CONTACTS

Matt Edwards – Senior Staff Accountant – Your immediate Supervisor. Matt can help with Coding and should be the first person you go to for this. Matt approves your Utility invoices and any other invoices not approved by the categories below. He also will approve your batches before you post them.

Zuli Calero- Office Manager – Zuli formerly did the Accounts Payable and is the best source for assisting you with all aspects. Zuli approves invoices for Office Supplies and anything that directly affects the running of this office.

Tim Murray – Director of Finance – Hand Checks, Credit Card payments

Bob Gibbons – Approves Construction invoices for all divisions except Naples

Eric Weesner – Approves Construction invoices for Naples

Kathleen Dec – Approves invoices for all sales and marketing for all divisions.

Heather Mullen – Permits come to you approved by this person.

Lillian – Warranty – you can get approved purchase orders from Lillian

Steve – Warranty Manager – can approve payments for warranty – must have PO.

Kathy Cowan- Approves invoices for Design Center

Suzi Greene – will give you POs to enter. Also if an error with an entry with a PO, Suzi is the only one that can do the reverse PO to help fix.

Yanira Curbelo – Corporate Contact – to get Vendor ID numbers and send your batches for check runs.

FAST TRAINERS

Shana O’Connors – Constellation (FAST) –Cell – 206-437-0781 soconnors@constellationhb.com

Shirley Hedglin – Constellation (FAST) Phone -800-411-2020 opt 2 shedglin@constellationhb.com

On the X Drive (X:\Tampa\Accts Payable - Invoices, Insurance, Vendor Files\AP Contacts). There is a folder called AP Contacts. This contains your Utility contacts as well as many vendors. This is ongoing and will need to be updated constantly.

To print an updated Vendor contact list go to:

FAST – Purchasing/Vendor Contacts/Contact List

After you click on Contact list you will see this screen below;

Click Next and then print.

Getting Started - What you will need.

You will receive invoices and Lien Releases via regular “snail” mail and via email.

All mail received in AP must be date stamped and batch stamped.

After receiving in and stamping mail items sort through and pull out Lien Releases, those are to be filed and nothing else.

Look for invoices that are for construction on new lots. These could have POs and be paid through Build Pro. If they are in Build Pro you do not pay them.

Example – You get a stack of invoices from Hugh MacDonald for lots at Harmony. You know Harmony already has its models and sales center completed so anything new for construction is or should be for Build Pro.

To see if the invoice was already paid go to:

Job Cost / Historical Job Cost:

Click on Historical Job cost and the screen on the next page is what you will see. Information has been added for an example.

Click Next and a report will generate similar to the one on the next page.

Most of the time you will see a payment for the exact amount on the invoice you are researching. If the lot, scope of work and amount match perfectly, you know it was paid through Build Pro and a PO number was used in place of the invoice number. Mark it as paid and file it.

If the information shown does not match the invoice in your hand in any way you will need to give it to the Purchasing Department to find out if you are going to have to pay it directly or if they are taking care of it. If the invoice is for a model home, you will pay it.

This task can be done at any time during the work week before the check run and is not the highest on the priority list.

Utility Bills are the highest Priority. You can get them in the mail and via the internet. You will need to contact each Utility to have a user name and password created once you have email. Until that happens use the email of the prior AP associate to not only gather invoices but to utilize learning tools and techniques.

The user name to sign on is JWaldman the password is SAMMkate5.

That will get you into the desk top and the email.

Utility Bills should be sorted by division. MSA, MTP, NAP, SUN

MSA- Forest Lakes, Harmony, Renaissance, more to follow

MTP – Triple Creek, More to follow

NAP – Compass Landing

SUN – Sunrise

Once you have them sorted, Let the coding begin!

To code invoices you will need several tools.

1) A folder to keep your batch separate and numbered.2) Vendor Contact List – see Chapter 1 for instructions to print this and

a Sample.3) Chart of Accounts – To print this go to General Ledger/ List Chart of

Accounts. A sample is at the end of this Chapter.

Click on List Chart of Accounts

Hit enter twice and then you will see:

Click YES and then when the report generator pops up, click on NEXT and this report will open. Example is enclosed in this chapter.

