Navigation
To navigate to the policies section, go to the Violations Module > More > Violation Options > Policies
Overview
Policies are the settings that tell the violations module what to do for each violation stage. Here, a management company can change:
- How much a homeowner will be fined?
- How long will that violation sit before being escalated to the next stage?
- Mailing/email settings for Owners and Tenants. In addition to changing those settings, they can also create custom policies for specific categories and subcategories.
- What letter is attached and sent to each stage?
In addition to changing those settings they can also Create custom policies for specific categories and subcategories.
This is the main view of your association's policies. Typically, only a Global Admin will ever change any settings here.
- You can quickly swap between associations using the Association dropdown at the top of the policies page.
- To update the GLOBAL Policies, select "All" in the dropdown, and then you can edit them.
Action:
These are the controls that allow you to edit the information in each column. In order to make changes, you will have to do one of the following:
- Copy: Allows you to copy a global policy, edit it, and then save it as a new custom policy that overrides the global policy
- Disable: Turns a global policy off
- Update: Allows you to update any custom policy information
- Delete: Deletes a Custom Policy
Category:
- If the Policy is a custom exception to the Global Policies, this section will show what Category that exception is for.
Subcategory:
- Same as the Category, if the Policy is a custom exception to the Global Policies, this section will show what Subcategory that exception is for.
Stage:
- Shows what violation stage that policy is attached to.
Policy Name:
- The policy's name ("Global Stage ___" or a custom policy name).
Cure:
- The number of days a violation will sit before it will be escalated to the next level (or repeat the same level if it is in the final stage)
- Value = Days
Fine:
- The amount a homeowner will be fined for that stage of the violation.
Mailing Settings:
- Here, you can toggle on or off whether or not an Owner, Tenant, or Alternate Address receives an Email, First Class Letter, or Certified letter for each stage.
- To edit the toggles, you will have to press one of the action buttons, or you will have to go to all associations to edit the global policies if it is global.
Letter Name:
- Shows you what letter gets sent out for that policy
- When editing, it becomes a dropdown. You can choose a letter to assign to that stage.
Updating a Policy
To update an existing policy, select the desired policy from the list, click on the "Update" action, and then modify the details as needed in the subsequent interface.
Step 1:
First, press either "Copy" or "Update" next to the stage you are wanting to update/customize.
- Copy: The copy option will show if no changes have been made to the global policies before
- Update: The Update option will show if a global policy has already been copied and changed
Step 2:
Now that the stage you want to edit is highlighted, you are able to customize any of the options in that row.
- This includes Cure times, Fines, Mailing settings, and allows the user to Letter is linked to that violation stage.
Step 3:
Finally, after you have finished making your updates, make sure to select "Save" back at the left hand side of the stage.
- If the policy has been saved correctly, that stage will no longer be highlighted, and the changes will be set.
Adding an Exception
To create a custom policy that overrides what the Global Policy tells the Violations Module to do...
Step 1:
First, press the "Add Exception" button in the bottom left of the main policies screen.
Step 2:
Select the Category and Subcategory you want to create an exception for.
Step 3:
Press "Copy" in the actions > edit the policy with the settings you want > press save
- Once you have saved, it will now show as a "Custom Stage" and will then appear in the Overview menu as well
NOTE: If you disable a Global Policy while in the Add Exceptions Menu, it will disable the global policy stages for that specific category and subcategory.
- This is typically used for Subcategories and Categories that want to repeat lower stages without an escalation to a later one.
- For example: You can disable stages 3, 4, and 5 so that when the violation reaches stage 2 and the cure period ends, it will repeat that stage instead of escalating to the next one.
To return to the overview, simply press the "Go To Overview" button in the bottom left and it will take you back.