Last Updated
Key Takeaways
Generated from the text of customer reviews
FRONTSTEPS is a community association management platform that centralizes communication, payments, accounting, and operations for property management teams and HOAs. Users value its broad feature set and unified system, though it offers limited flexibility when correcting mistakenly entered information. Recent updates include strengthening its AI assistant, Alli, improving automation, response handling, and support for routine management tasks.
Our Verdict
FRONTSTEPS offers value for HOAs and property management teams needing a unified system for communication, payments, and operations. Users view its pricing as reasonable that justifies its broad feature set and workflow consolidation, though some find it less cost-effective for smaller teams or when usability and support issues arise. We recommend it for organizations looking to centralize community management at a scale.
Overall Rating
Based on 44 users reviews
3.8
Rating Distribution
Positive
66%
Neutral
18%
Negative
16%
Starting Price
Custom
FRONTSTEPS Specifications
- Tenant Management
- Maintenance Requests
- Property Accounting
- Document Management
What Is FRONTSTEPS?
FRONTSTEPS is a cloud-based property management software designed to bridge the gap between community management teams and homeowners. It helps community managers streamline daily operations, improve communication, and deliver better resident services. By centralizing data and automating manual tasks, the platform helps reduce administrative workload, improve transparency, and solve challenges related to fragmented communication and inefficient management processes.
What Is FRONTSTEPS Best For?
FRONTSTEPS stands out for its AI assistant, Alli, which helps community management teams automate and streamline day-to-day operations by handling resident inquiries, surfacing relevant information, and reducing manual administrative workload. The platform uses Alli to support faster responses to common requests, improve communication accuracy, and assist staff in managing high volumes of resident interactions across communities. By embedding AI into core workflows, FRONTSTEPS helps teams reduce repetitive tasks while improving responsiveness and overall service delivery.
How Much Does FRONTSTEPS Cost?
The FRONTSTEPS cost ranges from $1.00-$3.00/unit/month, according to industry benchmarks for HOA and community association management platforms with similar features.
Along with that, users should keep the following additional estimated costs in mind:
- Implementation: $2,500–$10,000 for mid-sized communities; $10,000–$50,000+ for enterprise or multi-community deployments
- Data Migration: $1,000–$15,000 depending on number of units and historical records
- Training And Onboarding: $500–$5,000 depending on staff size and onboarding depth
- Integration Costs: $2,000–$20,000 depending on complexity and number of connected systems
- Add-On Modules: $25–$500/month depending on selected features and portfolio size
Users generally view FRONTSTEPS’ pricing as reasonable for the breadth of community management and resident engagement capabilities it provides, particularly for organizations that rely on centralized tools to manage communications, payments, and operational workflows. Many reviewers highlight the platform’s strong feature set and its ability to consolidate multiple administrative functions into one system as key contributors to its overall value. At the same time, some feedback suggests that pricing may feel less favorable for smaller teams or when certain limitations and support challenges affect day-to-day usability, which can impact perceived return on investment as usage scales.
FRONTSTEPS Integrations
FRONTSTEPS connects with a range of third-party tools across banking, software services, and security hardware. Some featured integrations include:
- WebsterBank
- avidxchange
- ClickPay
- TagMaster
- TransCore
- Pilera
How Does FRONTSTEPS Work?
FRONTSTEPS provides a connected set of tools for managing homeowner interactions, association tasks, payments, documents, and service requests across both desktop and mobile devices. Here’s how users can navigate and use some of its main features:
- Log in and set up your community portal to centralize resident communication, announcements, documents, and association updates in one place
- Enable online payments and account management tools so homeowners can pay dues, review balances, and manage their accounts digitally
- Use the mobile app and resident portal to handle maintenance requests, amenity bookings, and homeowner inquiries from anywhere
- Share community documents, board meeting information, and notices securely with residents and board members
- Automate communication workflows with notifications, alerts, and updates to improve resident engagement and response times
- Give board members and management teams visibility into resident activity, requests, violations, and community operations through a centralized dashboard
- Monitor maintenance requests, inspections, and operational tasks through mobile and cloud-based management tools
Who Is FRONTSTEPS For?
