Category: accounting

What are Powersite Transfers?

The email you send to the Cambridge AMSI account (amsi@cambridgeres.com) which indicates how much rent you have collected and deposited at the bank

When Should they be Processed?

Powersite transfers are due every Tuesday by the end of the day and are very important for your accountant to determine which invoices your property can afford to pay.

Why is a timely transfer important?

As a rule of thumb, accountants do not use any funds that you deposit until they actually show up on the books which only happens by your Powersite transfer being completed.  While it is always important that this transfer be done in a timely manner, it is extremely important those first couple weeks of the month.  This is when mortgages are being deducted from property bank accounts and an accurate understanding of the property’s finances is imperative.  Accountants need to be sure the mortgage is covered and know what remaining funds are available for utilities and other payables.  Processing and emailing your Powersite transfer late can result in your vendors having to wait additional time to be paid.

The Details…

When you are sending your weekly email to the AMSI mailbox please be sure it is labeled as indicated below:

_____________________

TO: amsi@cambridgeres.com

SUBJECT: Your Property Code, WEEKLY POWERSITE TRANSFER, Date MM/DD/YYYY

ATTACHMENT: batch.gls, aspront.dat (if applicable)

BODY OF EMAIL: Include the amount transferred – if you have multiple properties, please list out the amounts next to their property code

_____________________

Month End Powersite Transmittal

This transfer which occurs on the 3rd Tuesday of every month should be labeled slightly differently.  See below:

_____________________

TO: amsi@cambridgeres.com

SUBJECT: Your Property Code, MONTH-END POWERSITE TRANSFER, Date MM/DD/YYYY

ATTACHMENT: batch.gls, apsdat.dat, packedps.zip, aspront.dat (if applicable)

BODY OF EMAIL: Include the amount transferred – if you have multiple properties, please list out the amounts next to their property code

_____________________

Thank you for your attention to this very important process!  Click here for more detailed information about the Powersite Weekly Transfer

If you need any assistance with the transfer process or have any questions please contact your AMSI Peer Trainer.

Our favorite day is again upon us and we would like to take just a minute to provide you with this helpful reminder for making the most from your Month End Powersite transfer.

It is essential that we have the most complete, and up to date information before we run the transfer program so please take a few minutes to review the following before closing out the month.  Thank you all for your continued hard work each and every day!

Helpful hints for making the most from your Month End Transfer

Administrative Tasks

• Make sure all your guest cards traffic and lease renewals have been entered for the entire period since your last month end transfer.
• Make sure you’ve completed all move-ins, out’s, soda’s for the month and that all journals are posted.
• If you have received any NSF returned checks or corrections from the central office please make sure these are posted and entered as well.
• Please make sure to complete and include the Monthly Powersite Transmittal cover sheet before mailing in your month end packets.
• Ensure all scheduled rent increases have been accurately entered
• For Affordable properties – Ensure all scheduled rent adjustments for recertifications have been entered.

Financial Tasks

• Run an Aged Delinquency report and make sure you’ve entered all payments correctly, that there are very few if any outstanding balances.  Company guidelines call for an Aged Delinquency of no more than 5% of your property, but this is more indicative of a maximum and there shouldn’t be anyone listed that owes us money longer than 30 days out.

• Credits and balances for less than $15 can be adjusted off without further supervisory consent provided it is not a repeat adjustment for the same occupant and provided the adjustment is not to a Tax Credit, RD, Section 8, or HUD occupant.  These adjustments are not permitted at affordable housing communities.

•  Deposit all laundry monies and any remaining checks/payments to the bank today and get them entered into AMSI before closing out.

Helpful Reports

• Run and Exceptions Report (Reports and Inquiries, Audit reports, Exceptions) There shouldn’t be any exception notations listed except for those pertaining to units on notice.  If there are entries listed, follow the notations to clear up any related issues in AMSI before running Month end.

•  Run a security deposit audit report (Reports and Inquiries, Audit reports, Security Deposit Audit Report).  The ‘On hand’ vs. ‘Required’ amounts should match.  If not, please contact the resident in questions and have them submit payment for the necessary amounts.

Thanks again and please contact your AMSI peer trainer or property supervisor if you have any questions.

Move-outs will result in either 1) the resident owing the property a balance or 2) the resident will be due a refund of their deposit. (RD subsidy is the only exception to this).

