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The instructions below describe how to use the appraisal district processing 'wizard'.   All tax offices can use the wizard; the office does not need to be affected by HB1010 multi-appraisal district processing.

Before using the wizard, be sure that the control screen (County CAD Processing) has been filled out for the appraisal district software vendor whose file you will be processing. Additionally, make sure that the user has the appropriate roles, user entitlements, etc. See HB1010 Wizard Setup Procedures for more information. This help topic includes a table of batch menu numbers used for both prior and current year processing.

User Entitlements

The following user entitlements must be set for each user who needs access to the Batch Menu and Batch Request screens. They are part of the Run Batch Processes task.  See Tasks, Entitlements, and Jobs for more information. The user entitlement for each batch menu no. mentioned below must be set to Y for each authorized user. Batch menu nos. default to N when they are added.

BATCH_MENU - access to the Batch Menu to generate the reports.

BATCH_REQUEST - access to the Batch Request screen to see the reports.

The table below describes the steps, both mandatory and optional, that every tax office should use when processing appraisal district files. Following that, detailed information about each step is given.

Load the files to the proper place on the ACT 7 server, File Upload button

Note: This step is not needed for Dallas County's True Automation or Tarrant County files. For these, the files must be on the secure FTP server in the directory [FTP_DALLAS_COUNTY_ACT\Appraisal District\[county].

1. From the Main Menu of ACT 7, click on Products, then Batch Products.  The ACT Batch Menu will appear.
2. Upload the file to the ACT 7 server. This copies the file, it does not remove the file from your system.

1.Stage 1 - Load the data from the file to the staging tables

1. From the Main Menu, click on Update, then CAD Load/Update. The CAD Files - Load and Update screen appears.  This is the first screen of the wizard.
2. The  most recent ACT Control ID and its associated processes are shown. The screen will be blank only if the wizard has not been used before. The batch menu numbers to load the staging tables for each of the counties having an entry in the County CAD Process screen are given:

Control ID: an auto-generated number that acts as a global ID for a specific 'run through the wizard'.

CAD Sequence: an auto-generated number linked to a specific vendor for a specific ACT Control ID.

For example: Control ID 7908 above is used to identify the steps to be used to load and process both Williamson and Travis County files.  CAD Sequence 8012 is associated with the steps to be used to process Williamson County name change files for this (and only this) Control ID.

3. There are two ways to search for data,

• Press F7.
• Enter a Year, Date, Control ID, Operator ID, and/or Revision Code.
• Press F8.

or

• Click Search. The CAD Search screen appears:

  

• Enter search criteria in any of the fields at the top (Year, Begin and End Process Dates, Control ID, Revision Code, CAD Sequence).
• Enter data into any or all of the fields at the top.
• Press F8. Asterisks surrounding a CAD Sequence number indicates that that sequence has been completed.
• To see the CAD Wizard runs for a specific Control ID, double-click the control ID to return to the main screen.
• To begin a new search, press F7 and repeat the steps above.

4. Assume you want to start processing a new set of files:
5. Click OK
6. Enter a Revision Code. This will be put in the Receivable screen after the data is moved to the production tables.
7. Change the Year if necessary to match the year of the data.
8. Click OK. A popup giving you the new ACT Control ID appears.

• Click OK to the message. The screen fills with the batch menu numbers and CAD Sequences needed to load files for each of the appraisal district vendors that send files to this tax office.

5. To load files for one of the vendors and counties, click the OK to Run box for the Load process for that county.
6. The batch menu parameter screen for the selected Menu Item Sequence appears. Depending on the county's appraisal district software vendor, the parameters may vary, but most of the information will be auto-populated and cannot be changed.

• Enter the name of the file(s) in the appropriate fields. These are case sensitive; include the extension.
• Enter your Operator ID.
• Other fields include County Code (3-digit code), CAD Seq. No. (from the Stage 1 screen above), Client ID, and Tax Year.
• (True Automation, optional) A Totals File Name should be entered to provide a comparison with the TC501C report after stage 7 is completed. If a mobile home file name is entered, the latest file format will be used.
• (True Automation name change file) If the preference TA_NMCH_LOAD_TAX_AGENT_RECORDS is set to Y, agent information is loaded along with owner name changes. Reports of new and deleted fiduciary request records are provided.
• (Software Group only) In the Software Format field, enter O if your files are in the Orion format or A if they are in the ACAD format. Appraisal district totals are provided on these files.
• (SouthWest Data only) For certified files, enter the Agent File Name and Mortgage File Name. For other files, leave these fields blank.
• (Harris County Tax Office only) Enter a Client Roll No., Client Roll No., Non-HCAD Files Directory (if necessary), Roll Type, and Load Date (this will be the last certified date after processing to production). In the Run BMI 783, Load CAD Tables field, ACT recommends leaving this set to N.
• (Harris County Appraisal District files only) In the SB2 File field, enter Y if you are loading a file with $100,000 exemptions for 2023 or later. Enter N otherwise.
• (Harris County Tax Office only, Harris County Appraisal District files only) In the CAD Seq. for 100K HOM File field, enter the CAD Seq. No. of $100,000 homestead exemption file in order to load these HOM exemptions in a new request sequence. Other tax offices should leave this field blank.
• (Pritchard & Abbot) In the File Type field, enter C for certified or S for supplement.
• (Dallas County) In the Appraisal Mobile Home Info File Name, enter the mobile home file name (if a file was received), preceded by 'yyyy-mm-dd_nnnnnn_ '.
• Click Submit Job, then click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen. You will be returned to the Stage 1 screen, where the Batch Sequence number (the batch request seq. no.) and Job Name/Parameter Values fields will be filled in.
• The Status field contains a P (processing).

