Set your financial assumptions

Overview¶

Financial assumptions are the starting numbers SmartProperty uses to project your reserves forward: your reserve balance, your assessment income, your reserve contribution, and three rates. You set them once per fiscal year, for each property.

Set your financial assumptions at the start of each planning year. Update them whenever an assessment, a contribution, or a rate changes.

What these numbers affect¶

Your funding plans. A new funding plan for the fiscal year starts with your reserve balance and your three rates. A "Current Funding" plan also starts with your "Annual Reserve Contributions". You can change any of these values on the new plan. After a plan is created, the plan keeps its own values. You can apply your assumptions to every funding plan for the fiscal year in one step (Step 5).
Your Reserve Analysis report. The "Expenditures by Category" section uses the "Annual Reserve Contributions" you enter here. If this figure does not match the funding plan your Association adopted, the report shows two different contributions for the same year. See How do I make my reserve study match my approved Funding Plan?
Your reports. The "Anticipated Expenditures" report uses the "Component Inflation Rate" to project future replacement costs for each component that does not set its own rate. The "Monthly Cash Flow" report uses the reserve balance, "Annual Reserve Contributions", and "Interest Rate on Reserve Funds" saved for the current fiscal year.

Financial assumptions belong to one fiscal year. Changing them for next year does not change the current year.

Setup¶

You need edit access to Funding Plans for the property. Without edit access, the "CANCEL" and "SAVE" buttons are not shown.

"Plans" appears in the left navigation while a future planning year is selected, or while the current fiscal year allows planning. To plan inside a year that has already started, contact SmartProperty.

A property needs at least one fiscal year of financial data before "Financial Assumptions" has values to show.

How-to¶

Step 1: Open Financial Assumptions¶

Check the fiscal year selector at the top of the screen. The assumptions you set belong to the year shown there.
Open the property, then select "Plans" in the left navigation. This opens the Plans page.
Select "Financial Assumptions". This opens the Financial Assumptions page.

You can also edit the balance, assessment, contribution, and rate fields on the "Financials" tab in Property Settings. A change saved on either page appears on the other.

Step 2: Enter your assessment income, starting balance, and contribution¶

Some field labels include the fiscal year or a date. For a 2027 fiscal year, the assessment field reads "2027 Annual Assessment Fees".

Enter your total annual assessment income for the fiscal year in "Annual Assessment Fees".
Enter your reserve balance on the first day of the fiscal year in "Reserve Balance on". The label ends with that date.
Enter the part of your assessment income that goes to reserves in "Annual Reserve Contributions". The contribution cannot be higher than "Annual Assessment Fees". A higher number shows an error under the field, and the page does not save until you lower it.

If Loan Analysis is turned on for your portfolio, a second "Annual Assessment Fees" field appears first, labeled with the prior fiscal year. Enter your total annual assessment income for that year.

Step 3: Enter your rates¶

Enter "Component Inflation Rate".
Enter "Interest Rate on Reserve Funds".
Enter "Rate of Annual Reserve Contribution Increases".

Each rate accepts a percentage from 0 to 99.99.

A component that has its own "Adjust Inflation Rate" setting uses its own rate instead of the "Component Inflation Rate".

Step 4 (optional): Add forward planning or additional revenue¶

Use this step if the number of units will grow, or if your Association has income other than assessments that belongs in your projections. Otherwise, go to Step 5. Both questions start at "No" unless steps or sources were saved before. Saved steps or sources show the "Forward Planning Assumptions" and "Additional Revenue" sections already open.

Select "Show Advanced Options". This shows the "Forward Planning Assumptions" and "Additional Revenue" sections.
Under "Do you have forward planning assumptions?", select "Yes" or "No". "Yes" shows a numbered step. Enter the "Additional Units" added each year and the "Duration" in years. The "Total" column shows the running unit count.
To add another step, select "Add step". "Add step" is available once the step above has both fields filled in.
Under "Do you have additional revenue?", select "Yes" or "No". "Yes" shows a numbered source. Enter the "Additional Revenue" amount, the "Duration" in years, and optional "Notes".
To add another source, select "Add revenue". "Add revenue" is available once the source above has its required fields filled in.

