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Using the Escrow Grouping Function

The Escrow Grouping screen allows you to write one disbursement check to an escrow recurrent payee, record that check in Keystone, and then automatically post the disbursements to each homeowner's record. This process also updates the data on the homeowners’ Escrow Admin tab when a scheduled payment is posted using Escrow Grouping.

Not all recurring escrow payees will accept a check that pays the bill of several homeowners at the same time. If you want to record a disbursement that requires an individual check for each homeowner, use the Escrow Disbursements screen to record these single payments. For more information, refer to the Recording Individual Disbursements to Escrow Payees section.

To make a disbursement to an escrow payee using the Escrow Grouping function

1. Open the Finances tab in the Keystone ribbon and click Escrow Groups.
   The Escrow Grouping screen appears.
2. Select the payee from the Escrow Payee field in the upper left.
   You can also move through each payee record using the navigation buttons on the bottom of the Escrow Grouping screen.
3. Select the period to be paid in the This Payment Due Date pane.
   When the Escrow Grouping screen opens, it normally opens up with the This Payment Due Date value set to None.
   
   The Get Homeowner List button only needs to be used if you enter a custom period into the From and Through fields on this pane.
4. If needed, you can sort the homeowners by changing the setting in the Order By pane.
   You can sort the homeowner data displayed in the lower portion of this screen by Name, Address, Reference, or This Due Date by choosing one of those options in the Order By pane.
5. Uncheck the Inc (Include) boxes of any homeowners you do not want included in the disbursement.
   The Inc boxes for all of the homeowners listed in the bottom half of the screen can be set or cleared at the same time with the Set All or Clear All buttons under Include, respectively.
   
   If you have many homeowners to include, you can click the Set All button and then only uncheck those homeowners you do not want to include. Conversely, if you only want to include a few of the many homeowners listed, you can click the Clear All button and check only those to be included.
6. Set the This Payment amount for each homeowner.
   The Set To Last button in the This Payment pane sets the This Payment Amount field to what is in the Last Payment Amount field. The Clear button sets the This Payment Amount field to 0. Only the homeowners marked for inclusion are affected when you click these buttons.
   
   The Total payment for all homeowners marked for inclusion is shown in the lower-right corner of the screen.
7. Once you have selected all of the homeowners you want to include in this payment, if you would like to move this data to a spreadsheet, click the button to open the Escrow Group template and transfer the data to an Excel workbook.
   This can be useful if you need a list of homeowners and their payments to include with your disbursement check, or just for purposes of your own analysis.
   

You cannot do this once you post these payments.

8. Once you have written the check for the Total payment amount, enter the date and check number in the Posting area.
   If you want a note added to each homeowner's disbursement record, you can enter it in the Posting area in the Notes field.
9. Click the Post button when you are ready to record the disbursement.
   When you click the Post button, the following events occur for those homeowners marked for inclusion:
• The payment amount, check date and number, payee, and any note are posted to each homeowner’s disbursement history.
• The homeowner’s escrow balance is modified accordingly.
• The This Payment data is moved to the Last Payment data fields.
• The This Payment Due Date is set to the Next Due Date.
• A new Next Due Date is created.
• The homeowner's Include fields are cleared.