ATWS FAQ

How do I void a tax warrant receipt?

There are several steps to this process:

  1. Click the “Automated Tax Warrant System” button on main system menu
  2. Search for the Tax Warrant you wish to void the payment for
  3. Click on the PAYMENTS tab
  4. Double click on the payment to be voided
  5. Enter the password
  6. Answer the questions about offsetting the payment
  7. The system will create an offset for the payment so that the Report to State will still calculate correctly. BE CAREFUL, the original receipt is still there, but an offset for a negative amount was created. DO NOT DOUBLE CLICK ON THE PAYMENT AGAIN.Once you are done with this process, a report will print out.
  8. This report should be given to the Cash Book support person so that person can also VOID the receipt in the Receipting System. Or click on the “Void Existing Receipt” button (see page 305 in T.W.MANUAL 3 for additional information on how to Void an existing receipt).

How do I Change MICR fonts?

  1. Select the “Cash Book” button from the main system menu.
  2. From the Cash Book’s top menu choices, select “Setup” and then choose the “Main Setup Form” option.
  3. Choose the “Check Writer Setup” button from the next screen.
  4. Click on the “Edit/New” button from the next screen.
  5. Select the “MICR Adjustments & Optional Text” tab.
  6. If you have not yet installed the 2006 MICR font, select  to download the font and install it on the PC. This must be done on every PC that will be used to create checks.
    1. When the following screen is displayedselect “Yes” to download the font.
    2. When the font has been downloaded, you will receive the screenat which point, click “OK” to begin the installation of the font.
    3. Click the “Next” button a couple times to complete the install.
    4. When the install has finished, the following screen will appearread the message and click OK to continue.
  7. Select the “2006 MICR Font” to select the new font.
  8. Print a sample check by disbursing money from the cashbook. After the sample check has printed, void that check in the cashbook (see “Void Disbursement Check” in C.B. MANUAL 6 for information on how to void a check). Our next version of ATWS (3.6.xx) will allow you to click the “Print Sample Check” button to verify the installation. Take the sample check to your bank for validation.
  9. Select “2004 MICR Font” the to revert back to the old font.

When your bank validates the 2006 font and you want to start using that font, repeat steps 1 through step 5 and step 7.See “Check Writer Format Info – MICR Adjustment tab” in C.B. MANUAL 7 for more information.

How do I change the check printer designation?

  1. Click on the “Cash Book” button on the main system menu
  2. Click “Setup” menu from the menus listed at the top of the screen
  3. Click the “Main Setup Form” option
  4. Click on the “Check Writer Setup” button
  5. Click “Default Check Printer:” and select the desired printer from the drop-down list
  6. Exit/Close all screens until you get back to the main system menu

Where can I purchase check stock re-ordering info?

https://www.g7ps.com/scripts/f1000.asp

I just had a taxpayer call me because Indianapolis told him he was not on a payment plan. I called Indy and was told that some warrants were on a plan and some weren’t. I had previously put ALL (not just his) tax warrants we had with a plan into the ATWS as being on a payment plan. Why Indy doesn’t show that the tax warrants are on a payment plan?

The ‘Payment Plan’ is only used within our system. It does not inform the DOR that a payment plan is in effect. Presently, the only way you can inform the DOR that a payment plan is in effect is to set ACCOUNT IS SET UP in a warrant within the Agent Return File. If the DOR has issued a recall, and therefore the warrant is in the Agent Return File, and the return reason code is “The warrant is over 120 days old”, it can be overwritten by the user. If you have been or will be taking payments from the taxpayer, you will want to keep such a warrant and continue to collect as opposed to the DOR turning it over to the next step. By changing the reason code you can retain the warrant in your possession. This also communicates to the DOR that a Payment Plan is in effect.

I have a taxpayer with 42 active warrants. How do I print all the information out for the taxpayer without pulling up each warrant?

Do a Search for the Taxpayer from the main Warrant screen. When the search results screen appears, click on the taxpayer’s name to sort the results by taxpayer name. Hold down the Ctrl key and hit the P key to print out the screen (Hold down the Control Key and hit the “P” key once). Scroll down the search results screen to get the next group of warrants and do it again.

How do I change the Sheriff’s name in the ATWS system?

