This article describes how to generate a PDF coupon file for in-house coupons or an Excel spreadsheet to send to third-parties for printing. Troubleshooting tips and a description of the coupon process and multiowner coupon process is included.

Notes:

• You can only generate coupons for one association at a time.
• If you have the Multiple Owners - Coupons interface setting enabled, coupons will generate for all homeowners related to an account. Make sure to use the Mailing Address with Name merge tag in letters and emails.

Contents

• Before You Start
• In-House Coupons
• Third-Party Coupons
• Troubleshooting Tips
• Coupon Process
• Multiple Owner Coupon Process

Before You start

Before you start generating coupons, be sure to check your:

• Association Settings: Set to ensure the coupon files will generate correctly. If you do not change the settings in the Coupons section, the coupon file defaults to send only to owners with paper preference and excludes owners using ACH and email billing preference. For more information about association settings, see the "Association Settings" article.
  Note: When Include Owners on ACH is set to No, coupon generation excludes individual charges that have ACH payment methods configured, not entire homeowners. For example, if a homeowner has their special assessment set to ACH but their regular assessment is not, they will still receive a coupon for the regular assessment. Only charges with ACH payment methods on the same subledger as the coupon charges will be excluded from coupon generation.
• Assessments: Set to ensure the coupons option is available for the type of charge for which you are generating the file.
   

Association Settings

To update your Association settings:

1. Navigate to Association > Settings.
2. Go to the Interfaces section, and click Edit next to Coupon Format.
3. From the Coupon Format dropdown, Selected either In House or your desired third-party service.
4. Click Update.
5. Go to the Coupons section and click Edit next to any of the options to open the Edit Association Data screen.
   
   
   
   Note: When Include Owners on ACH is set to No, coupon generation excludes individual charges that have ACH payment methods configured, not entire homeowners. For example, if a homeowner has their special assessment set to ACH but their regular assessment is not, they will still receive a coupon for the regular assessment. Only charges with ACH payment methods on the same subledger as the coupon charges will be excluded from coupon generation.
6. Update the options as needed and click Update.

Assessments

To update your Assessment settings:

1. Navigate to Association > Assessments.
2. Click Edit next to the desired charge to open the Edit Assessment screen.
3. From Billing Format, select Coupons. 
   To generate one coupon for multiple charges and break out the total, select one of the Breakout options (e.g. Breakout 1, Breakout 2, etc.). To combine all of those charges into a single combined total on the coupon, select the Coupons (Combined) option. For more information about coupon breakouts, see the "Best Practices - Coupons Breakout" article. 
4. Click Update.

In-House Coupons

To begin generating the in-house coupon file for an association:

1. Navigate to Association > Action Items.
2. Ensure the association name at the top of the screen is the one for which you want to generate the coupon file, or select it and search for the desired association.
3. Click New Action Item.
4. From Action type, select Generate Coupons.
5. Click the Plus symbol next to Dates and Assignment and select the Coupon Start Date. 
   This will be the date that the coupon file is started (i.e. 8/1/2022), or when the charge starts.
   
   
   
   You do not need to add any other information to this action item.
6. Click Update.
   The file generates, and then the action item automatically steps to the Review Coupons step. Do not try to view the file before this, as the entire file may not be ready. 
7. On the Review Coupons step, you can click the Attachment (paperclip) icon to view the file.
   In-house coupons print four coupons per page. If you use the in-house option, instead of sending to the Print Queue in Vantaca, you can simply print the file from your computer.
   For more information about the print queue, see the "Print Queue 101" and "Best Practices: Print Queue/Check Queue" articles.
   
   
    

Third-Party Coupons

If you use a third-party service, such as SouthData or Optimal, follow the same steps as In-House Coupons (previous section) to initiate the Generate Coupons action item.

During the final Review Coupons step, a file generates for you to download. This file will be sent to the third-party service to print the coupons. It is good practice to review the file to ensure it is accurate and that coupon breakouts display on the same row for each homeowner. 

Notes:

• If you click Attachments (Paperclip icon) on the A new Generate Coupons item has been created portion of the Generate Coupons step, the third-party service's file generates in CSV format.
• If you do the same in the Generations Completed portion of the Generate Coupons step, the action item generates results in an Excel file.

After you review and confirm the information within the file, return to the action item and step to Send Coupons, which sends the file to the third-party service (if applicable). If you need to edit the file in any way or include a cover letter, manually upload the file to the third-party service and step the action item to complete. 

Troubleshooting Tips

• For combined and breakout coupons, the Frequency, Duration, Start, and End Date for the assessment rules must match for the file to generate correctly.

• If you use a coupon printing company that uses Product Codes or Coupon Codes, they must be the same on any assessments that use combined or breakout coupons so that they group properly.

• There are no coupon options for Annual  or Semi-Annual Billing as these associations generally send statements. However, if you need coupons for these, follow the normal generation process and change the frequency column in the file that generates from M to A before you submit.

• Coupons are generated for all addresses that have the Is Mailing Address selected within the Edit Contact settings, regardless if they are primary or nonprimary. 

Coupon Process

Coupon Generation CSV Files

A CSV file generates when a Generate Homeowner Invoice action item is processed.

The following fields display indications of Void and Reclass entries:

•  
  • AccountNo
  • LastName
  • FirstName
  • MailAddress
  • MailAddress2
  • MailAddress3
  • PropAddress
  • PropAddress2
  • Included
    • Yes or No
  • Exclude Reasons

Users are notified if a generation fails and provided the reason for the failure. 

This log automatically generates and allows you to identify the number of accounts included in your homeowner invoice generation.

Multiple Owner Coupon Process

FAQ
 

Q: I have an association that charges late fees at the end of the month as opposed to the middle. Why do my coupons show late fee dates in the following month for months with 30 days or fewer, while 31-day months display correctly?

A: This happens when your late fee rule uses Last Day of Month with Day(s) Old set to 30. This setting works for 31-day months but causes the late fee date to roll into the next month for shorter months.

To fix this, change Day(s) Old to 27:

1. Go to Association > Assessments
2. Locate your late fee charge
3. Click the caret ▶ to the left of the charge name to view the Rules tab
4. Click Rules
5. Change Day(s) Old to 27
6. Click Update
7. Re-run your coupons to have late fee dates reflect correctly

This setting accommodates February (the shortest month with 28 days) and ensures late fees apply and reflect on coupons correctly at month-end for all months.
 

Q: I have several associations that bill their assessments annually and semi-annually. How do I produce coupons for them?

A: Vantaca does not support coupon generation for Annual or Semi-Annual assessment charges. If you attempt to run coupons for these billing frequencies, the system will incorrectly generate coupons for every month rather than once or twice per year as intended.

Resolution:

Use statements instead of coupons for Annual and Semi-Annual billing frequencies.

Note: Coupon generation is only available for Monthly or Quarterly assessment charges.
 

Q: Why do only three coupons print per page instead of four when generating In-House coupons?

A: Coupons print three per page when text exceeds the character limit for coupon fields, forcing the content onto a new row. This can occur from one or more of the following:

• Multiple owners with lengthy names are listed on the account
• The association name is lengthy
• The property address is long

Q: Why did my owner's coupons generate blank?

A: Blank coupon generation typically occurs when an owner is enrolled in ACH and the system is set to exclude ACH owners from coupon generation via Association > Settings.

To resolve:

1. Navigate to Association > Settings
2. Scroll down to the Coupons section
3. Locate the Include Owners on ACH setting
4. Click Edit, change the setting from No to Yes

This will allow coupons to generate properly for owners on ACH.