Property Manager Release Version 7.6

01/19/2009

Important Notices for v7.6 Users:

This document only contains changes due HUD 202C and iMAX that required changes to Property Manager.  It is not meant to be a compete list of all changes due to HUD 202C and iMAX.  Please refer to http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/trx/trxdocs.cfm for more information on HUD 202C and iMAX.  From this link you can review the package of files included as the final 2.0.2.C TRACS Industry Specification Documents which include the following:

1. TRACS 202C Industry Specification.doc: The specification itself.

2. Attachment 1_MAT_Chap04_202C.doc: A greatly expanded MAT Guide Chapter 4 including TRACS Operating Tips.

3. Attachment 4_MAT_App_H_202C.doc: Mandatory calculation rules for certifications, voucher adjustments, noncitizen rule prorations, and special claims.  Note: Spreadsheets have been created to support Appendix H and are intended to serve as the final authority on calculation issues wherever site, CA and TRACS software differ in calculations.

The User Guide for iMAX on TRACS website under the Documents link has been updated (http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/trx/pdf/imaxuserguide.pdf).

These release notes are broken down into 2 sections for major and minor enhancements to the application. A third section lists all new windows and tasks that have been added where your System Administrator will need to set security in order for you to have access to them.

This is a summary of enhancements made with 7.6.  Details of each enhancement are described in the appropriate sections of the Help documentation, which you can get to by clicking the links for each of these enhancements.

• Please note that for tasks that are made obsolete or have moved to a new location with this new version of Property Manager, the task will appear on the Task List, but will have a different color (olive text). If the user clicks on it, they get a message stating: "This task has moved.  Please check 'What's New in this Release', available under the Help menu, for further information."  Specific tasks that have been removed or made obsolete are noted below.

Jump down to:

Major Enhancements

Minor Enhancements

New Windows/Tasks to be set in Security

Major Enhancements:

Integrated Multifamily Access eXchange (iMAX):

TRACSMail is being replaced by HUD'S new Integrated Multifamily Access eXchange (iMAX) system.  Property Manager has been enhanced to make the web service calls to iMAX through web services and to receive TRACS response files.

iMAX is a web-based communication system that provides Contract Administrators (CA) and Owner Agents (OA) who have subsidy contracts with HUD to transmit to HUD and to other OA’s and CA’s registered with iMAX, tenant data and voucher data files. Files sent to HUD are logged, processed, and submitted to the Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS) for payment processing by iMAX.  iMAX also receives TRACS processing results and makes these results available to the external business partners of HUD.

For iMAX you DO need a WASS (Web Access Secure Systems) ID, your Independent User ID, but you DO NOT need an iMAX ID (same as the old TRACSMail ID).  Property Manager accesses iMAX for you in the same way that Property Manager accessed TRACSMail.  You WILL continue to transmit your files and review your responses in Property Manager.  You WILL NOT view your files or responses through iMAX under HUD Secure Systems.

In prior versions of Property Manager TRACS files were queued and sent periodically by Property Manager via TRACSMail.  With Version 7.6, TRACS files are transmitted immediately via the iMAX web service.  The new process will require the user to enter their WASS ID and password.  After a successful connection, this WASS ID and password will be saved for the current session only.  Any subsequent file transmissions after the first successful transmission will not prompt you for your WASS ID again.  After closing Property Manager and starting again, you will be required to enter the WASS ID and password again.  As in prior versions of Property Manager, you do not need to have your own iMAX ID (same as old TRACSMail ID).  The iMAX ID and password is owned and maintained by Bostonpost Technology.

If your WASS ID/Password is incorrect, you will get the following message:

You have entered an invalid WASS ID/Password.  From the Confirm Transmission tab, you can click on <<Prev and try again.

Please be aware that this ID and password are case sensitive.

If it has been 60 days or more since you last changed your password, go to https://hudapps.hud.gov/HUD_Systems/ to renew your password.

If you can successfully connect to Secure Systems with your WASS ID and still encounter this problem, call Bostonpost Support.

Here is the HUD link for the explanation of Password Expiration and what a valid password can be:  http://www.hud.gov/offices/reac/support/reasyst_pw.cfm.

If you receive the following message you will need to contact the TRACS helpdesk to obtain "iMAX Webservices" access for you WASS ID:

SOAP Exception:

The request failed with HTTP status 403: Forbidden.

