Common-area expenses and how dues cover them

Recording

Common expenses are general expenses on the association's place: guard agency invoice, Meralco for streetlights, the gardener, water for the park, the secretary's honorarium, repairs to the clubhouse. Recorded like any expense, receipt attached, category chosen. Expenses that belong to one lot (rare — a repair the lot owner must reimburse) are recorded against the lot.

The split

The by-laws say how costs are shared: equally per lot, by lot area, or a custom table (corner lots more, phase 2 less until its roads are done). Set the rule in Settings › Money › Split; the P&L shows each lot's share beside its dues so the assembly can see that a 120 m² lot pays its share and a 250 m² lot pays its.

Dues versus costs

Money › Association report: dues billed, dues collected, common expenses, surplus or shortfall — this month, year to date, and the same period last year. Reserve fund movements shown separately. The report is the treasurer's slide at the assembly, and it prints as one page.

Special assessments

A one-off cost — repaving, a new gate — is a special assessment: a one-time line added to every lot's statement, split by the same rule or a different one you choose, tracked to collection like dues. The report shows it apart from regular dues.