AppFolio: Check Scanning FAQs: Troubleshooting & Best Practices

Check Scanning FAQs

Review the following frequently asked questions regarding Check Scanning.

In This Article

• General
• Supported Payment Types
• Payment Processing
• Accounting
• Check Scanning Portal Troubleshooting
• Check Scanning Batches Page Troubleshooting

General

What does the check scanning feature do?

The feature allows you to receive and deposit check payments (ie. rent and dues) to your bank through AppFolio. The funds are processed and that information is pulled into APM to streamline receipt and deposit creation.

How do I get a check scanner?

You are responsible for acquiring your own check scanner, AppFolio does not provide these. Below is a list of supported scanner models:

Can I use multiple check scanners?

Yes, however each check scanner needs to be registered. Please submit a support request and include the model number and serial number (typically found on the sticker on the scanner) to add a new scanner.

How much does it cost to scan a check?

$0.50 per scanned item, with a $150 minimum per month (equivalent to 300 scanned items).

Are there any operating systems that are not supported?

Windows 7 and earlier not supported for check scanning. If you are using Windows 7 or earlier you will need to update you operating system in order to use check scanning.

Supported Payment Types

Can I scan checks from owners and vendors?

Yes, the payor type can be set to Tenant / Homeowner, Owner, or Other. 

Can I scan checks for applicants?

Yes, these will be recorded as “Other Receipts.” Check scanning does not support associating a scanned check receipt with a specific application.

Can I scan a single check to cover charges for both security deposit and rent?

If the operating and escrow cash accounts use the same bank account, then yes. However, the funds will only be applied to the operating cash account and will need to be manually moved to escrow after the receipt is created. See Enter One Receipt for Security Deposit & Rent for instructions.

Can I scan a check for multiple units?

Check scanning does not support splitting a single check scanned item across multiple units.

Can I scan bill pay checks?

Yes, but bill pay checks typically have non-distinct account and routing number so the bill pay check box should be marked to prevent receipts from being associated with the incorrect payors.

Can I scan money orders and cashier's checks?

Yes, however the payors will not be automatically assigned because the routing/serial number is different every time.

Can I scan a corporate accounting check to a corporate entity?

No, check scanning does not support scanning to corporate properties and corporate GL accounts. 

If your check scanning portal is displaying corporate bank accounts and you would like those removed so that you do not accidentally scan to them, please submit a support request.

Payment Processing

What bank accounts can I scan checks to?

Checks can be scanned to any bank account that is enabled for online payments.

Can I scan checks to multiple bank accounts at once?

Each bank account will require its own batch. 

How long does it take for the payment to process?

Funds will settle in 3-5 banking / business days. 

Will I see individual check items on my bank statement?

No, deposits will occur as lump sums, similar to online eCheck payments.

What happens if a check is rejected due to NSF?

NSF rejects for check scanning items will be handled similarly to NSF rejects for online eCheck payments. The funds will be pulled from the account, and the receipt and deposit in APM updated accordingly. Unlike online payments, tenants/homeowners will not receive an email notification about the NSF. See Set Up Automatic NSF Fees for Online Payments for more information.

I scanned a batch and closed it, but it is not appearing on the Check Scan Batches page, where can I find it? 

Press the Update Batches button to refresh the page with new batches.

Accounting

How do I change the date of all the receipts in a check scanning batch in bulk?

From the Check Scan Batches index, open the batch and create receipts. After creating receipts click ‘Bulk Update Receipt Date’ from the righthand task bar and select the desired receipt date.

Note: This task will update the date for all receipts in the batch that have already been created. If you would like to edit the date of an individual receipt, Navigate to that specific receipt and click ‘Edit’

How are checks applied to charges?

Checks scanned for tenant and homeowners will only be applied to Operating or Escrow cash accounts. Once the cash account is determined, funds are applied to charges according to the order specified in Accounting Settings. For Owner and Other payor types, you will manually select the GL account which you would like the funds to apply to. Refer to the below diagram to determine which cash account tenant and homeowner funds will be applied to:

I accidentally scanned a check that needs to be split over multiple units?

If the units are in the same property see Transfer an Online Payment to Another Unit in the Same Property for instructions. If the units are in two different properties see Transfer an Online Payment to a Unit at a Different Property for instructions.

How can I change the charges a scanned check was applied to?

Navigate to the receipt and use the Reapply Receipt task from the menu on the right to reapply the receipt.

I scanned a check to the wrong bank account, how can I correct this?

You can identify that a check was scanned to the wrong account if you receive the warning "This property is not associated with the Deposit Bank Account" while assigning payors. If the deposit has already been closed in the check scanning portal, the funds will proceed to move to the bank account (“location”) selected in the portal. If this is not the desired location, you will need to contact your bank to initiate a transfer of funds to the correct location. You will then need to create a transfer between both properties in AppFolio, see Transfer Funds Between Properties for instructions.