4) Address Lists – these can be found on the X drive - (X:\Tampa\Accts Payable - Invoices, Insurance, Vendor Files\Addresses) This will need to be updated when new communities start. See the Senior Finance or your direct supervisor for updates. This report will tell you the building number, unit/lot number and the size of the lot. For example in Harmony there are three sizes Har20- Townhouses, Har30- Townhouses and Harm1- single family homes.

5) X:\Tampa\Construction\Production Checklists – This will tell you if it is a construction trailer, among other things. (Code 14800). If it is not on your visibility report, it will be here.

6) Visibility Report – You should get this in email once a week as it is updated. However, at any time you can go here and print it. X:\Tampa\Visibility Reports

7) Activity List – Go to Job Cost/ Other Standards Sub Menu/

Then chose List Activities

Leave Blank and Click on Next

A sample of this report is at the end of this book.

8) Print Journal Distribution Report – This will be used during coding the least frequently but you will use it to research things that are not New Construction Lot related. To get to this report go to- General Ledger/ Print Journal Distributions

Click on Print Journal Distributions and when this screen pops up, hit enter.

When you see this screen, click YES

When the report generator pops up you will see this. Fill in all the information you can

Click Next and you will get this

You do not need to print this report. This report can tell you what something has been coded to before, among other things. Another way to see what things were coded to before is to go directly to the old invoices. You can do that two ways. 1) Purchase Journals - X:\Tampa\Accts Payable - Invoices,

Insurance, Vendor Files\Purchase Journals2) Physical Files.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF CODING YOUR DIRECT SUPERVISOR IS THE FIRST AND BEST PLACE TO GET ANSWERS.

Invoices and Coding

Once you have all your tools at hand begin to code the invoices.

On the batch stamp you will need to fill out different spaces depending on what you are coding.

If you are coding for Sales/Marketing you only need to put the vendor number. The Sales/Marketing Manager will write the code and decide if and where the invoice splits. You will only put the division if it is obvious. Sales often splits the invoice over divisions.

If you are coding Utilities you will complete almost all spaces.

See attached for samples at end of this chapter.

Vendor # - Found in Vendor Contact List

Account # - Found in Chart of Accounts

Project/Lot/Building – This is found in the address lists and is based on the address on the invoice.

If you are coding New Construction for Models/Sales Centers and permitting (14300), you will need the Activity list.

And of course Approval will be signed by the designated person listed under Contacts. Invoices need to be approved before you enter them into FAST with the EXCEPTION OF UTILITIES. YOU CAN ENTER UTILITIES AND THEN GIVE TO YOUR DIRECT SUPERVISOR FOR APPROVAL. YOU CAN ALSO POST UTILITY BATCHES BEFORE GETTING APPROVAL.

You will need to do this due to the high priority and the frequency of the check runs for utilities.

There are several different types of invoices that you will work with. At the end of this chapter are a few examples.

Utility – There are 4 accounts for Utilities

14815- If the home is:

Under Construction

Sold but not Closed

Completely Sold

14800 – Construction Trailer*

62110 – Sales Centers and Models

64100 – Completed but not sold

The information for these will come from the Visibility report. From the address printed on the invoice you will go to the address report for that community and find the building and lot/unit number. In the example I have at the end of this chapter, the address is 12357 Trailhead – That is in the Harmony community. On the address

report it is BLD 3 Unit 15. This is also listed as Har20 Townhouse. Once you know if it is Harm1, Har20, Har30..etc it is a good idea to put like types together before using the visibility report. This will help when you enter them into FAST as well.

*Construction trailers can be confirmed with this report: X:\Tampa\Construction\Production Checklists

On the visibility report go to Har20 tab and find the building and lot numbers. You will look at three columns on this report; Buyers, Actual complete and Home Closed. For the invoice in our example the home is sold and completed but not closed. The code for this invoice is 14815, which is the most common code you will use.

You will create the invoice numbers for these. Use the last 4-5 numbers in the account number and the month and year. Never start with a 0. Only use letters if they are not INV, but for credits you can use CM. Do not use dashes. Always be very consistent on how you create invoice numbers. Never create an invoice number if one is provided by the vendor.

Other examples at the end of this guide include:

Check Requests – There are two types that you will see the most often. You create the invoice numbers for these. See example.

