SIT Disbursements--TaxLedge

Last Revised:  February 18, 2015

When to run:

After the SIT Disbursement--Post to TCS steps have been completed. Make sure the bank accounts and rules have been set up in TaxLedge.

What it does:

This document gives the steps needed to be done to complete the disbursement of funds through TaxLedge.  The numbering of the major processes is continued from that help topic.

Definition:  X-entity refers to an tax unit for which the tax office does not collect property taxes but does collect SIT taxes.

Note: At the beginning of each step, the ACT module to be used is shown in brackets. TCS refers to the Tax Collection System.

User Entitlements

The following user entitlements are available on the Batch Menu. They are part of the Run SI Batch Processes task, which is part of the SI Batch Menu job. See Tasks, Entitlements, and Jobs for more information. Individual reports and processes must be assigned to each user.

SI_BATCHMENU: access the batch menu

SI_BATCHREQUEST: access the Batch Request screen

SI_FILE_UPLOAD: access and use the File Upload button

  1. [TaxLedge] Load the remittances into TaxLedge.  This is where levy, overages, penalties, fines and NSF are loaded.    Be sure to select the File Type you wish to disburse (Property Tax, SIT Fines/Penalties, SIT NSF, SIT Overpayments, SIT Penalty/Interest).

Note: Levy and overage funds may have commissions taken out depending on the tax office’s rules.

  1. Make sure that ACT has all of the current bank information for the X-entities if your tax office uses TaxLedge.
  2. Log onto TaxLedge and go to the Remit screen.
  3. Enter the Batch Seq. number from when you ran the TC298, batch menu no. 4, in step 21.
  4. Select the file type you wish to load from the File Type drop-down menu.  The choices currently are:  Property Tax, VIT Fines/Penalties, VIT NSF, VIT Overpayment, andVIT Penalty/Interest.  (Some tax offices will also  Permit Disbursement to State and Permit Disbursement to County). Each File Type will need to be disbursed separately.
  5. Click Load Data.  Levy and overage funds may have commissions taken out depending on the tax office’s rules.

Note: TaxLedge does not allow files having the same date range and File Type to be loaded twice. Each load period must be unique, that is, with no overlap.  If previous loads contain any unremitted balances, these will be displayed automatically when the Remittance module is opened again.

If a jurisdiction name or address is different in SIT than in TCS, the SIT data will now be used when disbursing SIT funds through TaxLedge.

  1. In the Remit screen, check the boxes in the Remit column for those payments you want to process.  To select all the tax unit payments at once, click the Check All button.  Clicking the Check All button will check all the tax units with positive totals regardless of the jurisdictional rules set for your tax office.  Clicking this button a second time will uncheck all boxes.

Some units that were paid in the Tax Collection System may not appear on the Remit screen.  Instead, their payments will be included in the totals of another tax unit.  The remittance will be disbursed to the same bank account that is associated with that tax unit.  

Two separate rows will appear on the Remit screen for some units because the total remit amount is split between the M&O and I&S funds.  Based on your Jurisdictional Rules, the money for each fund may be disbursed to different bank accounts.

You cannot process remittances for a jurisdiction or attorney that has a negative balance.  If you try to check the remit box, you will get a 'You cannot remit negative amount’ message.

  1. Verify or select the Payment Type (check, wire, ACH) for all tax units chosen for processing.
  2. The Reference and Comment lines at the bottom of the screen are view-only.  These remarks must be entered in the Taxunit Remittance Detail or Attorney Remittance Detail screens.  Any that have been entered will be printed on the remittance checks.
  3. After you have made your selections, click the Process button. The Total amounts will be updated to reflect any remaining balances.
  4. Exit the Remittance module by clicking the Exit button on the toolbar.  The payments processed to this point are sent to the Check Writer module, where payment will be completed.
  1. [TaxLedge]  In TaxLedge, run the TC297F Report.  This lets you verify that the amounts on the TC298E match what was loaded in TaxLedge.>
  1. On TaxLedge’s Main Menu bar, select Reports, then select TCS297F. The TCS297F screen will be displayed.
  2. Enter the beginning and ending date of the Deposit Date Range you used to run the TC298 Deposit Distribution Reports in the Tax Collection System.
  3. (optional) In the Batch Number field, enter the request seq. number generated in the Tax Collection System when you ran the TC298 in step 21.
  4. In the Record Type field, select TCS297F - Property Tax, TCS297F - VIT Fines/Penalties, TCS297F - VIT NSF, TCS297F - VIT Overpayment, or TCS297F - VIT Penalty/Interest, depending on which file you loaded into the Remit screen.
  5. Enter the Number of Copies desired.
  6. Click Print.  The Grand Totals on the 297F report [Attorney + TIF Levy + TIF Penalty/Interest + Fees/Refund + Disburse Total (the disburse total is Current Year Total + Prior Year Total)] will equal the Distribution Summary and Detail reports' grand total for Total Collections (Levy Paid + Penalty Interest + Fees + TIF).  The Grand Total on the 297F matches the total on the 298D.

