Help Center

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to the most common questions about the platform, its features, and how to get the most out of Records Referee.

Getting Started

Records Referee is a cloud-based records management platform designed for community associations, HOA management companies, municipal bodies, developers, attorneys, and state regulators. It automates the digitization, storage, organization, and production of official records to ensure full statutory compliance — including Florida DBPR requirements.

Most organizations are fully onboarded within 30 minutes for the basic configuration. For larger communities with significant volumes of historical records requiring bulk ingestion or migration, our team provides dedicated onboarding support. Authority plan customers receive a dedicated Customer Success Manager who guides the full setup process.

No. Records Referee is entirely cloud-based and runs in your browser. There is nothing to download or install. You can access the platform from any modern browser on desktop, tablet, or mobile. Scanners connect via standard USB or network protocols without any additional drivers.

Yes. We support bulk import of PDF, TIFF, JPEG, and common document formats. If your current system supports data exports, our migration tools can ingest those files and automatically classify and index them. Authority plan customers receive hands-on migration assistance included in their onboarding.

Digitization

Our OCR engine handles printed text, typed documents, and mixed-format records. It supports board meeting minutes, financial statements, governing documents, contracts, regulatory filings, and correspondence. Handwritten annotations are extracted with best-effort accuracy and flagged for human review where confidence is low.

When a document is uploaded or scanned, our AI model analyzes its content, structure, and formatting to determine its type — meeting minutes, financial records, legal filings, contracts, notices, etc. It then routes the document to the correct records module automatically. You can review and override any classification at any time.

Any classification can be corrected manually with a single click. When you correct a classification, the system learns from the correction to improve future accuracy for your organization's specific document patterns. Low-confidence classifications are always flagged for review before being finalized.

Storage & Security

Yes. Records Referee operates on SOC2 Type II certified infrastructure. All data is encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.3). Our annual SOC2 audit reports are available to customers upon request under NDA.

Every action taken on a document — upload, view, edit, download, share, or delete — is recorded in a tamper-evident audit log that cannot be modified or deleted. This provides a complete, verifiable chain of custody for every record, which is critical for regulatory compliance and legal proceedings.

All data is stored in US-based data centers. We do not transfer or store customer data outside of the United States. Redundant backups are maintained across geographically separated facilities to ensure availability even in the event of a regional outage.

Records Requests

Members or third parties submit a written records request through a structured online form. The system validates the request parameters, assigns a unique tracking number, and notifies the responsible party. The AI then identifies responsive records, flags any confidential content for review, and assembles a draft response package for approver sign-off before electronic delivery.

Yes. Each request is assigned a tracking number that the requestor can use to check the status of their request at any time through the portal. Automated status update emails are sent at each stage of the fulfillment process.

The AI automatically identifies and flags content that may be confidential, privileged, or exempt from disclosure — such as personnel records, attorney communications, or vendor pricing information. Flagged content is held for human review by an authorized approver before the response package is finalized and delivered.

Compliance & DBPR

Florida DBPR compliance is built into the core of the platform — not added as an afterthought. The Authority plan includes automated statutory deadline tracking, compliant record retention schedules aligned with Florida Statutes Chapter 718 and 720, and one-click DBPR report generation. Professional plan users receive a compliance dashboard with manual reporting tools.

Our compliance team monitors Florida legislative and regulatory updates continuously. When requirements change, we update the platform's rules engine, report templates, and retention schedules — and notify all affected customers with guidance on any action required.

Billing & Plans

Yes. Upgrades take effect immediately with prorated billing. Downgrades take effect at the start of your next billing cycle so you always get full value from your current subscription.

Yes. Management companies overseeing multiple associations receive volume discounts. We also offer special pricing for non-profit organizations and government entities. Contact our sales team for a custom quote.

After cancellation, your records remain accessible in read-only mode for 60 days. During that window you can export everything as a full archive. After 60 days, all data is permanently and securely deleted from our servers in accordance with our data retention policy.