Paris is the leading solution for the design, generation and delivery of UK Tax Bills, Reductions, Recovery and Benefit letters.
UK Local Authorities are responsible for the billing and collection of Council Tax. Every property in the UK is subject to Council Tax. The amount each household pays depends on a number of factors, including the value of the property and the financial status of the occupiers.
Council Tax collection is processed during the financial year (1st April to 31st March). Initial bills, sometimes called demand notices, are sent in March each year, effective 1st April.
Throughout the year, circumstances can change for any number of reasons and each change requires a communication to be sent from the Council to the person, or persons, liable for Council Tax. Some changes will be concerned with the amount of Council Tax that is due – for example a disregard, discount or benefit change. Other changes may be related to non-payment, and in this case there are a series of recovery processes that are followed.
XLPrint’s PARIS software system uses a set of templates that allows the users to create documents from a series of data fields held in the Revenues and Benefits database. When circumstances change, a predefined host application document will be created. Similarly, at a pre-defined time each period, documents are created as part of the recovery process. The host application documents are responsible for the broad content of the final communications and these are exported automatically to PARIS. It is the function of PARIS to create the actual document that is sent. PARIS adds value to the document, can help drive the required outcomes and in the process can make considerable savings for councils each year.
Starting at the billing stage, PARIS allows the council to offer the bills electronically, rather than by post. The bill may be sent as a PDF attachment or be accessed via a web-based Self-Service Portal using any web-enabled device (tablet, smartphone, or PC). In some cases, a Benefit Notification letter may be being sent to the same address. Although created as a separate file by the Revenue and Benefits application, this letter can be merged and consolidated before being printed with the corresponding bill, thus saving the cost of a second letter.
The bill itself can be designed for maximum clarity and can adhere to the standards adopted by the Council. In the case of a bill for a non-Direct-Debit payer, a Paypoint or Allpay barcode can be added to the bill to enable cash payment at appropriate outlets, optimizing the business process. A Direct Debit bill can have a different reverse, with the saved space used for other messaging.
All documents created as part of the recovery and enforcement process can be bespoke, with the emphasis on clarity of purpose.
Documents can be printed on any printers that are connected to the Council network, so remote offices have the same capability as an internal print facility. Plain paper is used throughout and printed on both sides, removing the need for costly pre-printed forms. Alternatively, PARIS generated documents can be sent to an external organisation for the actual printing and mailing functions.
UK Local Authorities are also currently responsible for the assessment and payment of Benefits to citizens. The amount of Benefit is dependent on each individual and takes into account many factors, including income, expenditure and the financial status of the claimant.
Benefit payments are also processed during the financial year (1st April to 31st March). Initial notification letters are sent in March each year, effective 1st April.
Throughout the year, circumstances can change for any number of reasons. Each change requires a communication to be sent from the Council to the person, or persons, in receipt of Benefits and can also result in communications to the person or persons liable for Council Tax. Some changes will be concerned with the amount of Benefit that is due – for example change of financial status or a dependent leaving home.
Other changes may be related to over-payment, and in this case there is a series of recovery processes that are followed.
As per the exact same process as Council Tax Bills, XLPrint’s PARIS software system can significantly improve the entire document creation, optimization and delivery of all Benefits correspondence using the same processes. For example: a Paypoint or Allpay barcode can be added to the invoice to enable cash payment at appropriate outlets; the reverse of the invoice will have all the ways to pay, clearly laid out; all documents can be printed by the assessor for immediate attention or printed overnight as part of a batch printing process; Landlord Schedules can be sent as PDF attachments via email. All of these and many more benefits can be simply achieved using XLPrint’s PARIS software system.
