Have You Checked the Afterhours Processing Exceptions Report?

We need to talk. And it’s going to be awkward. Like that hygiene conversation with your tween, where you have to tell them it’s time to start wearing deodorant.

I know, I know … you don’t want to hear it.

But, you need to check the Afterhours Processing Exceptions Report. Every. Single. Day.

Let’s talk about why.

What is the Afterhours Exceptions Report?

OK, let’s start at the beginning. If you don’t know what I’m even talking about, let me explain what the Afterhours Processing Exceptions Report is.

Every night, during afterhours, your GOLDPoint Systems software processes certain kinds of transactions. This includes recurring card and ACH payments, among other things. But sometimes, there’s a problem with a transaction and it doesn’t get completed. (Hold codes, anyone?)

Imagine the havoc that could cause, when you and your customers all think that a payment
has been processed, but in fact it hasn’t been.

To quote the estimable Dr. Peter Venkman: “Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! MASS HYSTERIA!”
Don’t worry, though—we’ve got you covered.

Because every time one of those transactions doesn’t get processed correctly, your GPS software logs it and puts it into a nifty little report that you can see the next morning. We call it the “Afterhours Processing Exceptions Report.” (See what we did, there?) Or, to give it its more formal title, “FPSRP013.”

Why do you need to check the Afterhours Processing Exceptions Report every day?

Let’s say your customer has a P/I Constant of $120 on their loan. The principal balance remaining on the account is $80, plus $20 of interest. Additionally, the account has an outstanding late charge of $25. The Payment Application settings on this account tell the system to take interest first, then principal, then late charges. Of the $120 recurring payment, $100 would go to principal and interest, and another $20 would go to late charges, but $5 would still be owing. The system now doesn’t know what to do with the outstanding $5—since it’s only late fees, and a loan that doesn’t have principal or interest isn’t a loan, so the system can’t keep it open. So, being unsure what to do, the system rejects the payment and makes a note in the Afterhours Exceptions Report.

You and your employees are busy—you’ve got butts to kick and names to take, not to mention fires to put out and a few dragons to slay. So you don’t look at the report in the morning. You’ll do it tomorrow. And then, what with one thing and another … well, now it’s next Tuesday and no one has looked at the report for over a week.

That customer whose recurring ACH payment was rejected? She’s now been assessed a late fee of $30. Plus, the loan accrues interest daily, so in the intervening days (before the late fee was assessed), the account has accrued more interest. The borrower assumes her account is paid off; however, the system still thinks it’s active and has recurring payments. So the next day during afterhours, when the system sees that the account is not paid off and recurring payments are still on, it will attempt to make another payment. And the cycle will continue. (Also, once that customer realizes that her account isn’t paid off and that she’s been assessed a late fee, she’s gonna be pretty upset—after all, it’s not her fault that the account didn’t get paid off in time.)

And that, my friend, is why you really do need to check the Afterhours Processing Exceptions Report—every single day. Trust me: It’s a small daily habit that can save you tons of time, money, and hassle in the long run.

How to Read the Afterhours Processing Exceptions Report

Here’s the best part: Not only does the Afterhours Processing Exceptions Report (formally known as FPSRP013, you’ll recall) tell you which transactions weren’t processed, but it also tells you what you need to do to fix the problem. Here’s an example:

And, in case you’re wondering, it’s really easy to access this report. Here’s what you do:

1. Open CIM GOLD and navigate to Report Warehouse > GOLDView Plus.
2. In the Query Search Criteria (top half of screen), enter “FPSRP013” as the Report Program; then choose the start and end dates you want to search for. (Note: The system only saves the last 45 days’ worth of exceptions—7 if you’re on a Beta node.)
3. Hit <Search…> and watch the Report Status section (bottom half of screen) magically fill up.
4. Double-click any item listed as “Loan Afterhours Processing Exceptions Listing” to view the report.

Here’s an example:

How Transactions End Up on the Exceptions Report—And How to Resolve Them

So how, you ask, would a transaction wind up on the Afterhours Processing Exceptions Report? And, more importantly, how the heck do you take care of them?

Well, there are lots of reasons this can happen. Here are some of the most common ones.

Loan Account Conditions That Can Cause an Account to Show in the AER

Here are a couple of conditions that would cause an account to show up on the Afterhours Exception Report, and what you can do about them.

• Loan Past Maturity: If the “Stop Recurring Payment at Maturity” option is set (on the Loans > Account Information > Payment Information screen) and the loan reaches maturity, then any recurring payment will be rejected.
  • To resolve this issue, go to the EZPay screen in CIM GOLD and click “Discontinue Recurring Payment”; then follow your institution’s policies for this situation (such as contacting the borrower about making a lump sum final payment or rolling the remaining principal to a new loan).
• Missing Interest Rate Pointer: This can happen for a few reasons:
  • When the loan was converted from precomputed (payment method 3) to interest-bearing (payment method 6), a new interest rate didn’t get entered, so the interest-bearing loan is not calculating interest. To resolve this, enter the interest rate manually on the Loans > Account Information > Account Detail screen > Interest Detail tab. (Hint: It goes in the Interest Rate (LNRATE) field.)
  • When the loan was automatically converted from precomputed to interest-bearing when the loan reached maturity, the interest rate was not included as part of the conversion. Either enter the interest rate manually (using the method described in the previous paragraph), or use the Interest Rate Pointerfield—but make sure that the Interest Rate Table is also set up (see the following paragraph for details about how to do this).
  • The Interest Rate Pointer (LNRPTR) for the account got set to something other than “255 – Fixed Rate,” and the Interest Rate Table for that pointer has not been entered. To resolve this issue, go to the Loans > System Setup Screens > Interest Rate Table screen and set up the Interest Rate Table.
• Loan Locked In for Payoff: Someone has locked the loan for payoff on the Loans > Payoff screen, but later a recurring ACH payment was attempted. Once a loan has been locked for payoff, the only transaction that can be run is a Payoff transaction, which must be made from the Payoff screen.
  • To resolve this problem, first make sure recurring payments have been turned off by going to the EZPay screen and clicking the <Discontinue Recurring Payment> button. (If you don’t do this, then the system will continue trying to take the recurring payment during every afterhours.) Then be sure to contact the customer to get a payoff payment.
• Principal Balance Would Go Negative: The recurring payment would pay off the loan, but the option to notallow recurring payments to pay off a loan (EPOP SPYO) is set.
  • To resolve this issue, first turn off recurring payments (see the above paragraph for details); then contact the borrower to have them pay off the loan.

Conclusion

Look, I know this isn’t the most exciting topic.

But, I hope our little talk today has helped you see how important—and useful—the Afterhours Processing Exceptions Report is. (Pop quiz: What is its formal name? That’s right, FPSRP013. Well done!)

Now, go look at this report every day (or assign one of your employees to). Make it a habit. Read this short blog by James Clear (author of Atomic Habits) if you need some inspiration: How to Build a New Habit: This Is Your Strategy Guide.

Watch how much more smoothly your institution runs—not to mention all the time, effort, and money you start saving—when you know what really happened during your afterhours.