New Verify Files Page!

With 2016’s Q2 upload coming to an end, many of you have likely familiarized yourselves with the updates made to our Verify Files page!  These enhancements were made primarily to better accommodate our eBill and PSM (print and mail) clients.

 The look and feel of the page has been completely updated. Columns are now sortable as well as searchable.  All files, if you’ve noticed, are now listed using a year range i.e. 2014 – 2015, 2013 – 2014. You will no longer need to select a file/bill type.  You are now be able to search for a file using a Search field.  This ‘smart’ Search field has the ability to search for any “word” on the verification page, i.e. name, number, file extension, etc.  If a sample bill or PDF happens to be incorrect, rather than rejecting the one sample, users are now asked to reject the entire file.   Lastly, when rejecting a sample bill or PDF, users are required to enter comments which will be sent to MCC Support.  This way, our Processing and It Departments can more easily review the issue in a timely manner.

 To all of our PSM (Print & Mail) clients, you’ll notice that PDF samples, along with online bill samples, are still verified online, but that you are no longer required to reply/respond to our verification email ‘approving the PDF samples for print and mail.’  We’ve provided a Print Summary, which contains information regarding your “print job” i.e. PDF count, paper color, multi-merge options, lock box setup, etc.   This is now available online, and must be reviewed and verified by you.

A friendly reminder to all of our clients!  We strongly recommend utilizing one of the following web browsers to complete all of your online tasks:  Internet Explorer 11.0, GoogleChrome, or Mozilla Firefox.  Additionally, whichever one of these browsers you happen to be working in, please ensure it is the most update version.  This allows the software to run smoothly and without delay at all times.

 If you have any questions or would like assistance verifying your file(s), please give us a call at 508-460-6000.  We’re always here to help!

 

New Transactions & Reconciliation Page!

We are excited to announce that the third release for eSchool took place on Thursday, September 17th!  In this release, Transactions and Reconciliation has been given a new look and feel, as well as new features that I’m sure some of you have already become accustomed to, what with the busy start to the School year already underway!

TRANSACTIONS

 To use color or not to use color?  That has been the question for many years now.  After hearing a lot of feedback from users, we have decided to remove the red and green coloring, and add a debit and credit column to the page.  We hope you find this approach much cleaner and intuitive.

We have removed the “totaling” options from Transactions because we encourage users to obtain totals from the new Fee/Registration Payment report, as this reporting tool you can see now provides more accurate totals.  The Transaction page should mainly be used to record payments, such as check and cash.

 RECONCILATION

 We have updated the way you interact and generate reports using Reconciliation. We have also added some new features that many of you have requested.

You can now create reconciliation reports that include Check and Cash payments.  Going forward, it is our recommendation that you use this report and not the Transaction page to generate reports for check and cash payments for reconciliation purposes. 

We have added more information to this page, such as Student ID, Student Name, etc.  Using the Show/Hide feature, you can now choose to display or hide the data from the report.  Additionally, you can use the ‘Search’ feature to easily locate a payment by typing in an ACH ID, dollar amount or name.

As always, if you need additional help, please let us know and we would be more than happy to schedule a time to walk you through the new features!

 

“Live Help!”

MCC is thrilled to announce our new “Live Help” feature!  Your residents now have the option to “chat” online with one of our friendly and knowledgeable Customer Support Representatives.

Here at MCC, we are dedicated to customer support and the customer experience. MCC employs devoted staff for the purpose of providing support to the Municipality and the Municipality’s residents. Questions are responded to in a timely manner with patience, kindness and understanding.

How can a resident begin a “live” chat with Support?  Live Help can be found on most MCC pages.   Simply look for the green box located at the top of the screen labeled “Live Help.”  Live Help will be available during MCC’s normal Support hours.   However, when we are unavailable, the chat box will still be available, and submitted questions will be emailed to support@mcc.net.   A response will then be sent back via email.

Just wait…there’s more to follow!  Currently, “Live Help” is available for residents only. Within the next couple of weeks, it will also be made available to you!  Additionally, we will soon be offering Co-Browsing.  ‘Co-browsing’ is a screen-sharing tool that helps our MCC Support Representatives to view and control a user’s browser window. Co-browsing will not be allowed unless authorized by the user, and an MCC Representative will only be able to view the user’s eBill account. 

As always, for any questions regarding our new “Live Help!” feature, or for any questions about what is up and coming, please feel free to contact our Support Staff directly! 

Going Paperless with MCC—The “Opt-Out” Report

We at MCC want to do everything we can to encourage “going green,” and our ‘paperless’ feature encourages just that!

Those Billers that currently utilize our Bill Presentment feature (upload PDF bill copies to your eBill account) have the ability to offer a paperless option to their payers. Directly from their eBill account with a simple click, bill payers can select to “opt-out” of receiving a mailed paper bill. More specifically, they can opt-out per individual bill type within their account, i.e. they can choose to continue to receive a mailed copy of their Real Estate tax bill, but “opt-out” of their Motor-Vehicle bill, if this is their preferred selection.
Can you, the Biller, keep track of these payers that have ‘opted-out?’ Absolutely! That is one of the reasons why we have created our ‘Opt-Out Report’ located under “Bill Presentment.” Here, you will find a customizable report displaying precise details which includes each bill payer’s name that has opted-out, the ‘File Type’ (i.e. Real Estate, Motor-Vehicle, etc.), a unique identifier to that File Type (for example: if Real Estate, it would include the Property ID), the date the bill payer chose to ‘opt-out’ as well as a status set to “Paperless.” This report, in its organized and customized fashion, can then be passed along to your printer, so it saves you, the Biller, from having to print bills for those who have ‘opt-ed out!’ If you happen to be a client who prints/mails with us here at MCC, we take care of this step entirely for you—this information is processed by MCC before it is printed!
For additional information on utilizing our ‘Opt-Out’ report and going ‘paperless,’ please refer to our “Help” section.

