POWER TOOLS Documentation – Lien Releases

Overview 2

Lien Control – Add/View/Edit 4

Lien Releases – Batches 5

Owner Submission 5

Scanning/Attaching Documents 6

Maintenance 7

Options 7

Access Instructions & Setup 7

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OVERVIEW

The Power Tools Lien Release Tracking software provides a centralized database designed to easily generate lien releases to be signed, organized, scanned, and bundled to send to the Owner. The Accounts Receivable balance is displayed, allowing the user to see when a job is funded. Indicators note Claims and the Days Out for those outstanding.

Company Address Book: The company address book contains the subs and suppliers used during lien release tracking. Add multiple contacts with their unique information including the authorized signatures for each company. Attach a letter with a list of authorized signatures for easy lookup while entering the completed releases. Companies may be marked as a non-vendor to suppress display in the Accounts Payable vendor file.

Attachments & PDFs – Scan and attach a Notice of Commencement and other documents to the project. Email and print existing documents.

Warnings – View Warnings, by project, vendor or warning type to see what’s outstanding. This information comes from the Sub Checklist

Job Data – Add/Edit Project, Owner, Tier 1 Company, and Notary information. Because lien release formats can vary by job, select the default document formats for this project. This applies to special owner or contractor requirements as well as special forms such as bond waivers for government projects.

NTO View – Maintain 2nd-7th tier vendors, update check information and create lien releases one at a time.

Batch View - Process liens releases in a batch and easily mark those returned and completed. Sub checklist and Owner reports are also included in this screen.

Submissions – Print or email lien release images. Print Owner Reports.

Maintenance – Add/Edit codes, default lien releases, Sub Checklist headers and list, and filing email address.

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Company Address Book

Add Companies and Contacts for use. The company file shares the AP Vendor file and JCPM Company file. Select the Non Vendor box for vendors to display in Liens only.

Documents can be scanned and attached to the vendor file.

Single Record View

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Jobs – Add/View/Edit

Add a new project by adding the job number and job name. The name/number should match the JCPM info.

Owner Information, Contractor, and Project Info should populate from the JCPM Job setup but can be edited if needed.

Add the Tier 1 Company – if your company is acting as a subcontractor on this job, the Tier 1 will be the Contractor. Your company will be added as an additional tier in the Lien Control option.

Notary information prints on the Lien Release forms.

Project Info/Job Site Address – can be bookmarked to print on the Lien Release

Release Forms for This Job - Select the default lien release format. The format can be unique to this project. Unlimited lien release formats may be added.

Attach project documents like Notice of Commencement and other miscellaneous attachments. The attachments may be emailed directly to companies and vendors.

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NTO View

The system is directly integrated with The Power Tools Accounting System for auto updates of contracts and amounts. Companies with subcontracts or POs are automatically added for lien release tracking.

The NTO view displays each company on the left. Colors and indented companies note 2nd through 7th tier companies.

Date NTO – enter the NTO date. If this is a 2nd or more tier vendor and has provided an NTO for a company not submitting an NTO, select the Report to Owner (Constructive Notice).

If a claim as been received, enter the claim date in the Dt Claim: field. The system will note the amount of claims on the main screen along with the days out before being satisfied.

Type Complete displays the last lien received. The Thru date displayed. Select whether last received is an Original or Copy.

The Contract Amount, Current Amount – along with * Last Invoice # (for SC only), and Gross to Date is displayed.

Lien Release Email – enter the default email for the company contact to receive lien release

*Check Delivery Method – select the process for check pickup/delivery.

*Sched Pickup DateTime – enter a date/time for pickup of check

Fields for the approved Signer and Signer Title are included. This can include an example of the signer’s signature for verification.

Check images can be added to the vendor along with any other applicable attachments.

*This info displays on the Check Ready Notice found on the Batch View screen.

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To begin the lien release process, select the Current Amt Check Date. The Current Amt. Check Dates from and thru date will update the current amount field with the total paid through the dates selected.

Select the Refresh Amounts from Accounting to update the companies along with the contract amount, gross and retainage to date.

