Check Scanning & Credit Card Processing Policy

Transcription

1 Check Scanning & Credit Card Processing Policy All HallKeen managed properties will utilize a check scanner to process resident rent, subsidy, security deposit and other payments. Through the Payments Module in OneSite, the scanner will scan checks (known as ACH transactions) and money orders (known as IRD transactions) directly into OneSite where they will be posted directly to resident accounts. Transaction batches will be closed automatically each evening and the bank accounts will be credited within 1-2 business days following the day the checks/money orders are scanned. Replacement reserve reimbursements, laundry income and other miscellaneous income not associated to a specific residential unit can also be scanned into OneSite. Refer to Scanning Miscellaneous Income Payments section that follows. Many properties will also have a Resident Portal which is accessible via the internet for residents to authorize certain types of payments and to make work order requests. Site staff will issue usernames to residents to allow them to access information about their rental account online. At a minimum, all residents will have the ability to authorize rent, security deposit and other payments from their checking or savings accounts online through the Resident Portal. Depending upon the approval of each site s owners, some sites will also accept credit and debit card payments both online and by swiping the cards in the management office. Credit card transactions come with considerable fees and it is therefore important that the owner participate in the decisionmaking on whether or not to accept credit cards and whether they will either absorb the fee altogether or charge a flat rate convenience fee to the residents for each portal transaction. For sites accepting credit/debit cards, those transactions will generally be processed by the resident directly through the Resident Portal and will be credited directly to their rental accounts. Residents will also have the option of having their card swiped in the management office and credited directly to their rental accounts. The Payments Module will handle all electronic and scanned transactions automatically through OneSite. From the Resident Portal (online), payments will be automatically credited to the proper resident because the unit number is assigned to the login credentials. Swiped credit card transactions will be done in the management office directly into the appropriate resident account. Checks will be scanned into OneSite and then posted directly into resident ledgers once the checks have been assigned to the appropriate units. Repeated use of the same checking accounts will be automatically assigned to the correct residents after the checks are associated to the residents the first time. Money orders and checks from unrecognized accounts will need to be associated to the residents each time they are scanned. Batches will be closed each evening and separated by ACH items, IRD items and credit card items. They will also be separated into the appropriate checking accounts (i.e., operating or security deposit). After approximately 1-2 business days following the day they are scanned, the bank accounts will be automatically credited with the funds. Residents will receive credit in their ledgers on the same day the checks are scanned. Any returned or denied transactions will be automatically reversed in OneSite and site staff will be notified.

2 OneSite Check Scanning & Posting Procedures ONESITE CHECK SCANNING AND POSTING PROCEDURES This procedure applies to the following types of checks: Resident rent and security deposit checks (ACH Transactions) Resident payments with Money Orders (IRD Transactions) Subsidy Checks for Multiple Units (Split Transactions) All check deposits for resident charges are to be scanned through the check scanner. Once scanned, they will be posted directly into OneSite. Checks can be scanned throughout the day. Scanned check batches will automatically close in the evening as one batch for each type of check and for each type of account (i.e., one batch for rent checks, one batch for rent payments by money order, one batch for security deposit money orders, etc.) Checks scanned toward the end of a month may not clear the bank until the next accounting period. These deposits will be considered deposits in transfer. Do not stamp (endorse) the back of the checks that you are scanning. Checks that go through the scanner will be franked on the front indicating the endorsement. (If your scanner is not franking the front of the check (in red ink) call the Operations and Compliance Department.) Customize your Today page to add Alerts to your home screen. Returned checks and other Alerts requiring your attention will show in this screen. Any checks/money orders that are manually posted in OneSite and deposited in the bank MUST be copied. Copies of the checks/money orders must be attached to the bank deposit detail report from OneSite and the bank deposit receipt and filed at the site office in order of date of deposit. These copies must be kept indefinitely.

3 Checks can be scanned from two areas in OneSite: 1. Scanning a single resident check: Go to the Resident Tab>Enter the unit number or resident name>locate the appropriate resident and select View next to their name>go to the Resident Ledger>Select Enter a Payment >Select Scan Check. (Alternatively, once in the Resident account, you can select Enter a Payment from the left side of the first screen and then select Scan Check.)

