1.1. EXPORT - Mail Merge Export

REMMS Provides the ability to export a standard text file for use with any program that is capable of performing a mail merge.  This is very useful for creating labels, envelopes, letters, and can even be used to upload or import into mass email programs like GroupMail and Constant Contact.

1. Go to a Member screen
2. Click on the Utility button on the left
3. Click on the EXPORT Mail Merge button under the Export Routines heading
4. It will put you in a FIND screen for the members
5. Enter the criteria you want to retrieve and click on Continue
6. Once the process is completed, a file will be placed on your C drive called _Email.txt

This file contains the Preferred Addresses for your members and also the email and web site.  It is a standard comma separated text file.

1.2. EXPORT to EXCEL

REMMS has the ability to export any visible data to an Excel file.  The process will export all fields that are included on the layout that you are currently viewing.  To export your Member records to Excel, please follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Members module.
2. Perform a find for the members you want to retrieve.
3. Once the members are retrieved, REMMS will put you in the List View screen.
4. Right-Click on the association name and left click on Save/Send Record As... and select Excel.
5. Enter a filename and a location where you want to save the file.  You can also automatically email the file or have the computer automatically open it once it is created. 
   

Note:  The information that will be exported will be exactly what is displayed on the screen.  If you need to remove any columns, simply remove them while in Excel and then save the file.

2.1. What is eDoc?

eDoc Management

The eDocs function allows the user to attach any type of file that resides on the user's computer (or network) to a member record.  Since this feature does not restrict the type of file, all types of files can be attached, including PDF, Word, Excel, and Images.

The way REMMS handles this function is by creating a reference to the file instead of placing a physical copy into the database.  This is done to keep the size of the database small and also to keep performance levels at an optimal level.  Since only the reference to the file is copied to the member's record, it is

essential that the file be available to all users on the network for multi-user environments.

The eDoc feature is located on a tab to the far right side of the tabs on the member record.

2.2. Adding a Document to a Member Record

Adding a document to a Member record

1. Find the Member record you would like to create the eDoc record
2. Click on the eDocs tab
3. This screen will display any existing eDocs for this member.  Click on the New eDoc link
   
4. You will see a prompt to add a new eDoc
   
5. Click Yes and you will see a window open on  your screen
   
6. The eDoc Type allows you to assign special Types to any document.  This can be used to organize your documents in any manner you wish.  The eDoc Type field is a dynamic drop down list field.  This means that if you want to add a new Type, simply click in the eDoc Type field and manually type in the new eDoc Type.  It will then become part of your drop down list for adding in the future.
7. Enter an eDoc Name to describe the document.  This is a freeform field entry, so be descriptive enough to know what this document or file contains.  This is NOT the file name.
8. The most important part is selecting the document to attach to the member's record.  Click on the small box to the right of the eDoc Link label.  This will open a window for you to find your document and select it to attach.  Navigate to the location of the file and select the file and click on Open to select the file.  Please make sure to leave the check mark on Store only a reference to the file selection.  This should be checked the default.
   
9. Click Done when you have the file attached and Save when prompted.
10. The window will close and you should now have an attached file to the member's record

At this point you have now successfully added a new eDoc file to the member's record.

2.3. Opening and Editing an Attached Document

Opening and Editing an Attached Document

1. To Edit an existing eDoc link, go to the eDoc screen and click on the (pencil) to the right of the line.
2. This will bring you to the same screen as when entering a new eDoc.
   
   
   
3. You will be able to change any of the information on this screen.  To change the actual attached doc, Click on the small box to the right of the eDoc Link label.  This will open a window for you to find your document and select it to attach.  Navigate to the location of the file and select the file and click on Open to select the file.  Please make sure to leave the check mark on Store only a reference to the file selection.  This should be checked the default.
   
4. Click Done when you have the file attached and Save when prompted
5. The window will close and you should now have the new attached file to the member's record

3.1. Adding a New Office

Adding a New Office

CHECK ON NRDS FIRST!!!
Prior to adding a new office, it is critical to check on NRDS whether the office already exists.  If the office already exists, then you will need to use the existing Office NRDS ID and DO NOT CREATE A NEW ONE.

STEP 1 - MAKE SURE A MEMBER RECORD EXISTS FOR THE OFFICE DR
Before adding a new Office record, you must first make sure that the Office member DR record exists. You will need to assign a DR to an office to complete the office setup.  If the member record does not exist, please complete this step, otherwise, contine to Step 2.

1. Go to the Member module
2. Click on NEW and add the member record filling in as much of the information as possible.
3. You need to assign the member to an office, but since the office does not exist yet, you will need to assign the member to the BOARD OFFICE temporarily.  This will allow you to complete the creation of the DR record.
4. Once completed, continue to Step 2.

STEP 2 - Adding the new Office record

1. Go to the Office module
2. Click on the NEW button on the top left
3. Enter all the office information and assign the newly created member DR record to the office.
4. Please remember that is the office already exists on NRDS, then you must use the existing Office NRDS ID number, otherwise, create a new Office NRDS ID by clicking the button on top of the ID entry field.
5. Once completed, save the record

STEP 3 - This step is REQUIRED IF YOU PERFORMED STEP 1!!!!!
Since you created a new member DR record in Step 1 and added that member to the Board Office, you will now need to perform an Office Transfer to assign the correct Office Record to the member.

1. Go to the Member module and find the member DR record you created in Step 1.
2. Click on the Transfer button on the top right portion of the screen to start an Office Transfer
3. Select the new office record from the drop down list in the second column and complete the transfer.

Once completed, you should not have a new Office and Member DR record and they should all match correctly.  Please make sure to double check your work for accuracy.

4.1. Credit Card Refund Process

During the dues renewal billing, you may need to refund a member's dues for a variety of reasons (moving to LFRO, accidentally sent a check AND paid online, accidentally billed, etc.  NAR recommends a couple options to handle this task, but since all REMMS users are set up for distribution of funds to state and NAR, the method below represents that best option. Always contact our office if you have questions.

Important Information:  Contracturally, the Ecommerce network will not allow one association to automatically debit the bank account of another association. For example, the ABC Local Association cannot initiate an ecommerce transaction that is going to debit the bank account of the XYZ State Association, or the National Association.

So if the original Purchase transaction sent by the local association was used to distribute dues payments among the local, state and national, the local association using this request can only debit their own bank accounts.

Prerequisite

• Successful charge on eDues
• Printed report from eCommerce for Settlement
• Transaction downloaded into REMMS
• Applied to member's invoice
  (If you cannot apply it to the member's invoice, then please contact our office at this point)

Steps

1. Once you confirm and approved this refund, you would cut a check to the member for the total amount they charged (if a full refund)
2. If the member didn't pay twice
1. Reset their Invoice so it is now unpaid.  This will also remove them from the list of paid members to NAR and State.  
3. If the member did pay twice or if you cannot Reset the invoice
1. Please contact our office to complete the transaction and continue with the next steps.
4. Keep documentation on the details
5. VERY IMPORTANT: When preparing reports for NAR and State for dues payments, deduct (hold back) one payment to NAR and State for the number of refunds you made during that time frame.

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Here is an example rom NAR regarding how to handle these transaction.  Please note the the eDues interface does not have a Refund function at this time since it is usually much simpler for the local boards to handle it by holding back payment for the refund to keep the number of paid members accurate.