To change the Sheriff’s name in the ATWS system, you MUST do the following:Site Standards

  • Click on the “Automated Tax Warrant System” button on the main ATWS system menu
  • Click on “Navigation” found on the top menu bar and choose the “Site Standards” option
  • Enter the Tax Warrant admin password
  • The Sheriff’s name is found under the “Agent Information” section – make your changes
  • Click the “Save & Exit” button

Notification letters

  • Click on “Maintenance” on the top menu bar and click the “Report Setup Wizard” option
  • Enter the Tax Warrant admin password
  • Do the next 2 steps for each report found in the “Select A Report” drop-down box
  • Select a report from the “Select A Report” drop-down box then click on the “View Data” button
  • Review the information and if the Sheriff’s name is shown, make your changes
  • Click the “Close” button to save the changes when ALL reports have been reviewed and changed as needed

How do I find out where the ATWS data files are located?

You can find out where your data files reside by:

  1. Select the “Cash Book” option from the ATWS system menu
  2. At the top, on the menu bar, you will have options Files, Reports, Utilities, Checks, Setup.
    1. Click Utilities
  3. Then click, Where are my data files? The path to your data is listed under “tbl_taxWarrants” on the window which is displayed.

How do I change a posted payment?

See “Correcting Payment Entry Errors” on page 14 of T.W. MANUAL 3.

How do I void a receipt?

See “Void Existing Receipt” in C.B. MANUAL 6.

How do I void a check in the cashbook?

See “Void Disbursement Check” in C.B. MANUAL 6.

Why can I not use the REMOVE button on the Agent Return form to remove a warrant from the file being returned to the IDOR?

The REMOVE button is for warrants you added but changed your mind and don’t want to send back to the DOR. It cannot be used to remove warrants that have been recalled by the DOR. When the DOR issues a recall, the warrant is queued into the Agent Return File automatically. If the DOR has issued a recall, and therefore the warrant is in the Agent Return File, and the return reason code is “The warrant is over 120 days old”, it can be overwritten by the user. If you have been or will be taking payments from the taxpayer, you will want to keep such a warrant and continue to collect as opposed to the DOR turning it over to the next step. By changing the reason code you can retain the warrant in your possession. This also communicates to the DOR that a Payment Plan is in effect.

I installed the ATWS software on a new PC. What must be done to enable me to use the software?

Each user of the ATWS software must have permissions set in that PC’s operating system so that the user has permission to read, write, execute, and delete files on the C drive of the PC in the TLG/TaxSys folder and in all subfolders under TLG/TaxSys. Each user must also have permission to read, write, execute, and delete files that are in the folder where the county’s ATWS data files reside.The software on each PC must also be Linked to the data files which are in a specific folder. You can find out where your data files reside by selecting the cashbook option from the atws system menu. At the top on the menu bar you will have options Files, Reports, Utilities, Checks, and Setup. Click Utilities, then click Where are my data files? You will get a window with the header Data Locations and this will display tables, paths, tbl_taxWarrants, and under that will be the path to your data files.

How can I contact the Indiana Department of Revenue?

The automated phone line for the Department of Revenue is (317) 233-4018.

If the IDR sends us 113 taxwarrants to send letters out to collect on and half of those warrants come back as “Bad Address”, and we want to return these warrants to the IDR, what code do we use? The “Address Is Bad – Agent will keep warrant locally”? Or should we choose “Taxpayer not found” code?

If you want to keep the warrant, use the “Address Is Bad – Agent will keep warrant locally” code. If you want to send the warrant back and do not want to keep it in your system as an active warrant, then use the “Taxpayer not found” code.

How do I record EFTs or adjustments to the Check Register without affecting the Cash Book?

After you click the “Cash Book” button on the main menu screen, choose the “Checks” option from the top menu strip and then choose the “Enter Deposit” option. This will take you to a screen where you can make entries.Any entry you make on this screen will be recorded on the DEPOSIT side of the Check Register & Reconciliation screen. This could also be used to record an entry when the bank makes an error or charges fees.A positive entry amount will be treated like a deposit.A negative entry amount will be treated like a negative deposit.If you would like to make an entry into the Cash Book to reflect the EFTs without adding the entry to a Deposit, then you should add an adjustment entry into the Cash Book. In older versions of ATWS this option is called “Create New Record”. Newer versions call this “Create Adjustment”. See information in Cash Book Manual 6 to do this. PLEASE NOTE: If you make the entries into the cash book using this method, those entries are automatically made into the check register as well and there is no need to make the DEPOSIT entry into the check register.

