Understanding the Monthly Balance Report

Beginning Balance

The Beginning Balance column displays what was owed in total for each warrant at the beginning of the month you are proving. The figures listed should match the Ending Balance from your previous month. (Reports | Monthly Balance – select the previous month)

 

Committed & Supplemented

The Committed & Supplemented column displays all warrants that were committed to you during the month you are balancing. To balance, add up the signed warrants you received from the Selectmen/Assessor by categories.

 

Abated

The Abated column displays the abatements that were posted during the month you are balancing. They should also match the signed abatement slips from the Selectmen/Assessor. (Reports | Abatements)

 

Deeded

The Deeded column displays the principal amount that was owed as of the tax deed date for all properties you deeded in the system. (Reports | Liening & Deeding | Deeded Property)

 

Collected

Under the Collected section are two columns: Principal and Int/Pen. These columns display the amounts you collected and posted to warrants. It does not include the credits you have collected. To reconcile with the amount you deposited at the bank for the month, you will need to use the section at the bottom of the report labeled Summary (see Summary below).

 

Prior Months' Credits Assigned

The Prior Months' Credits Assigned columns display credits that were created in a previous month and assigned to a receivable in this month. They are not shown under the Collected columns because it is not money you collected during the month you are balancing. (Reports | Credits | Credit Types to Include select Assigned | Filter Credits select By select By Assigned Date)

 

Adjustments

The Adjustments column will show if a transaction that occurred in a prior month has been changed in the month you are balancing. For example, a customer pays their taxes on September 25th and the check is returned for insufficient funds on October 5th. Your monthly balance report for September recorded the amount you collected and will not change because that is what you actually remitted to your treasurer. So, the reversal of the amount collected would be reflected on your October monthly balance report under the Adjustments columns.

 

Abatements can also cause amounts to show in the Adjustments columns if the abatement affected a payment that was posted in a previous month. For example, a customer pays a partial payment on their 2023P01 bill in September for $510.00 ($500.00 prin. and $10.00 Int.). In October you post a Beginning Balance Abatement to the invoice of $100.00. An abatement means that the customer, for whatever reason, was billed too much. Therefore, the original late payment was paying interest on an outstanding balance that was $100.00 higher than it should have been. By law, you must adjust the payment to reflect interest charged on the new principal amount. The Avitar collect system will do this calculation for you at the time you post the abatement. In the example given, the partial payment of $510.00 would now be posted as $502.00 Principal, $8.00 Interest. There would also be a $100.00 figure in the Abatement column. On the Monthly Balance report, under the Adjustments columns, you would see (2.00) in the Principal column and 2.00 in the Interest column.

 

We suggest that when you are posting transactions (abatements, returned checks, deleting transactions/receipts), which affect payments from a previous month, that you keep documentation at the time you post the transaction. It will assist you in proving these figures.

 

Error

The Error column is used by the system to alert you that there might be a problem. Typically, we see figures in this column when a collector has entered a receipt, deleted the transaction from receipt, and subsequently deleted it again. This can cause problems for the system in knowing where it should display the amount on the monthly balance report. Give Avitar a call if you need help with an amount in the Errors column.

 

Summary

The Summary section of the report is used to help you balance, in total, to the amount you collected and deposited in the bank. Basically, it adds what you collected in Principal, Interest/Penalties, Unassigned Credits Received This Month (and still not assigned), any Prior Year adjustments, and any credits received and refunded in the month you are balancing. The Gross Receipts This Month figure should match the total deposit receipts you received from the bank. (Reports | Deposits | Deposit Summary | Filter Report select By Deposit Date)

 

Also under the Summary section is Total Prior Year Deletions This Month. If there is an amount here, it’s because an error was made in the prior year and corrected in the month you are balancing. For example, you posted a payment on December 31st and closed your fiscal year on January 10th. On January 11th, the bank notifies you the check is being returned for insufficient funds. If this occurs, you can call Avitar and we will log in and process the reversal. Once the correction has been made, the monthly balance report is updated. (Reports | Deleted Receipts)

 

Credits

The Credits section is used to track the credit activity that occurred during the month. Below is a brief outline of each line item and the report(s) used to balance each figure.

 

Refund Abatements

Refund abatements are simply abatements posted to a receivable that was paid in the prior fiscal year. (Reports | Abatements)

 

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