Pay All Outstanding Invoices
We have added the ability to select multiple invoices for an owner at once in order to pay the total amount due. For example, John Smith owes 2009L, 2010L, and 2011P01 and wants to pay everything. In the past, you would have had to find the total owed by selecting the first invoice and clicking the Totals button. Then after finding the total owed and closing the Totals box, you would select the first invoice, hit pay, enter the total payment amount, and then pay the selected invoice. Then you would select the next invoice to pay, click assign in the green credit assignment box, and then click pay. You continued this process until every invoice was paid. In order to expedite the process you can now choose to pay in full all selected outstanding invoices for a single parcel or for a single owner. Note, this process cannot be used to make partial payments on multiple invoices.

To pay all outstanding invoices for an owner, select the owner from the treeview. Once you have selected the owner, click the Total button located on the toolbar, or right click on the owner name within the treeview and select Total Due. Each outstanding invoice for this owner will display and is automatically selected and included in the Total Due amount. If you do not want to include a specific invoice, simply uncheck the box next to the invoice. Once you have selected the invoices to pay, click Pay Selected. A Receipt dialog box displays. Enter the Payer into the text box, select the payment type radio button, and fill in the Check Number if payment is made by a check. Click Pay to complete the process.

To pay all outstanding invoices for a specific Map/Lot, find the owner in the treeview, select the Map/Lot, and click the Total button located on the toolbar, or right click on the Map/Lot within the treeview and select Total Due. Follow the same instructions above to complete the process.

Real Estate Service-Process Payments
The Real Estate Services-Process Payments function has been updated with additional functionality in order to assist you in editing a group of payments.

First and foremost, we have changed the way the system creates the receipts for the Real Estate Service payments. Previously each bank check received in the file generated a single receipt, which could encompass multiple payments. This created issues if a credit was involved. For example, TD Bank paid five invoices with one check. However, two of the invoices were already paid, so the system created one credit for the total amount overpaid. The challenge occurred if the bank decided they wanted part of the credit to be refunded and the other part to be applied to the next billing. The system does not allow for a credit to be split in two to refund a portion of it. To solve the issue, when the payments are applied through the Real Estate Service process, an individual receipt will be created for each payment. So, using the example above, when TD Bank sends in a check to pay five invoices, you will now have five individual receipts, each with any corresponding overpayment amount maintained individually. The only potential drawback occurs if the bank itself bounces the single check associated with all of the individual receipts. If this happens, call Avitar and we can help automate the process.

Secondly, the dialog box has been simplified to make editing payment batches prior to payment easier. To edit an imported payment, after the Real Estate Service payments have been imported into the system, go to Utilities | Real Estate Services | Process Payments and select the Edit Imported Payments tab. Find the owner in the treeview and select the payment you wish to edit. This will display the payment information.

There are three options available when editing a payment, each is associated with one of the icons. You can hover your pointer over each icon for a tooltip until you are familiar with each icon's function. The three functions are: delete payer from the batch; assign payment to a different invoice; or assign payment to a credit.

Delete Payer from the Batch -- This deletes the entire payment from the current batch process. For example, if there are problems with a check from one bank you may wish to return the check to the bank and remove all of those payments from the payment batch. We recommend you print the payment report before proceeding with this selection so you will know how the bank meant to apply the payment.

Assign Payment to a Different Invoice -- This allows you to browse through a treeview and select a different invoice for payment. For instance, the bank may incorrectly associate the payment with the wrong owner or parcel and you want to assign the payment to the correct person. Select the payment, click the icon, find the correct invoice to which the payment should be applied, and press Select.

Assign the Payment to a Credit -- This selection allows you to remove the application of the selected payment from the specified invoice and instead maintain the amount as a credit. Once you have made the changes, you should print the bank report, which will show the updated information.

Import Payments from Kiosk
For our clients accepting electronic payments via the Tax Collect Kiosk, we have added the ability to import the electronic payments file into the Tax Collect system. This will eliminate the need to manually post each payment.

