The Generate Statements (Billing Preference) action item sends homeowner statements based on each homeowner's billing communication preference. Use this action item to run one-off statements or scheduled statement generations for an association. Statements route automatically to email or the print queue based on each homeowner's preference. This article covers action item fields, parameter settings, the post-generation workflow, international address formatting, and troubleshooting.
Contents
- Before You Begin
- Action Item Fields
- Generate Statements
- Post-Generation Workflow
- International Addresses
- Troubleshooting
Before You Begin
Review the following before generating statements:
- Each homeowner's billing communication preference determines whether their statement is emailed or sent to the print queue for paper delivery.
- When running statements manually for an association, Include All Properties is enabled by default when the action item is created, even if it was previously unselected. Verify this setting each time before generating to ensure it reflects your intent.
- The text entered in the Action Item screen Description field (under Details) is used only for email communications. It does not affect the message that prints on statements. Statement messages are controlled by the Statement Message field in Settings > Company Info, the action type configuration, or the Statement Message parameter on the action item itself.
- The Follow-up Date and Due Date fields under Dates and Assignment apply to the action item, not to the statement.
Action Item Fields
To create a Generate Statements (Billing Preference) action item.
- Click New Action Item at the top of the screen or navigate to Action Items > My Action Items and click New Action Item or from any screen that supports new action item creation.
The Action Item screen opens.
- Click Select and choose the desired association
- From the Action Type dropdown, select Generate Statements (Billing Preference).
- Fill in the the following areas as needed:
- Select the Current Step.
- Click Update.
Details
This section is not required to run the action item, but use it if you want to send the statement by email. Complete the following fields as needed:
- Subject: Appears as the email subject line.
- Description: Appears as the body of the email. This text does not affect the message printed on statements.
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Other Email: An additional email address to include on the send.
Dates and Assignment
This section is optional. Use it to set dates and assignments for the action item itself. Note that Follow-up Date and Due Date refer to the action item, not the statement.
Attachments
Attachments are not required for this action item. Add attachments only if additional items should be sent alongside the statements.
Note: To send an additional attachment with a statement, select Combine Attachments in the Rules of the Generate Statement step. Navigate to Settings > Action Types/Steps, locate the Generate Statements action type, and edit the rules on the Generate step. After saving, add the attachment in the Attachments section of the action item.
Parameters
The Parameters section controls what appears on the statement itself. This is the most important section to complete. Configure the following fields:
- Start Date: The start date of the statement period.
- End Date: The end date of the statement period. If you are generating statements for an upcoming fiscal year (e.g., running 2025 statements in the 2024 fiscal year), you must enter an end date for statements to generate.
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Due Date: If entered, this date replaces the run date on the statement. If left blank, the due date defaults based on the statement format:
- Two Column format: Defaults to the current calendar day.
- Three Column format: Defaults to the latest transaction date included on the statement.
- Subledger: If your association uses subledgers, select the subledger to include.
- Include ACH: Select to include homeowners using ACH. If not selected, homeowners using ACH do not receive a statement.
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Include All Properties: Select to send a combined statement to any homeowner with multiple properties who is merged in Vantaca. Use this setting when initiating the statement action item from a homeowner's account where properties are merged and a combined statement is desired.
Important: When generating statements at the association level, this setting is enabled by default each time the action item is created and will result in combined statements for owners with merged accounts. - Include Credit Balance: Select to include homeowners whose credit balance is large enough to cover the next assessment. If not selected, those homeowners are excluded from the statement run.
- Statement Message: Enter a message to override the default. To review the default message, navigate to Settings > Company Info.
- Utilities Billing Message: Enter a message to display on statements only when at least one property in the billing period has a utility charge. It's a conditional message that shows up to flag utility billing for that period. This parameter is designed specifically for associations that bill homeowners for utilities like water or electric.
Generate Statements
After you click Update, Vantaca begins generating the statements. This may take several moments.
After generation completes, the following occurs:
- The action item step changes to Review Statement, indicating that the statements are attached and have been sent to A/R.
- The generated statements appear as an attachment on the action item.
- A summary message displays indicating how many statements were generated and the reason for any that were skipped.
Example summary:
Generations Completed. Statements were generated for 55 of 72 owners. 15 Owners were skipped due to ACH. 2 Additional owners were skipped due to zero or credit balance.
Post-Generation Workflow
After generation, the A/R team steps the action item to Send Statements. Vantaca then:
- Emails statements to homeowners whose billing communication preference is set to email.
- Sends statements to the print queue for homeowners with a paper billing preference.
After all statements are sent, the action item steps automatically to Completed.
International Addresses
Statements format international addresses for print services as follows:
- Line 1: Street number, address line 1, address line 2, and unit number
- Line 2: City/town, province, and postal code
- Line 3: Country
If you experience issues with international address formatting on printed statements, contact Vantaca Support.
Troubleshooting
Q: Can statements generated via the calendar be set to exclude homeowners with credit balances?
A: Yes. Navigate to Association > Settings > Statements and toggle the Include Credit Balances Default (Calendar Only) setting. Additional calendar-specific options in the same section include Include All Properties Default (Calendar Only) and Include ACH Default (Calendar Only). For details, see the "Association Settings" article.
Q: When attempting to run statements for an association, I see a note on the action item stating "owners were skipped due to no activity." How do I fix this?
A: This occurs because no End Date has been selected in the Parameters section of the Action Item window. Setting an End Date will prevent owners from being skipped.
Q: A statement message is appearing on statements, but it is not set in Settings > Company Info and was not added manually on the action item. Where is it coming from?
A: The message is likely set in the Rules on the statement action type. To locate and edit or remove it:
- Navigate to Settings > Action Types/Steps and find the statement action type.
- Click the caret (▶) to the left of the category to view its steps.
- Click Rules on the Generate step.
- On the Edit Rules screen, click Rule Configuration.
- In the Additional Options section, locate the Statement Message field.
- Edit or clear the message as needed.
- Click Save Rule Configuration.
Future statements will display the statement message as intended.
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