How to Set Up Community Polls and Surveys in Neighborhood.Online

To set up community polls and surveys in Neighborhood.Online, open the admin dashboard, go to the community engagement tools (Polls or Surveys), create a new poll/survey, choose who can see it, set voting rules and dates, publish it, then monitor results and export them if needed. If everything is already set up (roles, portal access, resident list), it’s mostly a 5–10 minute task.

 

Before starting (quick checks)

 

• Admin access: must be logged in as an admin/manager role that can post community content.
• Resident list: units and residents should already exist, otherwise people won’t receive it or won’t be eligible to vote.
• Portal access: residents need active accounts (or invitations sent) to participate.

 

Create a poll (fast, simple voting)

 

• Go to Admin Dashboard then find Community, Engagement, or Posts, then select Polls.
• Click Create New Poll.
• Add a clear question (example: “Which date works for the annual meeting?”).
• Add answer options (keep it short; avoid overlapping choices).
• Set audience: whole community, specific building, or specific groups if available.
• Set voting rules:
  • One vote per account (common) or one vote per unit (better for HOA decisions).
  • Allow changing vote on/off.
  • Anonymous on/off (anonymous reduces conflict but limits auditability).
• Set start/end date and publish.

 

Create a survey (multiple questions, better data)

 

• Find Surveys in the same engagement area and click Create New Survey.
• Add questions using common types:
  • Multiple choice: best for clean reporting.
  • Rating scale: “1–5 satisfaction”.
  • Short answer: use sparingly; harder to summarize.
• Set required questions only when necessary (too many required fields lowers completion).
• Choose audience, anonymous setting, and close date, then publish.

 

Avoid the most common setup mistakes

 

• Wrong eligibility: “per account” can let roommates vote twice; use per unit when the decision is unit-based.
• No end date: results keep changing; always set a close time.
• Vague options: choices like “Maybe” or overlapping dates create unusable results.
• Anonymous for official decisions: fine for feedback, risky for anything that needs an audit trail.

 

Test, publish, and confirm delivery

 

• Use Preview to confirm wording and options.
• If possible, send to a small test group first (board or staff).
• After publishing, confirm it appears in the resident feed/portal and that notifications (email/app) are enabled.

 

Results, exporting, and troubleshooting

 

• Open the poll/survey and view Responses or Results.
• Use Export (CSV/PDF if available) for board packets.
• If residents can’t vote:
  • Check they are active and assigned to the correct unit.
  • Check the poll is not expired and they are in the audience scope.
  • Confirm they are logged into the correct community (some users belong to multiple).

 

When to contact Neighborhood.Online support

 

• Per-unit voting is needed but not available in settings.
• Exports are missing voter identifiers when non-anonymous is selected.
• Notifications are enabled but residents still receive nothing (possible deliverability or account issue).