Your WASS ID does not have access to IMAX webservices.  Contact the helpdesk at 1 800 767 7588 or by sending an email to either helpdesk email address Tracs_hotline@hud.gov or TRACS@hud.gov to request access.

There is a new tab after the transmit tab in any of the TRACS wizards that transmit files, and this new tab shows the status of the transmission.  You have the ability to click the Previous button from this tab to redo the transmission.

Updated Task names on the Occupancy & Compliance Detail > TRACS > HAP Requests tab:

A new report has been added to Reports called the HAP Tenant Certification Report.  The report is located in the Other Reports group and displays Head of Household Name, TRACS Unit ID Number, Certification Type, Certification Effective Date, Transmitted Date, and iMAX transaction ID.  With the ability to create Tenant Files before creating a HAP Request File, this report is useful to review a HAP Request prior to transmitting it to make sure all adjustments for each tenant change has been included.

Under System Administration > Maintain Lookup Tables, the table that is used to maintain TRACS transmission addresses has been updated for iMAX.  In prior versions, the table was called Section 8 Transmit Method.  With version 7.6, the table is now called HUD Transmit Method.  The column for destination iMAX IDs is now labeled as Destination (was labeled Transmit Method Key).  The Description for each Destination has been updated to change any reference from TRACSMail to iMAX.

The process of receiving TRACS Responses through Property Manager has also been updated to utilize iMAX.  This process covers the receiving of responses from HUD as well as responses from a CA.

Each TRACS file sent has an ID associated with it.  The TRACS Responses contain this ID and can be matched back with the file that was sent.  The TRACS file ID is only useful if there is disagreement about whether the file was sent to iMAX - it is like a receipt that says the Owner/Agent sent the file.  If the CA did not get the file, then the transmission problem was between the CA and IMAX.

TRACS - 202C

Create Tenant Data Files for TRACS without Creating a HAP Request

A new task, Build New (MAT) Tenant Data File, has been added to both the Occupancy and Compliance Detail > TRACS > General tab and the Occupancy and Compliance Detail > TRACS > HAP Request tab.  This new task allows you to send tenant data files as certifications are completed.  Certifications are considered complete once the owner and tenant signatures are entered into Property Manager.

Another new task, Review MAT Records and Responses, has been added to both the Occupancy and Compliance Detail > TRACS > General tab and the Occupancy and Compliance Detail > TRACS > HAP Request tab.  This new task provides you a place to view TRACS Responses and error messages for each tenant certification that has been transmitted as to whether or not HUD or the CA has accepted the tenant certification or rejected it.  The task wizard allows you to accept a tenant certification as ”Accepted by HUD”, or mark to mark it as ”Rejected by HUD”.  The task is intended only for viewing TRACS Responses tied to certifications, rejecting the certifications if indicated, and marking the associated TRACS Responses as processed.

You still have the ability to create tenant files along with your HAP Request using the Build New HAP Request task. The voucher being built with this HAP Request will include all previously transmitted tenant files for the HAP date along with the tenant files transmitted with the HAP Request.  If you leave the Building New HAP Request and tenant files have not been transmitted, the HAP Request will be abandoned and you will need to start over.  The HAP Request will be also abandoned if the tenant files have not been transmitted.

When using the Reject Selected Item task from the Occupancy and Compliance Detail > TRACS > HAP Request tab to reject a Voucher File, the Tenant Files will not be marked as rejected, only the Voucher file.  The Tenant Files will be moved to a new HAP Request to be built and the Tenant Files remain active and transmitted.

202C Transitions for Transaction Adjustments:

In order to ensure that the first HAP to be created using 2.0.2.C when upgraded to 7.6, all HAP eligible certifications will be found and rebilled to get adjustments reported on the HAP in the new TRACS 202C format.  This will create GL Entries, but not change any existing open items.  These GL Entries will be in their own GL Batch under Accounting Detail > General Ledger - Pending GL Batches.  These adjustment GL Batches will net to zero by account number, so that when they are processed, they will not create an export to your accounting system.