7. To see if the load process has finished, you can press F8 on the Stage 1 screen. Alternatively, you can click View Reports to go to the Batch Request screen. The process is complete when the Process End Time is filled in and the Status changes from P to C (completed).

Note: The ACT_CAN number is populated in the staging tables during this process.  It will be re-populated in Stage 3.

Name change files also load into  the owner_cad table. If a duplicate account number exists in the file, it will be put on a log file. For Harris County files, this load does not occur; step 4 must be run instead, to move the data from the staging tables to the CAD tables.

For the Harris County Tax Office, the Account No. field in the staging tables will have the 7-digit personal property number, not the converted 13-digit number. Also, bill suppress codes are not rolled forward for Harris County Appraisal District files.

For True Automation file loads processed by Fort Bend County, the Appraisal District No. is set to `WC + appraisal district number', the Alias Key is set to the geo ID, and the Scanline No. is set to `WC + appraisal district number' and is left padded with zeros to make it 13 characters. If the client preference TA_CAN_LOCATION is set to PID, the account number is the Appraisal District No.

8. To see the reports generated with this process, click View Reports on the Stage 1 screen. Duplicate accounts will be listed as errors on the log file.
9. For Dallas County, a Change Report provides before and after taxable values and the difference between the two amounts for each tax unit. Accounts that have had a change of jurisdictions are listed separately. Accounts that have no beginning (before) values are skipped. SIT-only units are listed twice, once with toal values and a second time for SIT only amounts. A Rollback Accounts report may also be generated.
10. If you have files from another vendor that are ready to load, you can repeat steps 5-8 for that vendor on the Stage 1 screen. You do not need to load files from all of the vendors before moving to the next stage.  You can return to the Stage 1 screen at a different time to process a different set of files. You can also have files in different stages of the wizard, except that the certified roll for the home county must be processed first and it must be the first file to move to the production tables.
11. Review the staging table data in the Load Inquiry screen.

• Return to the Main Menu.  
• Click on Inquire, then select the Load Inquiry item for the vendor whose files have been loaded.  For example, select Load Inquiry TA File to see the True Automation staging tables.  The fields displayed in the staging tables differ from vendor to vendor depending on what data is provided in the files.
• You can search by Request Seq. (the CAD Seq. No.), ACT CAN, Geographic Account ID (usually the long account number), or Prop ID (usually the short appraisal district number).

Note: On the Load Inquiry SWD File screen, you can click either the Agents or Mortgage buttons to see the contents of those particular load files. Use the scroll bar on the right side of the popup window to see each entry.

• If you have an '_UPDATE' entitlement for this vendor, you can click the View Arch Data button to see data from these same tables that have been archived. You cannot make changes to any archive data but you can make changes to any unarchived data (you may need to exit the screen and then return before updating). The Account In field tells you whether the data on the screen is in the archive or 'real' (unarchived) tables.
• If you do not have an '_UPDATE' entitlement for this vendor, you will be able to view all data, but 'real' and archived, but you cannot make changes to any of it. The View Arch Data button will not be visible.
• Review the information.  It must match the contents of the files. Make sure that if the files are from the 'home' county, that there are no accounts from the overlapping counties.

Note: For tax units that are on a True Automation or Software Group file (ta_entities, tsg_entities) but are not collected by a tax office, the tax unit field in the Load Inquiry screens will be blank. These units will not be processed further.

• SIT accounts are identified on Software Group files by looking for a 'T' in the VIT_FLAG field. For True Automation files, SIT accounts have an 'S' in the Improvement_sptb field.

For accounts having units that are less than 100% value, Software Group files include the apported values, not the 100% values.

Software Group file loads will use the percentages provided for land, improvement, ag and timber values that are provided for each account, by unit. As additional stages in the wizard are run, the Apport_CAD, Receivable_CAD, Account Master Jurisdiction and Receivable screens will show the calculated values that considers these percentages. The ValDtl_CAD and Property Value screens will show the 100% values. If more than one ag value is given, the largest one will appear in the ValDtl_CAD and Property Value screens. State mandated, VTX and CAP exemption calculations also use these percentages.

For Montgomery County, timber values are provided for each unit.

Dallas County appraisal district files have additional fields, including pro-rated start and end dates, a CAP amount for each owner of a multi-owner account, and quarter pay indications for a multi-owner account.

• (optional) Using SQL, make sure the number of accounts in the staging tables matches the number given by the appraisal district.
• (optional, for Harris County name change files) Using SQL, make sure the reason codes were loaded. These do not display on the Load Inquiry screens.
• (optional, Harris County Appraisal District files only) Verify the roll numbers and record counts using the CAD Roll ID Administration screen.