The original Purchase totalled $350. The distribution was $84 to National, $70 to state, and $196 to local. The local association (the original Association ID in the Purchase) could use this transaction to refund the member's credit card the $350 total. The total will all come out of the local association's bank. We recommend that the local contact their state and national association first to see if those two entities will agree to this refund.  If they agree, then the state and national could then send an EFT transfer for the original net amount they received to the local's bank account who would then be made "whole" for the refund they processed.  Or, if the local has a member who pays by check, the board could hold back the National portion to cover the amount they paid via the credit card refund. Locals should check with their state if they would also go along with this hold back method for the state portion.  As a note, this hold back process has been used in the past.

4.2. Processing eDUES Transactions

eDUES Processing Payments

 

 

1. Log into NRDS using the and run an ACH Report for all transactions through the prior day
2. Go into REMMS eDUES Processing (Members -> Utility -> eDues)
3. Click on the first step (CREATE FILES)  Your broswer will launch and you will see a message that files have been created.
   
4. Click on the second step (GET PAYMENTS)  This step may take a little while to pull the files and load them.  Usually, after the screen returns, it can take a few seconds for the new transactions to update the screen.
5. Then click on  the transactions (Button at top of screen) and then select all the transactions that match the ACH report.
6. Click the third Step (TRANSFER) This will produce a report for you to review, and the report total amount should match the total from the ACH Report.  If it does, then print the report and complete the Transfer.  This process cannot be undone.

Once the Transfer is completed, REMMS will create a new batch with a special name starting with the letter E, and place the Batch on Hold.  All invoices selected in the TRANSFER routine will be marked as Paid with all the payment information and the member reocrd will be marked as being paid for the current dues year.

 

5.1. Creating an Invoice for a Member

Creating an Invoice for a Member

Since all invoices must be attached to a member, you need to start the process with a member record.  This allows an automatic connection from the invoice to the member.

1. Perform a Find for the member that you would like to invoice
   
   
2. While on the main screen of the member record, click on the Invoice icon that is located at the top right portion of the screen located above the Preferences area.
   
   
3. You will be prompted to Create a New Invoice.  Select Yes.
   
   
4. A new invoice will be created and you will now be able to add items to the invoice.
   
   Note: The Inv. Bill Year will be the default Billing Year of the system.  If you need to change the Inv. Bill Year, you will need to do so BEFORE adding items to the invoice.
   
   
5. To add items, click in the box under the Item ID heading.  A drop down list of items available for that specific billing year will be available.
   
   
6. Add as many items as needed and you are also able to adjust the amounts using the ADJUST PRICE button on the right of each line item.
   
   
7. Click the DONE button when finished and the invoice will be created.

Note: If you add an item that you do not need, make sure you delete the item by clicking on the red X on the line and then you can add the different item.

5.2. Editing an Invoice

Editing an Invoice

After creating an invoice, you are are able to make any changes as long as the invoice is marked as BILLED.
(Please see link below for editing a PAID invoice)

To edit an invoice for a member:

1. Go to the MEMBER screen and perform a FIND for the member whose Invoice you need to edit
   
   
2. Click on the Dues/Rpac tab and click on the BLUE arrow to the left of the invoice.
   
   
3. Once you see the Invoice you need to edit, click on the EDIT button on the top right portion of the invoice.  This will being you into the same screen as you normally would see if you were creating a new invoice.
   
   
4. Once you are in the EDIT screen, you can add/edit/delete items and adjust pricing
   
   
5. Once you are done editing, click on the DONE button at top right to save your changes.

5.3. Creating a Batch for Payments

What are Batches and How Do I Use Them
Batches are a critical component to processing payments.  Batches are used like an ID or tagging system.  Different Batches can be created for different types of payment for each deposit slip.  A Batch must be created as it is required to be used in order to apply payments.  Batches are generally used for better control over reporting, checking deposits and for the accuracy of payments.  Batches provide a summary based on Invoices and on line items.  A separate Batch can be created to handle the following forms of payment:  checks and cash, credit card payments and another batch for each deposit slip.

Once a Batch has been created and payments are applied, the Batch can be CLOSED or placed on HOLD. 

Once a Batch is Closed, it can not be reopened.  The Closed Batch will also not appear in the Active Batch list.  If a Batch is placed on Hold, then only the person who placed it on Hold may use it.

* Note:  In order to pay an Invoice, there MUST be an Open Batch.

1. From the left side of the screen, click the Invoice Module button.
   
   
2. Click on the BATCHES button located on the upper right hand side of the Members Invoicing screen and the Batch Control Setup screen will appear with a list of all Batches and their Status.
   
   
3. Click the New button in the upper left side of the screen.  A message will appear: Create a new Batch?
   
   
4. Click the Yes button and the screen to create a new Batch will appear.
   
   
5. A Batch ID will need to be entered.  The Batch ID can only contain: Numbers and Letters (MAKE SURE NOT TO USE ANY SPACES). This field will not accept any other symbols or spaces. 
   
   It is recommended that the following format be followed when creating a Batch ID.  YYMMDDXX Where YY is the last two digits of the year, MM is the month, DD is the day and XX would be some other identifier like your initials.
   
   By using this format, it will provide a systematic approach if more than one batch will be created per day.
   
   
6. Then, tab over to the Batch Name field.  The Batch Name is used for informational purposes only.
   
   
7. The Batch Open date will automatically populate with the current date but can be changed if necessary.
   
   
8. It is not required to enter a Batch Description, but could be helpful information in the future.
   
   
9. Once you are finished, click the Go Back button to save the newly created Batch and return to the Member Invoicing screen.
   
   
10. To verify that the Batch was created, click on the Batches button again and the newly created Batch ID should appear on the list as Active.  Since this is a newly created Batch, there have not been any invoices assigned; therefore, the Batch Close, Batch Total, Count and GL fields will appear blank. 

 

5.4. Paying an Invoice

Paying an Invoice

Since paying invoices usually involve receiving money, it is very important to be able to track and report these transactions in a detailed manner. This is done by the use of BATCHES.  A Batch is basically a grouping of transactions that have something in common.  A Batch could be used for all similar payments, all payments entered by the same staff, etc.  A Batch is assigned to an entire invoice.

CRITICAL!! PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST HAVE AN OPEN BATCH TO PAY AN INVOICE. 
SEE TOPIC/LINK BELOW ON CREATING BATCHES IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ONE ACTIVE.

