Common Lockbox Errors

Question: What are common lockbox errors to look out for?

Answer:

Having trouble committing a lockbox? Be sure to go through these steps before creating a ticket for Development. Typically a lockbox file is ready to commit or process the the morning of the next day, check out Bank Lockbox Times for bank specific lockbox times. By navigating to the Settings > Import > Lockbox tab, you can check to see if the Lockbox has made it to Vantaca for import. Sometimes you may not be able to commit the lockbox right way. Here are a few tools to help.

Review Records Tab

On the Review Records Tab, click the Filter button and select does not contain and enter "than". This will show legitimate errors that must be resolved in order to commit the lockbox. For the most part, these are missing owners and you can locate those missing homeowners by clicking the Search button or click in the Account column to generate a picture of the check image (if the payment was made by check, the description in the Error Msg column will notify you what type of payment the homeowner made). 

Duplicate Payments or Check Images not Populating?

If there are duplicate payments showing up for a homeowner or if that homeowner does not belong to an association, these can always be linked to a homeowner account in Presidential Valley because the payments will never process. The second option is creating a ticket for Development. Generally, if there are lockbox payments, we would want to send the ticket to Development so it will auto-reconcile and post an image of the check. 

If check images are not populating for a missing homeowner, click on the Search button to try and locate the homeowner and attach that payment to the missing owner. If there is not enough information to link the payment to a homeowner and the payment was made by check, send in a ticket to Development. 

Wrong Association Code from Misc. Deposit

If a miscellaneous deposit comes into the lockbox with the wrong association code, click on the listed Association Code and change it to the correct Association Code. It will then deposit to the correct association.

Note: This will create a transfer item on the Bank Register and the Bank Reconciliation moving funds from the wrong Association Code to the correct one.

Misc. Deposit - Missing GL Entry

If one of the Error messages contains "Misc. Deposit - Missing GL Entry", meaning a GL Entry needs to be created in order to commit the Lockbox. Likely, the deposit should have hit a GL Account and not an owner ledger. If the client can confirm the payment should be reflected on an owner ledger, they would want to use the Payment button to convert it to an owner payment and then apply it to the correct account in order to commit the Lockbox. 

Note: When you hit commit and the file does not commit/stays on the import list, then there was an issue and something is missing. When reviewing the import, you may need to type in "missing" in the Error Msg column and that will inform you that a GL Entry is missing. 

If there is a missing GL, click the GL Entry which will take you to a page to record the GL entry. Once recorded, you will be able to commit the lockbox and payments will post to those accounts. 

"Missing" Lockbox File?

Client's Daily Lockbox is not Appearing on the Import Screen?

Lockboxes generally go from 8am - 12pm each day and will extend to later in the day if the file was not received in the morning. Before discussing with the client's bank, you will want to check the System > System Health > Processes Tab. As long as you see a green circle with a check in the center, everything in the database should be working fine. Lastly, you will want to check the Accounting > Bank Registers and spot check a few Association Bank Accounts to see if there was a lockbox deposit.

Deleted Lockbox

The Lockbox file may have been deleted from the Settings > Imports > Lockbox tab. You can review recent Import Activity by going to System > Activity Notes and filtering Activity by "Import" to view Deleted Imports/Lockboxes.

Already Committed Lockbox

The Lockbox may be missing from the Setting > Imports > Lockbox tab due to it being already committed. Check the Include Committed Lockboxes tab and make sure you have the Committed By and Committed Time columns enabled in your grid to view all committed lockboxes in the last 90 days. You can also click the Download button to download a CSV copy of the lockbox file with the following data: Error Msg, Date, Assoc Code, Account, Amount, and Check No.