Check Scanning Portal Troubleshooting

I need help troubleshooting Driver connection issues

If you are receiving connection errors the first time you are attempting to use a scanner, you likely have other, conflicting, check scanning drivers on your computer. It is recommended that you remove all other scanner drivers and attempt to reinstall the driver through the Check Scanning portal. 

How can I fix a jammed scanner?

If a scanner is not working or jammed, you can press the Reset Scanner button to reset the scanner.

What does it mean if a Deposit Amount says “To Be Keyed”?

If an item is flagged as “to be keyed” it means either the account number, routing number, payment amount, or check number, was not able to be read automatically by our system so it was been sent to a review team for additional review. The review team works 8am- 5pm Central Time on banking days. 

While the deposit is in review, it can either be closed or left open. If you close the deposit or keep it open while it is in review. If you close the deposit, it will automatically process once the team has reviewed the item. If you would prefer to see the results of the review before closing, you will need to return to the Open Deposit page once the review is complete to close the deposit. Payments will not be processed until the deposit has been closed. 

An item keeps being flagged as “rescan”, what does this mean?

If an item is flagged as Rescan the entire batch will be reopened and no items in the batch will be processed until it is resolved. To rescan, navigate to the Check Scanning portal via 'Scan Checks' and go to the Open Deposit page. From there, open the batch and you can either rescan or delete the item.

If an item is continually flagged as rescan you can continue to attempt to rescan it, but if the Amount or MICR line is not clearly legible when viewing the scanned image we will not be able to process it. Some customers have reported that their scanners have difficulty scanning money orders from Western Union. Although the amount is visible on the physical money order, the ink is not picked up by check scanners. If the amount is not visible in the image, banks will be unable to process the item. Illegible items can be removed from the batch and the batch re-closed. The rest of the items will process as usual, but the removed item will need to be deposited outside of AppFolio check scanning.

What happens if the Total Amount that I entered is wrong?

If the total amount that you enter at the beginning of the scan does not match the total amount read by our system the entire batch will be rejected and the checks will need to be rescanned.

I do not see my bank account in the check scanning portal, what do I do?

New bank accounts will not be automatically accessible in the check scanning portal. If you have recently added a payments enabled bank account, please generate a support request to make this account accessible in the check scanning portal. In the request, please list any users who will need access to scan to this bank account. 

How do I change which bank accounts my check scanning users have access to?

Please create a support request listing the user’s name and which bank accounts they will need access to (you can state “All” if they need access to all bank accounts).

How do I add a new user for check scanning?

Please create a support request listing the user’s name and which bank accounts they will need access to (you can state “All” if they need access to all bank accounts).

How do I add a new check scanner?

Before scanners can be used with AppFolio check scanning they must be registered through our support team. Please create a support request and include the model number and serial number of your scanner (typically found on the sticker on the scanner).

Do I need to fill in ‘Customer Number’ or ‘Name on Account’?

No, these fields can be left blank. You will assign a payor in a later step when you create a receipt from the Check Scan Batches page. 

Do I need to fill in a Description and Transaction Number?

No, if you see the below screen you can leave those fields blank. You will assign a payor in a later step when you create a receipt from the Check Scan Batches page.

Check Scanning Batches Page Troubleshooting

My items still say “Not Ready to Receipt”, what do I do?

The most common reason items are in the “Not Ready to Receipt” status is when the batch is still open. Receipts cannot be made until the batch is closed in the check scanning portal. If your batch is still listed on the Open Deposits page in the Check Scanning Portal, it has not yet been closed. Once you close the batch, and press Update Batches on the Check Scan Batches page the item status should update.  Items may also be listed as “Not Ready to Receipt” if one or more of the items in the batch are currently being reviewed by our review team. Press Update Batches on the Check Scan Batches page to refresh item status.

I created a check scan receipt for the wrong payor and/or unit, how do I correct this?

On the Check Scanning Batches page, click the View Check for the associated check item. Enter the correct payor and click Reassign Payor.  This will reverse the original receipt and create a new one for the updated Payor.

When assigning payors, I recieved the warning "This property is not associated with the Deposit Bank Account", what does that mean?

The bank account ("location") that was selected in the check scanning portal does not match the operating or escrow bank accounts associated with the assigned tenant or homeowner. This may be caused by the following:

• The incorrect payor was assigned - review the payor name and unit address to ensure the correct one is selected
• The check was scanned to the incorrect bank account - If the deposit has already been closed in the check scanning portal, the funds will proceed to move to the bank account (“location”) selected in the portal. If this is not the desired location, you will need to contact your bank to initiate a transfer of funds to the correct location. You will then need to create a transfer between both properties in AppFolio, see Transfer Funds Between Properties for instructions.

Sourced from: https://help.appfolio.com/s/check-scanning-faq