From the Member Data Entry Screen, perform a Find to select the member that is being selected to apply payment.  Once the Find has been performed and the member record is available, click on the DUES / RPAC tab.  All dues related Invoices for the selected member will be listed in the FINANCIAL - MEMBER INVOICES section located in the lower left side of the screen. Click on the Invoice ID that is being paid.  The information will be populated in the Member Invoicing screen.  BEFORE applying payment, verify that the invoice contains only the line items that the member is paying. *Note: If the Invoice was created during the Annual Dues Billing, then there will be an RPAC line item.  If a RPAC line item is not being paid, then click the small red X to the right of the RPAC line. The Total Amount of the payment from the member must equal the Invoice Total amount.  If these two amounts do not equal, then the line items may be adjusted by clicking on the Adjust Price button.  Once the Total Amount of the payment and the Invoice Total amount are equal, click on the PAY INVOICE button located on the upper right hand side of the screen. *Note: ALL payments must be assigned to a BATCH.  If there is not a BATCH already selected, then the following message will appear:  Either there is no default batch or your default Batch is not Open.  Please select an Open Batch.  Click the OK button. The message will disappear and a list of OPEN BATCHES will appear on the screen. *Note: If there are not any OPEN BATCHES listed or a BATCH does not exist that would be acceptable to use at this time, then click the Go Back button.  It will then be necessary to Create a New Batch. Click the USE button on the left side of the screen, next to the BATCH that is to be used for payment.  A message will appear asking:  Use this BATCH for payments?  Click the Yes button to use the selected BATCH. The INVOICE Payment Screen will now appear.  The Batch Number that was just selected will now populate in the top section under the name. There are two ways to pay the entire invoice in full. Click the PAY IN FULL button located next to the VOID button.  Once the button is  clicked, a message will appear asking:  Mark entire invoice as PAID?  Click the Yes button.  Once the button is clicked, the following fields will populate with the appropriate information:  Status, Paid, and Date Pd. Pay each line individually by clicking the little PIF radio button on each line next to the DEL X button.   Once the button is clicked, the following fields will populate with the appropriate information:  Status, Paid, and Date Pd. *Note:Once the lines have been PAID, verify the correct date is populated in the DATE PD This will be the last chance to make any changes or modifications to the Invoice before          finalizing the payment field. Click the cursor in the Payment Type field and a drop down menu will appear with the acceptable selections.  This field allows you to also manually enter a payment type. if the one you are looking for does not exist.  Once the selection is made, place the cursor in the Ref: field and type the appropriate reference. Once Payment Type field and the REF: field are populated, click the UPDATE button to PAY the Invoice.  Keep in mind, once the UPDATE button has been selected; the Invoice is now finalized and can no longer be modified.  The Member Invoicing screen will now appear with History. Click the Go Back button to return to the Member Data Entry Screen and notice that the Invoice is now marked as Paid and the Balance is zero.

5.5. Editing a PAID Invoice

Editing a PAID Invoice in REMMS

Once an invoice is paid, you are able to edit certain information.  This is ONLY possible if you have NOT performed a GL Transfer for the Batch used in payment of that invoice.  The status of the Batch status does not matter. 

When viewing a PAID invoice that you would like to edit, simply click on the EDIT button on the top of the screen.  You will be able to edit the following fields:

• Invoice Date
• RPAC Date
• RPAC Type
• Paid Date
• Payment Type
• Payment Reference
• NMS Names
• Invoice Notes

All other information on the invoice cannot be edited after it has been paid.  Again, if the batch used for paying the invoice has been Transferred to the GL, you will not be able to edit any of the information on the invoice.

Date: 12/12/08

5.6. Reprint a group of Invoices (from Invoicing Module Only)

Normally, when you click on the Print icon on the Invoice screen, it will print the currently viewed invoice.  The following process will allow you to print all the currently found invoices and should be done for specific Member Types since Affiliates will have a different invoice layout than the members.

1. Go to the Invoicing screen.
2. Perform a Find for the invoices you want to print.
For instance, if you wanted to find all the open 2008 Affiliate invoices,
You would select 2008 for the Invoice Bill Year, Billed for the Invoice Status, and although it isn't marked, if you look at the fields between the Invoice Address and the Office Mailing Address, there are three fields.  The middle field is the Member Type field.  You can also select the member status by entering it in the MS field.
3. Once you have found your invoices, click on the Scripts drop down menu and select Print Found Invoices
4. This will use whatever default Invoice selected for the Affiliates from the Company setup file.

5.7. Printing a Group of Invoices

How to Print a Group of Invoices

When printing invoices from the Invoice module, normally you would display the invoice you want to print and click the PRINT button on the left side of the menu panel.  This will isolate this invoice, look up your default invoice form, and print this single invoice. 

Note: Please keep in mind that the layout used in the Invoice module IS NOT the same invoice format that is used for the Annual Dues Billing. 

To print a group of invoices, please follow these steps:

1. While in the Invoice module, perform a FIND for the invoices you need to print.  Simply click on the FIND button and enter your criteria and click Continue.
2. Check the found count and make sure these are the invoices you need to print.
3. Click on the SCRIPTS drop down menu located at the top of the screen and you will see an item called Print Found Invoices.  Select that item.
4. This will prepare the invoices for printing and you will see all your invoices on the screen as you normally would see a single invoice.
5. Click Continue and select your printer and any other printing options.

 

5.8. Processing a REFUND

Processing a REFUND

Processing a refund in REMMS is relatively simple, but there are some criteria. 

• You must have a Paid invoice
• That invoice must be Finalized (GL Transfer)
• You should make a special batch for Refunds

If the invoice you need to refund has NOT been finalized, then simply use the RESET button to revert it back to non-paid status unless you already ran state and NAR reports and sent money to those entities.  If you have done that, then make sure you finalize the batch before creating the refund.

STEP 1 - Create Batch and Invoice

1. First, create a Batch for the refund.  This is always good to do so you can separate these from your normal transactions.  You can even name it a little differently so it's easy to spot.  For example, 120529-REF
2. Print the invoice that you would like to refund so you have all the information readily available
3. Create a new invoice for the member (from the member screen) for use as a refund invoice
4. Add all the line items that you need to refund
5. Click the ADJUST button on the right of each item and change the amount to the negative amount making sure you adjust all necessary values (Local, State, NAR).  So, if you have a $35.00 Application Fee, you would ADJUST the amount to -35.
6. Complete Steps 4 - 5 for each line item you need to refund
7. Once completed, you will have an invoice with a negative balance reflecting the items and amount you need to refund.

STEP 2 - Pay/Refund the Invoice

1. Display the refund invoice on your screen in the Invoice module.
2. Set the Batch to the Refund Batch you created
3. Pay the invoice as you normally would, EXCEPT use Negative numbers for the payment amounts
4. You can use REFUND for the Payment Type and Ref unless you would like to indicate how you are refunding the amount.
5. Complete the Payment as you normally would
6. The invoice should now have a zero balance and should show up in the invoice screen on the member's record.
7. Since this batch is only being used for Refunds, you can change the status to HOLD so it does not show up in the available Batch list OR you can go and Finalize the batch and print the report showing the negative amounts.

5.9. Adding NEW Items to REMMS

To Add a new Item to the Items Table:

1. Go into any Invoice
2. Click on the ITEMS button on the top right of the window
3. Make sure you are on the Billing year you need (i.e. 2009)
4. Click on New Item button on top and acknowledge prompt
5. Enter the new Item Code.  For example, a 2009 Late Fee would be 09Late (Please do not use spaces or symbols.
6. Enter the description
7. Select the Item Type from the Drop Down List.  This is VERY IMPORTANT.  Please make sure to use the correct type.  See below for Type Details
8. Enter the Amounts for each of the entities (Local, State NAR). If the amount is only for Local, then only enter the Local amount.
9. You MUST enter each corresponding GL Code for accounting.  If you are not using GL Codes, then you can enter 9999
10. When done click on Go Back

 

Item Types

• Dues: This item is strictly used for any item that will adjust the Member's Dues Status in the Main Member record.  Should be used ONLY for Annual and new member dues.  Reporting replies on the proper use of this field.
• RPAC: Strictly used to track ALL RPAC payments.  This type is critical for compliance with the voluntary REALTOR Political Action Committee.  Reporting replies on the proper use of this field.
• Late: Used for Late Fees.
• Legal: Typically used for any Legal fees, including State and NAR.
• NM: Use this for ALL Non-Member items.
• Reinst: Reinstatement fees.
• Other1: For general use.
• Other2: For general use.
• Other3: For general use.