FRONTSTEPS is designed for businesses of all sizes and caters specifically to community management teams and homeowners.
FRONTSTEPS Use Cases
Based on our analysis of FRONTSTEPS’ features and product positioning, we have identified key scenarios where the platform is commonly used by HOAs, associations, and community management companies for resident communication, property operations, and association management:
1. Community Management Companies Handling High Resident Expectations And Operational Pressure
Community management companies sometimes face increasing pressure to manage more communities, resident requests, payments, violations, and communication tasks without significantly expanding staff or administrative resources. As portfolios grow, disconnected systems and manual processes can make it difficult for managers to maintain responsiveness, visibility, and consistent resident experiences across multiple associations. FRONTSTEPS helps address these challenges by combining communication tools, payments, operational management, mobile access, and resident self-service capabilities into a unified platform, allowing management teams to streamline workflows and handle community operations better as they scale.
2. Community Association Professionals Managing High Workloads And Expanding Responsibilities
Community association professionals often face challenges when taking on increasing operational responsibility, where they must manage rising volumes of resident requests, coordinate multiple community needs, and maintain service quality while working with limited administrative capacity. This can make it difficult to stay responsive, organized, and consistent as workload demands grow across different communities. FRONTSTEPS helps address these challenges by centralizing key operational functions such as communication, service requests, and community management workflows into a single platform, enabling professionals to stay organized, improve visibility across tasks, and manage expanding responsibilities while maintaining consistent service quality.
3. Community Association Professionals Improving Resident–Management Communication
FRONTSTEPS helps community association professionals address fragmented communication across emails, calls, and manual notices, which can often lead to delayed responses and missed updates. The platform provides HOA communication tools that centralize interactions between homeowners and management teams, enabling clearer, more organized communication and faster access to community updates and requests.
4. Property Management Teams Enhancing Resident Access Through Mobile Applications
The platform helps property management teams address limited accessibility and slow response times caused by reliance on desktop-based systems and in-person communication channels. FRONTSTEPS’ mobile application enables homeowners and residents to access community updates, submit requests, view account information, and receive real-time notifications directly from their smartphones, improving engagement and convenience. This mobile-first approach helps teams stay connected with residents on the go, reduces communication delays, and improves overall responsiveness within community operations.
Is FRONTSTEPS Right For You?
FRONTSTEPS is the right fit for you if you are looking for a reliable property management solution to simplify community association operations and improve communication between managers and homeowners. It helps bring financial management, resident communication, and administrative tasks into one centralized system, reducing manual effort and improving overall efficiency.
The platform is also built with strong security and scalability in mind. It uses modern cloud security practices such as encryption and role-based access control to protect sensitive community and financial data. FRONTSTEPS is also aligned with industry-standard compliance practices, including SOC 2 Type II, helping ensure data privacy, system reliability, and secure data handling across the platform.
Still confused if FRONTSTEPS is the right fit for your business? Contact us today at (661) 384-7070 for personalized assistance.
FRONTSTEPS Features
Community Management
FRONTSTEPS' community management feature enables the handling of various components, such as architectural requests, violations, and work orders. It improves communication among homeowners, board members, and management by organizing requests, approvals, and updates in one place. This strengthens the oversight of daily community activities while reducing communication gaps and administrative delays.
Resident And Homeowner Portals
FRONTSTEPS features ‘Resident and Homeowner Portal’ that provides a secure online space where homeowners can access community updates, submit maintenance requests, make payments, and communicate with management. It supports self-service access, improves transparency, and reduces dependency on manual communication, resulting in a smoother resident experience.
Accounting Management
The accounting feature simplifies financial management for community associations, offering tools for budgeting, invoicing, accounts payable and receivable, and reporting. It helps streamline core accounting workflows, improve accuracy, and reduce manual effort in day-to-day financial operations. It also delivers clearer visibility into financial performance through centralized records and real-time reporting, making it easier to monitor the association’s overall financial health.