Updates to HUD Forms 50059, 50059A, 52670 and 52670A:

The changes to HUD Forms 50059 and 50059A - Tenant Certifications, and HUD Forms 52670 and 52670A - HAP Request Vouchers - for 2.0.2.C have been made on the Household Detail > Transactions tab.  Pre-2.0.2.C certifications will still show under the old version of the 50059, and pre-2.0.2.C Vouchers will also show on the old version of 52670.

Form 50059A is for partial certifications.  Form 50059A is for UT, GR, MO and TR certifications, and Form 50059 is for all others: IC, AR, IR, MI and related corrections plus DNX (certifications set to Do Not Transmit).

Cutoff for HAP Voucher:

For Sec 8, PAC and PRAC, the HAP cutoff date is one month prior to the voucher date.  These vouchers are billed between the first and 10th of the month for the following month.  In other words, if you bill on 8/5 you are billing for September.  For RAP and Rent Supp Vouchers, the HAP cutoff date is the Voucher Date.  RAP and Rent Supp vouchers are billed for between the first and 10th of the month for the current month.  In other words, if you bill on 8/5 you are billing for August. (Build New HAP Request)

Only full month certifications (ARs, IRs and ICs) equal to the HAP Voucher date will be transmitted.  Partial month certifications (UTs, GRs, MIs) less than or equal to the Voucher date will be transmitted.  MOs and TR certifications less than or equal to the Voucher date will be transmitted for Sec 8, PAC and PRAC.  MOs and TR certifications for RAP and Rent Supp must be less than the Voucher date.

Certifying a GR change will only be allowed for HUD programs that transmit vouchers when all billing prior to the HAP Voucher the certification will be eligible for has been completed.

Please refer to http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/trx/trxdocs.cfm mentioned above for the Attachment 4_MAT_App_H_202C.doc under the ”TRACS 202C Final Industry Specification Draft Documents” link on this web page.  The Attachment 4 document contains a handy chart on the cutoff date for a HAP Voucher.

Changes to MAT Records for 202C:

All changes have been made to the TRACS tenant data file records for the implementation of 2.0.2.C.  Please see the updated MAT User Guide with the changes for 2.0.2.C on HUD’s website (www.hud.gov).  Chapter 5 has all the new record formats and definitions.

New Termination Codes:

In version 202C of TRACS new termination reasons codes have been added and others have been removed.  The Terminate Assistance task from the Household Detail > General Information tab has been updated to include these changes.  The Correct Selected Transaction for next HAP from the Household Detail > Transactions tab has also been updated when the certification you are updating is a Termination Certification.

• LR = Temporarily Paying Market Rent - with 202C this termination reason is considered a legacy code and is valid only if the termination transaction effective date is less than or equal to the TRACS 2.0.2.B to 202C transition date.  The LR code is not valid after this date, and will not show in the pick list when terminating assistance for a household.

• ST = Ineligible Student - The ST code should be used to terminate a household's subsidy assistance from all HUD subtypes except HUD 202 and 811 PRAC.

• • In a PRAC, a household with an ineligible student would have to move out.  Property Manager will not allow the user to select this termination reason when the household is counted and being terminated from HUD 202 or 811 PRAC funding program.

• DS = Double Subsidy at Move-In - This termination reason will be used by Owner/Agents when a move in transaction cannot be accepted with subsidy because the household was receiving assistance in other community.  The CA will require a termination on the same effective date as the move-in to remove the subsidy even though the household occupies the unit.

• • You can terminate the household for double subsidy in Property Manager the following ways:

  • • From the Household Detail > General Information tab, use the Terminate Assistance task.

    • • You must use the effective date of the move-in for the ”Last date the household is eligible for assistance” when using this task.

      • If you pick ”Double Subsidy at move-in” for the Termination Reason and the effective date entered is other than the move-in date, you will receive an error.

    • From the Review MAT Records and Responses task on the Occupancy and Compliance Detail > TRACS > HAP Requests tab.

    • • Select ”Approved MI/Term DS” from the Status drop down list for the move-in certification.

      • This status can only be selected for a move-in certification.  If it is selected for any other type of certification you will receive an error:

      • • Invalid Selection - Rejected by HUD for Double Subsidy (DS) only applies to move-in transactions

  • Each of these tasks will create a Move In correction in Property Manager that will be transmitted as a termination (MAT65 record) with a form 50059A and will remove subsidy as of the MI date creating adjustments for the next HAP.