 

 

5.10. Adding a Pro Rate Item

Adding a Pro Rate Item

Any item whose price changes as time passes (monthly, quarterly, etc) is called a Pro Rated item.  Any item can simply be turned into a Pro Rated item.  The first step is to add your item as you normally would (see link at bottom).  Once the item is added, follow the instructions below.

1. Go to the Item Detail screen of the item you need to Pro Rate.
   1. Go to Invoices
   2. Click on the ITEMS button in top right of screen
   3. Click on the ITEM to go to the Item Detail screen
2. Click on the ProRate button to get the main PRORATE screen
   
   
   
   
3. This screen is designed to allow virtually any ProRate you need.  You can even mix and match monthly and quarterly on the same screen.  Start by entering a Start Date for the first ProRate cycle and press TAB.
4. Next, enter the End Date.  So, if you were setting up the first ProRate period for January 2010, the Start Date would be 1/1/10 and the End Date would be 1/31/10.
5. Next enter the amounts for this ProRate period in the appropriate Local, State, and National fields.
6. The Total should automatically calculate for that ProRate period.
7. Continue for the remaining ProRate periods.
8. Once completed, click the Go Back button and save.

TIP: If you need to mix monthly and quarterly entries for an Item (i.e. local monthly and state quarterly), then simply set up the monthly and keep the same amount for the quarterly amounts for each of the three month in that quarter.  Always remember to check the total and make sure it matches exactly.

6.1. Adding a New Committee

Adding a New Committee

The first step in using the Committee Module is to createa committee.

1. Click on the NEW button in the top Left hand corner of the main Committee screen.
2. Upon click Yes to the prompt, you will see a Create a New Committee window appear.
   
3. Enter a unique Committee ID and Name.  Please note that the Committee ID can only contain letters and numbers and should not include any spaces or symbols.
4. Click on Close when you are finished adding this basic information.
5. You will now be back at the main Committee screen and continue to fill in as much information about the Committee as possible. 

 

6.2. Adding Members to a Committee

Adding Members to a Committee

You can add any member from the membership system to any committee that you have created.  Please remember that committees are able to have multiple years.  Meaning, if you want to have a committee that exists for more than one year, you only need to create the basic committee record and then change the Committee Year to add members to that year for the committee.

For instance, if you want to add members to the 2008 Golf Committee, you would go to the Golf Committee record and then select 2008 from the Committee Year drop down menu.

1. Find the committee for which you would like to add members.
2. Select the year from the Committee Year drop down menu you want to setup and then click on the  button.
3. You will see the Pick a Member pop up window
   
4. Type any part of the name of the member you want to add and click the  button to locate the members that contain your search criteria.  If you want to see all the members listed, you can click the  button.
5. Once you see the member you would like to add, simply click on the name and they will be added to the committee and year and return you to the main committee screen.

6. The member will display in the Members tab.
   

7. By default the member will have the Position of Member and the current date.  This information can be changed by just clicking in the fields and changing.

Note: To add or see members from other committee years for a specific committee, just click on the Committee Year field and select the year.

6.3. Adding a Meeting

Adding Members to Meetings

You can add any number of meeting for any Committee and year.  Meetings MUST be created to print Sign In form.

1. Select the Committee and Year you want to add a meeting.
2. Click on the Meetings tab located on the lower portion of the screen.
3. Click on the  button and the Committee Meeting Form will appear.
   
4. Enter the Meeting Date, Meeting Time, and Location.  The Coordinator will auto-fill from the main Committee record if present.
   NOTE: You are best off NOT clicking the Add/Refresh Members button until your meeting has been completed.  If you add the members to the meeting before it has occurred, your attendance percentage will not be accurate.
5. Click  when completed.

 

6.4. Adding Attendance to a Meeting Record

Adding Attendance To Meeting Records

Once the meeting has occurred, follow the steps below to create attendance records for the committee.

1. Select the Committee and Year for which you want to add attendance.
2. Click on the Meetings tab
3. Click on the  symbol next to the meeting record you want.
4. Once the meeting record appears, click on the  button and you will follow the prompt to add all members from the committee and year to the meeting.
5. All members will be added with the default attendance set to No.
6. Select Yes for any member that attended the meeting.
7. There is also a Comment field for any notes you would like to enter.

The main Committee record will automatically calculate the attendance for each members and committee overall.  This is based on the information you enter in the Meeting record. 

6.5. Print a Sign in Sheet for a Committee

Printing a Sign In Form

To print a Sign In Form, you must first create a meeting record.  Sign In Forms are created with the information from the Meeting record.

 

1. Select the Committee and Year for which you need the Sign In Form.
2. Click on the Meetings tab.
3. Click on the  symbol next to the meeting.
4. Click on Continue once the form appears and print it.

7.1. Quadrennial (COE) Update and Report

QUADRENNIAL UPDATING
The Education system is designed to have you pull in the new Education Refresh from NRDS and then the process will compare what you have in the Quadrennial area (Quad Yr) with the Education table.  It then will create corresponding records in both the Education Module and the Member Screen (under Quadrennial).  Once the process is completed, REMMS will have all COE records locally for use with Quadrennial reporting.  You can then easily run any report that beings you to the Member Find screen for members that do not have a 2016 Quad record.  Here is a simplified process on how it works:

1. Perform a Batch Refresh from NRDS using Tab delimited format making sure you select Education on the selection screen.
2. Unzip the received Refresh file and make sure you note where you place these unzipped files.  We recommend saving and unzipping this file in the same location each time and it can be on your local hard drive.  The main file you are looking for will end in E00
3. Go into REMMS and click on the REPORTS button
4. Click on the PROCESSING tab
5. There are a few new buttons in here.  Click on the REFRESH EDUCATION button under the EDUCATION heading.
6. Follow the prompts until the process is completed.
7. Wait until the entire process is completed.
8. All records should be updated at this time.

TO FIND MEMBERS WITHOUT COE FOR 2016

1. In the MEMBER screen click on FIND
2. Enter criteria for the members (Active, Primary, REALTOR, etc)
3. Click on REQUESTS and select NEW REQUEST
4. Go to the Quadrennial area and in the CURRENT field type 2016 and then click on OMIT on the left panel of the screen.
5. Click CONTINUE.  This will give you all members that DO NOT HAVE 2016 in the Current field.

 

9.1. NJAR Payment Export

NJAR Payment Export

NJAR has requested a new format to use for sending payment information.  This format will be leveraged by them to easily import your member payment information.  The following procedure will describe how best to achieve this request.

The following process will need to be run separately for renewals, new members, out of state secondary (that want to also belong to NJAR), and non-members.  We are also suggesting you continue to run the existing Paid Dues Report by Item State (excludes distributed amounts) report to confirm your numbers and to also provide a clean printed report with all your details.

**NOTE: You MUST have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer to use this routine.  This is required by NJAR.

1. Go to the REPORTS module
2. Click on the Financial tab
3. On the right side under EXPORTS, click on the Paid DUES Export button
4. When the starter screen displays, select your criteria
• Starting and Ending date (Remember to match this up the same as you would with the regular printed payment report for state)
• Dues Year
• Item Type - This is very important to isolate the item for the type of payment going to NJAR.  You will first want to select the renewal item for your members and we also suggest running a smaller date range initially for you to proof out your results compared to the printed report.  There should be absolutely NO differences. 
5. Click Continue to start generating the Excel report
6. Once the results have been retrieved, you will be asked how you want to export the records
7. Select the Excel button
8. You will see a Save Records As Excel window where you must give the file a name, make sure you know where it is being saved, and you can also select whether you want the file to automatically open once completed to view the results and if you want to automatically attach to an email for sending.  These are your choices.
9. If you review the report, you will notice that there may be blank columns.  Please DO NOT REMOVE THE BLANK COLUMNS.  They are there for a reason as per the NJAR requested format.  Also, there are intentionally no names on the top row of the file as requested by NJAR.

