Make work easier
Searchable files reduce repeated requests, misplaced documents, and time spent reconstructing decisions. Keep supporting documents together so a future director can understand the complete transaction.
A practical foundation
What are electronic records?
They include scanned documents, digital minutes, accounting exports, invoices, contracts, correspondence, photographs, and recordings used in association operations. Their usefulness depends on readable files, reliable storage, and clear responsibility.
Preserve the association’s history
Organize records around the association’s work rather than an individual director’s computer. Plan for access to continue when a volunteer leaves or a management contract ends.
Florida condominium requirements
Section 718.111(12) requires organized official records and permits electronic inspection options. Written inspection requests generally require access within 10 working days, with a checklist identifying records supplied and withheld.
Retention varies: governing documents and minutes are permanent; most other records require at least seven years; voting materials and bids generally require one year; SIRS and specified structural/life-safety reports require 15 years. Video recordings have special rules.
Protected records and information must be withheld or redacted as applicable. Owners do not have access to every file simply because it is digital.
Associations managing non-timeshare condominiums of 25 or more units must provide specified digital documents through a compliant website or app with protected owner access. Generally, upload within 30 days of receipt or creation unless a shorter deadline applies.
Electronic viewing can include printing on request. Website posting does not eliminate all notice or records obligations.
Read §718.111(12), including exceptions and complete requirements →A simple filing structure
Use these suggested categories as a starting point. Set permissions by record type rather than giving everyone access to the entire archive.
Governance
Declarations, bylaws, amendments, rules, policies, and board orientation materials. Clearly identify current versions and keep superseded documents in an archive.
Meetings & Elections
Notices, agendas, minutes, notice evidence, election materials, and recordings. Group by year and meeting date.
Financial Records
Budgets, bank records, ledgers, invoices, reports, reserve information, and tax records. Connect each payment with its supporting documentation.
Contracts & Insurance
Executed agreements, amendments, bids, policies, certificates, and renewal reminders. Keep signed versions distinct from drafts.
Property & Projects
Plans, permits, inspections, warranties, repair histories, photographs, and project correspondence. Organize by building component or project.
Restricted Files
Keep sensitive material in a separately controlled location. Ask counsel to guide classification and disclosure decisions when uncertain.
Use predictable file names.
Examples: 2026-09-15_Board-Minutes_Approved.pdf and 2026_Roof-Contract_Executed.pdf. Include a date, subject, and status so people can identify the right document without opening every file.
Digitize carefully
Capture the complete document
Scan all pages, signatures, attachments, stamps, and reverse sides that contain information. Check legibility and page order. Use searchable PDFs where practical, while preserving the scan of the original.
For spreadsheets and accounting data, keep native files and useful exports. A PDF report alone may not preserve formulas or the detail needed later.
Review before discarding paper
Do not destroy originals simply because they were scanned. Confirm retention, evidentiary needs, document-specific requirements, and any pending dispute or preservation instruction.
Keep a record of digitization quality checks and the location of retained originals.
Protect access and recovery
Association-controlled accounts
Use accounts the association can recover. Assign individual logins, limit editing rights, enable multifactor authentication, and document the handover process.
Independent backups
Maintain a backup separate from the working folder. Synchronization can copy accidental deletion or damage. Test restoration using a sample document.
Clear vendor terms
Confirm export formats, access rights, fees, backup responsibilities, and delivery of records at contract termination. Obtain periodic copies the association can use independently.
Plan for one person to be unavailable.
Authorize a second responsible person to recover access. Store recovery information securely; avoid putting passwords in publicly shared minutes or owner folders.
Provide useful owner access
- Log the request and assign a responsible person.
- Locate the responsive files and check completeness.
- Review disclosure restrictions and prepare safe copies.
- Provide workable access and the required response documentation.
- Record what was supplied and any follow-up needed.
Test shared links and permissions before sending them. A folder that an owner cannot open is not a useful response. Keep the complete archive separate from copies prepared for inspection.
Board readiness checklist
- We know who maintains each category of records.
- We can find the current governing documents, signed contracts, and recent financial reports.
- Our retention schedule accounts for different document types.
- Our owner-access copies have been reviewed for restricted information.
- We have tested a backup restoration and an owner login.
- We can export records without depending on one director or vendor.
- We have a written transition plan for departing directors and managers.
- We preserve relevant material when a dispute or other hold requires it.
Common questions
Should association emails be saved?
Use a consistent process to preserve correspondence related to association work, including attachments. Have counsel guide the treatment of disputed, privileged, or sensitive communications. Avoid relying on personal inboxes as the archive.
Is a shared folder enough?
A shared folder can support internal organization. Evaluate owner access, permissions, notice posting, backups, and export capability before treating it as the association’s complete records or website solution.
Board Synergy Club · Watch & learn
Electronic Documents
Electronic documents can make association information easier to organize, locate, and share when supported by dependable procedures. Use this BrainyBoard program as a discussion resource while considering searchable files, clear naming, version control, access permissions, backups, and account continuity. Keep digital storage, owner access, electronic delivery, and website posting as separate questions.
Electronic DocumentsWatch on BrainyBoard ↗This program opens on BrainyBoard. Access is subject to the provider’s current sign-in and viewing requirements.
Education, not an individual decision. This externally hosted program is offered as a discussion resource; its contents have not been independently verified for this webpart. Program information may reflect requirements or practices in effect when recorded and may address association types with different rules. Have management and qualified Florida counsel confirm applicable retention, access, redaction, consent, delivery, signature, and posting requirements before changing a process. Review security and backup arrangements with an appropriate technical professional. This webpart does not establish that scanning replaces an original, that an email satisfies notice requirements, or that a portal certifies compliance. Viewing the program does not by itself establish required director education credit. An embedded video does not establish official UCO or WPRF policy.
Organize clearly. Share securely. Preserve continuity.
Related resources
Educational overview for Florida residential condominium associations. Reviewed October 3, 2026. Apply current law and governing documents, and obtain professional guidance for disclosure, retention, or disputed requests. Organization and security suggestions are practical recommendations.