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2023 ADS Reference Guide with Topic Links� �

07| 17| 2023

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Index

Volunteer Portal Basics

Home Page
General Techniques
Dashboards

Exploring the Contact Record
Lifecycle of a Volunteer

Part 1: Recruitment
Part 2: New Volunteer

Converting a Candidate to a Volunteer
Volunteer Management Overview

Part 1: Certification Overview
Part 2: Certification Monitoring / Review

Learning Management System (LMS)
Life Cycle of a Site

Reimbursements

Flat Rate Mass Approval
Pre-Approval
Situations Requiring Pre-Approval
Key Points

Session Management
Data Clean Up

Data Clean – On Hold

Finding Reports
Useful Reports
Report Tips
Activities Calendar

ADS Calendar – Details

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VOLUNTEER PORTAL BASICS

Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

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BASICS – frequent confusion of multiple sign-ins

Volunteer Portal log-in – same email and password as aarp.org.

Chromebook log-in - #########@aarpfoundation.org uses Volunteer ID. Assigned by Tech at national level within a week of a new volunteer receiving a “real /site” assignment. Purged twice/year

TaxSlayer log-in – Specific to each particular site. Assigned by Admin for TaxSlayer software at each site.

VITA/TCE Central (IRS) – not connected to Portal or TaxSlayer

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

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BASICS

TA-R03-VA1-D18-S28051843 Counselor

Tax-Aide
Region
Split state
District
Site Identification Number
Position

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

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BASICS – Instructions

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Located in the Tax-Aide: Volunteer Portal library
We call them Tip Sheets
Start with ”VP04 – Converting A Candidate To A Volunteer”

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BASICS - INSTRUCTIONS

See “Profiles by Role” in 14-Appendix of Volunteer Portal library

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

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BASICS – Tip Sheets� Chart of Helpful Volunteer Portal Tip Sheets by Position

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Total Tip Sheets 90

Non-leader Volunteers 13

Dealing with Portal basics, maintaining personal information, submitting reimbursement requests, navigating Libraries

Local Coordinators 35

Above plus ordering Tax-Aide materials, maintaining site data, approving reimbursement requests

District and Administration Coordinators 70

Above plus entering certifications, maintaining Volunteer status, recruiting/onboarding prospects, reports

Return to

Index

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HOME PAGE

Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

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MENU BAR – Home Page

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Links: Inventory system (limited access); Submit a request;

Gold “Need Help” tab – currently just has an email that will Submit a Request. Discourage use

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MENU BAR – Home Page

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Program switcher - Available to any volunteer who volunteers with multiple programs.

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MENU BAR – non –leader volunteer

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Used for Session Management

Optional for Tax-Aide; no support

Starting point for Learning Management System courses

Much information!!

Starting point for reimbursement and pre-approval requests

Non-leaders will only see themselves

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MENU BAR –Leader

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Orders – Not going to cover; See Section 11 Tip Sheets
Reports - Carmen will cover later
Dashboards

Useful starting points to access reports
Can be filtered by districts
Train new leaders

Return to

Index

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GENERAL TECHNIQUES

Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

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GENERAL TECHNIQUES – NAVIGATING

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Navigation:

Menu bar
Search
All blue entries are live links
Browser back button
Crumb trail

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GENERAL TECHNIQUES - SEARCH

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Global Search

List view Search

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GENERAL TECHNIQUES – SEARCH

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Tip Sheets 02 “Search in the Portal” and 13 “Searching for Content in the Libraries”
* is a wild card Ex. Search for “Hans*” will find either Hansen or Hanson
? Can be used for one unknown character - Hans?n
Global search results can be limited/refined in left sidebar

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GENERAL TECHNIQUES – Find Contact Record

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Enter volunteer’s name in global search box; then click on blue name in search results
For common names – limit search by entering state or by using email, if known
A non-leader will be able to find themselves by clicking on Contacts on the menu bar, then clicking on their name

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Organization of Volunteer and Site Information

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

The Type of Record and the corresponding icon is on top left of each record

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Organization of Volunteer Information

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Contact Program Program Volunteer

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Organization of Site Information

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Program + Location = Program Location