That's all there is to the process.  You should find it very simple and rather quick to produce.  You can email this report to NJAR indicating that you will also be sending a printed report with check for the payment.  This will give NJAR time to review the records and adjust accordingly in preparation of the payment receipt.

Again, please remember to run this process for each of your types of payments: Renewals, New, Non-Members, Out of State.

9.2. Dues Status by Office

Most reports are run from the REPORTS modules, but there are some reports that are run directly from within the associated module.  In this case, it is run from the Office module.  To find the status of the Dues listed by Office, you need to:

1. Go to Office Module
2. Find the office record
3. Go to the Roster tab
4. Click on the Dues Roster button
5. Select either Status for the currently viewed status or ALL for all statuses.

10.1. Current Year, Dues Year and Annual Setup

Changing the Current Year and Dues Year

The Company Setup file contains a number of system-wide settings.  Some of these settings will effect how the system will show information by default, meaning, when you first go into the system.  Once of the settings you have control over is the Current Year and the current Dues Year. 

Changing the Current Year and Dues Year

1. Go to the Member Module
2. Click on the Utility icon above the MODULES buttons
3. Under the Setup Files heading, click on Company Setup
4. You will now be in the Association Setup Screen.  Click on the round BILLING button on the top of the screen.  It has a dollar sign ($) in the center.
5. The top right portion of the screen should display the Current Year and Dues Year.  These are drop down fields and you will need to select the appropriate years for each setting
6. Click on Go Back when completed and save your settings is prompted
7. Click the Membership button on the top right to go back to the Member Module

Note: You will still be able to change the Dues Year in all the modules anytime you need, this strictly makes it stay on the year set in the Company Setup area.

11.1. Mass Status Change Utility

Mass Status Change Procedure

You can run this process without actually changing records. So, you can go through it for selection purposes and simply click the LEAVE button without changing records.

1. Go to the Reports Module and select the Processing tab
2. Click on the Change Member Status button under the MASS UPDATE heading
3. Acknowledge the prompt and you will see the selection screen
4. Select the current Dues Year and enter any other criteria to find the members needing status change.
   NOTE: The only required selection is the Dues Year. All other selections are optional.
5. Click the Continue button
6. If records are found, you will be brought to the results screen.
7. You have the ability to OMIT a record from this list
8. Once the list has the records you need to change, Select the New Status from the drop down selection at the top of the screen.
9. Make sure to enter a Note for History that will allow you to find these records if you need to isolate them after the status change. This will become part of the member's permanent record.
10. VERY IMPORTANT If you do not want to change anything, click the LEAVE button. Nothing will be changed on the records.
11. Click the Do IT! button to complete the change. This is a mass change and has no UNDO feature, so make sure you are certain of the change.

11.2. Updating Office and Member Website Information

Updating Office and Member Website Information

REMMS has a built-in facility to push information to your website.  It's important to note that when running this process, you should perform both the Office upload and the Member upload to make sure that your online information is completely up to date.  The RJR Solutions website will automatically split out the details (Affiliates, Realtors, Realtor Offices, Affiliate Offices, etc) to make it simple to update everything at once on your site.

Step 1 - Upload Member

1. While in the Member Module, click on the Utility icon
2. Under the Export Routines, click on the Export To Web Site button
3. You will be brought to a Member Find screen.  The criteria you need to select will be the Member Status (usually A for Active), and if you want to only include Primary members, then select P for this field.  Make sure you do not select a Member Type since the online system will automatically separate the Member Types.
4. Click Continue when ready.
5. REMMS will find all the records and create a file ion your NRDS Upload directory named xxxxmemb.txt (where the xxxx is your board NRDS ID)
6. Click OK on the dialogue box

Step 2 - Upload Offices

1. While in the Office Module, click on the Utility icon
2. Under the Export Routines, click on the Export Web Site button
3. You will be brought to an Office Find screen.  The criteria you need to select will be the Office Status (usually A for Active), and if you want to only include Primary offices, then select P for this field.  Make sure you do not select an Office Type since the online system will automatically separate the Office Types.
4. Click Continue when ready.
5. REMMS will find all the records and create a file ion your NRDS Upload directory named xxxxoffi.txt (where the xxxx is your board NRDS ID)
6. Click OK on the dialogue box
   

Step 3 - Email those files to your Web Provider

The files are now ready for you to send to your Web Provider.  Simply create an email and attach the two above files (located in your NRDS Upload directory) and send.  These files are standard format and can be ready by any online service.

11.3. Adding a New User

Adding a New User to REMMS

REMMS has a very simple user facility to add, remove and edit users.  The instructions below show you how to add a new user.

1. Log into REMMS and click on the UTILITY button from the Members screen
2. Click on the Company Setup button under the Setup Files heading.  This will bring you to the Company Setup area of REMMS
3. At the top right portion of the screen, there will be a USERS button.  Click on that to go to the Users screen.
4. To add a new account click on the New Account button.  There is a small start to the left of it.
5. You will be prompted to create a new account.  Click Create New
6. On the Account Add screen, enter the name of the new user and press Tab
7. Select the Privilege set.  Usually DEPlus.  This is for regular data entry.  The other two options provide more restrictions.
8. Select the Account Status.  This should be Activated.
9. If you need to add more accounts, click the Add Account button on top.  Otherwise, click DONE to have the system add the account to REMMS.
10. When the account is added, the system will bring you back to the Account Main scree and all user accounts are displayed.

Please note that when a user account is created, it does NOT create a password.  There are a number of icons at the end of each user account line.  If you mouse over the icons, a tool tip will display.  There is also a legend at the top of the screen for each of these options.  This is wheree you can delete, change password, change privilege and activate/deactivate the users.

11.4. How to Change a Member NRDS Number

On occasion, you will need to change a Member's NRDS ID.  It is very important to note that this is a unqiue number that identifies each member and all their affiliated records.

1. From any main screen, click on the REPORTS button on the left panel
2. Click on the PROCESSING tab at the top right of the Reports screen
3. This screen contains a number of functions, including the Change NRDS ID routine.  Click on this button.
4. The REMMS Member/NRDS change Utility will appear
5. If you know the Member ID you need to change, enter it on the left side Member ID Holder field.  This is also a drop down list for you to select the member whose number you need to change.
6. Enter the new ID on the right side in the New Member ID field
7. Click on the Complete Change button to complete the process
8. Once done, the details of the change will be listed on the right side note box and also in the Member record.

 

11.5. Comparing Records on REMMS to NRDS

VERY IMPORTANT

PART 1: Perform a BATCH REFRESH from NRDS using Version 2.0 and Tab Delimiter.  When you receive the file, save it to your PC. The Refresh file will be zipped (compressed) so you do not spend hours downloading it from NRDS. A Refresh file name will always be the association ID followed by the word FULL. For example, 5050FULL. The extension will start with a z followed by two numbers. (e.g. 5050FULL.z00), otherwise, it will end with a ZIP.

