Residents & Board

Assigning board titles

How board titles work, what they affect (and don't), and the right way to update them after elections without breaking continuity.

Last updated September 25, 2026

A board title is the label that appears next to a board member’s name throughout HomeHerald - “President,” “Treasurer,” “Secretary,” and so on. They’re free text, you choose what to use, and they’re purely for display.

What titles do (and don’t do)

Titles do:

  • Show up next to the board member’s name in the community directory and in the Members list
  • Appear in the board roster on your community’s public portal page, if you have one
  • Tell Herald who’s who, so it can name the right board member when a resident asks who to contact
  • Get recorded on board votes and RSVPs, so the record shows who acted in what capacity
  • Help residents know who’s responsible for what

Titles don’t:

  • Change permissions. The role does that - see User roles explained.
  • Get checked by the system when someone takes an action (e.g., a “Treasurer” can’t approve refunds that a “Secretary” can’t, unless their role differs)
  • Need to be unique. Two “Members-at-Large” is fine.

So the title is a label. The role is the permission level. Don’t conflate them.

Common titles

Use what your bylaws define. If your bylaws are silent, these are the standard set:

TitleTypical responsibilitiesSuggested role
PresidentRuns meetings, public face of the HOA, signs official documentsAdmin
Vice PresidentSteps in when President is unavailableBoard Member or Admin
TreasurerOwns finances, runs payments, manages duesAdmin
SecretaryMeeting minutes, official correspondence, recordsBoard Member
Member-at-LargeGeneral board duties without a specific portfolioBoard Member
Architectural Committee ChairApproves ARC requestsBoard Member

Your community might use different names - “Director” instead of “Member-at-Large,” “Chair” instead of “President,” etc. The system doesn’t care.

Setting a title

Titles are set by an admin, in one of two places.

From Settings (the board roster):

  1. Go to Settings in the admin sidebar
  2. Find the HOA Management Team card
  3. Click a team member to edit their name or title, then Save - or use Add Team Member to pick a resident, choose Board Member or Admin, and enter a title (required there)

From Members (one person):

  1. Go to Members in the admin sidebar and open the member
  2. Under Actions, click Change Role
  3. Pick Board or Admin (titles only apply to these roles) and type the title in the Title field
  4. Save

The title shows up immediately everywhere it’s displayed.

After elections - updating titles

Most communities elect new boards annually. The transition usually involves:

  • Some board members leaving
  • Some staying with new titles (e.g., the old VP becomes President)
  • New board members joining

The flow:

1. Demote departing board members

For each board member who is leaving the board, remove them from the HOA Management Team card in Settings (or use Change Role on their member record and pick Resident). Either way the title is cleared with the role.

They keep their account, their property, their balance. They lose admin access.

2. Update titles for continuing board members

For each board member who’s staying but with a different title:

  • Click them in the HOA Management Team card and update the title
  • If their role changes too (e.g., new Treasurer → Admin), use Change Role on their member record

3. Onboard new board members

For each new board member:

  • If they’re already a resident, use Add Team Member in the HOA Management Team card: pick them, choose the role, enter the title
  • If they’re not yet a resident, invite them - see Inviting your board

4. Communicate the change

Send a community announcement with the new board lineup. Residents will see updated titles on the directory and on future announcements anyway, but the explicit update is a courtesy.

Why you should keep titles current

A few practical reasons:

  • Resident clarity. When a resident sees “Mike - President” in the directory and Mike isn’t actually president anymore, it undermines trust.
  • Herald’s answers. Herald names board members by title when residents ask who handles what. A stale title sends people to the wrong person.
  • Vote records. A board vote records each member’s title at the time they voted. Keep titles current so the record reads right later.

Edge cases

”Two people share a title”

Fine. Some boards have co-presidents, multiple Members-at-Large, etc. Set the same title on both - the system doesn’t enforce uniqueness.

”Someone is acting in a role temporarily”

E.g., the Treasurer is on medical leave and the VP is acting as interim Treasurer. Two clean options:

  1. Change the title temporarily - set the VP’s title to “Acting Treasurer.” Switch back when the real Treasurer returns.
  2. Add a second title - the field doesn’t formally support two, but you can put “VP / Acting Treasurer” in a single field as a workaround.

Either works. Pick what’s clearer for residents.

”We don’t elect titles, the whole board votes”

If your bylaws don’t designate specific titled positions (some smaller HOAs work this way), use Member-at-Large for everyone. Or invent your own title scheme - just be consistent.

”Our bylaws use unusual titles”

Use them. The field is free text. “Commodore,” “Chairperson,” “First Steward,” whatever your bylaws say.

Where to go next