Welcome!

OpenReserveStudy.com provides a free, open-source Reserve Fund calculator and report generation tool.

The tool runs completely client-side in JavaScript. You may use it here or are free to download the .html and .js files, modify them to suit your organization's needs and host them on your own website without attribution.


Terms and Privacy

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of our website located at openreservestudy.com (the "Site") and any related tools or services (collectively, the "Services"). By accessing or using the Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use this Site.

  1. By using this Site, you affirm that you are at least 18 years of age or are an emancipated minor, and are fully able and competent to enter into these Terms.
  2. This Site is neither a public accommodation nor a place of public accommodation under 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7).
  3. This Site does not target or monitor the behavior of individuals in the EU/EEA, represents a non-profit corporation with less than $25 million in annual revenue, does not process data for 50,000+ consumers/households/devices, and does not derive over 50% of its revenue from selling personal data and is therefore exempt from the privacy regulations of the GDPR and CCPA.
  4. This Site collects no information. The JavaScript program allows you save your data in "browser local storage" which is only accessible by you when using this site.
  5. This Site may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites.
  6. Community Associations Institute Reserve Study Standards were referenced during the development of the tool.
  7. OpenReserveStudy.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by Community Associations Institute.
  8. OpenReserveStudy.com will not be liable for any damages arising out of your use of the Site or Services, including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, or punitive damages. The Site and Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without any warranties.
  9. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless OpenReserveStudy.com from any claims, damages, or expenses (including attorney fees) resulting from your violation of these Terms or misuse of the Site or Services.

Instructions

  1. Save - saves the data entered on screen into your browser's local storage. Subsequent visits to this page or refreshes of this page will load the data from your browser's local storage automatically, if present.
  2. Export - exports the data entered on screen to a file on your computer specified by you. Good for saving different reserve fund models or emailing a model to someone else.
  3. Import - imports data from a previously exported file into the screen, such as the file attached to this email.

    Note that neither Export nor Import save the data to your local browser's local storage. Only the Save button does that. Additionally, no one can see your data except you, or whoever you send an exported file to.

  4. Reserve Components
    1. The yellow line at the bottom of the component list is for adding new components. Component ID must be unique. You can use letters or .X numbers to add uniqueness where current numbering is duplicated.
    2. You can delete a line or move it to a different position by double-clicking in its component ID field.
    3. Install Date is combined with Useful Life to determine the next disbursement date. It should be the date it was originally installed. It is also used to determine the Age based on the year being calculated.
    4. Useful Life is the estimated useful life of the component in years.
    5. Cost Date is the date of the Cost Estimate for inflation purposes; a cost of $1000 with a date of 2025 should be read as “one thousand in 2025 dollars”
    6. Loop determines whether or not an asset should be replaced every Useful Life interval, which is the typical purpose of a reserve study in the first place.
    7. Active allows you to enable or disable a component to appear in the report without having to delete or re-enter lines.

  5. The Solver
    The Solver follows these steps:
    1. Fund Balance and Annual Contribution are set to zero.
    2. The Solver uses the three Rates and the Fiscal Year to perform its calculations as if Run Analysis were pressed multiple times.
    3. If the first year fully funded balance is less than 70% fully funded, Fund Balance is increased to 70% fully funded.
    4. Annual Contribution is increased from zero in increments of 10 until last year fully funded balance reaches 70%.
    5. If any year between the first and the last has a fully funded balance of less than 70%, the Fund Balance is increased in increments of 200 until the lowest year reaches 70%.

    What the experts say about fully funded percentage:
    • Over-funding (going past 100%) can lead to generational unfairness, where current owners pay heavily for benefits that future buyers will enjoy.
    • Aiming for 100% often requires keeping large sums of cash sitting in low-yield savings accounts, which means taking extra money from homeowners that could be better used elsewhere.
    • An 80% to 90% range easily absorbs unexpected inflation or minor project overruns without triggering a special assessment.
    • Hitting 70% at a low point in a 30-year projection is excellent. In fact, if the absolute lowest point the reserve fund dips to over the next three decades is 70%, the organization is in an exceptionally elite, conservative financial position.

    Using the Solver is optional. You may enter your own values into the following fields then click Run Analysis.

  6. Reserve Calculation Settings
    1. Fund Balance is the starting reserve balance as of the Fund Date specified.
    2. Fiscal Year determines the fiscal year the reserve study is for and the first year in the report.
    3. Annual Inflation Rate - this rate is used to increase each component's cost estimate every year based on its cost date and the number of years that have elapsed. It is highly recommended this be set to the U.S. historical average annual inflation rate of 3.28%.
    4. Annual Interest Rate - this rate is applied to the reserve balance every year by means of monthly compounded interest using an estimated Average Daily Balance (ADB) method and an Actual/365 day-count convention that does not take leap years into consideration. It is highly recommended that you use the net after tax interest rate based on a weighted average of all of your projected investment returns.
    5. Contribution Growth Rate - this rate is applied to the annual reserve funding contribution every year. It is recommended this match the inflation rate, and it is important to note that each year's operating budget will need to reflect these increases.
    6. Annual Contribution - the amount of funds that will be transferred from operating to reserves each year.
    7. Run Analysis - Uses the component list and the calculation settings to generate Results.

  7. Reserve Analysis Results
    • The results include three percent funded indicators, for the first, last, and next lowest funded year.
    • Below these figures appear tabs containing the detailed Fully Funded Balance, Reserve Fund Strength Calculations (30-Year Reserve Plan Summary), Cash Flow Detail, Percent Funded chart, Expenses chart and Balance chart for on-screen evaluation of results.
    • Once your analysis looks good, use the Create PDF function to generate and save a report.

  8. PDF Settings
    • RCLD Font Size - sets the font size of the Reserve Component List Detail page(s). Set this number to the largest number that fits those report pages to the number of desired pages, typically one page.
    • FFB Font Size - sets the font size of the Fully Funded Balance pages. Set this number to the largest number that fits those report pages to the number of desired pages, typically one page per year.
    • IED Font Size - sets the font size of the Income/Expense Detail pages that each contain five years of figures. Set this number to the largest number that fits those report pages to the number of desired pages, typically one page per 5-year range.

      NOTE: Font sizes are stored and retrieved with all other data as explained above using Save, Export and Import.

    • FFBs 2-30 enables the extended report version that includes FFBs for each year beyond the first so you can audit the Fund Strength table
    • Create PDF - creates the PDF report using the analysis data and the PDF settings specified, starting with a summary page and including FFBs for each year after the first, starting after the last IED.

Agree & Proceed