The TCS 297F report also shows levy and penalty amounts, in addition to the data named above.  Totals per unit (split into M&O and I&S) and grand totals are also provided.  The Disburse Total for the rendition unit(s) matches the total for the same unit(s) on the 298R.

  1. [TaxLedge] Go to the Check Writer in TaxLedge. Select the desired options in the Payment Batches tab and then process the ACH in the Check Writer screen.

Select payment batches to process in the Check Run screen

  1. From the Main Menu, click Check Writer, then select Check Run from the list.  The Check Run screen will appear.
  2. Select ACH or Check from the Payment Type box, depending on how your tax office sends the remittances. All check batches ready for payment will be displayed on the right side of the screen.
  3. Click in the Selected box(es) next to the batch(es) you want to process.  A checkmark will appear in the box(es).
  4. Choose the Bank Account from the drop-down list.
  5. Click the Process Request. button.

When the request process is complete, TaxLedge will change automatically from the Check Run screen to the Check Writer screen.  The requested checks will be displayed.  

Check requests remain in the TaxLedge system until they are either printed, are unremitted (for remittances only) or the request is canceled (for refunds only).   

Process in the Check Writer screen

  1. In the Check Writer screen, review the Print Date, which defaults to the current date. Change the date if necessary.
  2. In the New Begin Chk field, type in the first check number that will print if you want it to be something other than the default.   If you wish to limit the TaxLedge users who can use this field, contact ACT to have the GLBEGIN_CHK role set properly.
  3. If you do not want to print all of the available checks, enter the number of checks you want to process in the Requests-On-Hand field. This number defaults to the total number of checks ready to be printed in this run.  For Wire and EFT transactions, you can use this field instead of clicking Update Run to generate the wire numbers.
  4. If you want to keep certain checks from printing, check the Skip checkbox next to those checks.
  5. Click the Update Run button and wait for the checks to be set up within the TaxLedge program. The Check Number column will now contain the assigned check numbers based on the  number entered in step 3.
  6. To cancel the run if the check numbers are incorrect or some last minute change occurs, click Cancel Run.  Canceling the run removes all records from the Check Writer screen. You will need to return to the Check Run screen to reprocess the records before printing checks.

CAUTION:  Do not start a new payment run until the current run is completely out of the system.  Please post all refund checks from the current run back to the ACT Tax Collection system before starting another check run.

  1. Click the Print Checks button to begin the printing process.>
  2. A message window will appear that states:  “You are about to print checks.  Do you want to continue?”  Click Yes to continue or, to postpone the final check processing, click No.

CAUTION: This is the last opportunity to cancel or postpone the processing. The steps from this point forward are irreversible.

  1. Some clients will see a print preview window displaying the checks.  At this point, TaxLedge treats the checks in this window as having been printed, even if you do not physically print them.
  2. Check the printed checks to make sure they are correct.  If something is not correct, go to the Adjustments tab to void the check load.  If they are correct, proceed to the next step.
  3. Skipped checks remain on the screen.  Do NOT do anything with skipped checks until you have posted back the printed checks. If you have printed remittance checks, you can void them in the Adjustment screen of the Check Writer module, and either reprint the check by going back to the Check Run screen or cancel the request in the Remit screen of the Remittances module.
  1. (Optional) [SIT] Run the SIT Jurisdiction Interface process, batch menu no. 12403.  This produces a file the county can send to the jurisdictions for verification of money disbursed.
  1. From the Main Menu, click Batch Menu.  The SIT Batch Menu will appear.
  2. Click the SIT Jurisdiction Interface File line, batch menu no. 12403.
  3. Press Enter.  The parameter screen for this process will appear.
  4. Enter your tax office's Client ID for ACT 7.
  5. In the Begin Year and End Year fields, enter the current TCS tax year.
  6. Click Submit Job.
  7. Click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen.

Once these steps have been completed, proceed to the steps for SIT Disbursements--X-Entity.