Clean Ups - At any time during the loading and processing of appraisal district files, you can 'clean up' stages that you want to redo. See the Clean Ups section at the end of this topic for instructions.

Closing Control IDS - At any time during the processing, but most likely after stage 8 has been completed, users  can check the Closed button on the Stage 1 screen. Once a Control ID is closed, no further processing on those CAD sequences can occur. Only users having the OPEN_CAD_PROCESS entitlement checked may re-open the Control ID for additional processing.

2. Stage 2 - Load the CAD Relationship CAD table (non-Name Change files. but for Harris County name change files this step must be done)

The CAD Relationship screen in production must be populated before running this step.  This will be a concern only when loading certified roll files for a new year.  Stage 2 loads the CAD Relationship CAD screen with the accounts in the files loaded in Stage 1. For information on understanding the information in that screen, see Maintaining CAD Relationships.  Although that topic pertains to the production screen, the same data is in the CAD Relationship CAD screen and can be evaluated the same way.

When loading accounts into the CAD Relationship CAD screen, the production CAD Relationship table is searched to see if the ACT CAN has been assigned already. If it is not found, a new account number is assigned, which is usually the CAN_IN number (which is usually the prop ID).  Remember that these conditions must be researched:  duplicate appraisal district numbers (CAD IN), duplicate ACT CAN numbers, and missing CAD IN or ACT CAN numbers.

1. Return to the CAD Load/Update screen.  

After the staging tables have been loaded via Stage 1, the tab for Stage 2 appears in the CAD Load/Update screen. There will be a row of data for each software vendor whose files are processed by the tax office. If you have not loaded the latest set of files from each vendor, the row for the county or counties yet to be processed will have a gray background (see below); you will not be able to run Stage 2 for that county until Stage 1 has been completed successfully.

2. The same procedures are followed for each stage, although the parameter screen for Stages 2-8 is the same for all counties and vendors. Click the OK to Run box for the Load CAD Relationship CAD process for the desired county.

3. All of the parameters are auto-populated by the wizard.
4. Click Submit Job, then click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen. You will be returned to the Stage 2 screen, where the Batch Sequence number (the batch request seq. no.) and Job Name/Parameter Values fields will be filled in.
5. The Status field contains a P (processing).
6. To see if the load process has finished, you can press F8 on the Stage 2 screen. Alternatively, you can click View Reports to go to the Batch Request screen. The process is complete when the Process End Time is filled in and the Status changes from P to C (completed). A .csv file is sent to the FTP server.

5. Review the CAD Relationship CAD table; make necessary changes
6. To see the CAD Relationship CAD screen, click the CAD Sequence number on the Stage 2 screen.
7. To see a list of accounts that were not in the production CAD Relationship screen, click View Reports on the Stage 2 screen.  At the end of the report are counts of the accounts that were not in the CAD Relationship screen and the accounts that were loaded into CAD Relationship CAD screen (which includes those not found in the production screen).
8. On the CAD Relationship CAD screen, you can search by CAD Sequence No.
9. Changes can be made to the ACT CAN, County code, and Parent number. The parent account number should be filled in for split accounts and for properties that cross county lines.

3. Stage 3 - Update Staging Tables from the CAD Relationship CAD Table (non-Name Change files, but for Harris County name change files this step must be done)

1. Return to the CAD Load/Update screen.
2. For the appropriate county code, click the Stage 3 tab - From CAD Relationship CAD.  This process updates the ACT CAN field in the staging tables with any changes you made in the CAD Relationship CAD table.
3. Click the OK to Run box for the Update Staging Tables from CAD Relationship CAD process for the desired county.

4. Most of the parameters are auto-populated by the wizard.

• Enter the Vendor Code (for ex., TA - True Automation, TSG - Software Group, SWD - SouthWest Data).
• To get a detailed report of errors, enter Y in the Print Details field.

5. Click Submit Job, then click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen. You will be returned to the Stage 3 screen, where the Batch Sequence number (the batch request seq. no.) and Job Name/Parameter Values fields will be filled in.

• The Status field contains a P (processing).
• To learn if the load process has finished, you can press F8 on the Stage 3 screen. Alternatively, you can click View Reports to go to the Batch Request screen. The process is complete when the Process End Time is filled in and the Status changes from P to C (completed).  

6. Click View Reports on the Stage 3 screen. The  log gives the number of accounts updated.

4. Stage 4 - Copy Data from the Staging Tables to the CAD Tables (all non-name change files plus Harris County name change files)

1. Return to the CAD Load/Update screen.
2. Click the Stage 4 tab - Move Staging Tables to CAD Tables. This process inserts data into all the CAD tables except the receivable and frozen amount.  These will be populated in later stages. The ACT CAN from the CAD Relationship screen is put into the account number field.  If accounts in the staging tables are in the production archive tables, the receivables for those accounts are 'un-archived' during stage 4 in order to prevent duplicate receivables from being created.
3. Click the OK to Run box for the Move Staging Tables to CAD Tables process for the desired county.