1. If a resident OWES a balance, the Resident copy of the SODA is mailed directly from the site office to the Resident. All other paperwork is placed in a Move-Out Envelope and mailed to the Site Employee Resource Center.
2. If the resident is due a REFUND, all of the paperwork should be placed in a Move-Out Envelope and mailed to the Site Employee Resource Center so that a check can be written immediately.

Please remember to be timely. There are laws in place that limit the time given for a refund to be disbursed.  To learn more about assembling a move-out packet, click here.

Good Morning Managers,

This week please focus on your Aged Delinquency Report and close this month with the cleanest, smallest, shortest, most delightful Aged Delinquency Report E-V-E-R.

We encourage you to seize this opportunity and begin the effort right away and conclude before Powersite closes on May 21st.

Here are some strategies to consider:

1. Collect balances due by knocking on doors and making demands for payments clear
2. As an alternative to knocking on doors, the eforms website has a variety of notices and letters that may be appropriate in your effort to collect balances due.
3. Process the final steps to declare a past move-out bill as ‘uncollectable’ by following write-off directions – click to read more about write off’s on the eExchange
4. Clean-up small balance dues of $15 or less by completing the necessary ‘adjustments’ in AMSI Powersite
5. Correct past Powersite posting errors which might have resulted in a balance due from a Housing Authority to exist but a credit to also exist for the same household on the “Resident Paid” portion of their account

Managers are asked to print an Aged Delinquency Report TODAY, to make all necessary corrections they can identify and comfortably collect, and then submit an updated Aged Delinquency Report to the central office by the CLOSE OF BUSINESS TOMORROW.   At their discretion, your Supervisor will either contact you directly or will request that an AMSI Help Desk Manager contact you directly to work through other adjustments and corrections necessary.  So that the records you provide are as informative as possible, prior to faxing your Aged Delinquency Report to your supervisor later today, please make notes on EACH AND EVERY PAST DUE account in the margin of that report so we understand the status.

Remember, if you have technical questions about cleaning up your Powersite your AMSI Help Desk is an available resource.  If you are unsure who your assigned helpdesk is follow this link to the eExchange.

Aged Delinquency Reports shall be faxed to 503.450.0241.

We thank you for your focused attention!

In an effort to better control turnover at your properties — and the related turnover expenses including but not limited to lost income, maintenance time,  move out bills to generate, apartments to market, management time, ads to post, applications to screen, paperwork to complete, apartments to show, vendors to schedule, locks to change, replacements to coordinate) , here is some information to consider regarding lease renewals.

An apartment was recently rented.  We’d like to get the new resident to stay for a longer period of time and we would like the apartment to stay occupied and producing revenue.  Providing exceptional service each and every day to the resident pays dividends in terms of improving your chances of securing a lease renewal in the future.

In addition to completing yearly recertification paperwork (affordable housing), an important part of the anniversary of each tenancy involves securing signatures on new leases when the old lease expires.

The goal for each property is to have no more than 10%-15% of households on a month-to-month rental agreement (including any and all expired leases) at any given time.  The remaining households should be on leases where the expirations are spread out over the year.  For example:

• 72 unit property should have no more than 7 month-to-month households (10%); and,
• The balance of the apartments (65) should be a mix of vacancies (hopefully no more than 5% and possibly less) and leases that expire as evenly as possible over the next 12 months.

If you are wondering how lease expiration dates and month-to-month concentrations at your property look at any given time, print an AMSI report and take a look:

• Powersite
  • Management Reports
    • Lease Expiration by Month

The length of leases that you are required to offer can be based on program restrictions.  For Tax Credit properties only, a minimum lease term is generally 6 full calendar months.  If your property has HOME, USDA / Rural Development, or HUD support, 12 month leases are very likely required.

How can you succeed in encouraging households to sign a lease?   Here are a few ideas that have come in from your peers:

• Provide exceptional service throughout the prior lease term so the resident is already pre-disposed to remaining a satisfied resident for another lease term
• Offer a complimentary service such as a free carpet shampoo (with supervisor approval)
• Generally, a lease gives the resident the protection of a specific rent obligation for the next 12 months.  Note that some restrictions apply though this is generally a true statement.
• Add an upgrade to an apartment for a lease renewal.  This might include an upgraded light fixture, fresh painting of a room, or other updates.  Talk with your supervisor to find out what works for your budget and your community as standards to vary from property to property.

Questions are always welcome, and your attention to details such as this can make the difference between strong management and exceptional management of your community.