  • • The MI will still be confirmed.  The original MI will show on the transaction tab as invalid.

    • If the termination for DS was done in error, you can undo it by deleting the MI correction certification.

HUD - Date of Death Rule:

When the sole member of a household dies who had been counted in a HUD funding program, the subsidy can only be collected through the date of death or 14 days past the date of death if the move out date is after the date of death. (Schedule Move-Out task on the Household Detail > General Information tab)

In case where the sole member dies and the member’s next of kin, does not vacate the unit within the 14 days from the date of death HUD expects the following to occur:

1. The billing of subsidy to continue until the Move out MAT40 is transmitted (move out confirmed and transmitted on the HAP Request).  When the Move out is transmitted, the voucher will not only include the normal move out adjustment, it will also adjust back to 14 days after the date of death, if that date is < move out date.

2. The Owner/agent to charge the Estate full contract rent if the unit has not been vacated after the 14th day past the day of the sole member’s death.

Certifying a move-out more than 14 days after the sole member’s date of death will create a termination certification effective on the 15th day.  This termination certification is dependent on the move-out certification, and will not be transmitted to HUD.   The certification type on the HAP detail form will display as MO-D when the move-out occurs more than 14 days past the date of death.

HUD Waiver Type Codes:

There is a new field in the MAT record being implemented with the release of TRACS version 2.0.2.C. This new field will allow TRACS to collect information pertaining to eligibility waivers on Move Ins or Initial Certification for tenants that would not otherwise be eligible for move in or initially qualify. For example, there are conditions under which a local HUD office can grant a waiver permitting an owner to accept a non-elderly person in a community where the funding program is HUD 202-PRAC.

A new drop down list will appear on the certification step in the following tasks on Household Detail > General Information tab: Create Move-In/Transfer Certification, Initial Certification and Swap Counted Group when HUD rules apply.  The Create Move-In/Transfer Certification task is also available from the Occupancy and Compliance Detail > Manage Vacancies tab.  Also, the Household Detail > Transactions tab, the Correct selected Transaction for Next HAP task, the Rebuild Transaction step in the task will include the new drop down list for the HUD Waiver Type Codes when the selected transaction is a move in, Initial or enroll certification.

The new drop down list for the HUD Waiver Type Codes is labeled ”Waiver Type Code” and has the following choices:

• <None> - this selection made when no waiver has been granted. It should be noted that Owner/Agent do not always need a written HUD waiver to move in or initial certify unqualified household.   

• AGE - Age waiver for an elderly property (restricted not preference)

• INC - Income (For HUD subsidy types other than Section 8).  You will not be able to select this code if the household is counted in a funding program where the subsidy type is Section 8     

• NEAR - Near Elderly

• DSBL - Waiver for a non-disabled person to move in to a property for the disabled (e.g. 811 PRAC)

• OTH - An ”Other” waiver that is not covered by one of the above codes.

The Waiver Type Code selection is displayed on the 50059 certification form on Line 114 in Section F "Waiver Type Code".  This information is also reported in the MAT 10 Record section 2 Basic record, field 88 when one of the above codes is selected, with two exceptions:

1. A selection of <None> will display no information on Line 114 on the 50059 cert form and the MAT record will be filled with 4 blanks

2. A selection of INC will display no information on Line 114 on the 50059 cert form and the MAT record will also be filled 4 blanks if the household's counted group is a HUD subprogram Section 8.

Anticipated Voucher Date:

In Prior versions of Property Manager, this date on the Form 50059 form was not set until the transaction was included on a HAP Request (voucher).  With TRACS version 2.0.2.C, version 7.6 of Property Manager will calculate and set the Anticipated Voucher Date when the transaction is certified (Household Detail > Transactions tab).

The Anticipated Voucher Date is determined by using the business rules for the determining the HAP cut off date using the certification type, the certification effective date and the last HAP Request effective date for the contact.  For example, assume an IR certification has an effective date of 7/1/08 was created and completed. This effective date of the certification is less than the last HAP Request date for the contract. In this example, the transmitted last HAP request was for 9/1/08.  The anticipated voucher date reported on the 7/1/08 IR 50059 certification form will be the next HAP Request (voucher) that will be or is due to be created - 10/1/08. Therefore, the 7/1/08 IR would have an anticipated voucher date of 10/1/08.