4. Most of the parameters are auto-populated by the wizard.
5. Enter the Operator ID.
6. In the Certified File field, enter N if this is a supplement, correction, or name change file. Enter Y if it is a certified file.
7. The File Type field should be C/S/K for certified, supplement, and correction files, NC for name changes, or R for reappraisal. This is auto-populated.
8. Change Comparison Files to Y if you are processing a 2023 or later file containing $40,000 homestead exemption amounts for ISDs.
5. Click Submit Job, then click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen. You will be returned to the Stage 4 screen, where the Batch Sequence number (the batch request seq. no.) and Job Name/Parameter Values fields will be filled in.

• The Status field contains a P (processing).
• To learn if the load process has finished, you can press F8 on the Stage 4 screen. Alternatively, you can click View Reports to go to the Batch Request screen. The process is complete when the Process End Time is filled in and the Status changes from P to C (completed).  

6. Click View Reports on the Stage 4 screen.

• The [vendor]-load_utilities_cad report gives the number of accounts and exemptions inserted into the CAD tables.
• The ta_agent_report (if True Automation is used) gives the accounts that were not processed, the number of agents in the file, along with the agent's name on the file and the corresponding name in ACT 7. The report also gives the number for fiduciary requests and, for each account, the fiduciary number (Agent ID), and an indication about whether the request will be inserted as a new one.
• For True Automation name change files, a report of accounts that could not be inserted into the CAD Relationship CAD table is provided.
• For single entity tax offices, True Automation file processes will load every unit on the file into the staging tables, but not into the CAD tables.
• For True Automation files, a deferral change report is provided that shows start and end dates for each deferral that is modified, added, or deleted.
• A report is created if IRE exemption data is changed on any accounts. This includes changes of Calculation Type from S (system) to U (user) or vice versa.

7. Review the data in the CAD Inquiry screens. To do so, return to the Main Menu, select Inquiry, then CAD Inquiry.

• You can search in this screen by CAD Seq. No., individual Account Number (this is the ACT CAN), or Year.
• Make changes as needed in this screen. You can change anything except the levies and values in the Receivable CAD screen.
• The Owner ID is moved for both certified and supplement files to the owner_cad and frozen_amount_cad tables.
• For the Dallas County Tax Office, apport_cad and receivable_cad records will be created for each PID unit and account. This assumes that batch menu no. 1675, Load PID Data from Saved Portfolios, was run before stage 1 was started.
• SIT accounts can now be flagged as such during the Dallas County appraisal district file loads. The Tax Unit Maintenance screen for SIT units must have the SIT Only flag checked.

If the account is an SIT account, for an SIT unit, apport and receivables are created in the CAD tables. If the account is not an SIT account but has an SIT unit, the apport will be created in the CAD tables with 0.00 values and no receivable is created.

If both the SIT Only and Compute Taxes boxes are unchecked, then the apport (jurisdiction screen of Account Master) is created with 0.00 values and no receivables are created.

If the Compute Taxes flag is also checked on the unit, the receivable record will be overwritten with the receivable_cad information for the same unit. If the Compute Taxes flag is not checked, the receivable_cad and apport_cad data are not copied over to the real tables.

