1.1.2 Where the data comes from

HOAi drafts every budget from what's already in Vantaca. This is the first configuration bucket — the Vantaca-side prerequisites. The more complete and clean this source data is, the more accurate the first draft. You don't need everything to get started, but it helps to know what the agent reads and why each piece matters.

What the agent reads from Vantaca

• Chart of Accounts & GL groupings — the agent renders a row per GL and uses your Vantaca GL groupings for the subcategory headers (Administrative, Utilities, Landscape, Pool, etc.). If accounts are miscategorized or land under "Uncategorized," that shows up directly in the budget — clean groupings before the first run.
• Historical actuals — income-statement history per GL. Three or more years gives the best projections; fewer still work with less context. The agent only trusts closed periods (it clamps to the last closed fiscal month) so an in-progress month never corrupts the projection.
• Prior approved budgets — used as a fallback when actuals are thin, and as a comparison point.
• Assessment / charge configuration — charge types, frequency, and owner/unit counts feed the assessment math.
• Fund structure — the Operating vs. Reserve split shapes which sheets are produced. When an association has multiple funds, the agent renders a budget per fund.
• Active management contract uploaded to association documents — the agent reads renewal dates and escalators directly from the source.
• Reserve study, if applicable, uploaded alongside it — see the note below.
• Current vendor contracts (landscape, insurance, pool, etc.) — the agent applies contracted increase rates wherever they're available; otherwise it falls back to your configured default.

Don't overthink document location — HOAi can find these in any association folder referring to contracts or reserves.

Two things worth checking before you run

• A recently-migrated association may show $0 in the prior-year columns. That means Vantaca has no transactional history for those years yet — not that the association spent nothing. The draft will lean on the approved budget and any documents on file. If you have prior-year financials as PDFs, keep them in the association's documents and mention them in Special Notes.
• An association in its first fiscal year (or with only a few months of actuals) will produce a weaker draft. The agent needs roughly five closed months to project meaningfully; below that, most lines fall back to the prior budget. Check the association's fiscal-year start and go-live date — if it's very early, it's often better to wait or set expectations with the board.

A note on the reserve study

Reserve lines are only as grounded as the reserve study the agent can find. If a current reserve study is uploaded to the association's documents, the agent uses it as context. If none is on file, reserve capital may come through flat or sparse — so upload the study before the first run when reserves matter. Deeper reserve-schedule grounding is on our roadmap; see What's not supported yet.

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↩ Part of How HOAi drafts a budget — the principles · Budgets — Start here