Enter the Type in Process – the type of lien release needed – partial, partial conditional, final conditional, final.

Select the appropriate button to print.

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This example displays a Partial Lien Release in process. Select Partial Release button.

Select Attach Scanned Image of a Check to Email to include a copy of the check with the emailed Lien Release.

Preview will display the lien release on the screen.

Print sends the lien release directly to the Printer.

Select Email to Tier 2 to email the lien releases directly to 2nd and lower tier vendors.

Select Email Direct to bypass printing and email directly to the Lien Release Contact email.

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Lien Release Example

The lien release is bookmarked to accept job and company information. Blank spaces are bookmarked for on-the-fly entry such as notary info and signer name and title.

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Adding a NTO Company

To add a new company, select the Add NTO Company button at the top of the screen.

Select the Parent Company for the company. May be the contractor or an existing subcontractor or supplier that filed a Notice to Owner or any company that needs to supply a lien release for proof of payment.

In this example, the new NTO company is a 3rd tier vendor for Ornamental Accessories Corporation. RAM Tool and Supply is a sub of A-1 Fencing.

Enter the NTO company, then the date of the NTO

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The Tiers display in an easy to read color-coded tree – making it effortless to see the relationships between the vendors.

Once the vendor/company is in the project, lien release tracking may begin.

Attach and email Notice to Owner and other documents directly from the lien control screen.

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NTO Screen

Date NTO - Enter the NTO date for this company ( if not received, you may select Report to Owner)

Order Date – Subcontract or PO date (updated from accounting)

Type Completed - Enter the type of lien release received (partial, final, etc.)

Release Received Thru Date - last signed lien release received. Date may be updated on this screen or on the Lien Releases – Batches screen. Select whether a Copy or Original.

Type In Process – type current lien release type being printed.

A From /Thru Date - Enter the beginning and ending date for this lien period. The total checks written between the from and thru date will be updated to the Current Amount for each company.

B Release Thru Date - Enter the thru-date for which you’re collecting lien releases either on the main page or in any of the Lien Control screens. This is the thru-date that will print on the lien release.

C Current Amount - Enter the amount desired for the lien release

Contract, Gross, and Retainage are updated from accounting for reference purposes.

A

D

C

B

EF

G

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D Lien Release Contact –Enter the person to contact regarding lien releases for the company selected.

E Lien Release Phone/Email – Enter the email and phone for the lien release contact entered above. Authorized Signature – Enter the list of names authorized to sign lien releases for this company. For additional security, attach an image of an authorization letter for viewing.

F *Check Delivery Method – select the process for check pickup/delivery.

G *Sched Pickup DateTime – enter a date/time for pickup of check

Fields for the approved Signer and Signer Title are included. This can include an example of the signer’s signature for verification.

Check images can be added to the vendor along with any other applicable attachments.

*This info displays on the Check Ready Notice found on the Batch View screen.

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Creating Lien Releases

Send Conditional, Partial or Final lien releases to be signed and returned. Print or email the easily customized Word Document lien releases to the vendor. Utilize standard or create unlimited lien release formats and select the default for each project.

The Release Thru Date and Release Amount will reflect the info entered on the previous screen but can be changed on the fly.

Preview the lien release before printing or print directly to the printer by selecting the Preview and Print buttons.

Email to Tier 2 – Select to email the lien releases to the Tier 2. Emailing to Tier 2 will assume the Tier 2 vendor will be responsible for the lien releases for subsequent Tiers.

Email Direct – Select to email not only to the Tier 2, but to all subsequent Tiers under the Tier 2 vendor. This assumes the parent company will be directly responsible for collecting the lien releases for all Tiers.

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Lien Releases – Batch View

Choose to print or email the lien releases in batches or print one at a time. The items automatically checked are the lien releases that have not been recorded through the date selected.

Lien releases may be printed from this screen. It is also an efficient way to log the lien releases received.

The Type In Process notes the default lien release type but can be changed on the fly. The Amount and Date due can also be changed.