1) Customer refunds - you will always need to contact corporate for a vendor ID for these.

2) Permits – The operations coordinator will need checks for Permit drops, impact fees and other types of things before a home is even started. These are as high a priority as Utility Bills.

Warranty – These will come from the warranty department with an approved purchase order attached. If the vendor sends it you to without the Purchase order, reply back and request it or go to the warranty department to request it. Usually accompanied by an invoice from the vendor.

Back Charges – Usually accompany a Warranty. These are back charging the vendor that caused the issue to need the warranty. You will create the invoice number for these. The invoice number for Back Charges is always the PO number with BC at the end.

New Construction – Models and Houses. (Think about it this way, if you can live in it then the code to use is 14300). However, New construction homes will or should always have a PO number and you should not even see those invoices. You will get new construction invoices for Models and use the activity report to help you code them.

New Construction - SALES CENTERS ONLY – 16175 – This is pre-paid Sales center. For building them and covering the cost of starting them up. You will only see these for Sales Centers in new communities. REMEMBER – NEW HOUSES TO SELL SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE A PO NUMBER AND YOU DO NOT PAY THOSE.

Coding is something you will learn as you go and use the tools mentioned earlier. Most of it is logical, but any questions about which codes to use should go to your direct Supervisor.

Entering Invoices into FAST

To enter invoices into FAST:

Go to Accounts Payable

Click on Enter Invoices

Click in the first box and then hit F2

Enter the community that you are working on (MSA, MTP, NAP), then hit enter until the confirmation box pops up and then click OK.

The screenshot above shows the middle section of the entry screen.

Here is where you will enter your information.

SEQ – tell the sequence (number of invoices entered)

PO – If you have a PO number enter it here. For invoices with a PO number you will simply (but slowly) hit enter all the way through. The only thing you may need to change is the date(s). If no PO hit enter and move to next box.

PAY DIV – Here is where you will enter your description. For utilities you will enter the address. For Expense Reports, Rentals or invoices billing for a time period, that are not specific to one lot you will enter a date range. For all others you will describe what you are paying. You have 24 spaces to use. For example if you are paying for Impact Fees for Forest Lakes you might type: FORLK Impact Fees. Keep it simple and short.

Vendor – Enter the vendor ID number

Invoice – Enter the Invoice number. ALWAYS USE THE INVOICE NUMBER PROVIDED BY THE VENDOR IF PROVIDED.

For Check Requests of any kind you will need to create the invoice number. BE CONSISTENT. For example: You are entering a check request for Permit pick up for Triple creek lot 11B. You will want to include the number of the lot and the community. There are examples at the end of this guide. But it may look like this for pick up TC11PermP or maybe it is dropping off a permit TC11PermD. We use capital letters for the start of each new word or letter representing a word. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO STAY CONSISTENT SO YOU CAN FIND THESE IN THE SYSTEM LATER.

Utility bills - you will use the last 5 numbers of the account number, the month and year (acct# 12345-67890 – INV# 678901116). Some utilities you will use the last five numbers of the meter number.

Expense Reports – Use the date they are submitting for.

INV Date – Date of the invoice provided by vendor. This can be changed, see Tips and Tricks.

Pay Date – This is the date you want the check to cut. You can leave it the way it auto loads if you are satisfied with the date or you can change it. If you have a check run on the 8th for Utilities and Permits you will want to change this date to the 8th. But if it is for a regular check run, say the 25th and the date auto loads to the 22nd or anything

on or before the 25th, you can just leave it. THE PAY DATE AND DISC DUE MUST BE THE SAME.

Apply To – This will auto fill to match the invoice number you entered. This can be changed if you are doing a correction.

Disc Date – This must match the Pay date or the check will not release.

Invoice Total - Amount you are Paying.

Discount – If you see a discount is allowed on the face of the invoice you put the percentage here.

Separate Checks – You will change this to y if doing check requests , permits or anything that you want to make sure the check is stand alone. Otherwise if left blank everything with the same vendor number will go on one check.

Enter through slowly until you see this,

Click okay if all your information is correct. This will bring you to the third section of the screen.

For this example we used this invoice.

Take a moment to compare the invoice to the screen shots.