For a second example, if the latest transmitted HAP request was 9/1/08, and there is an IR effective on 11/1/08, the anticipated voucher date will be 11/1/08 as this is the earliest HAP Request (voucher) an 11/1/08 IR could be reported when the rules for submission are followed.

This change allows the user to create the printed forms correctly in order to obtain the tenants signature. This change also allows the system to utilized the date set in this Anticipated Voucher Date field when determining which tenant files need to be included as part of the tenant data file when the user is building the tenant transmission file.

Survivor of Qualified Household:

The Survivor of Qualifier indicator (Field #95 on Form 50059 - Household Detail > Transactions tab) will be reported on the MAT 10 record (MAT 10, Section 2) for TRACS 202C when the new Head of Household member does not meet the community program restriction requirements and the former Head of Household was removed due to death.

Property Manager will put a "Y” in this field when:

1. The community is either restricted to elderly, defined as over 62 year or age or older  or disabled, Or  the  HUD subprogram is equal to HUD 202PRAC (elderly only) , or  the HUD Subprogram is equal to  811 PRAC (disabled only) and the remaining member does not qualified on their own because the member is not either elderly or disabled, or not elderly ( HUD 202PRAC) or not disabled HUD 811 PRAC .

2. The new head of household member is 18+ years of age as of the certification effective date.

3. The new head of household member resided with the former head of household at the time that member became deceased.

Minor Enhancements:

• Household Detail

• • General

  • • Validation has been added so that the move out date can not be less than the date of death of a household when the Move out Reason on the Schedule Move-Out task is set to ”Death of sole family member”.

    • The Income and Expenses step in various tasks has been updated with a new indicator for ”Wage Enabled by Assistance”.  In prior versions, Wage Enabled by Assistance was a selection in the Type drop down list when the Class selected is Income.  With version 7.6, this is now a parameter that can be selected when the Income Type is set to any of the wage income types.

    • When the Funding Program is HUD 811 PRAC the Schedule Move In and Certify Move-In tasks will fail when neither the head, co-head nor spouse have a handicap status equal to disabled or handicapped.  The move in can be completed if the handicap override has been selected and approved.

    • Two new tasks have been added to the Household Detail > General Information tab to Change Confirmed Move-out Date and to Undo Last Change Confirmed Move-Out Date.  The Change Confirmed Move-out Date task will create a credit to both Rent and Subsidy for the period from the day after the new move-out date through the originally transmitted move-out date.  Property Manager will reflect the unit as vacant from the day after the new move-out date through the current date if unit is still vacant or until the day before a move-in on the unit if unit is now occupied.  Property Manager will bill out the appropriate additional Vacancy.  The new Move out certification and the Subsidy Credit Open Item(s) related to the certification will be HAP Eligible and will be transmitted on the next HAP or could be added to the last HAP transmitted.  The originally transmitted Move Out will be made invalid.  The Undo Last Change Confirmed Move-out Date task is available to undo this action if necessary.

  • Members

  • • When using the Add Other Member W/O Verification task the Student Status will default to Full Time for members who are 6 to 17 years old.  When leaving the Household Detail > Members tab and there is an unusual situation with regard to Student Status, you will get a popup message alerting you to that fact.

    • A fourth option has been added when defining Joint Custody for a member using the Add Other Member W/O Verification or Modify Relationship/Student/Handicap Status tasks from the Household Detail > Members tab.  Type C can be selected when a dependent is in the unit less than 50% of the time but the household is still eligible for child care expenses.  This is considered Split Custody instead of Joint Custody.

  • Transactions

  • • The Pennsylvania TIC has been updated to include the Addendum page (Page 3) on the Household Detail > Transactions tab.

    • The Tennessee TIC (Household Income Certification) has been added to Property Manager.

    • The NH TIC has been updated to provide additional information in Part VIII of the form.  The counted layer income % is now displayed in this section.

    • The Georgia TIC has been updated to meet the requirements of the State of Georgia Department of Housing & Community Affairs.

    • The Ohio TIC has been updated to bring it current with the TIC required by the State of Ohio.

    • The Michigan TIC has been added to Property Manager.

    • The Maryland TIC has been updated for the most recent changes by the State of Maryland.