We suggest doing that on your C drive or in your My Documents folder.  The unzipped files are required to complete the comparison process.  This file contains all your member's information as it exists on NRDS at the time of the Refresh request.  We have included an attached PDF with the instructions from the NRDS manual on this page for this process, as well as an explanation of the files included in the compressed file.
NOTE: PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU SELECT TAB DELIMITED AND TO EMAIL THE FILE WHEN RUNNING THE REFRESH.

PART 2:

1. Go into REMMS.
2. Click on the REPORTS button to go to the Report menu
3. On the Members Reports tab, click on the REMMS NRDS Compare button.
4. You will see a new window appear (REMMS vs. NRDS Membership Comparison Screen). 
5. Click the Load New Records button and navigate to the folder with the unzipped files.
6. Change the Files of Type to ALL FILES so the refresh files will appear.  If you do not, then your unzipped refresh files may not appear.
7. Select the file named nnnnFULL.m00 where nnnn is your NRDS ID and the extension, .m00, which represents the 
8. Once the file has been loaded and done processing, you can select the reports listed below the LOAD NEW RECORDS button.

The two reports that you need to use are:

1. Active on NRDS and NOT in REMMS
2. Active on REMMS and NOT in NRDS

If there are a high number of records on NRDS that do not match REMMS, then it may be best to have RJR initiate a full member upload.  This will take all Primary Members and upload them to NRDS.  This routine could generate a large number of errors for the members that are not Active or Provisional. 

CRITICAL: If you do a full membership upload, then make sure that any member that has transferred to another board is NOT marked as Primary with your association.

 

11.6. Initial Uploading of Affiliates to NRDS - Set up

Initial Uploading of Affilaites to NRDS - Set up

When REMMS is installed, it is configured to upload REALTORS members and offices to NRDS.  REMMS has the ability to also upload any other Member or Office Type.  Uploading Affiliates for the first time needs some consideration since they may already be on NRDS for other boards.  So, care needs to be taken when initially uploading these records.

Note: It is important that you contact support BEFORE starting this process to make sure all steps are taken in order and any manual adjustments are addressed.

OFFICES

1. Confirm that the affiliate offices are not already established in NRDS.  You will need to gather the office NRDS ID for any offices that are already on NRDS.
2. For the offices NOT already on NRDS, you will need to assign the E.O. as the DR because if you try and upload them with the actual affiliate member, they will be rejected by NRDS because the members do not exist on NRDS
3. For offices that are already on NRDS, you will need to make them Secondary  and provide me the Office ID that you currently have and what the true Office ID should be, as looked up on NRDS.
4. If any Office IDs need to be changed, this must be performed by our support staff and needs to be completed BEFORE proceeding to the next step.
5. Click the NRDS button under the Quick Find in the Office records to make sure all the office records that are primary are ready for uploading.
6. Perform an Office NRDS Upload and you need to make sure all offices are uploaded successfully and exist on NRDS.

MEMBERS

1. Check if any of the affiliate members already exist on NRDS.  For all that already exist, you will need to use the REMMS Member ID Change utility to change the Member ID to the correct NRDS Member ID.
2. Change any affiliate that already exists on NRDS to a Secondary member in REMMS.
3. Make sure the member is assigned to the correct Affiliate Office record since there may be a different Office ID from the first part.
4. Click the NRDS button under the Quick Find in the Member records to make sure all the office records that are primary are ready for uploading.
5. Perform an Member NRDS Upload and you need to make sure all offices are uploaded successfully and exist on NRDS.

FINAL STEP

1. Once both of the above steps is completed, go back into the Office records and assign the correct DR
2. Perform a final office upload.

The above steps are only performed when you are starting to send affiliates to NRDS.  Once this is completed, then you would treat any new affiliate record as you would if they were a REALTOR record

12.1. Create a Mail and Email merge file

Many programs provide the ability to perform a mail merge or email merge.  Aside from Microsoft Word, there are programs that one can use to send out braodcast emails to different groups.  One common program is called GroupMail. 

All of these programs rely on a data merge file which contains the "people" that you want to send messages to.  Below are instructions on how to create this file.

1. Go to the Member Module
2. Click on the Utility button
3. Select Export to Mail Merge under the Export Routines heading
4. You will be prompted to select your criteria for the find
5. Click on the Committee TAB on the top portion of the screen (This is NOT the Committee button)
6. Click in the Committee ID field and select the committee you want
7. Click in the Committee Year field and type in the year (i.e. 2009)
8. Click on Continue to complete the find
9. Your results will be sent to a text file called _Email.txt on your C: drive  (C:\_Email.txt)

You will now be able to edit this information in Excel or a regular text editor.

12.2. Email Members with Outlook - Small Groups (i.e. Committees)

Emailing from REMMS using Outlook

Since REMMS is built on an open platform, it can integrate with other products very simply.  One of the more powerful features is the ability to quickly export information from REMMS to Excel.  Once the information is in Excel, it can be either merged or copy and pasted into other special programs.  The instructions below outline how you can perform a simple Find, open it up in Excel, and then copy and paste the email addresses to Outlook.

Note: This requires you to have Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Outlook installed on your computer.

STEP 1

1. Go to Member Module
2. Click on Find
3. Enter the criteria to find the records you need (here is an example for committees)
   • Click on the Committee TAB on the top portion of the screen (This is NOT the Committee button)
   • Click in the Committee ID field and select the committee you want
   • Click in the Committee Year field and type in the year (i.e. 2009)
4. Click on Continue to complete the find
5. If the results yield more than one member, then you will be brought to the List View for the Members.
6. Right-click on your Association name and select Send/Save Record as... and select Excel
7. Fill in the information for saving and click on the check box to Automatically open file
8. Excel will open and you will see the records that were selected in the Find

STEP 2 (THIS NEXT STEP IS ONLY GOOD FOR SMALL GROUPS , like committees.  FOR LARGER GROUPS, YOU SHOULD USE A REGULAR BROADCAST EMAIL SYSTEM LIKE CONSTANT CONTACT OR GROUPMAIL.)

1. Open Microsoft Outlook and compose a new email to the group you just retrieved in the above find
2. Switch to the Excel file from Step 1 and locate the Email Address column.
3. Click and drag to highlight the email address to include in the email you want to send
4. Once they are highlighted, click on Edit and select Paste from the Excel drop down menu (you can also use the right-click method)
5. Switch back to the email you are composing and click in the BCC field.  (If you do not see the BCC field, then click on View and select Bcc Field from the drop down menu)
6. Click on Edit and select Paste.  This will put all the email addresses in that BCC field.  You can then address the email to yourself and send it out.

NOTE: Some Internet Service Providers (ISP) will limit the amount of recipients in the BCC field of your emails, so you will want to test this out or contact your ISP. The reason you may want to use the BCC field is to hide the email addresses to keep them confidential.

12.3. Find COMMITTEE Members for Exporting

To Find Committee Members for Exporting:

METHOD 1 (Export to Excel)  This method exports a good deal of information and should be reviewed PRIOR to sending to anyone outside of the organization.

1. Go to Member Module
2. Click on Find
3. Click on the Committee TAB on the top portion of the screen (This is NOT the Committee button)
4. Click in the Committee ID field and select the committee you want
5. Click in the Committee Year field and type in the year (i.e. 2009)
6. Click on Continue to complete the find
7. If the results yield more than one member, then you will be brought to the List View for the Members.
8. Right-click on your Association name and select Send/Save Record as... and select Excel
9. Fill in the information for saving and whether you want to open it or email it.