Once you complete the entry you can either hit F3 or simply click back on the top of the second section to continue and enter your next invoice.

Once you have entered at least 50 invoices into a batch, you should STOP. Since you have to scan each batch, you want to keep them at a manageable size. 50 is good and since you have back up with it, your scanned batch will be over 100 pages. You will scan your batch with a Purchase Journal.

Run a tape to make sure that the invoices you entered match the amount the system has on the Purchase Journal you are about to run.

Purchase Journal

To run a Purchase Journal:

In FAST go to:

Accounts Payable/ Purchase Journal

Click on Purchases Journal. Enter your batch number.

Click Next and your Purchase Journal will appear.

Go to the last page to see the total and to make sure there are no errors.

In this example you can see there is an error. Go back through all the pages until you find the entry that says ****OUT OF BALANCE*****. You can see it easily in this example because I entered an error on the last entry.

Go back to your batch and correct your error and run the Purchase Journal until you do not have an error as the first example shows. Print your Journal and make sure it is 1 sided.

Run a tape with your actual invoices to make sure the invoices in your folder equal the same dollar amount as your Purchase Journal. If they do not, reconcile and repeat until balanced.

Once you have confirmed the batch is good, bring to Supervisor to approve. Your completed batches must be approved before you can post them. You already have approval from each department to enter them, but you cannot post them until your Supervisor checks your coding. This should be temporary until you can do this completely on your own.

Make sure you are giving enough time to get them back and posted for your check run. Check runs are on the 10th and 25th of each month and then on alternating Fridays in between for Utility and Permit only. Utility and Permits can be on any run, but you get two extra runs a month for those due to the importance of them.

Posting and Cash Requirements

Once you get your batch back approved and have made all the corrections necessary you can Post your batch.

To Post a batch go to:

Accounts Payable/ Post Purchases

Click on Post Purchases and this screen will pop up.

Our example shows the error that was in the batch. If you see this, you still need to go back and correct it.

Here is what you should see and there could be several lines filled.

Here you can see the division, the batch number the post year, post month, the operator that entered the invoices, confirmation that the journal printed and balanced and finally an N that you will change to a y. The y must be lower case.

After you enter the y, hit enter and then click on the Red Sneakers on the top tool bar.

Now that you have posted your batch, make sure to enter the information on the Current Open Batches Report. This is more for your use than anything. It will help you track your batches and the posted amounts. I found it very helpful.

But, this is your job now and this tool is not a requirement. You should make adjustments wherever you can once you are confident. I would wait 90 days before making any changes.

Here is what this report looks like:

After the batch is printed, scanned and posted you can save it on the X drive at

X:\Tampa\Accts Payable - Invoices, Insurance, Vendor Files\Purchase Journals – save as you see the others are done.

Batch information should be sent to corporate 1-2 days before the scheduled check run. I usually paste the open batch report to my email or attach it. But I also list the batches for corporate. EX: MSA -2604 , MTP – 2605 and I will let corporate know that this is for the check run or this is for the utility run.

If this is for a Utility Run then just sending to corporate is enough. If this is for a check run, you need to do Cash Requirements.

For Cash Requirements go to:

Open the Cash Requirements folder

Click on Cash Requirements Report

Click on Cash Requirements Report and see this:

You will run this report for each division that you are expecting checks for. As you can see by this report that was done for the 11/25/2016 check run, there are only 5 boxes that you fill in. First set of boxes you will enter the current check run date, in this case 11/25/2016 and in the next two you will enter the next two check run dates.

For the second set of boxes you enter this check run date 11/25/2016 and then the next one only 12/10/2016. Remember official check runs are on the 10th and 25th of each month. DO NOT DO CASH REQUIREMENTS FOR UTILITY RUNS.

After entering your dates, click (slowly) enter until you see this next screen:

For this example I used SUN. You don’t fill anything else out. On the bottom of the screen click Next.

Here is what you will see.

There are 3 columns with dates to the right, you will need the total of the first one under the column with the date of this current check run.

Save this report to Cash Requirements which can be found here: X:\Tampa\Accts Payable - Invoices, Insurance, Vendor Files\Cash Requirements as an Adobe PDF file to the correct month. To save, click print and select Adobe PDF.