• For Software Group files loaded at Harris County, the fiduciary number is put into the owner detail record and converted to a 9-digit number.
• For Software Group files, the Roll ID is populated in the apport and owner CAD and apport and owner real tables. Also, if an M or 0 is given in the Veteran exemption field on the file, that indicator is removed and the 100% VTX Exempt box is checked on the Account Detail screen
• SIT accounts loaded with Software Group (TSG) files should have a Q in the roll code field in the TaxDtl_CAD tab. (2008 and prior only) For 2009 and forward, SIT accounts for all tax offices are identified by a check in the SIT Accounts field.
• For Software Group files, the Days Exempt field in the Owner_CAD tab does not include the number entered in the Days Exempt Num Days To Adjust field in the Tax Unit Maintenance screen.
• For Software Group file loads, if the overage_exemption on the file is set to X and the Vet code is 1, 2, 3, or 4, then the VET exemption in the CAD tables is set to $12,000, which is equivalent to code 4. If the Vet code is 7 and an overage_exemption exists, then the exemption is set to the closest actual vet value (for ex., the file may have a $7000 exemption, which will be changed to $7500. The 7 is changed to a 2 in this case).
• Bill suppress codes are not rolled forward for Harris County Appraisal District files.
• Surviving spouse veteran exemption amounts are shown separately from 'regular' veteran amounts on the Owner_CAD screen but if an account has both surviving spouse and regular veteran exemptions, they are summed together in the VET exemption on the SpecExem_CAD screen.
• The VTX Status feld will have an X for normal VTX exemptions or an S for surviving spouse VTX exemption.
• Scan line numbers for OCR lines are created from rules supplied by each tax office. For Nueces County and El Paso, the scan line numbers entered in the Account Detail screen when the certified load was processed will be used instead of creating new ones.
• For True Automation file loads, if the confidential name field in the file is null but the confidential flag is set to T, we need to put 'UNKNOWN' as the owner in the CAD tables. For bad address accounts, 'UNKNOWN' is also inserted as the owner name.
• For True Automation file loads, timber market and timber use values are loaded into timber fields instead of the ag fields. For DRH exemptions that have a $0.00 in the file, ACT creates a $0.00 exemption.
• For True Automation file loads, the situs suffix (for ex., 'ST') and the situs unit (for ex., '40') are added to the end of the parcel street address. The situs unit indicates the unit number in a mobile home park.
• For True Automation file loads, the earliest deferral date will be used for veteran accounts that have multiple deferral dates in the file.
• For Software Group and True Automation files, notes will be inserted for each account affected by the supplement. The tax year, revision code, CAD sequence number, and reason for the changes is given in each note. These notes will be inserted into the production tables in stage 8.
• For Upshur County's Southwest Data file loads, the homestead percentage provided in the file is now being used to calculate the actual HOM exemption.
• For Harris County Appraisal District prior year files, if an account has both SPL (special valuation) or NOM (nominal) exemptions and either an OSP (agriculture) or TIM (timber) exemption, the OSP or TIM exemption is removed. This should occur in both the CAD tables and in the move to production.
• For Harris County Appraisal District files, the existing owner effective date should remain if the accounts have an owner_exist_flag set to 'Y' or 'E'. If it is anything else, a new owner effective date should be created. Also, if the same exemption exists for multiple years on an account, the qualifying year is set to the oldest year.
• For accounts in Harris County Appraisal District files, that have a property code of E1, the ag values on the files will be loaded. If the homestead percentage is greater than 0, values will be put into the homesite fields, according to the amount of the percentage.
• SIT accounts can now be flagged as such during the Dallas County appraisal district file loads. The Tax Unit Maintenance screen for SIT units must have the SIT Only flag checked. If the account is an SIT account, for an SIT unit, apport and receivables are created in the CAD tables. If the account is not an SIT account but has an SIT unit, the apport will be created in the CAD tables with 0.00 values adn no receivable is created. If the Compute Taxes flag is also checked on the unit, the receivable record will be overwritten with the receivable_cad information for the same unit. If the Compute Taxes flag is not checked, the receivable_cad data is not copied over to the real tables.
• (Pritchard & Abbot mineral account files) The Roll Code in the CAD tables and in the Account Detail and Receivable screens is now determined by the following mapping, using the first letter of the state category code on the files. If the first letter is A, B, C, D, E, F, G, J, N, O, or X, the roll code is R. If the first letter is H, L, M or S, the roll code is P.
• Accounts that are marked as non-compliant TIF accounts in the current year, or prior year if no TIF data exists for the current year, will have TIF base and taxable values loaded, but no TIF taxable or TIF levy will be calculated. Current year TIF accounts that have no prior year TIF values, when processed in the CAD wizard , will have the values for base taxable and current taxables set to the same amount. TIF taxable and TIF levy will be $0.00.
• If you have the CAD_ONLINE_UPDATE entitlement, you can click the View Arch Data button to see data from these same tables that have been archived. You cannot make changes to any archive data but you can make changes to any unarchived data (you may need to exit the screen and then return before updating). The Account In field tells you whether the data on the screen is in the archive or 'real' (unarchived) tables.

If you do have the ACT_CADLOADS entitlement but not the CAD_ONLINE_UPDATE' entitlement, you will be able to view all data, but 'real' and archived, but you cannot make changes to any of it. The View Arch Data button will not be visible.

5. Stage 5 - To CAD Ceilings

1. Return to the CAD Load/Update screen.
2. Click the Stage 5 tab - To CAD Ceilings. This process either inserts frozen amounts from the appraisal district files or calculates the freezes.  The Jurisdiction CAD Relationship screen is checked to see if ACT should calculate the freeze.  See Frozen Levy Overview for a comprehensive discussion of client preferences and calculations related to frozen levies. The CALCULATE_LEVY_YEAR is considered during this stage.
3. Click the OK to Run box for the Update Ceilings process for the desired county.

4. All of the parameters are auto-populated by the wizard.
5. Click Submit Job, then click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen. You will be returned to the Stage 6 screen, where the Batch Sequence number (the batch request seq. no.) and Job Name/Parameter Values fields will be filled in.

• The Status field contains a P (processing).
• To learn if the load process has finished, you can press F8 on the Stage 5 screen. Alternatively, you can click View Reports to go to the Batch Request screen. The process is complete when the Process End Time is filled in and the Status changes from P to C (completed).  

6. Click View Reports on the Stage 5 screen. The log file gives the number of frozen records inserted into the CAD tables and the number of ceilings to be inserted for each jurisdiction.
7. Other reports that should be generated are:

• Frozen Account Analysis Report, batch menu no. 1915
• Freeze Reports - New, Deleted, Updated, Name Changes Report, batch menu no. 1919.

