Moving a paper boat, aircraft or vehicle registry online

Gather what you have

• Last season’s registration forms, and the list of sticker or permit numbers.
• Any spreadsheet the treasurer, the dockmaster or the airport manager keeps.
• The slip, hangar or unit list, and the waitlist with each person’s join date.
• The current rules: insurance minimums, fees and deadlines.

Don’t tidy anything on paper first. Gather it all, then decide what one row should hold.

One row per boat, aircraft or vehicle

A registry is a list of items, not of people: one row per boat, aircraft or vehicle, with its owner on the row. An owner with two boats has two rows.

Write dates the same way in every row (2027-08-14 sorts and imports cleanly), put one email address in a cell, and leave a cell blank rather than writing “TBD”.

Clean it once

• Merge duplicate owners: the same person on two forms with two spellings.
• Keep a couple who register together as one owner, “Bob & Carol Jenkins”, unless they register separately.
• Mark members with no email, so you know who needs a letter.
• Keep each waitlist entry’s original join date.

Import, then check every row

Whatever software you use, look at how each column was matched and at every row before anything is saved, with the rows that need a fix shown first. Importing should send nothing to owners; you decide when they hear from you.

Set the rules before anyone is told

Enter the insurance minimum, who must be named as additional insured, the fees, the deadline and the reminder schedule. Each record’s status then follows the rules: anyone missing something shows as missing before the first email goes out, so the office can see the size of the job.

Tell owners once, with one link each

Send one notice that says what’s changing, what each owner needs to do and by when. Members without email get the same notice on paper, with their personal link printed on it, and can still bring documents and checks to the office.

The first season

• Answer the common questions in the notice itself: there’s no account to create, what to upload and how to pay.
• Keep the paper path open for people who want it, and record what they bring in.
• After the season, compare who registered, who didn’t and what was collected, and bring a one-page summary to the annual meeting.

Doing this in Baybook

Baybook™ imports a CSV or an export from your HOA software in about ten minutes, shows how every column matched and every row before saving, and sends nothing until you say so. You can bring in the sticker numbers you already have and your paper waitlist with its dates. Each owner gets one personal link, and members without email get a printed letter with theirs. See pricing, or start with lake associations, residential airparks or garage condos.

Template: letter to owners

Send this by email, or print it with each owner’s personal link for members without email.

Dear {owner name},

This season {association name} is moving {boat / aircraft / vehicle} registration online.

What’s changing
- You’ll get one personal link for the season. There’s no account or password.
- On that page you can upload your registration and insurance from a phone or a computer, pay, and see what’s still needed.
- Reminders come to you before anything on file runs out.

What to do by {deadline}
1. Open your link: {personal link}
2. Upload a photo or PDF of your current {registration} and your {insurance declaration page / certificate of insurance}.
3. Pay the {season} fee of {amount}, or bring a check to the office.

Prefer paper?
Bring your documents and a check to {office address}, {days and hours}, and we’ll enter them for you.

Questions: {office email}, {office phone}.

{Name}
{Role}, {association name}

Questions