Picking a pool vendor is one of the higher-stakes decisions a board makes. A community pool is a shared amenity, a safety liability, and often the single most-used feature residents point to when they talk about property value. Choose well and you rarely think about it. Choose poorly and you get green water in July, angry emails, and a scramble to find a replacement mid-season.
Here is a practical way to evaluate any pool vendor before you sign.
Confirm they are licensed and insured for commercial pools
Residential pool cleaners and commercial pool operators are not the same thing. A community pool is a public or semi-public body of water, which usually means stricter health-code requirements, commercial-grade equipment, and different licensing.
Ask for:
- A current pool service or contractor license valid in your state
- General liability insurance at the limit your association requires — your board sets that figure, usually the one its own insurer or lender asks for, so get it from your agent before you start reading certificates
- Workers' compensation coverage for anyone on your property
- A Certified Pool Operator (CPO) or equivalent on staff
Do not accept a screenshot of a policy from two years ago. Ask for a current certificate of insurance that names your association as an additional insured. If a vendor hesitates on this, that tells you something.
Ask exactly what a "visit" includes
"Twice a week" means nothing without a scope. Two vendors can both promise two visits and deliver wildly different work. Get the specifics in writing:
- Skimming, brushing, and vacuuming
- Chemical testing and balancing (chlorine, pH, alkalinity, cyanuric acid)
- Emptying skimmer and pump baskets
- Backwashing filters on a set schedule
- Inspecting pumps, heaters, and automation for problems
A good vendor will hand you a scope sheet without being asked. A vague answer here is a preview of vague service later.
Look at how they document their work
You cannot be poolside every visit, so documentation is how you hold a vendor accountable. The strongest vendors log every visit — date, chemical readings, what was done, and a photo or two. That record protects the board twice: it proves the pool was serviced, and it creates a paper trail if a health inspector or an injured resident ever raises a question.
If a vendor keeps everything "in their head" or on a paper clipboard in a truck, you will have nothing to show when it matters.
Pin down how repairs and emergencies work
Regular maintenance is the easy part. The real test is what happens when a pump fails on a holiday weekend or a drain cover cracks. Before you sign, get clear answers:
- What is the response time for an urgent safety issue?
- Are repairs billed separately, and how are estimates approved?
- Who do you call, and will you reach a person or a voicemail?
A slow or unreachable vendor during an emergency is not just an inconvenience — a broken drain cover or a chemical imbalance is a genuine safety hazard.
Check references from communities like yours
A backyard pool and a 200-unit community amenity with a splash pad and a spa are different jobs, on different health codes, with different equipment. Ask for two or three references from HOAs or properties built like yours, and actually call them. Ask the boring questions: Do they show up? Do they communicate? What happened the one time something went wrong?
Where HOAcrew fits
Running this evaluation for every company, every renewal, is a lot of work — and most boards do it once and then stop checking. That is the part a platform carries. Three documents are verified before a pool company can bid at your community: general liability, workers' compensation and a current CPO card, each filed with the date it runs out. Its business registration is collected and verified alongside them, and it sits on file rather than deciding the bid. Insurance carries a 30-day renewal window; the CPO card carries none, because an expired competency certificate is not a certificate. Once a window closes, that company stops being able to bid for or be awarded work at your community until the document is current again. Chlorine and pH checked and logged on every visit, the visit itself dated, and the company's own invoice — all in one view the board can read without asking anyone.
HOAcrew is where a board runs this. Vetted independent local pool companies submit proposals against the scope you publish; your board compares them side by side, selects one, and the contract is between your community and the company it chose. HOAcrew verifies the three documents that decide a bid — general liability, workers' compensation and the credential that company's trade requires, and an admin reads each certificate of insurance and files what the document says, with every expiry date held against the limits your community sets. Every company's own invoice arrives in one view, with the visit records beside it.
Work the checklist above before you sign anything. A pool is the amenity residents judge the whole association by, and the diligence you do in March is what buys you a quiet July.