Save in this format:

Once you have it saved, email it first to whoever has been designated to receive it to approve and then forward it to your corporate accounts payable contact.

You will tell corporate what batches you have for the check run in a separate email.

Example email for approval:

Note the subject line should include the division, date and amount. And then just forward the same email to your corporate contact for check runs.

At this point it would be a good idea to organize your invoices in alphabetical order. Keep the divisions separate, you will file them separately. Go through and take all remittances (including making copies for vendors such as CIGNA OR LINA) and put them in the remittance folder for mailing.

CHECK RUN DAY-

LIEN RELEASES

The check run is the day your checks arrive. This is a busy day so organizing is a must.

In the morning you will get an email from your corporate contact (or you can just check) to let you know the backup is on the X drive. This means you can print your Lien Releases and send them out.

Go to: X:\Tampa\Accts Payable - Invoices, Insurance, Vendor Files

Click on any Lien Release folder that you know you had a batch for.

Open this folder

Open the most recent PDF; it should correspond with your check run date.

Print the Lien Releases and repeat steps for all divisions that you entered into FAST for.

Once you have them all printed put them in separate piles for NAP, MSA, MTP, SUN and any other divisions you have.

Go through each pile (they printed alphabetically) and put same name together so you fax all divisions for each vendor into one PDF. You can simply do this as you scan them to yourself (email).

**Once you have emailed all to yourself, toss the releases in the trash.**

If you can find a way to do this without printing and making more work for yourself , please do. This method wastes paper. However you can’t send each vendor 2 or 3 Lien Release emails, it is too much work for you and them.

Make sure the vendors name is in the subject of the email. This will make your job easier later.

Email all the releases out to the vendors and make sure to put all the sent releases into an email folder for use later.

As the releases start to come in through email save them to the X drive in the same place you got them. Then the folder that you

saved your sent releases, go delete that one from the folder. This helps you track who is sending them back.

You will also receive releases in the regular mail. You do not need to scan them, just file them. But you do still need to delete them out of your sent lien releases folder.

After a week whoever did not send you a release should get a second request email. Let them know the next check date and that you need that release before that date or you cannot mail their check. DO NOT MAIL A CHECK IF YOU HAVE OUTSTANDING LIEN RELEASES.

At some point in the morning your checks will arrive. Go through them and put like vendors together. If you have some that you know have to go out that day without fail, put those in a separate pile to let Tim know that you need those first. That way if anything happens and all the checks can’t be signed, you will at least have the high priority ones.

While Tim is signing checks you will be working on your Lien Releases.

When the checks come back you can stuff and mail them out. DO NOT FORGET YOUR REMITTANCES.

CHECK EACH REMITTANCE TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL THE BACK UP. CORPORATE SENDS BACK UP WITH THE CHECKS. MAKE SURE

YOU PUT THAT IN WITH THE CHECK YOU ARE MAILING. MAKE SURE THE CHECK AND THE REMITTANCES EQUAL. RUN A TAPE IF NEEDED.

Once the mail has gone out, BREATHE.

After you breathe, file all your hard work into the appropriate files for the divisions.

HAND CHECKS

Regular Payments

Payments with POS

VOIDING CHECKS

REVERSING PAYMENTS

There will be times when you will be required to enter a hand check. These are usually for urgent payments or corrections.

To enter hand checks go to:

Click on Hand Check Sub Menu:

Click on Enter Hand Checks.

When the screen opens place the cursor in the first box and hit F2. Then enter the division for you hand check. EX: MSA, MTP..etc.

Enter through the top section until you get to the second and the Division box. For now, the Division is always 01. As you enter the screen will auto-fill.

Make sure the Check type is h for hand checks. Add the check number, date, amount, vendor ID and reason or description.

Hit enter.

You will see this box. Make sure your information is correct and click OK.

For a regular hand check you will only fill these boxes and you may not even need to fill them all. Depending on your GL , the system will guide you.

When completed you will do a Disbursement Journal instead of a Purchase Journal:

Click on Disbursements Journal:

Click Next and complete the same steps as you would for a Purchase Journal. All the screens are the same. Save as you would a Purchase Journal EXCEPT you want to put HC to indicate the difference.

Post by clicking on Post Checks

Follow the same procedure as you would for regular entries.