4 Enter the appropriate information in the required fields. Place check in scanner and select Process Payment : 2. Scanning multiple checks at once: Checks can be accumulated and posted in batches throughout the day. (It is suggested that you scan Security Deposit checks and Rent Checks in separate batches. It is not necessary to separate money orders from checks, however. If a security deposit is scanned with a rent check, you will still have the opportunity to select the appropriate ledger for the deposit, which will also identify the appropriate account for deposit.) First, run two calculator tapes of your batch make sure the totals of each tape match. If not, run another tape. Record the number of items on the tape. From the Today page in OneSite (the main page), select the Payments tab. Select New. Complete the required information at the top of the screen and then select Start Scanning.

5 You will see a screen similar to this: As checks are scanned, they will populate on this screen. You will need to enter the unit number and any other information that requires attention. Do this from the image of the check on the screen to insure you have the correct check and amount for the correct resident. (Do not enter information from the check directly). (Wait until all the scanned items have shown up in the list before inputting data, otherwise it will erase the date you ve entered.) Note: For money orders, you will always have to identify the appropriate unit number. For checks, the system will learn the account number and bank routing number associated with various residents over time. Eventually it will populate the unit numbers and you will only need to change them if necessary. You will also have to designate the checks that belong in the security deposit account. The scanner will default all checks to the operating account. Select the appropriate ledger for each type of deposit from the drop-down box: Resident, Subsidy or Deposit ledger. Then, select Finish. This will post your batch. Repeat these steps each time you want to scan another batch of checks. Each batch will show up on the first screen of the Payments Tab as they are processed throughout the month. From the Payments Tab screen, you can refresh the screen to make sure all items scanned properly and the scanned amount matches the success amount. (Note: If a check does not go through the scanner properly, you will receive an error message. You can click on it, void it and re-scan it before 8:00 p.m. in order to receive credit for the deposit with that day s batch.)

6 The screen will look similar to this:

7 From this screen above, you can click on any one of the items in the Description column and get details of the batch and of individual transactions: If any checks are returned for non-payment, they will be returned through the system automatically. Your Today page will show these Alerts if you ve customized it properly. Deposit batches will close automatically after approximately 8:00 p.m. on the day you scan them. The property should receive bank credit for the checks on the first or second business day following the day they are scanned; however, residents will receive immediate credit in their accounts as of the day the check is scanned. (Prior to 8:00 p.m., you can still make corrections to checks in batches or void the checks.) Retention Scanned checks should be kept in a locked cabinet for 30 days. After 30 days, they should be destroyed by shredding. (Remember that 1 st month s rent and security deposit should always be in the form of a money order or bank check and that a copy of the security deposit check should be kept in the resident folders with the security deposit receipt.) (Scanned checks do not need to be copied since the image of each check is available in the resident ledgers.) Copies of manually deposited checks must be kept indefinitely, attached to the appropriate OneSite bank deposit detail and the deposit receipt from the bank. They should be filed on site in order of the date of deposit. (Copies will also need to be ed to the accounting specialist as indicated below.) Cash Receipts Spreadsheet, together with appropriate backup, will need to be sent to the accounting department only for :

8 (1) Deposits NOT posted into OneSite, such as laundry deposits, replacement reserve reimbursement checks, etc. (Back-up must include deposit slip, deposit receipt (if available) and copy of check(s). (2) Manually posted resident checks/money orders ( backup must include a copy of the deposit slip, deposit receipt (if available), bank deposit detail report from OneSite itemizing the batch posting, and copies of all manually posted checks for that batch.) Scanned checks will not need to be recorded on the Cash Receipts Spreadsheet. Split Payments Checks that require splitting to multiple residents, such as subsidy checks from housing authorities, can now be scanned and split among multiple units. These checks are scanned by selecting the first resident on the check and viewing on their resident summary tab. Next, go into their resident ledger and enter a payment. Select, scan check. After the check is scanned, select the green plus sign + next to the resident and add the next resident. Continue this process until all residents are entered with their appropriate payment amounts, making sure that the appropriate resident ledger is selected for each. Once the check has been fully distributed, you can post the payment and the check will automatically distribute among the appropriate ledgers.