Security And Access Control
FRONTSTEPS enhances community safety by offering tools for visitor management, incident reporting, and access control. It helps monitor and control access to the property, track incidents, and ensure a secure environment for residents. The platform also includes streamlined visitor check-ins and authorization workflows, helping communities maintain tighter oversight over who enters and exits the property.
Online Payments
Residents can conveniently make online payments for association fees, assessments, and other charges. The feature streamlines payment processes, eliminates manual handling of checks, reduces late payments, and improves financial efficiency for both residents and management. It supports automated payment workflows and reminders, helping associations improve cash flow consistency and reduce administrative follow-ups.
AI Assistant (Alli)
FRONTSTEPS’ AI assistant, Alli, generates responses to resident messages, retrieves community and account data, and summarizes information from within the platform. It can draft communications, pull relevant records such as payment or request details, and assist with information lookup across community databases and documentation.
Pros And Cons of FRONTSTEPS
Pros
Enables cloud-based access for managing community operations from anywhere
Offers an intuitive interface that simplifies day-to-day system navigation
Supports on-the-go management through a dedicated mobile app
Supports on-the-go management through a dedicated mobile app
Cons
Limited flexibility when editing or removing existing entries
Restricted customization options for adding or managing calendar events
FRONTSTEPS Reviews
Total 44 reviews
3.8
All reviews are from verified customers
Rating Distribution
5
Stars48%
4
Stars18%
3
Stars11%
2
Stars7%
1
Stars16%
Share your experience
Anonymous
Not Specified, 1-10 employees
Less than a year
“They suck
Pros
I absolutely despise Fronsteps - it is genuinely terrible software.
Cons
Frontsteps is a terrible software package. It has severe limitations when it comes to customization and they make changes to features without informing clients. Their service is abysmal, and they don't back up their servers. We experienced a role change that confused one of our users, leading to accidental deletion of a content folder. When we requested a backup from Frontsteps immediately after the incident, they informed us that they don't perform backups. It was an extremely frustrating experience.
Rating Distribution
Ease of use
3
Value for money
2
Customer Support
3
Functionality
2
Sheri
Management Consulting, 11-50 employees
Less than a year
“Easy to use
Pros
The tablet and app are user-friendly for both me and the homeowners.
Cons
The program is still under development, and it's not always easy to use.
Rating Distribution
Ease of use
7
Value for money
7
Customer Support
8
Functionality
8
Pauline
Real Estate, 500+ employees
More than a year
“Do not transfer previous owners email address to the new owners file.
Pros
It's fairly straightforward to use.
Cons
It bothers me that previous owners' emails remain active and attached to new owners' files. When I send an email blast, it goes to both current and past owners. It would be helpful if, once a home is sold and the new owner is added to the system, the contact information of the previous owners would be removed, especially their email addresses.
Rating Distribution
Ease of use
8
Value for money
10
Customer Support
10
Functionality
7
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the typical users of FRONTSTEPS?
FRONTSTEPS is designed for community associations and property management teams of all sizes, helping both managers and homeowners streamline communication, payments, and daily operations.
Does FRONTSTEPS offer an API?
Yes, FRONTSTEPS software offers an API.
What other apps does FRONTSTEPS integrate with?
The platform integrates with several third-party tools, including Webster Bank, AvidXchange, ClickPay, TagMaster, TransCore, and Pilera.
Does FRONTSTEPS have a mobile app?
The vendor offers a FRONTSTEPS Community for both Android and iOS users.
What language does FRONTSTEPS support?
FRONTSTEPS software offers support in the English language.
What types of pricing plans does FRONTSTEPS offer?
FRONTSTEPS pricing typically ranges from $1.00-$3.00/unit/month as per the estimated industry benchmarks, depending on the features and requirements of the community management platform. Get a tailored FRONTSTEPS cost estimate now!
What level of support does FRONTSTEPS offer?
The vendor offers support via ticket-based system, phone, and knowledge base.