You will now be able to edit this information in Excel and delete any columns you do not need.

 

METHOD 2 (Export to Text file)  this method only exports the name, preferred mailing and email address of the member.

1. Go to the Member Module
2. Click on the Utility button
3. Select Export to Mail Merge under the Export Routines heading
4. You will be prompted to select your criteria for the find
5. Click on the Committee TAB on the top portion of the screen (This is NOT the Committee button)
6. Click in the Committee ID field and select the committee you want
7. Click in the Committee Year field and type in the year (i.e. 2009)
8. Click on Continue to complete the find
9. Your results will be sent to a text file called _Email.txt on your C: drive  (C:\_Email.txt)

You will now be able to edit this information in Excel or a regular text editor.

12.4. Find Members WITHOUT 2008 COE

TO FIND MEMBERS WITHOUT COE FOR 2008

If you have not already refreshed the Education records in your system, you should do so prior to running this find to make sure you have the most up to date set of records from updated record online. Please see the related link below.
1. In the MEMBER screen click on FIND
2. Enter criteria for the members (Active, Primary, REALTOR, etc)
3. Click on REQUESTS and add a NEW REQUEST
4. Go to the Quadrennial area on the Member main screen and in the CURRENT field type 2008 and then click on OMIT on the left panel of the screen.
5. Click Continue.

This will give you all members that DO NOT HAVE 2008 in the Current field.

12.5. Find Members WITHOUT 2008 COE that are PAID or BILLED

TO FIND MEMBERS WITHOUT COE FOR 2008 THAT ARE PAID

If you have not already refreshed the Education records in your system, you should do so prior to running this find to make sure you have the most up to date set of records from updated record online. Please see the related link below.

1. In the MEMBER screen click on FIND
2. Enter criteria for the members (Active, Primary, REALTOR, etc)
3. Click on the Dues/RPAC tab and enter the Dues Yr your need (i.e. 2009) and Dues Status of PAID
   
4. Click on REQUESTS and add a NEW REQUEST
5. Go to the Quadrennial area on the Member main screen and in the CURRENT field type 2008 and then click on OMIT on the left panel of the screen.
6. Click Continue.

This will give you all members that DO NOT HAVE 2008 in the Current field that are PAID.

 

TO FIND MEMBERS WITHOUT COE FOR 2008 THAT ARE BILLED (UNPAID)

If you have not already refreshed the Education records in your system, you should do so prior to running this find to make sure you have the most up to date set of records from updated record online. Please see the related link below.

1. In the MEMBER screen click on FIND
2. Enter criteria for the members (Active, Primary, REALTOR, etc)
3. Click on the Dues/RPAC tab and enter the Dues Yr your need (i.e. 2009) and Dues Status of PAID
   
4. Click on REQUESTS and add a NEW REQUEST
5. Go to the Quadrennial area on the Member main screen and in the CURRENT field type 2008 and then click on OMIT on the left panel of the screen.
6. Click Continue.

This will give you all members that DO NOT HAVE 2008 in the Current field that are PAID.

12.6. Find Members WITHOUT email addresses

Putting an equal sign in a field when doing a FIND will get you all records with nothing in that field.  You can get a printed report is you go to REPORTS and select the Members tab and then select the NRDS Listing report.  I think it's the NRDS report.  It will bring you into the same find screen as in the steps above, and display a report that you can print with a space for the email address. 

 

12.7. Find PAID Dues Members from a specific year

Let's say you want to find how many members paid Dues for the Dues Year 2005.  This can be done by following these steps:

1. Go into the Member screen
2. Click on the Find button
3. On the main screen, enter any criteria you need (such as Status or Primary Indicator, etc)
4. Click on the Dues/RPAC tab
5. Under the FINANCIAL - MEMBER INVOICE section where your invoices normally appear, enter the follwing:
   1. Enter 2005 in the Year field (you can enter any year you are looking for)
   2. Enter D in the Type field
   3. Enter Paid in the Status field
6. Click on Continue and the system should display all members with Paid, 2005 Dues invoices

Note: The D enterd into the Type field means that the invoice had a Dues item on the invoice, and is a Dues invoice. 

Also, since many of the reports leverage the same Find function, you can use the above routine to retrieve these records in a report format or export the records to Excel.

12.8. Find Paid Dues by Paid Date Range

Currently, the Member record on the Dues/RPAC tab only displays the Invoice date, so to find Dues Invoices that were paid for a specific Dues Year through a specific Paid Date range, please try the following:

1. Go to the INVOICES Module by clicking on the left navigation button
2. Click on Find
3. Select the Inv. Bill Year
4. Select the Inv. Status for Paid
5. Select the ItemID for the Dues Items for the year you selected in Step 3
6. Type the paid date range in the Paid field of the line item
   (To specify a range, enter the first date, three periods, then the last date: 1/1/07...1/31/07)
7. IF YOU ONLY NEED THE ONE ITEM ID, PLEASE CONTINUE TO STEP 10
   
8. To select an additional ItemID, click on REQUESTS on the drop down menu at top and select Duplicate Request. This will duplicate the current request.  You should not see Request 2 on the left side panel.
   
9. Change the ItemID to the next ITEM you need.  Repeat Steps 8-9 for each additional item.
10. Click CONTINUE and the system should retrieve the records.

To export the records to Excel, you can right-click on the Board Name at the top and select Send/Save Records As and select Excel.  Follow the screen to save the data.  You will need to remove the extra fields that are not needed.

You can also go to the List view and export it the same way with less information.

13.1. Annual Dues Setup

Before you can run your Annual Dues, there are several areas that will need updating.  The steps below will bring you through the areas of setup.

SETUP - Company Setup Screen

1. Go into the Company Setup
2. Click on the BILLING button at the top of the screen
3. Under the Annual Dues and Financial Settings heading, enter the Due Date and the Late Date.  These dates are used on the Annual Dues Invoice to determine when payment is due and also at which date a Late Fee will be imposed.
4. Under the DUES BODY TEXT section, click on the Annual Rltr tab and update the text accordingly.  This text is the editable area of the invoice.  Please note that this is also different than the text that appears on your regular invoices generated during the course of a year.
5.  Adjust the text in the Annual Aff tab for Annual Affiliate invoices.
6. Click Go Back
7. Click the Membership button at top to return.

SETUP - ITEMS

1. Go to the regular Invoice module
2. Click on the Items button
3. Add all necessary items for the new billing year.  You only need to add the ones that you will need for the annual renewals.  You can always go back and add the rest of your items at a later time.  Many boards will include all the amounts for a REALTOR renewal in a single line item.  This makes the invoice much cleaner and easier to read.
4. When completed, click Go Back until you are back at the MEMBER screen.

 

13.2. Annual Dues Processing

FINAL SETUP AND PROCESSING INVOICES

Once you have performed the initial setup, the next step is to enter the actual Annual Dues Processing module.