“Modifying a File’s Cut-off Date”

Happy New Year, all!

For some, this wasn’t your first ball game in uploading all of your files amongst the Holiday madness!  For others, it was your first time utilizing our services!  Welcome aboard!

As all of you (hopefully) take a deep *sigh* of relief and relaxation now that your bills are online and in mailboxes, we’d like to take this opportunity to address a frequently asked question:  Can I give tax payers MORE time to pay their bills?  Can I change a file’s cut-off date, even though I’ve already selected one and it’s visible online to our payers?

Yes, you can!  And here’s how:

Sign into your eBill account and select “Bill Presentment” followed by “Modify File.”  Once you are taken to this feature, you will be able to edit the sections accordingly – “File Area” (i.e. Municipal Tax) and “File to Change/Search” (i.e. 2015/Q3 – Real Estate).  Once the desired file has been selected, simply modify your cut-off date & time in the box displayed, and lastly click “Change Cut-off.”  You will be given confirmation that your changes have been saved!

You’re good to go!  You will now see this newly-edited cut-off date within your eBill account, and this will be the cut-off date currently displayed online for all bill payers within that bill file!

 

eBill Payment History

Learning what tools and features are available to the Bill Payer are just as important are knowing the tools available to you, the Biller!

One of the most vital pieces of information a Bill Payer can view under their eBill account is record of all online payments made within their account.  The Payment History displays all details associated with each specific payment—bill type, date, amount, payment method, used, etc.—but they also have the ability to track their processing dates!  This is located in a section titled “Additional Bill Information.”

The Payment History page initially shows limited details, an abbreviated version of each payment(s), if you will.  To the left of each payment displayed is a “+” icon—this can be clicked to now display their “Additional Bill Information” section!  In this section, their payment dates will update as their payment processes.  There are 6 dates total:  Submitted, Scheduled, Processed, Accepted, Received, and Biller Posted.  Their payment status also displays clearly here as either “Success,” “Pending” or “Failed.”  Once this payment has been completely processed, it will remain with all dates “filled,” as well as a final payment status, so that the Payer can go back into their Payment History to view these details at any time.

Our Payment History feature allows for easy tracking of all payments!

“Editing of Your eBill Account Contacts”

Personalization of your account contacts is an important element, as well those who need to receive all essential email types:  “Admin, Misc, Proc, and Tech.”

The “Admin Settings” section of your eBill account allows you to modify all of your account contacts!  A new hire may be added, a retiree deleted, without delay!

Simply select the “Settings” feature in the top right-hand corner of your account home page, and make note of the “Edit/User Contact” tab.  There, you will see that MCC’s unique design organizes all eBill contacts, including “title,” email, phone number, and email types to be received, all in one place!  This information can be edited at any time, by anyone who has access to your eBill login information (client ID, Username, Password).    Ready, set, customize!

“Using the Task Manger for Verification”

How many of you log into your eBill account and overlook that handy Task Manager on the Home Page that we have operating ever-so reliably?

Well, here’s a friendly reminder!  The Task Manager is an excellent way to keep track of “tasks” that have been or need to be completed.  For example, the task to verify your files.  While our system emails verification confirmations/requests to processing contacts listed under your eBill account, there’s always circumstances such as: “Verification emails are usually sent to me, but I am going on vacation and _______ won’t have access to my emails!”  What then?

Not only does the Task Manager confirm what has been successfully verified, and flash brightly in red “NOT COMPLETE!” when un-verified, but those un-verified files within the Task Manager also act as links to the File Verification page, the very same link sent via email!  Simply click the “Verify file” link in blue under “Type” and you’ll be taken immediately to the Verify Files page.

Now Introducing AUTO PAY!

Welcome to MCC’s newest way to pay Municipal bills!  Our “Auto pay” feature, available now, is a convenient way in which residents/bill payers can make automatic payments to a Municipality using an e-check (ACH) or debit/credit card each time a bill is due.  Directly from their eBill account, residents can setup auto payments, control when their payments are processed (days prior to the due date), as well as set a desired ‘Max Payment’ amount.

How do I, the Municipality, begin offering Auto Pay to my residents?

To sign up for Auto Pay, please respond to our sign-up email to being the process.  Additionally, feel free to contact our Support staff at 508-460-6000 x601 or support@mcc.net and we would be more than happy to provide additional information, as well as begin the sign-up process!

Once this has been completed, how can residents sign up for Auto Pay, you ask?  It’s easy!

Within the residents eBill account, they can sign up for Auto Pay and when the auto payments should be made (however many days preferred prior to the online cut-off date), and set a ‘Max Payment’ amount.  Max payment allows a resident to set an exact “max payment amount” for their bill.  For example, if a resident were to set a max payment amount for their real estate tax bill of $2,000 and one installment their bill amount is $2,500, MCC will simply notify them via email that their bill happened to be more than expected, and the resident can then choose whether to continue with the auto payment.

Auto Pay is a fantastic step towards payment efficiency from your residents.  Contact MCC today to get started!

New Fee Emails

We are often asked the question, when do emails go out for New Fees? The answer is simple. New Fee emails are sent at the time the Fee is made available. This means that an email is sent to anyone who has an eSchool account at the time the fee is created for them.

If a student is added at a later time to the Fee, they will not receive an email but if we have their email address they will be included in any emails that you send from the new Fee Payment area.