Enable and Manage the Homeowner Portal in TownSq (Setup Guide)

To enable and manage the homeowner portal in TownSq, the community’s management company or HOA admin must activate TownSq for the association, connect it to the correct property and resident records, then invite residents (or allow self-registration) and control what they can see and do using roles, permissions, and feature toggles. If everything is already set up, management is mainly monitoring access, updating resident/unit data, and publishing content so residents can reliably pay, submit requests, and receive notices.

 

Enable TownSq for the community (admin side)

 

• Confirm who controls setup: TownSq is usually enabled by the property management company (often tied to their backend system). If the board is asking, the answer is typically: ask management to activate TownSq for the association.
• Verify association data is connected: Units, owners, tenants, emails, and mailing addresses must be in the system. If a unit has the wrong owner or missing email, portal access will fail or go to the wrong person.
• Turn on key features: Enable the modules residents need (examples: announcements, documents, payments, maintenance/requests, violations/architectural requests if available for your setup).

 

Invite residents and control access

 

• Invitation method: Use admin tools to send invites to the email on file, or allow self-registration if your community policy permits it.
• Explain terms simply: A unit is the property record; a resident profile is the person; a role decides what they can do (owner vs tenant vs board).
• Permissions: Set what each role can access (example: tenants may submit maintenance but not see owner-only financial documents).
• Validation step: Test with one board member and one regular homeowner before inviting everyone. Confirm they can log in, see the right unit, and access the right menus.

 

Common problems and fixes

 

• Resident cannot register: Email on file is wrong, duplicate profile exists, or the unit is not linked. Fix the resident record, then resend invite.
• Resident sees the wrong account/unit: Unit assignment is incorrect. Correct the unit-owner/tenant mapping immediately to avoid privacy issues.
• Payments not showing: Payment feature may not be enabled for the association, or the accounting integration is not connected. Confirm with management and TownSq support.
• Not receiving notifications: Check notification settings in the app, email spam filters, and that the email/phone is correct.

 

If everything is already set up (ongoing management)

 

• Keep records clean: Update move-ins/move-outs, emails, and phone numbers quickly so access stays accurate.
• Publish consistently: Post announcements, upload current documents (rules, budgets, minutes), and archive old versions to reduce repetitive questions.
• Monitor requests: Track maintenance/messages and set internal response expectations so residents trust the portal.
• Access control: Remove access for former owners/tenants and confirm board/admin accounts use strong passwords.

 

When to contact TownSq or platform support

 

• Integration/accounting sync issues: balances, payments, ledgers not matching.
• System-wide login failures: invites not sending, registration blocked for many users.
• Data privacy concerns: users seeing other units, documents, or owner-only information.