Select and hit Preview One to view a single lien release. Print Releases Selected to print all checked (Select?) items directly to the Printer.Email All Selected will email all checked lien releases with valid email addresses. A message will display if any selected lien releases have incorrect or missing email addresses.

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Check Notice One/Check Notice Selected Subs – print a check-ready notice to a single or selected subs to alert the vendor of an available payment. Requirements and check pick-up information is included on the notice. The information on this report comes directly from the lien release NTO screen and the warnings for this vendor.

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Sub Checklist One/Selected Subs – print or email the warnings checklist for a single or for selected vendors. This includes warnings auto created by the system and additional warnings added manually.

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Submissions

Submissions provides the option to print and submit completed lien releases to the Owner or email in a single .pdf package. The items not available to send are marked in red when going through the process.

Below is an example of a few messages displayed during the Email process. Several have no images and one has no through date for the lien release. The messages allow the user to make changes before sending the documents.

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Owner Report

Owner Reports include vendors with either Constructive Notice or NTO dates. The report can be printed in Vendor order or in order of NTO date.

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Scan in Notice of Commencement, NTO and signed lien releases

Scan and attach the signed lien releases and log the thru date, lien type and amount. To attach an item, click on one of the paperclip buttons in the system. Next, click the button ‘Browse for folder’ and find the folder with the image(s). Point to the image and log in the appropriate information below. Depending on which image type selected, it will display the fields pertaining to that document type.

An optional feature that automates lien release tracking is OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION. Be sure to view our demo on this major time-saving add-on to Lien Tracking @ http://www.thepowertools.com/OCRflash.htm.

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Maintenance

Code Descriptions – Add or copy the CSI code and description list. Company Addresses provides a drop-down selection for Work Description based on the code descriptions.

Program Defaults – Select the main default lien releases templates to use throughout the system. The lien formats may be still be changed per job.

Select a Filing E-mail address. Any email sent from the Liens package will be copied to this filing email address.

If lien releases templates has a password, the password may be entered here for reference. This is not required information.

Lien Release Template Formfields / BookmarksBookmark Name Description

Amount Dollar amount AmountinEnglish Amount on lien release spelled out. Comments Comments fieldCompanyAddress Company Address line 1 and 2CompanyCityStateZip Company’s City, State and Zip codeCompanyContact Company Contact that’s in the Company Address book (different from signers

name)CompanyContact1 Company Contact that’s in the Company Address book (extra) (different from signers name)CompanyName Company’s name that’s signing the lien release

CompanyName2 Company’s name that’s signing the lien release (extra)FromCo Contractor (Tier 1)FromCo1 Parent company name (extra)FromCoAddress Parent company Address line 1 and 2 FromCoAddress1 Parent company Address line 1FromCoAddress2 Parent company Address lien 2FromCoCityStateZip Parent company City, State and Zip CodeFurnishedTo Parent company name Identification shown Notary Identification numberNotaryCounty County the document was notarizedNotaryExpireDate Notary’s expiration dateNotaryName Notary’s nameNotaryState State of NotaryOrderDate Contract date in Account SoftwareOwnerAddress Owner Address line 1 and 2OwnerAddress1 Owner Address line 1OwnerAddress2 Owner Address line 2OwnerCityStateZip Owner City, State and Zip CodeOwnerName Owner nameOwnerProjectNumber Owner Project number in Project data

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PartialorFinal Partial or Final lien releaseProjectAddress Project Address line 1 and 2ProjectAddress 1 Project Address line 1ProjectAddress2 Project Address line 2ProjectCityStateZip Project City, State and Zip codeProjectCounty Project countyProjectLegalDescrip Legal description in Project dataProjectName Project nameProjectNumber Project number ProjectStateFullName Project state name PTFile OCR filing (uncheck Fill in Enabled in Text form field box)PTJobNumber Field PT Job# in Project data under Other/Miscellaneous (50000)RetainageToDate Retainage to dateSignerName Signer name. From company contactSignerTitle Signer’s title. From company contact titleThroughDate Through date of lien releaseTotalContractAmount Total contract amountWorkDescription CSI Code Description

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