"Duration" accepts 1 to 30 years. To remove a step or a source, select the circle with a minus sign next to it. The first step and the first source cannot be removed.

Step 5: Decide whether to update your existing funding plans¶

Under "Do you wish to apply these assumptions to all of your existing plans?", select "Yes" or "No". "No" is selected when the page opens.

Select Yes when you want every funding plan for this fiscal year to use these numbers. "Yes" overwrites the starting reserve balance, the three rates, and the forward planning and additional revenue entries on every existing plan, including plans someone adjusted on purpose. "Current Funding" and "Loan / Special Assessment Funding" plans also take your "Annual Reserve Contributions". Each plan keeps its own duration. On a "Ladder Funding" plan, the individual step contribution amounts and increase percentages are not changed.
Select No when your funding plans already hold the numbers you want. "No" saves your assumptions without changing any funding plan.

If you are not sure, select "No". You can apply the assumptions to all plans later by saving again with "Yes".

Step 6: Save¶

Select "SAVE".
If you selected "Yes" in Step 5, the "UPDATE ALL PLANS" window opens. The window lists every funding plan that will be updated. Select "Save" in the window to confirm.
Your assumptions save and the Plans page opens.

"SAVE" is available once every required field has a valid value. To leave without saving, select "CANCEL". This returns you to the Plans page.

Reference¶

Fields on the Financial Assumptions page¶

For a 2027 fiscal year, the labels read as shown.

Field	What to enter	Limits
2026 Annual Assessment Fees	Total annual assessment income for the prior fiscal year	Required. Shown only when Loan Analysis is turned on
2027 Annual Assessment Fees	Total annual assessment income for the fiscal year	Required
Reserve Balance on (first day of the fiscal year)	Your reserve balance on the first day of the fiscal year	Required
2027 Annual Reserve Contributions	The part of assessment income contributed to reserves	Required. Cannot exceed Annual Assessment Fees
Component Inflation Rate	The rate used to project future replacement costs	Required. 0 to 99.99 percent
Interest Rate on Reserve Funds	The rate your reserve balance is projected to earn	Required. 0 to 99.99 percent
Rate of Annual Reserve Contribution Increases	The rate your contribution is projected to grow each year	Required. 0 to 99.99 percent

Terms used in this article¶

Planning year. A future fiscal year you are preparing a budget for. Plans and their assumptions for a planning year do not change the current year.
Funding plan. A multi-year contribution strategy for your reserves. A property can hold several funding plans for one fiscal year.
Ladder funding plan. A funding plan made of steps, each with its own contribution amount, increase rate, and duration.
Loan Analysis. An option that adds loan and special assessment planning to your funding plans. SmartProperty turns on Loan Analysis for your portfolio.

Troubleshooting¶

SAVE is not available. A required field is missing a value, or "Annual Reserve Contributions" is higher than "Annual Assessment Fees". Check each field for an error message under it.
Financial Assumptions or Plans is not shown. Your role may not include Funding Plans access, or the selected fiscal year may not allow planning. Check the fiscal year selector first. Then see What Can Each User Role Do?, or contact SmartProperty.
Your Reserve Analysis report shows a different contribution than your adopted plan. Enter the adopted plan's first-year contribution in "Annual Reserve Contributions" and select "No" in Step 5. See How do I make my reserve study match my approved Funding Plan?
You cannot save assumptions for an earlier fiscal year. Financial assumptions for earlier fiscal years can be viewed but not saved.

Create and compare funding plans for your next budget year
How do I make my reserve study match my approved Funding Plan?
What Can Each User Role Do? (Role Permissions Reference)