To begin you need to download a payment file from the Kiosk. To do so, login to the Kiosk as Administrator and click on the Govolution Settlement Report link. This will open a screen that will display 3 calendars. The one on the left is used to view a report of payments for a single day. The two calendars on the right are used to create a payment file for a range of dates, up to 7 days. This file will be used to import the payments into Collect. Use the calendars on the right to select the payment date range. Once you have selected the dates, click on the Export Payments button. A dialog box displays asking where you want to save the export file. We recommend you save it to your desktop, as it will be easy to locate later in the process. Once the file has been exported to your desktop, open Avitar Tax Collect and go to Utilities | Internet Kiosk | Process Payments. From this point, the process mirrors the Real Estate Service Import process.

Tax Bill Setup Options
We have added new options to the tax bill setup screen when generating property tax bills. First, you will need to designate which unpaid amounts, if any, from other warrants you wish to include as "Other Due" amounts on the tax bill. Some of our towns bill for Water and Sewer in the Collect system, however, they do not want to include them in the "Other Due" amount section on their property bills. In order to accommodate all our clients, we have added the following options:

Indicate which unpaid warrant to include in the Other Due Amounts:

Do not include any Other Due Amounts -- This option will eliminate other due amounts from printing on the bills.

Include Other Due Amounts for all currently unpaid balance on invoices due prior to the due date for the 2011P01 (or the bills you have selected to print) -- Selecting this option will include Other Due Amounts which will be overdue as of the due date of the bills you are printing. For example, you have a timber tax bill with a due date of June 15th and the 2011P01, which you are about to print, have a due date of July 1st. Using this selection, the timber tax bill would be included as an Other Due Amount. If the timber tax had a due date of July 15th, it would not have been included.

Include Other Due Amounts for all currently unpaid balance on invoices due prior to the specified date -- This option offers more flexibility, as it will allow you to specify the cut off date for which you do not want to include invoices as Other Due Amounts. Using the timber tax example with a due date of June 15th, if you want to include other unpaid invoices, but not the timber tax, you could select this option and set the date to June 14th. Then all outstanding invoices due on or before June 14th will be included, but not the timber tax.

Filter Warrants -- This check box is used in conjunction to the last two due date options and allows you the option of selecting the warrants you want included. For instance, you might want to include every warrant except the Water/Sewer bills. Select Filter Warrant and check each warrant you want included.

Interest on Other Due Amounts:

Do not include Interest on Other Due Amounts -- If you decide to include Other Due Amounts, you can now select to not include interest to the due date of the billing. In the past, the Other Due Amounts included interest to the due date of the bills you were printing. For example, you are printing your 2011P01 with a due date of July 1, 2011 and several taxpayers have outstanding 2010L01 invoices. Typically, the Other Due Amounts for 2010L01 invoices would include interest calculated to July 1, 2011. Selecting this option would only print the principal amount owed for the lien.

Include Interest on Other Due Amounts calculated as of the due date for 2011P01 (or the bills you have selected to print) -- This option is how the system has worked in the past, which means any Other Due Amounts will be shown with interest through the due date of the bill you are printing. The drawback to this is that taxpayers who pay prior to the due date of the current bill will actually overpay if they include the exact Other Due Amount indicated on the bill, as this amount includes interest up to the due date. There's no perfect solution, which is why the Other Due Amounts message indicates the taxpayer should call for proper payment amount.

Once you have made your Other Due Amount preferences, they will be saved. So, as long as your selections are still valid, you will be able to skip past this section the next time you create bills. However, if you selected an option with a date, you will need to change the date each time you process bills.

Bankruptcy Flag
Due to current court rulings, an owner who has filed for bankruptcy must have additional information sent with the delinquent and lien notices. Avitar has decided not to add wording to our letters, as some of our clients want to include the additional wording on every letter, others only want the wording on the notices affected by bankruptcy, and some want to use customized wording their own town attorneys have recommended. In order to comply with the new decision, you have several options. The first option is to add the new wording as a custom message to every notice. Note, depending on how much information you are adding, this may make the notices print on two pages. The second option is to add a custom message stating "If in Bankruptcy, see back of notice for important information." Then photocopy the wording onto the back of each notice. The final option would be to enclose a separate notice with the bankruptcy wording in with the Avitar notice. This would allow you to send it to everyone or just the owners in bankruptcy.