8. Make any changes necessary to the freeze information in the CAD Inquiry screen.

• For freezes affected from 2019 forward by the 2023 SB2 legislative change, freezes for school districts will be compressed. The compression rate is calculated as the Maximum Compressed Rate (MCR) from the selected year subtracted from the M&O rate in the prior year. See Frozen Levy Overview for more information.
• For 2015 school district accounts having a HOM exemption, freezes will be compressed by multiplying 10,000 (the difference between homestead exemptions of $25,000 and $15,000) times the tax rate/100, then subtracting that value from the 2014 frozen levy amount. For new 2015 freezes, ACT assumes that the frozen levy amount is correct.
• The freeze year, tax unit granting the freeze and port percentage are loaded directly from the file.  Depending on the setting of the Ceiling Control option in the Jurisdiction CAD Relation tab (in the Tax Unit Maintenance screens).the freeze amount is either loaded from the file or it is calculated.  This setting is either CAD (to load the amount from the file) or ACT (for ACT to calculate )
• If you need to add ported freeze information, enter the port percentage, year, and freeze amount (there is no button to calculate the port freeze amount) if the vendor does not provide this. For Software Group files, the port percentage must be calculated based on data in the file, so make sure that in the Jurisdiction CAD Relation tab in the Tax Unit Maintenance screens, the Ceiling Control option is set to ACT.
• Your operator ID and the change date for these changes will be preserved when the data is moved to the production tables.

Note: If you make changes in the CAD Inquiry screens after you ran stage 6 - Generate Receivables, you will need to clean up that step and run stage 6 again.

Note: If you are processing files for real property prior years, you must leave the wizard at this point and run the freeze compression processes, batch menu nos. 1918, 1920, or 1921. After completing that, return to the wizard and begin with stage 6.

6. Stage 6 - To Receivables

1. Return to the CAD Load/Update screen.
2. Click the Stage 6 tab - to Receivables. This process creates receivables and calculates the levy for each jurisdiction and account. It does not re-calculate frozen levies, but inserts the amounts from the Frozen Amount CAD screen into the Receivable levy field (unless there is also ag or non-qualifying levy to add to the frozen amount).  Attorney penalty dates (33.11, 33.07) are inserted at this time if the client preferences CERT_PRESET_3311 and CERT_PRESET_3307 are set to Y and certified files are being processed. The Revision Code is also set during this process. The Fiscal Period Levy is set if certified files are being processed. The CALCULATE_LEVY_YEAR is considered during this stage.
3. Click the OK to Run box for the Update Receivables process for the desired county.

4. All but one of these parameters are auto-populated by the wizard.

• In the All Tax Units Provided field, leave Y unless you are processing Harris County Appraisal District files, which provide only the change units, not all units.
• In the Certified File field, enter Y or N as needed

5. Click Submit Job, then click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen. You will be returned to the Stage 6 screen, where the Batch Sequence number (the batch request seq. no.) and Job Name/Parameter Values fields will be filled in.

• The Status field contains a P (processing).
• To learn if the load process has finished, you can press F8 on the Stage 6 screen. Alternatively, you can click View Reports to go to the Batch Request screen. The process is complete when the Process End Time is filled in and the Status changes from P to C (completed).
• Four reports are created: a log file that lists the number of records read and the number of records that could not be read, plus a list of these accounts whose taxable value (for TL receivables only) in the CAD tables does not match the ACT-calculated value; a progress file that prints out a line for every 15,000 accounts and lists the total number of accounts processed; an error file that lists the error message and for each account; and an Expected Refunds report. This shows refunds to be generated if payment exists on the account and the new levy in the CAD tables is less than the paid amount. The refund amount will be the difference between the paid amount and the new levy.
• If the receivable roll code is P and the delinquency date is before 4/1/tax year + 1 and the tax unit collects 33.11 fees, then a 33.11 date is set (in the 33.07 column). If the unit does not collect 33.11 fees, then a 33.07 date of 7/1/yyyyy + 1 is set.  If the  delinquency date is after 4/1 but before 6/1, then a 33.07 is set. If the receivable roll code is not P and the delinquency date is before 6/1, then a 33.07 is set.  For all other cases, no 33.07 date is set. These changes are visible in the CAD tables.
• (Dallas County) Penalty amounts are added to fiscal period levy. The Dallas County audit report lists a summary of data by jurisdiction, accounts where the taxable value differ between ACT and the file, inactive accounts with no CAD receivable record, and CAD receivable records not created by the supplement process but whose accounts were on the file(s).

7. Stage 7 - Audit

1. Return to the CAD Load/Update screen.
2. Click the Stage 7 tab - To Receivables. This process creates the CAD Tables Jurisdiction Summary Report & File (TC501C), which provides value and exemption information by unit.  This must balance to the totals provided by the appraisal district.
3. Click the OK to Run box for the CAD Tables Jurisdiction Summary Report & File (TC501C) process for the desired county.

4. All but one of these parameters are auto-populated by the wizard. In the Tax Year field, enter the year of the data in the file.
5. Click Submit Job, then click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen. You will be returned to the Stage 7 screen, where the Batch Sequence number (the batch request seq. no.) and Job Name/Parameter Values fields will be filled in.

