Electronic Reporting – Welcoming Unclaimed Property to the 21st Century

Almost every state has moved away from paper reporting in favor of electronic reporting, welcoming the unclaimed property reporting process into the digital age. Many of the slow-moving processes can be easily streamlined and brought up to date with simple, intuitive technology.

First, let’s describe the difference between the two types of filings as many holders may be confused. Paper reporting means you enter all of your owner details into forms approved by the state. No software is needed to report in this manner. Electronic reporting means you enter your owner details on a state website if offered or by filing through a reporting software that can generate the NAUPA II format as a TXT or HDE file. Don’t get this confused with the cover sheet. No matter which method is used, some states still require a hard copy of the coversheet in order to collect the original signatures that are required.

Some states, such as Tennessee, no longer accept the paper forms even if holders have only one record to report. Other states will allow a handful of properties to be reported on paper, but require electronic reporting for larger reports. Even the states who technically allow you to report small numbers of properties on paper would still prefer that you submit them electronically.

Why do the states have a preference? Paper reporting used to be the only method available. This required someone at the holder site to fill out state forms, often using a typewriter! The paper forms would be “snail” mailed to the state. When the state received the paper forms, someone on the state’s staff would have to manually enter the data from the paper forms into the state’s reporting system. As you can see, this is very labor intensive on both ends. It also leaves both sides open to clerical errors such as transposing social security numbers.

With the advent of the NAUPA reporting format, the process has become more streamlined. Holders use software to generate the NAUPA II files. The holders deliver the NAUPA II files to the states using current technologies instead of labor intensive hard copies. The states load the electronic NAUPA II files into their systems, which instantly shows which holder is reporting, all of the owner details, the totals for number of records reported, dollar amounts, and shares. This cuts down on the time needed to process each report, and the number of potential errors possible.

How is electronic reporting easier? Well, you would have to manually enter the information into the paper forms anyway. Why not type it onto the state website (for those that allow this) or into a software system and let it generate the NAUPA II file for you? Do you already have your data in an Excel spreadsheet or another type of file? Even better! You can import that data directly into a software system and then generate the NAUPA II file to submit to the state(s).

I would challenge everyone, even the least “tech savvy” to give electronic reporting a chance for your next round of state reports. I think you will find it refreshingly simple.

I hope that I have you thinking about electronic reporting. We will address different ways of delivering the NAUPA II files to the states and the security advantages of using the NAUPA II format in future posts.