1. Click on the Utility button form the Member screen.
2. Click on the Annual Dues Billing button
3. This screen is setup in a step-by-step order.  The process for billing is designed so that you can run billing, check it, make any necessary changes to members, and then reset and run the billing again once you are ready to print the invoices.
4. Select the Billing Year.  This will always default to the default Dues Year from the Company setup screen.  So, you will need to change it to your current billing year each time you enter this module.
5. Click on the Annual Item Setup button in Step 2.
6. This is where you establish all the billing items for each Member Type and Status
7. Across the top of this screen is where you first select the Member Type
8. Next, click on the NEW button on the top left portion of the screen.
9. This will bring you to a screen that will show you the items you created in the previous setup steps (pulls from the regular Items table)
10. Click the Use This button to select the item.
11. You will then be asked to select if the item is for a Primary or Secondary member.  Please select one.
12. Once the item is added, you will return to the Annual Items screen and can change the Status if needed.
13. Repeat steps 8 through 11 for all Member Types and Statuses you need to bill.
14. You can click the PRINT button at top to print out a full list of the billing items.
15. The next step is to click on the TEST BILLING button.  This will run the billing for all members that qualify based on your item setup screens. 
    
16. Once the process is completed, you should run the Summary Report Office and Summary Report Type reports and check the results to make sure everyone is billed properly.
17. There are also some additional buttons to the right that allow you to make adjustments to specific invoices.
18. Go to Step 4 and click on Print Single Invoice to spot check the invoice.

There are four invoice types.  Three of them will display the items from the billing as you have entered them and a fourth layout that will split and display the amounts separated by the organization amounts (local, state, national).  You may want to print a sample invoice for each of the types and see which one is best for your needs.  Also, the invoices are setup to allow you to include custom text in the main body section.  this is the only area you can adjust with text. 

NOTE: Check and make sure your text and dates are all correct BEFORE you acutally print out all your invoices.  Most boards will run a test billing about one week BEFORE needing to print the actual invoices to make sure everything is billed properly and all dates and amount are correct.

 

13.3. Printing Invoices and Finalizing

PRINTING INVOICES AND FINALIZING

The last 2 steps of the invoice processing are the most important steps.  Once the invoices are printed and sent, the last step will be to finalize the invoices.

1. Click on Print Office Invoices button.  This will print a summary of all invoices for each office in office order.  Many boards use this as a cover sheet for all the agent invoices that are sent to the office. 
2. Next, click on the Print All Invoices button and follow the prompts to print your invoices.  You will be asked the type of invoices you want to print (REALTOR or Affiliate) and then which invoice FORM you want to use.

Please Note that the Form Type is different than what form you would have set in the Company Setup for the invoices generated during the year.

1. CREATE A BACKUP OF YOUR SYSTEM BEFORE RUNNING THIS LAST STEP.
2. Once all the invoices are printed and are placed in the mail, then click on the FINALIZE INVOICES button.
3. Please wait until the process is complete.

DO NOT CLICK THE FINALIZE BUTTON UNLESS YOUR INVOICES ARE READY TO BE MAILED. THIS PROCESS WILL MOVE ALL THE INVOICES INTO THE INVOICE MODULE AND UPDATE ALL MEMBER RECORDS.  THIS CANNOT BE UNDONE!!!!

Please notify the RJR office when you are ready to finalize your invoices.  This process will also upload files to the secure server for the eDues clients and will be loaded to allow members to renew securly online.

13.4. Billing Dual State Members

If there is a member that has a REALTOR license in more than one state, and they are NOT primary with your board or state, then the following should be followed for billing these members at Annual Dues Bills time.

1. Prior to running the actual Test Billing, make the member PRIMARY
2. Perform the Annual Dues Test Billing
3. Once completed, go into the invoice record and adjust the National amount to zero
   (best to remove the amount)
4. Once completed, go back to the member record and make them back to SECONDARY

This process will allow the member to be billed with all the other Primary REALTORS and allow you to remove the NAR amount.  Then, you need to set it back to SECONDARY so the member does not get uploaded to NRDS since another board is the Board of Choice for that member.

14.1. RPAC: Find RPAC Totals for a Given Year

RPAC: Find RPAC Totals for a Given Year

If you need to find how much RPAC money has been paid by a given member for a specific year; Or, you want to get a listing of all members that contributed any money, then this can be accomplished by using a simple Find and Export.

Since the Member record contains links to all activities and transactions for a member, and you have the ability to export to an Excel file from almost any screen, use the following to find the RPAC information needed:

1. Go to the Dues/RPAC tab in the Member module and make sure that it has the year you want in the RPAC YTD heading
   
2. Click the Find button
3. Enter any member specific information you require (status, member type, etc)
4. Click on the Dues/RPAC tab
5. Located under the FINANCIAL - PAID RPAC ONLY heading, put > 0 in the 2008 YTD field.  This is the Great Than symbol.  This is stating that you want all records that have anything more than zero in the Year To Date (YTD) amount field.
6. Your results will appear in the List View in the Member Module. 
   
7. Right-click on your Association Name and click Save/send Record As...Excel and complete the save dialog box.  This will export all the fields on this List View to an excel file that you can then open and edit.

 

14.2. RPAC: Adding Payments Made Directly to State

How To Add Payments Made Directly to State

Normally, most RPAC payments made by members are paid to your board and reflect throughout the system for reporting and on the member record.  Occasionally, you may receive notification that a member has paid and RPAC contribution directly to state or NAR.  The following describes the method to handle these types of payments accurately in REMMS without interfering with the reporting that you need to send money to state.

STEP 1 - Create the Item - Only needs to be done once for a billing year.
The first step is to create a new RPAC item in the Item table.  Once you have this item set up for your billing year then you can proceed to Step 2.  This only needs to be done once during a billing year.

1. Go to the Invoice module and click the ITEMS button in the top right corner.
2. Make sure you are in the correct Dues year and click on New Item.
3. Enter a unique Item Code following the same format you have used for the other items in this billing year.
4. Enter the description.
5. You MUST use RPAC as the Item Type.  This is critical for the items to be reflected in the RPAC screens.
6. Enter a minimum amount.  You have to enter at least $1.00 in this field for the items to work properly and this values should be in the STATE field.  You also must enter a GL Code and if you don't use them, then simply put RPAC in the GL Code field.
7. Click Go Back and Save the item when completed.

STEP 2 - Create and Pay Invoice

1. Create an Invoice for the member that made an RPAC contribution directly for the amount of the contribution.
2. When creating this invoice BE SURE TO USE THE NEW RPAC DIRECT PAYMENT YOU CREATED IN STEP 1.
3. Complete this transaction by paying the invoice using a separate Batch for this special payment.  This will keep your records separate.

STEP 3 - Running the RPAC Reports
When running the RPAC reports you need to use for sending money to state, make sure to select the primary RPAC item.  Since you have created this secondary item for use only to reflect in the member RPAC contributions, it will be excluded from the regular reporting.

15.1. Member Change History

Member Change History - Critical Changes

When editing certain parts of the Member record, a note is made in the Change History that basically takes a snapshot of certain fields as they existed prior to entering the change screen.  The idea was to capture the critical pieces of a member's record as it existed prior to changes to these fields to know what is was prior to the existing entries in the record. 

In addition to this Change History line, a complete snapshot of the member record is also made and placed in a hidden area of the system in the event.  The format for this Change History note is as follows:

Example:
<<Edited 12/1/2008 10:44:21 AM by Heather: F:Waqar L:Syed T:R SC:DR P:P ST:A NJD:7/27/1998 LJD:7/27/1998>>

<<Edited 12/1/2008 10:44:21 AM by Heather:
F:Waqar (First Name)
L:Syed (Last Name)
T:R (Member Type)
SC:DR (Member SubClass)
P:P (Member Primary Indicator)
ST:A (Member Status)
NJD:7/27/1998 (NAR Join Date)
LJD:7/27/1998 (Local Join Date)
>>