Return to

Index

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DASHBOARDS

Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

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MENU BAR –Dashboards

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Useful starting points to access reports
Can be filtered by districts and/or other criteria
Train new leaders (especially District and Administration Coordinators)
To find (see Tip Sheet Section 2 ”Select a Dashboard”)

Type your split state in Global Search box
Using left sidebar, limit results to Dashboard
Select desired dashboard

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MENU BAR –Selecting Dashboards

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

1. Enter Split State in Global Search box

2. Limit Results to Dashboards

3. Click blue link for desired dashboard

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MENU BAR –Dashboards

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

Use Drop-down menu to filter for district

Link for Report at bottom of each column

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

REPORTS – Exporting

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

REPORTS – Exporting

Formatted Report will look like online report

Use “Details Only” if you plan to manipulate the report in EXCEL or Sheets

Comma Delimited .csv is most flexible – can be saved in EXCEL or Sheets

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Some exported reports are not named usefully. Consider renaming your download promptly.

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Volunteer Portal: Introduction and Overview

REPORTS – Exporting

Return to

Index

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Exploring the Contact Record

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Contact Records – Overview

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Access to Information on a Volunteer

Personal Information / Addresses
Volunteer Assignments (current and past)
Program Volunteer Record / Certifications
Activity History / Notes / Contact History / Awards / LMS Results

Contact Records are Created by a Tax-Aide Application
Matched to the corresponding aarp.org record with the same email
Name, email, and other information are synced with aarp.org periodically
When aarp.org record changes, Portal contact record updates

VP02 Contact Record

VP01 Update your Portal Email

Exploring the Contact Record

Each Volunteer has a contact record – contains or has links to all the Volunteer’s information or related records. Examples listed here. Some of the information is contained in the “List Boxes” on the right side of the screen – these are accessed by clicking on “View All” and / or the links in blue in the list boxes.

I highly recommend looking at your own Contact Record, so that you are familiar with navigating and updating it. You might also find that you are missing information – like an emergency contact on your own Contact Record!

A Contact Record is created when a Tax-Aide application is received and is then matched to the corresponding aarp.org record based on matching the email address. If the volunteer doesn’t have an aarp.org account, they will need to create one when they become a Candidate. The Name, email and other information are synced with aarp.org periodically and when something changes at aarp.org. If something is wrong on the application or at aarp.org, the contact record will show errors.

Two Tip Sheets you will need to reference are shown here.

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Exploring the Contact Record

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How to Find / Open a Contact Record

Instructions

Use Contacts Tab

FIRST: Set “List View” Option to “Recently Viewed” and “Pin” it
Will list recent (past 2 months) of Volunteer records that you have viewed
Click on Blue Link with the name
Use Global Search
Put First and Last name in Global (top) search bar
Click on blue link for name (making sure that it is correct one if there is more than one)

Use Links in Volunteer reports

Click on Volunteer name in blue font to go directly to Volunteer’s Contact Record

There are three common ways to find contact records:

Contacts Tab – this originally defaults to “All Contacts”, which is slow and not very useful as it will find and list all volunteers! As a leader, you will want to change the “List View” default on the Contact Tab to “Recently Viewed” and then “Pin” that view – once done, the list will show only contact records that you have viewed in the last 2 months or so – sorted by most recently viewed. The Contacts tab will remain with this view, unless you erase cookies, change browsers or change computers.
Global Search – Enter Volunteer’s name in global search box – then click on their name in the list. Be very careful to pick the right volunteer – usually confirm by state and / or by email address. Common names can be challenging!
Use links in volunteer reports – after running a report that lists volunteers (Volunteers, Prospects, Certifications), click on the volunteer’s name in blue font, indicating a “link”, to go directly to that Volunteer’s Contact record.

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Exploring the Contact Record

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Contact Record – Main Panel

Phone # can be Edited here. Newer applications will only show “Other” phone #

Name should only be changed in aarp.org, Not in Portal

Email can ONLY be changed in aarp.org, NOT in Portal

Indicate Check or Direct Deposit info here

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Updating Contact Records

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Information that CAN NOT be updated directly in the Contact Record

Email Address – Can only be updated at AARP.org!