9 SCANNING MISCELLANEOUS INCOME CHECKS Miscellaneous Income Payments, such as Laundry Income, Replacement Reserve Reimbursements, Utility Rebates for Gas and/or Electric, Vending Machine Income, Facilities Fees, Common Area Rentals or other one-time Miscellaneous Income items can be scanned into OneSite. Scanned miscellaneous income checks will not be required to be reported on the Cash Receipts Spreadsheet. Manually posted checks will still follow the procedure for reporting on the Cash Receipts Spreadsheet and reporting to accounting with a copy of the check. In order to process the payment, you must first create the charge in the Miscellaneous Income Account. Instructions on how to do this will follow. It is important to choose the correct Miscellaneous Income Account AND the correct charge code. An incorrect charge code will cause the miscellaneous income to be posted to the wrong line-item on your financial statements. Codes are as follows: Income Type Misc. Income Account Charge Code Laundry Income Laundry LAUNDRY Utility Reimbursement/Rebate Gas Utilities Reimb/Rebates-Gas GAS Utility Reimbursement/Rebate Electric Utilities Reimb/Rebates-Elec. ELECTRIC Replacement Reserve Reserve REPLREIMB Vending Income Vending VENDING Facilities Fees Other Miscellaneous Income MINC Common Area Rental Other Miscellaneous Income MINC Other One-Time Reimbursement/Income Other Miscellaneous Income MINC Note: For ANY charges using the MINC code, staff must inform Property Accountant of the charge details and payment in order for the proper GL Account to be credited.

10 The procedure for posting Miscellaneous Income charges and payments is as follows: First, create the Miscellaneous Income Charge using the correct Miscellaneous Income Account and Charge Code Providence Highway Norwood, MA Phone: (781) Fax: (781)

11 Next, Post the Check as follows on next page: 1400 Providence Highway Norwood, MA Phone: (781) Fax: (781)

12 1400 Providence Highway Norwood, MA Phone: (781) Fax: (781)

13 OneSite Credit Card Processing Procedure Note: This procedure only applies to properties where the owner has agreed to accept credit card payments and to either absorb all of the credit card processing fees or has determined a flat-fee per Note: This procedure only applies to properties where the owner has agreed to accept credit card payments and to either absorb all of the credit card processing fees or has determined a flat-fee per transaction that residents will be required to pay. Credit Card Processing There are two ways that sites are authorized to process credit card payments for rent and security deposits: 1. Online Processing initiated by resident and accessed by username and password. 2. In person processing in the property management office using the Sure Swipe card swipe machine. For online processing, site staff will give residents a username and the website portal address for the property. Residents will go online, follow specific prompts and create a password. From there, they will have access to pay by credit or debit card. For in-person processing in the management office, residents may come into the management office and have their payment processed using their credit or debit card through the card-swipe machine. Staff will verify that the credit card is in the name of the resident, that the card has not expired and that the card is signed by the resident. Staff will then bring up the resident s unit in OneSite and swipe the card through the card-swipe machine. They will enter the appropriate information into OneSite, process the payment and print a receipt for the resident. Maintaining the security of credit card information is the first priority for all staff members. Therefore, we will not process any credit card payments that require staff to record or key in any credit/debit card information. Similarly, we will not take any information by phone or record any information for recurring future payments. Residents are required to come to the management office to have their card swiped each time they wish to make a payment. Residents may set up future payments and recurring payments online only. As payments are made either through online or card swipe transactions, they will be posted directly to the resident account ledgers. Credit card transactions can be reversed in the same day if an error has occurred. After that day, a credit will need to be issued. (Specific instructions on reversals and credits will be demonstrated and described during training.) At the end of each business day, all transactions will be automatically batched and processed. Funds will be received generally within 48 hours and deposited directly into the appropriate bank accounts Providence Highway Norwood, MA Phone: (781) Fax: (781)