• The Status field contains a P (processing).
• To learn if the load process has finished, you can press F8 on the Stage 7 screen. Alternatively, you can click View Reports to go to the Batch Request screen. The process is complete when the Process End Time is filled in and the Status changes from P to C (completed).  
• The values on the TC501C must match those provided by the appraisal district. If they don't, stop, and do not apply this request sequence to production. Technical notes: the TC501 considers the apport and taxdtl records, not the receivables records, and excludes accounts with an Account Status that begins with 'X'. Rendition penalty units that have apport records are included. Rec type codes (for ex., OS) are not considered.
•  For Software Group and True Automation files, appraisal district  totals are loaded into the tsg_cad_totals and ta_cad_totals tables, respectively, if a totals file name is given in stage 1.
• Rendition penalty changes should appear in the CAD tables.
• If the client preference TC501_ALLOW_MULTI_EXEMPTIONS is set to Y, the Homestead Amounts for state and local homesteads will include both PAH and HOM exemptions and the Disabled Amount will include both DRH and PRH amounts. If the preference is set to N (the default), the last exemption of each pair is considered.

6. Other reports that should be generated are:

• Supplement/Correction Pre-Process report, batch  menu 752. This displays the accounts and supplement type on the file.
• Appraisal Edit report, batch  menu no. 753.  This lists the before and after amounts for each account, by unit.

7.5. Stage 7.5 - Compare (for 2015 SB1 accounts; use only for $25,000 HOM files)

1. Return to the CAD Load/Update screen.
2. Click the Stage 7.5 tab - Compare. This process populates the Event Comparison CAD screen with data based on $40,000 HOM exemptions on school district accounts. Frozen levy amounts are calculated only if not provided by the CAD. T
3. Click the OK to Run box for the Update Receivables process for the desired county.
4. All of the fields are auto-populated except the CAD Seq. for 40K HOM File. Leave this blank if you receive only one file or set of files) from the appraisal district that contains $40,000 HOM exemptions for school district accounts.
5. Click Submit Job, then click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen. You will be returned to the Stage 7.5 screen, where the Batch Sequence number (the batch request seq. no.) and Job Name/Parameter Values fields will be filled in.

• The Status field contains a P (processing).
• To learn if the load process has finished, you can press F8 on the Stage 8 screen. Alternatively, you can click View Reports to go to the Batch Request screen. The process is complete when the Process End Time is filled in and the Status changes from P to C (completed).
• The log report gives the total rows inserted.

8. Stage 8 - To Production

1. Return to the CAD Load/Update screen.
2. Click the Stage 8 tab - To Production. This process moves the data from the CAD tables to the production (real) tables.
3. Click the OK to Run box for the Apply CAD Tables to Production process for the desired county.

4. Most of these parameters are auto-populated by the wizard. You can enter or change the following:

• Update Label: Enter the label of your choice
• Note Text: Enter the text to be inserted for each account
• Process Option: Enter E for edit or U for update (to move the data to production)
• Certified Load: Enter Y if this is a certified load; otherwise, leave the default of N.
• County Code: If you have merged files from two or more counties together (which sometimes occurs with certified files), leave this blank.
• Deposit Date: Leave blank to use the current date for any 'RF' refund deposit that must be created. To use a different date, enter it in this field. This is useful, for ex., if you want to put the deposit on a weekend.
• New Delinquency Date: Leave the New Delinquency Date field blank to use normal due dates of the first of the next month at least 21 days in the future. Enter a different date if the first of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, when the tax office is closed. (Penalty and interest will not be charged until the due date, so you will not need to back date receipt dates to accommodate for the weekend.) If a date is entered, due dates are changed only if the current due dates on an account are prior to the date in the parameter. However, if there is a receivable in the CAD tables but not one in the real tables (for ex., on an omitted property account), and the due date in the CAD table is later than the date entered on the parameter screen, then the due date in the CAD tables is used. The actual due date put on each account is the latest of the receivable data in the CAD tables, the receivable data in the real tables, or the date in this New Delinquency Date parameter.
• New Date Levy Increase Only: If you entered a New Delinquency Date (see above), then you can enter Y in the New Date Levy Increase Only field to force the due date to be changed only on fully paid accounts that had a levy increase as a result of the supplement/correction process. If you enter N in the New Date Levy Increase Only field or leave this field blank, all accounts in the file will have their due dates changed
• Due Date for Name Changes: If you want the delinquency date to change for accounts on name change files, enter the desired date in this field. The date will change only for accounts on the file that actually had changes made to the Owner Detail.(Software Group, True Automation, SouthWest Data files only)
• C/S/K Received Date: Defaults to current date. Change if desired to the date you want for the Last Certified Date for these accounts in the Account Detail tab of Account Master.
• Mail Date (Defer End Date): Enter the date to be inserted as the Defer End Date in the Account Master. This should be the expected mailing date for delinquency notices for deferral accounts. It defaults to the 10th of the month following the date BMI 14008 is run. The CAD Defer End Date is populated with the deferral end date in the file. If the CAD file has no deferral end date for an account that previously had such a date, the CAD Defer End Date and the Defer End Date will be removed; the deferral has been reopened. Also, if the CAD Defer Date has not changed, the Defer End Date will not be updated either.
• Deferral dates on a certified file: If the deferral start and end dates on a certified file for a new tax year match what is in the current year record, these dates remain the same for the new year, and the Mail Date from the parameter in stage 8 is ignored. If the deferral start and end dates on a certified file for a new tax year do not match the dates for the current tax year, the Defer Start Date and the CAD Defer End Date for the new year will reflect the dates in the file while the Mail Date entered in stage 8 will be the Defer End Date. If the deferral start date on the certified file matches the current year record, but the deferral end date on the file does not match the current year CAD Defer End Date, the Defer Start Date and CAD Defer End Date remain the same for the new year as on the file, but the Mail Date will be the date entered in stage 8.

