Choosing software
Accounting and financial statement features: the checklist
Accounting is the backbone of condominium management, and the annual financial statement, governed by Article 1130-bis of the Italian Civil Code, is the document through which the manager answers to the owners' meeting for their management. A condominium software is not adequate if it merely adds figures: it must keep the cash journal, manage the chart of accounts, allocate expenses according to millesimal criteria and produce the documents that make up the statement in a coherent and verifiable way. This guide lists, as a checklist, the accounting features a platform should offer, so you can assess whether the tool truly supports office work and the manager's accountability to the owners.
Accounting features to check in a condominium software
- Cash journal with chronological recording of income and expenditure and links to bank movements.
- Configurable chart of accounts by type of expense and by millesimal table.
- Automatic allocation of expenses under the criteria of Article 1123 and the specific tables.
- Management of multiple financial years with opening, closing and carrying forward of balances.
- Production of the statement complete with the documents required by Article 1130-bis.
- Accounting register and dedicated condominium bank account with balance reconciliation.
- Management of funds (ordinary, extraordinary, reserve) kept separate from current operations.
- Export of accounting data in reusable formats for review and verification.
Cash journal, chart of accounts and bank movements
The basis of accounting is the cash journal, the chronological register of all income and expenditure of the management. Adequate software must allow every movement to be recorded with date, amount, description and account, and ideally to link entries to the movements of the dedicated condominium bank account, which Article 1129 of the Italian Civil Code requires. Reconciliation between the cash journal and the bank statement is what makes the accounts verifiable.
The chart of accounts is the other fundamental feature. It must be organised by type of expense and linked to the millesimal tables, so that each item knows how it must be allocated. A well-structured chart of accounts is the precondition for allocation and the statement to be consistent with each other, preventing the same expenses from being attributed differently across the various documents.
Allocating expenses under the legal criteria
Allocation is where accounting meets the law. Article 1123 of the Italian Civil Code sets the general principle of allocation in proportion to ownership thousandths, with specific criteria for expenses on common parts serving owners to different extents and for stairs and lifts governed by Articles 1124 and 1126. Software must automatically apply the correct criterion to each category of expense, based on the configured tables.
The quality of this feature is measured by its ability to handle real situations: expenses subject to different tables, units with particular uses, distinct shares of ownership and of use. A tool that forces all expenses onto the general table, ignoring the specific criteria, produces formally contestable allocations. Consistency between the criterion used to charge the instalments and the one used in the final statement is essential for parity between the two sides.
The statement compliant with Article 1130-bis
The annual statement is not a single schedule but a set of documents. Article 1130-bis of the Italian Civil Code provides for the accounting register, the financial summary and a brief explanatory note on the management, indicating ongoing relationships and pending matters. Adequate software produces all these documents in an integrated way, deriving them from the same accounting data, so that there are no discrepancies between the parts.
A useful feature is the distinction between the balance-sheet position and the accrual-based results of the year: the statement must show both the financial movements and the economic accrual, with each owner's position between paid and owed. Separate management of funds, ordinary, extraordinary and reserve, completes the picture, because it keeps sums set aside for specific purposes distinct from current operations.
Multi-year, reconciliations and data portability
Accounting management unfolds over several financial years. Software must handle the opening and closing of years, the carrying forward of balances and the consultation of history, because continuity of data is what allows an owner's position to be reconstructed over time and any challenges to be answered. Reconciliation features, which check the consistency between accounting balances and actual availability, reduce the risk of errors that would only emerge at approval.
Finally, the portability of accounting data is a quality criterion often overlooked. Being able to export the cash journal, allocations and statements in reusable formats facilitates review, handover and controls. AmministraPro covers the entire accounting cycle, from the cash journal to the statement under Article 1130-bis: the /funzioni and /prezzi pages describe the available features and the plans through which to activate them.
Frequently asked questions
Which accounting features must a condominium software have at a minimum?
The minimum is a cash journal with chronological recording of income and expenditure, a chart of accounts linked to the millesimal tables, automatic allocation of expenses under Article 1123 and production of the statement complete with the documents required by Article 1130-bis. To these are added management of the dedicated condominium bank account required by Article 1129 and balance reconciliations. Without these features the tool does not support the manager's accounting accountability.
Must the software produce the statement under Article 1130-bis?
Yes. Article 1130-bis of the Italian Civil Code provides that the statement be composed of the accounting register, the financial summary and a brief explanatory note on the management, indicating ongoing relationships and pending matters. Adequate software generates all these documents by deriving them from the same accounting data, ensuring consistency between the parts and preventing the schedules presented to the meeting from containing contestable discrepancies.
Why does consistency between instalment allocation and the final statement matter?
Because the final statement must reproduce what the instalments charged: if quotas were calculated on one table and the statement uses another, an owner may appear charged for an amount with a different accrual, and parity between the two sides breaks. Software that uses the same allocation criterion to charge the instalments and to build the final statement guarantees, by design, that the two documents coincide.
Is separate management of condominium funds needed?
It is very useful. Keeping the ordinary fund, the extraordinary fund and any reserve fund distinct from current operations lets you know at any time which sums are set aside for specific purposes, such as approved extraordinary works, and which are available for ordinary management. Software that manages funds separately makes the statement more readable and reduces the risk of confusing reserves with current availability.
How important is being able to export accounting data?
It is a criterion of quality and protection. Being able to export the cash journal, allocations and statements in reusable formats facilitates the review of accounts, handover to a new manager and checks in the event of a dispute. Data portability also ensures that the information remains with the manager and the condominium, rather than being locked into the software, making the choice of tool reversible and safe over time.
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