An annual budget the whole board can read

The short answer: fit the budget on one page a resident can follow without the treasurer translating. What comes in by door, what goes out by the work it buys, what is held by name for future work, and what is left.

The test is the annual meeting. If a line needs a footnote from the treasurer's memory, the line is not finished. Owners forgive a plain page. They do not forgive discovering the budget at the meeting.

Money out is named by the work it buys, not by account codes. Mowing, snow, insurance, repairs. The roof and the lot are not leftovers; they are named and held apart.

• In: assessments by door, and any other income named line by line
• Out: the work it buys, grounds, buildings, insurance, running the association
• Reserve: the future work, the rough year, and what is already held
• Left: what remains, shown as a surplus or a gap the board answers for

The budget is drawn from the same books as the dues and the vendor file, so the number in the packet is the number on the door. The file you hand a CPA comes from those same books.

We do not keep the books as a service and do not give accounting advice. The treasurer still does the work.