, and collection procedures.
5. AICPA, Audit and Accounting Guide: Common Interest Realty Associations — Allowance for doubtful accounts and assessment recognition.
6. Community Associations Institute (CAI), Collection Best Practices.
7. Common Interest Community Standards Council, Governance Standard CIC-BOS — Financial Oversight.

Tags: accounts receivable · AR aging · delinquencies · collections · Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0064 · Fla. Stat. § 720.3085 · Fla. Stat. § 718.116 · concentration risk

CICSC provides educational resources and governance standards. CICSC does not provide legal, accounting, tax, engineering, insurance, or reserve study services. Boards should consult qualified professionals for matters requiring professional judgment.