Revs and Bens Products
Telephone: 08701 631800
Email: Council Tax
Council Tax provides Revenues Departments with the power to control the billing, administration and recovery functions through highly sophisticated set of modules designed by revenues practitioners with efficiency and ease of use as key drivers. It offers a high degree of integration with the Benefits system for use either where generic working is in place or whereby separate functions are operating each service. The user interface is highly flexible with clear icons used and drag and drop type functionality enabling users to easily configure the system to best suit their means of working and to sit ideally alongside other systems in use.
System amendments can be processed with the minimal amount of user input as business logic takes the user through a series of logical steps to complete what could otherwise often be complex, time consuming tasks.
Summary of main features
The system allows customer accounts to be transferred with them when they move property within an authority's area. This provides a full detailed history whilst logically categorising data by property and financial year enabling debts to be clearly identified. It assigns taxpayers with a unique reference number that is portable should they move anywhere within the authority’s area.
Users of the application are able to respond to enquiries quickly and effectively with access to key information. The option for performing ‘what if’ calculations is provided so a taxpayer can be informed what their balance would be if they were to move on a particular date.
All system-generated documentation can be customised easily online via the document templating facility. Bills and notices can be created online and copies of all documents issued to the ratepayer can be viewed and reprinted as required.
The Streetwise module permits outside inspectors to work effectively real-time through tailored applications enabling Property Inspections, for example, to be monitored and updated remotely with VO Notifications being requested or a change of occupier being captured and fed back automatically.
An optional system setting allows the user to automatically cease (or suspend) council tax benefit when an account vacation transaction is performed. Other changes to liability, such as band value alterations, can also automatically trigger reassessment of any affected benefit claims. In this way, the net bill can be issued immediately, although there are facilities available to hold the issue of a bill whilst benefit is being assessed, for example, where there is an initial application for benefit. In such cases, the ‘hold’ is automatically released as council tax benefit is posted.
Additional facilities enable an authority to be an AUDDIS originator and move to ‘paperless direct debits’. The sign up for payment by direct debit can be processed via a telephone call or online over the internet. A web-based instruction can be provided which utilises bank account and sort code validation. The details entered over the internet are saved directly within the system. The system also makes use of ADDACS and ARUDD links with sponsor banks, so that changes to direct debit details can be processed automatically and further automation can be applied to the processing of unpaid direct debits.
The system facilitates Electronic Billing with two unique solutions being available. One option is to email a physical copy of the actual bill directly to the taxpayer in PDF format, whilst the other will email the taxpayer with information of how to access the bill online via a secure login to the council’s web-site.
The system has a comprehensive range of standard management reports to enable CTB1/CT1, QRC returns to be completed and accurate arrears analysis, cash flow reports etc to be performed. Further enhancement is provided by the ability for users to create their own locally defined reports using a powerful reporting tool which can produce the results in either report, graph or pie-chart forms.
Benefits