    • The California TIC has been added to Property Manager.

  • Accounting

  • • Receivables

    • • The effective date in the Apply Credit task will now default to today’s date even if there are future receivables.  If there are future charges created on the household, this change will prevent the Apply Credit event being dated in the future in error.

      • • The Apply Credit step on the Household Moveout Accounting Activity task located under Household Detail > Accounting > Deposits tab will still default to the highest due date to ensure that any credits created from the move-out certification will still be available to apply.

• Community Detail

• • No Changes with Version 7.6

• Unit Detail

• • No Changes with Version 7.6

• Accounting Detail

• • No Changes with Version 7.6

• Occupancy and Compliance Detail

• • Annual Recertification

  • • The Send First Notice and Questionnaire, Send Second Notice, Send Third Notice and Reprint Notices tasks are now available on the Verification Activity on the Occupancy and Compliance Detail > Annual Recertification tab.  This change allows the software to support Owner/Agent's that are required to terminate a household's RA and /or set the household's rent to note rent and begin the eviction process when the household stops complying with the Annual Recertification process.

    • • The Terminate Assistance/Begin Eviction task is also available in this Activity when all three notices have been sent to a household.

  • TRACS

  • • HAP Requests

    • • When using the Review All TRACS Responses task on the Occupancy and Compliance Detail > TRACS > HAP Requests tab, if click the Expand button for a particular response, the selected response will remain displayed instead of the window scrolling back to the top.

• Accounts Payable Detail

• • A new step has been added to the Accounts Payable Detail > Receive Invoice process.  After entering the invoice information in the first step of the process, the next step will allow you to scan in or attach JPG or PDF files and view images/attachments that you want to attach to the AP Invoice in Property Manager.  Also, from the Accounts Payable detail > Invoice Detail window, click on an icon next to each invoice to view a listing of that invoice’s attachments and from that popup window you will be able to open each attachment.  You will be able to use the task, Invoice Attachments, from the Accounts Payable detail > Invoice Detail window to add or delete attachments for the selected invoice.

• Work Order Detail

• • No Changes with Version 7.6

• Business Detail

• • No Changes with Version 7.6

• Maintenance Company Detail

• • No Changes with Version 7.6

• System Administration

• • Maintain Lookup Tables

  • • Legal Method

    • • The Legal Method table under System Administration > Maintain Lookup Tables now allows you to set the Tolerance as a dollar amount or as a percentage.

    • TIC Form Option

    • • In Previous versions of Property Manager you were only able to select two funding programs for each TIC Form Option.  With version 7.6, the TIC Form Option table under System Administration > Maintain Lookup Tables allows you to select all funding programs that go along with a TIC.

  • Accounting Setup

  • • Charge Type Setup

    • • A new internal balance type has been added when using the Insert Charge Type task.  You now have the ability to create detailed damage charge types with the Internal Balance Type set to Damages.  Damages are assessed to a household from Household Detail > Accounting > Receivables using the Assess Damages task or from other tasks that allow you to add new receivables. As a part of this enhancement, the Assess Damages task now has a drop down list that allows you to pick from the available damage receivable types.  This allows you to have more than one damages charge type eligible to be reported as damages on the Special Claims for Unpaid Rent/Damages Form (HUD-52671-A).  Special Claims are added at Unit Detail > Special Claims using the Add New Special Claim task.

    • Export Information Setup

    • • The Nightly Auto-Post parameter has been enabled for the IRES Web Services export type.  When enabled GL Entries will be automatically be exported to MRI GL as part of the nightly cycle.  To have Accounts Payable Invoices exported each night for IRES Web Services and Bostonpost Financials, contact Bostonpost Support to have that nightly cycle activated.

• Reports

• • A new date selection is available under the drop down list for the ”GL By Date” parameter of the GL History Report.  In addition to being able to run the report by Effective Date and GL Report Date, you can now run the report by Processed Date.  This is the date GL Batches were processed over to your general ledger.  This allows you to run the report to see all GL Activity that was sent to your general ledger on a give day or period of time. (Reports)

New Windows/Tasks for Security:

IMPORTANT:

Following are new tabs and tasks for which your System Administrator must set security before they will be available in Property Manager and in Task lists.  This is set on the Property Manager > System Administration > Define Access Tab.