Technical Architecture - HOA By Owners

Boards evaluating software often ask where data lives and who can reach it. This page is a plain-language overview of our stack: Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosting in the United States, encrypted connections, role-based access, and payment processing that never stores card numbers on our servers. For payment custody and PCI detail, see Security & payments.

How the platform is put together

HOA By Owners is a multi-tenant web application. Each community’s records are scoped to that HOA. Traffic reaches the app over HTTPS; the application talks to a dedicated PostgreSQL database; documents stay in per-HOA storage; money movement goes through Stripe Connect, not our operating accounts.

Boards & homeowners Browser / mobile access over HTTPS (TLS)

HOA By Owners on AWS Application servers, PostgreSQL, document storage, automated backups, U.S. region

Stripe Connect Card & ACH processing; payouts to your HOA’s verified bank account

AWS & U.S. hosting

Cloud platform: Production workloads run on Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Location: Data is hosted in the United States
Compute: Application servers serve the dashboard, APIs, and authenticated document access
Database: Dedicated PostgreSQL instance for HOA and homeowner records
Backups: Automated database backups on secure cloud infrastructure

Encryption & transport

In transit: All web and API traffic uses HTTPS (TLS)
At rest: Data is protected with industry-standard encryption practices on our cloud infrastructure
Passwords: Hashed with bcrypt, never stored in plain text
Sessions: Expiring bearer tokens; logout invalidates sessions

Isolation & access control

Per-HOA tenancy: Queries and file access are scoped by HOA ID so communities cannot see each other’s data
Roles: Board, property manager, and homeowner permissions are enforced server-side, not only in the UI
Documents: Stored in separate folders per HOA (uploads/hoa_documents/{hoa_id}/), available only to authenticated members of that community
Financial APIs: Require authenticated membership and an appropriate role

Payments outside our servers

Processor: Stripe Connect
Custody: HOA By Owners does not hold HOA cash; funds credit your HOA’s own Connect account
Card data: Entered via Stripe Elements / Checkout; we do not store full card numbers
PCI: Sensitive payment data stays on Stripe’s PCI Level 1 infrastructure

What we do not claim: HOA By Owners does not currently hold SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certifications. We publish our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, enforce role-based access in software, run on AWS with automated backups, and can provide a written security overview for board review.

Board questionnaire? Email support@hoabyowners.com for architecture diagrams, subprocessors, or written answers your board can file with its vendor review.