How do I enter an adjustment into the Cash Book?

If you would like to make an entry into the Cash Book without adding the entry to a Deposit, then you should add an adjustment entry into the Cash Book. In older versions of ATWS this option is called “Create New Record”. Newer versions call this “Create Adjustment”. See information in Cash Book Manual 6 to do this.

How do I remove someone from a Payment Plan?

From the menu bar at the top of the Automated Tax Warrant System, select Payment Plans. You will get a drop down menu. From that drop down menu, select Payment Plan Remove a TID. Find the taxpayer and Double Click on the name to remove the taxpayer from the Payment Plan setup.

What do I do if I have taken a tax warrant payment, but the warrant is no longer an active warrant in our system?

When this is the case, then the Indiana Department of Revenue has recalled the warrant. You must send the payment to the DOR. You should endorse the check but alsowrite on it that this is for deposit only by the Indiana State Department of Revenue. Mail the check to the DOR. Also you should send a letter to the taxpayer saying that you no longer have this warrant, that the state DOR has the warrant, and that the payment has been forwarded to the DOR.

Why don’t I have the same number of First Notices as I have New Warrants on my FTP download report?

The number of “new” warrants is not the number of warrants that you have never had in your system. It will NOT correspond to the number of first notices that will be printed out. The “new” warrants also include warrants that have been recalled and reissued by the DOR. The DOR calls them new warrants but they are really just updates and are already in your system. Therefore no first notices are generated for these.

My FTP download locked up and never finished processing. What should I do?

The FTP download process uses most of your PC’s system resources. Sometimes the system will stop processing and you are left with the ATWS system being locked. You must exit all other software, stop the ATWS software using Task Manager, then restart your PC. Restart the ATWS software. You will see the FTP Pause form saying that the FTP is in process and that the system is locked. You must click the Admin Removal button to remove the lock of the system. Once that is done you are free to restart the FTP download.NOTE: You should never run other software on the same PC as the one on which you are doing the FTP download. You should also restart your PC immediately before doing the FTP download to ensure that your PC can devote all system resources to the FTP process.

How do I move money from one cashbook column to another?

Sometimes a receipt is taken with the correct RECEIPT TYPE, but the dollar amount is entered on the wrong STUB LINE of the receipt. The RECEIPT TYPE is selected by using the combo box at the top of the receipt. The RECEIPT TYPE does not control which cashbook column the dollar amount of the receipt is put into. It only comes into play when the view of the cashbook is “restricted” by means of the “Restrict CB” button. The STUB LINE of the receipt is the area of the receipt where a dollar amount is entered. This is what controls which cashbook column the money is put into. During the initial setup of your receipt and whenever you add a new item to one of the four combo boxes on the receipt, you designate which cashbook columns the various stub rows and combo boxes of the receipt will post to.So when someone selects a receipt type of “work release”, but enters the money into the “cash bonds” stub line, that dollar amount will be entered into the “cash bonds” cashbook column instead of the “work release” cashbook column.In order to move the money from the “cash bonds” column to the “work release” column, you must make two adjustments. The first adjustment must be exactly like the receipt that you are correcting EXCEPT the amount must be NEGATIVE. So if the amount in our example was $50, you would select the “work release” receipt type, then enter a negative $50 on the “cash bonds” receipt stub line. This will reverse out the receipt that was taken. To do the second adjustment according to our example you would select the “work release” receipt type and enter $50 on the “work release” receipt stub line.Remember that you have to put in the correct TOTAL amount for the receipt. Also be sure to add notes to everything so that the State Board of Accounts will have documentation as to why you created the adjustments.Doing two adjustments in this fashion will correct the problem.NOTE: The system will not allow you to make an adjustment that totals to 0.00 dollars.

How to import the CASHBOOK.TXT file into Excel

  1. Open Excel
  2. From the top menu bar click on Data and then click on From Text
  3. Drill down to where the TXT file is located, select it and then Open it
  4. Make sure Delimited is selected and then click Next>
  5. Click the Other option and enter a single “|” (a vertical bar) in the box next to the Other option
  6. Click Finish