Rating

Details of all of your client's hereditaments are held on the system. Both the postal address and address as known by the Valuation Office are recorded.

Also held is the property type, VO category, rating authority, owner, occupier and other information pertinent to rating.

In addition, where you are acting for a leaseholder, details of the lease including next review dates, lease end dates and so on can be recorded both for the Rental Evidence Return and potential Landlord & Tenant business.

Billing authorities, valuation offices, NDR units and tribunals are recorded with addresses, contact names, phone numbers etc.

The rating system is supplied with all necessary authority details for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Proposals to alter the List based on inaccuracies, change of circumstances, reconstructions etc. can be recorded on the system.

Given an estimate of the likely revised RV, projected liability, savings and fees are automatically calculated.

The progress of the proposal can be tracked using a variety of in-built reports. Key dates are also recorded in the Rates Dairy. You can set up your own warning and reminder actions to appear automatically in the diary whenever a key date (such as a Programme or Hearing date) is entered.

The revised procedures associated with Check, Challenge, Appeal are tracked by the system.  Automation of these procedures will be incorporated into the system as and when allowed by the Valuation Office.

Valuation details can be entered against the hereditament and individual proposals. Both your valuation and the Valuation Officer's figures can be recorded.

The valuations can comprise of any number of areas with a rate(£/m2) or relativity to a primary rate for each area.

Additions and allowances can be recorded against each area and/or against the valuation as a whole.

The valuation details can be printed in a variety of formats including one that simply shows your areas. This could be sent to the VO as the basis of negotiation.

Fees can be automatically calculated for individual appeals.

The fee can be either a percentage of RV, a percentage of the RV reduction achieved or a percentage of saving.

These percentages can be varied according to RV and can include a fixed fee, a minimum amount and a cap.

Calculations for the 1995 List onwards are supported incorporating all the latest legislation.

Liability is projected for the duration of the List using your estimates of inflation.

These estimates can be changed at any time and all affected liabilities are recalculated.

There is also an Ad-Hoc liability calculator allowing you to test out different appeal scenarios or provide liability and saving projections for prospective clients.

Splits and mergers are one of the more complex areas of rating, particularly when it comes to liability calculations.

Multiple splits or mergers for an original hereditament can be entered with the effect on liability being automatically calculated. A reconstruction history is maintained enabling you to track back to the original hereditaments from the current (or vice versa).

Proposed splits and mergers can be entered onto the system with the potential effect on liability being calculated based on your estimates of the revised rateable values. The proposals can be printed with all original hereditaments being listed.

Rates bills and refunds can be checked and approved. 

Funding requests to your client can be raised for rates, BIDS and council tax payments.  Payments can be recorded and payment details exported for payment via BACS and other accounting systems. 

Client bank accounts can be maintained and the system can generate client statements of account and bank reconciliation reports.

You can set up standard letters to be sent to your clients or authorities.

For example you may send letters to thank a client for a new instruction, inform them of the progress of their appeals etc.

You may send letters to authorities requesting proposal acknowledgement, chasing refunds etc.

These letters can be produced on demand or generated automatically by the system when certain events occur.

A wide range of standard reports are available including progress reports, consolidated liability projections and savings reports.

These reports can be distributed by email. In addition, it is simple to export the information to word processors or spreadsheets for you to design your own reports.