HAND CHECKS WITH PO NUMBERS

The land department will sometimes need a hand-check and they use PO numbers. Some PO numbers are created by the land department and are very easy to enter. When they are used on hand checks you just have to add an extra step.

First create a regular batch as you would for normal entries. This batch will be for only the Hand Checks with PO numbers that you are entering.

When entering a PO, you simply put in the PO number and enter through, most of the information will Auto fill.

After you enter your information into the regular batch, do your Purchase Journal and Post the batch.

Then you can go to Hand Checks and enter it there. The difference when you have a PO is that when you get to the bottom (Third Section) you will double click on the Apply To

Then click on Invoice.

This will bring up a list of PO numbers. In this case the invoice number is already showing. This is just so you can make sure your invoice is there. It should be because you entered it in a regular batch and posted that batch.

Once you confirm your invoice is there, F3 to go back to the Apply to…the system will autofill the information you need.

Do your Distribution Journal and Post your check to complete.

VOIDING A CHECK

To void a check you will go to Hand Checks and begin the batch as you would for any Hand Check.

BUT…You will put a V where the H was.

The system will guide you through the steps to put in the check number you are voiding. Simply follow the steps as guided, do the Disbursement Journal and Post Checks. If you stop here the check will regenerate and be released on the next check run.

VOIDING A CHECK AND REVERSING SO IT WILL NOT RELEASE AGAIN.

To void a check that you do not want to release again, follow the steps to void a check. Then go into a regular batch and create a batch with today’s date. Enter your information to reverse.

Note the Invoice, pay and Disc dates are all today’s (same day) date. You want to do this because this is a correction that you want to all wash the day you do it. Also, not the dollar amount is a <credit>

After you enter all the info, Purchase Journal , Post and Save.

To make sure this worked go to Edit Invoice Pay Status

For this example click where the highlighted box is. Once you are comfortable you can use any box. Each one will present the

information differently , but it is all the same information. This is just a matter of preference.

Click the first box and hit F10

Enter the Company (community), Division (01) and the Alpha and numeric information for the vendor you fixed. Hit Enter and if your correction took, you will not see your vendor information there. However, if what you were trying to fix shows up, something is wrong. Since I am not here to help, you will need to contact Constellation for assistance.

TIPS AND TRICKS

1. HOW DO YOU FIND OUT IF AN INVOICE THAT HAS A PO HAS BEEN PAID? – Best reports in the universe:

For Non jobs – General Ledger/Print Journal Distributions – enter info-this report shows payments that have been made in your requested range and dates. Also the Check number is there!

Another one is: For Jobs; - Job Cost/Historical Job cost – enter information - you can even get the PO on this report. This one shows the batch number, date paid, check number, invoice number and amounts as well as the account it was paid to.

If you have a PO number then you can just go to PO Inquiry.

2. AFTER LEAVING A BATCH AND THEN UPON GOING BACK IN…IS THERE A WAY TO SKIP STRAIGHT TO THE SEQUENCE NUMBER YOU WANT OR DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO SCROLL THROUGH? – Yes!!! F10 and then type the number you want.

3. When Coding and you are unsure of the unit or no specific lot is mentioned – for MTP – use TRPCR ---for Harmony – use Harm1 ---For Naples – use Com40 ---For Renaissance – use Ren50.

4. To put a vendor or just a payment or PO'S on hold – we can go to Master file sub menu/enter vendors.

5. Go to Accounts Payable/enter Invoice Pay status by vendor parent alpha- here you can change pay dates and place on hold.

6. Reversing an invoice – it won’t matter if you take out a number or letter and put the R on the end. Because in the Apply to box you should always use the original number anyway. That is the space that will reverse the check. The invoice number space is for our own reference. If the Apply to doesn’t match the invoice you are trying to reverse then it will not work.

7. Some screens won’t let you out….click on ESC or F3

8. Edit Invoice pay status is where you can look to see if an invoice is hanging out there. You can also change the release date or put the check on hold here.

9. When Entering many items on the bottom third of the screen, you should press F4 after you complete to see if it balances. So enter you last dollar amount, enter , enter, F4…the screen will change and show you if there is a difference. F3 will get you back to your screen.

Sample Invoices

Sample Reports