2024 MS-1 Report Latest Info

As we communicated to you last week, we had been told there would be no changes to the required information or the file format for the 2024 MS-1, but we were still waiting to hear if any of the approved utility companies had changed. Since then, we received word that there is only one change to the approved utilities for 2024: “Squam River Hydro in Ashland will not be on the list for this year for utilities.”

As Ashland is not an Avitar town, we feel pretty confident saying that all of you should now be able to submit your MS-1 once you have coordinated with your assessor.

If you have questions about the process, we recommend that you refer to the previous post as it includes many helpful links. If you still have questions, contact Software Support.

Thanks.

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APRO/IAPRO Change

Recently, the Municipal Agent Helpdesk sent an email about updates to the registration specifications for apportioned plates (APRO/IAPRO). The International Registration Plan (IRP) has introduced a new program that will be implemented by the State of NH starting August 12, 2024. All apportioned vehicles with an APRO or IAPRO plate will now have a maximum registration period of 12 months. Cities and towns will now be able to issue new apportioned plate registrations ranging from 1 to 4 months. You might be wondering how this change will affect your Avitar Clerk program.

Our current version of Clerk (version 3.5.1 or higher) is already equipped to handle 1-4 month new registrations for APRO/IAPRO plates. To implement this change in the Clerk software, we will be calling your office over the next few days to run a script. In the meantime, if you encounter a new registration for an apportioned plate type before we reach your town on our call list, please contact us so we can implement the necessary changes to enable you to process the new registration. This change to apportioned plates applies only to new registrations, not to renewals or transfers.

We expect to complete this update within a week, but it may take a bit longer due to varying office hours in some towns. Again, if you have a new apportioned vehicle that needs to be registered and we haven’t reached your town yet, please call us so we can promptly run the script.

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2024 MS-1 Report

That time of year again, and as in recent years the DRA has made no changes to the MS-1 Report file specification for 2024. That said, we are still waiting to hear back from the folks in charge whether there will be any changes to the list of approved utility companies. Here’s what that means for you going forward:

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Lien Execution Deadline Approaching

With the first-issue tax season rush tapering off, we thought this would be a good time to remind those of you who have not already executed your liens for your unpaid prior year invoices, that the September 30th Lien Execution deadline is approaching.

Below is a brief description for Lien Notices and Execution as well as the RSAs that govern each process. For details on how to complete the steps in Avitar Tax Collect, select the link provided in each of the descriptions.

Lien Notice (RSA 80:59 and 80:60): A lien notice must be sent certified mail to every owner who has not paid their prior year taxes in full. This notice must be sent at least 30 days prior to the execution of the lien. Keep in mind that the lien must be executed by September 30th each year, so the last day to mail a lien notice would be August 30th. Follow the link for more information on how to generate Lien Notices.

Execute Lien (RSA 80:61, 80:63, 80:64): Prior to the execution of the lien, a lien notice is sent to the owner and the notice must indicate the date by which the owner has to pay his outstanding invoices to avoid liening. On the execution day, or the next day, you will execute the liens for taxpayers who did not pay their outstanding invoices in full. Follow the link for more information on how to Execute a Lien.

  • NOTE: Once you have executed your lien, you will need to send a report of each liened account to your mortgagee researcher. They will search the registry to find any mortgagees, which will need to be notified of the lien you have placed on the property. Follow the link for more information on how to generate the Lien Execution Title Search Report.
  • NOTE: Remember to send your Lien Execution Report to the Registry within 30 days of executing, per RSA 80:64.

As always, we encourage you to bookmark our online documentation page, as well as our Collect FAQs page, and check back often as we are continually updating.

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Boat Registration FAQs

As the weather is getting nicer, boats are being registered, and we are getting more calls for assistance. Below are a few of the most commonly asked questions by Municipal Boat Agents regarding boat registrations, along with their respective answers.

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New Download Location for MS-61 PDF for Those With June 30 Fiscal Year

We recently discovered that the Department of Revenue Administration’s (DRA) website from which you download the fillable PDF for importing your MS-61 has changed. Consequently, if you click on the link to “Get the Latest PDF from DRA…” within the Avitar Collect software you will be taken to a “page not found” message and you will not be able to download the latest MS-61 form.

For those of you who use June 30 as your Fiscal Year, you can use the following link to get the latest PDF from DRA, so you can subsequently import your information. Note: if your Fiscal Year is from January 1st to December 31st you do not need to worry about this.

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Edit Book & Page for Lien & Lien Redemption

Whether you need to record the book and page number values for your Lien or Lien Redemption, the Edit Book & Page function allows you to not only add those values to a single invoice, but you can add them for a set of multiple invoices – and do so fairly quickly.

Keeping with the theme of reduce, reuse, recycle, the links below will assist you in adding the Book & Page number values:

As always, we encourage you to bookmark our online documentation page, link and check back often as we are continually updating.

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Informational Pop-Ups in Clerk

We receive many calls for assistance regarding which option to choose for fields such as Purchased Date, Body Style, Make, List Price, etc. when processing a title and/or registration. Did you know that there are Informational Pop-Ups within the Clerk software to assist you in determining what to use?

To assist you in making the correct choice, simply click on the label and an informational pop-up message will display. For a list of labels that have this functionality, please follow this link: Informational Pop-Up Windows in Clerk (2022 blog post).

As always, we encourage you to continue to take advantage of the immense wealth of information at your fingertips within our online documentation.

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Upcoming Fiscal Period Close for Those with Optional June 30 Fiscal Year End

Remember that the Avitar Tax Collect system has a hard fiscal year end close, which means you cannot process work in the next fiscal year until the previous fiscal year has been closed. So in preparation for the end of June, we recommend that those of you who use June 30 as your Fiscal Year End follow the links below for guidance on what to plan for and expect.

While some of these are from previous years, the information about the process is all still applicable. Please remember when utilizing our online documentation, blog posts, and FAQs for your June 30th Year End process, you will need to swap out the fiscal year dates of January 1 – December 31 for July 1 – June 30.

As always, we encourage you to bookmark our online documentation page and check back often as we are continually updating.

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Upload Dog Invoices to Invoice Cloud Reminder

With dog licensing late fees coming into effect on June 1st, we thought this would be an opportune time to remind you to update dog invoices to your Invoice Cloud portal for online payment.

Avitar Clerk is programmed to include the $1.00 late fee for unlicensed dogs on the first of each month, beginning on June 1st. However, Invoice Cloud will only include the late fee if you upload that information to your online portal. So, to avoid errors in your online batches, you will need to upload dog invoices more frequently.

For more information on the how and when to upload, please follow the links:

Remember you can view our Clerk FAQs by clicking the FAQ icon on the left side of the Clerk program screen. While you’re there, bookmark the page and check back often as we are continually updating.

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