Although we decided not to change the wording, we wanted to assist you in knowing who had filed for bankruptcy, so we added the ability to place a flag on parcels for which the owner is presently involved in bankruptcy proceedings. To flag an owner as bankrupt, locate the parcel in question and select an invoice. Then go to Edit Invoice | Parcel Bankruptcy. The Parcel Bankruptcy dialog box displays. To place a bankruptcy flag on this owner, click the Owner Has Filed For Bankruptcy check box. If you know the bankruptcy filing date, uncheck the Not Known check box to enable the month date picker. Select the date and click OK. Once a parcel has been flagged when you select an invoice on which the Bankruptcy Indicator has been set you will notice a red gavel icon next to the PID, also shown in red. Hover your mouse pointer over the icon to display the filing date. Prior to sending out notices or executing deeds, you should consult the report of parcels on which the Bankruptcy Indicator has been set so you can be aware of parcels that may need to be treated differently. To print the report, go to Reports | Parcels | Bankruptcies.

Penalty Balances Report
We have added a Penalty Balances Report for the collectors and their finance departments that need to track when penalties are added, subsequently paid, and the remaining balance for each warrant. This report looks similar to the monthly balance report, except it deals only with penalties. To print, go to Reports | Penalty | Balances and select the corresponding month.

EFT Summary
For our customers accepting electronic payments, we have added additional information to the Summary of Electronic Payments section on the Deposit report. Previously, the Deposit report gave a summary of payments collected by tender types and the totals of those payments were included in the Summary of All Payments section listed by warrants. With this update, we will still include the summary of all payment types in the All Payments section, however, we have added a similar section under the Summary of Electronic Payments, which will display warrant totals for just the electronic payments.

Interest Calculator
We have updated the Interest Calculator to display the number of days used to calculate the interest.

Report Menu Changes
With each new report we've added, the Reports drop down menu has become longer and longer. In order to make it easier to view, we have condensed some of the selections. For instance, liening and deeding were listed individually in the drop down menu. In this update when you select Reports, the drop down menu will have Liening and Deeding as one selection. When you select Liening and Deeding from the Reports menu, a submenu will display with Lien Redemptions, Deeded Property, and Tax Collector's Deed as report options. It is the same with Penalties, which when you select it, you will see Penalties Assigned, Inventory Penalties, and Balances. We have also added a new selection called Parcels, which is where you will find Mortgagees and Bankruptcies reports. We recommend that you look over the Reports menu items to familiarize yourself with the changes.

Custom PID Format
We have added the possibility of configuring your system to display PIDs in a manner different from the standard six character map, six character lot, and six character sublot. This is in response to the growing number of communities (predominantly towns that have had a remapping/renumbering project by Cartographic Associates) that have PIDs that do not conform to this standard. Previously, this could be accommodated within the existing 18 character PID framework but it was not always clean.

The new Custom PID function allows you to configure a PID mask that divides the 18 available characters up into as many as six distinct sections of any length (e.g. six sections of three characters or one section of ten characters and another of eight characters). Additionally, you can choose to indicate a character that will separate each section and/or you can choose to suppress leading zeros from each section.

Note that this function should only be enabled in consultation with Avitar Software Support and in conjunction with your Assessing department. However, review the description below and please contact us if you and your assessors are interested in implementing a Custom PID format.

By using the Custom PID Format option, you can choose to change the system format to an eighteen character PID in a manner different from the standard six character map, six character lot, and six character sublot format. For example, you could elect to choose six characters for the map, three for the lot, three for the sublot, three for a building number, and three for a unit number.

Custom PID Mask -- You must use the # symbol to indicate the placement of the individual PID characters within the mask. Then use another character (for example a space or a dash or a slash) to indicate the character you wish to use to separate the component sections of the PID. However, you can only use one character as the separator character.

Custom PID Description -- Enter a brief description of the entire PID (e.g. "Map/Lot/Sub/Bld/Unit"). This is the label that will appear on reports. It is best to use a capital letter for the first letter of each component and then lower-case letters for the rest. This will match the format of the rest of the program and the report heading will look consistent.

Custom PID Section Names -- You can choose to enter a description for each component of the PID (e.g. "Map", "Lot", etc.). The Custom PID Section names are only visible when you hover over the individual boxes throughout the program used to enter PID values on which to search.

Suppress Leading Zeros -- Check this box to suppress the leading zeros in each section of the customized PID (e.g. "1/2/3" instead of "000001/000002/000003").

Pad Separators with Spaces -- Check this option to add a space before and after each separator, making it easier to read in some instances (e.g. "1 / 2 / 3" instead of "1/2/3").