5. Click Submit Job, then click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen. You will be returned to the Stage 8 screen, where the Batch Sequence number (the batch request seq. no.) and Job Name/Parameter Values fields will be filled in.

• The Status field contains a P (processing).
• To learn if the load process has finished, you can press F8 on the Stage 8 screen. Alternatively, you can click View Reports to go to the Batch Request screen. The process is complete when the Process End Time is filled in and the Status changes from P to C (completed).
• The log report gives the number of accounts inserted or updated in each database table. The county code is inserted or updated on the Account Detail screen, the CAD Relation table is updated with the data in the CAD Relationship CAD table, and the Revision Code and Operator in the Receivable screen should be updated.  Mobile home accounts will be reported as errors if the account number is invalid (perhaps because the parent record does not exist for the current year). Accounts with less than 100% ownership or allocation are listed separately.
• For Software Group and True Automation files, notes will be inserted for each account affected by the supplement. The tax year, revision code, CAD sequence number, and reason for the changes is given in each note. These notes are copied from those created in stage 4.
• For Harris County appraisal district files, a report listing qualifying freeze accounts that have multiple pro-rated homestead exemptions (IRE) is generated.
• If the client preference ENFORCE_ACCOUNTING _CONTROLS is set to Y and the accounting control deposit has not been opened for the day being processed, the process will stop and a deposit error message will be displayed on the process log file. This will happen when trying to open an RF deposit for refunds.
• If accounts for the new year already exist in the real tables when the new certified load is moved to production, only the account detail (taxdtl), property values and other indicators on the Property Value screen (the valdtl table), and the owner master will be updated.
• The scanline number is populated if it is available in the CAD tables.
• If an account has no property value, special exemptions or frozen levy, the opercode on those tabs will be NEW_RECORD and the change date will be the current date. If changes are made to the information on any of these screens, then the opercode and change date will also change.
• For Harris County Appraisal District files, an 'S' is put in the Disabled field on the Account Master screen for SRG (surviving disabled spouse) exemptions.
• For Harris County Appraisal District, True Automation and SouthWest Data supplement/correction files, mobile home information in the production tables will be deleted for accounts in supplement/correction files if they are not marked as mobile homes in the mobile home CAD tables. For Software Group, Dallas County Appraisal District, and Jefferson County Appraisal District files, this information is not deleted, although mobile homes can be added via these files.
• For prior year supplements or name changes on accounts where the years after the year of supplement are inactive, we will now update names on those subsequent years. For ex., if the file is for 2009 and one of the accounts on the file is inactive in 2010, then any name change on the 2009 file will also be made on 2010.
• For new fiduciaries inserted during supplement and certified processing, the Tax Statement check boxes on the Fiduciary master screen will be checked by default.
• If, on the Tax Unit Maintenance screen, the Unit Type is NOCALC or the Compute Taxes box is not checked, these units will not be updated during the supplement process.

6. Complete steps 8.1 - 8.10 from the table at the top of this topic to make sure the accounts are still in balance and to print statements, either in-house or at a printing vendor.
7. Consider checking the Closed button on the Stage 1 screen to prevent further changes to these accounts.

Clean Ups

At any time during the loading and processing of appraisal district files, you can 'clean up' stages that you want to redo. Doing a 'clean up' means that the data will be deleted from the staging or CAD tables for that stage. You can begin the clean up at any stage, but all subsequent stages for that Control ID and CAD Seq. No. must also be cleaned up.  Do not run more than one clean up job at once; doing more may lock the database tables.

Do not clean up every time you see a problem; sometimes it is best to start over with stage 1 and a new Control ID.  

To do a cleanup,

1. Click the OK to Run checkbox (on the left of the wizard screen) for any stage that has a Status of C (completed). This stage must be The earliest stage that needs to be cleaned up.  
2. A message appears:   
3. Click Yes to continue. A screen similar to the following appears. The specific batch menu number differs depending on which stage you are cleaning up.

4. All of the fields are auto-populated. Click Submit Job, then click OK on the "OK to Submit Job" pop-up screen.
5. You will be returned to the same stage of the wizard. The row corresponding to the data being cleaned up is highlighted in yellow and the Status will be P. Press F8 to see if the job has finished.  

6. After the clean up is complete, click the OK to Run checkbox twice. The first time removes the yellow highlighting and changes the Status to X; the second times brings you to the parameter screen:

Note: When processing name change files, the cleanup process for stage 1 deletes the owner_cad records in addition to the staging tables.