62 Internet Services

Web Sites with Online Dues Payments

This month we would like to focus on those of you who have taken the leap into TOPS interactive web sites and discovered Online Dues Payments as one of the best reasons ever to get on board! TOPS Software's web site service offers an Online Payment link that allows residents to pay association dues and fees online at their convenience!

Add the online payment link on the association’s web site and homeowners can pay their dues anytime, from anywhere, all with the click of a button. Owners simply click "Pay Dues" to login to the online payment service and set up a secure profile that is password protected. Then, they can choose to make a one-time payment, or even schedule a reoccurring automatic payment of association dues from their checking account or credit card. If your associations don't have their own web sites yet, the online payment link can be offered on your management company web site as well. The payment information for each community is available to you for download similar to lockbox format, if you have the Global Add-On Module. You can even choose how you want to receive notification of online payments - an email every time a payment is received, or a batch report emailed to you at the end of the day. You can also run date specific reports to view payment information. Your link can even be used to collect payments from vendors or homeowners for any service you provide! It's that easy!

Once you have received the e-mail informing you that your application(s) has been approved and you may begin setting up the Online Payments feature for your homeowners, you will need to take a few simple steps to perform your first upload and then add this event to the scheduler to automate this process!

Before you begin the initial community data uploads from TOPS v3.2.1™, make sure that your TOPS v3.2.1™ program files are up to date.

Step 1: SET UP AND RUN COMMUNITIES' ONLINE PAYMENTS UPLOAD

To upload communities that are contracted to use Online Payments, from the TOPS v3.2.1™ Main menu:

1. Click Internet.
2. Select the Online Payments menu option.
3. Select the Community Management sub-menu option.
4. The TOPS Online Payments Maintain window appears.
5. The default is set so all communities are checked.
6. Click the checkbox (De-select) for those communities that are NOT contracted for Online Payments.
7. Click Done when finished.

Next, run the initial communities upload. From the TOPS v3.2.1™ Main menu:

1. Click Internet
2. Select the Online Payments menu option.
3. Select the Upload Now sub-menu option.
4. An Upload Completed dialog will appear when all communities have been uploaded successfully. When adding new communities to Online Payments in the future, they must also be set up in Community Management. Repeat the steps outlined in this section for each new community you add.

Step 2: SET UP SCHEDULED OWNER DATA UPLOADS

It is important that the Online Payments service is uploaded with owner information and account balances from TOPS v3.2.1™ on a scheduled basis. This ensures that homeowners pay the correct amount when making online payments. You will want to set up the TOPS Scheduler utility to upload this data regularly. Notice - this is NOT the same as a Community Web Site data upload. This data uploads to a different server using secure FTP.

To set up the Scheduler, from the TOPS v3.2.1™ Main menu:

1. Click Internet
2. Select the Scheduler option from the drop down menu.
3. Select the Schedule Task option from the sub-menu.
4. The TOPS Scheduler window appears.
   Note the Scheduler icon on the taskbar and on the right system tray. If Scheduler is already running, Double-Click the icon in the system tray to open (the lower right of your screen next to the clock).
5. Click Add to add a new task.
6. The TOPS Scheduler Step 1 window appears.
7. Enter a Task Description, typically a name that identifies the task.
8. Click Online Payments button (the gray house icon).
9. Click Next.
10. The TOPS Scheduler Step 2 window appears.
11. Click the checkbox(s) to set the scheduled time and days uploads will be done.
12. Click Finish.
13. The task will now appear in the TOPS Scheduler window.
14. You may minimize the window or Click Done to close the Scheduler window and send it to the system tray.

If you have any questions or run into any difficulties, while using this or any other feature on the TOPS Web Sites, please contact Web Support at 800-556-7852 or email websupport@topssoft.com.

By: Tasha Williams Beard
Production/Support Manager
AtHomeNet, Inc.

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