Tip Sheet VP01 Update Your Portal Email

First and Last Name – update names at AARP.org

Other information that can / should be updated in the Portal

Phone numbers – keep these current
Mailing Address (required) and other addresses (Residential and Seasonal)
Emergency Contact Information
Direct Deposit information

Exploring the Contact Record

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Exploring the Contact Record

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Activities and Notes

Used to document communications and Notes about / with Volunteers - will be discussed in the Life Cycle 1 – Recruitment section
“Activities” is found in the upper left section of Main Panel while “Open Activities” and “Activity History” are found in right side list boxes
"New Note” is on the upper right corner of the screen. Past notes are found in the “Notes” list box on right hand side

"Assignment” List Box – First List Box on the Right Side

This will be discussed in detail in the Life Cycle 2 and 3 sections
It contains all current and past AARP Foundation volunteer assignments

Contact Record – Activities, Notes, Assignments

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Exploring the Contact Record

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The “Program” is the AARP Foundation program that this person volunteers in.
“Program” may be for Tax-Aide (TA), Drivers Safety (DS), States, etc.
The Program Volunteer record contains that person’s history within that particular program
To access click the blue PV # next to Tax-Aide in the Program Volunteer list box

The Program Volunteer Record contains the following:

Zip Code “Route To”, “Preferred Zip Code” and “Program Route To”
Bulk Certification Entry
Net Years Served, Years of Service and Program Start Date
Program Volunteer History and Status History
Button for Send Access Notification (Upper right)

Contact Record – Program Volunteer Record

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Exploring the Contact Record

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The Mailing address is in a separate List Box on the right side
All volunteers are required to have a correct valid Mailing addresses in the Portal (Mailed Reimbursements, mailing awards and communications)
To update a Volunteer’s Mailing Address:

Click “View all” in Address Box, then click Blue link for Mailing Address
Next click EDIT and revise and save.
Note Mailing addresses cannot be deleted; it must be changed using the Edit button or inline pencil

There are also additional Address “Type” options for:

Seasonal Addresses (must be updated annually if used)
Residential Addresses – Used by those with PO Box for Mailing address if needed for package deliveries

Contact Record – Mailing Address

The Contact Record Tip sheet also includes basic instructions for updating Mailing addresses. These are in a list box on the right – second one down. Note that all volunteers are required to have a correct and valid mailing address – for critical communications.

Because the mailing address is required, it can not be deleted, but it can be updated by the volunteer or a leader. Click on view all, then click on the blue link in the address that you want to update. Click edit, update, and save.

“Mailing” is one type of Address – the other two are “Seasonal Address”, which must be updated with effective dates annually if used, and Residential Addresses – which are used for folks that need a physical address for package delivery. You cannot delete these address either, but the Volunteer may delete them.

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Exploring the Contact Record

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Contact Record – Other List Boxes

Awards

Shows milestone awards attained, based on calendar years of service (multiples of 365 days)
Usually lags the milestone awards distribution by several months
Inaccurate, in many cases, if service history has been adjusted
Does not indicate if award was sent and / or received

LMS User Learning Path Results and User Program Results
Another way to see if LMS courses have been completed

The “Awards” list box is also found on the right side of the contact record screen.

Note that the awards are only shown in this box when the relevant service award milestone has been achieved on a calendar year basis – ie Five Calendar year increments of service – 365 X 5 days. So this lags the milestone awards that are typically distributed in May, based on tax seasons served.

These award lists are inaccurate in cases where the service history was adjusted resulting in the calendar year anniversary being missed.

This also does not indicate if the award was sent and / or received.

The Last two list boxes are for the Learning Management System – these are intended to show course completions and so provide a way for a leader to see if LMS courses have been completed. We expect these boxes to work more accurately this year as last year’s issues have been resolved.

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Exploring the Contact Record

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An Error banner on a Volunteer’s Contact Record

RED Banner – Usually needs to be addressed with a “Submit a Request” Operations>Volunteer Portal>Other
Examples: EMAIL ADDRESS IS OWNED AND REGISTERED BY ANOTHER PERSON, PERSON DOES NOT EXIST

Possible Causes: Changing Name in Portal, instead of in aarp.org, Disconnect between record in Portal and record in aarp.org

If RED Error is Missing Mailing Address or Invalid Mailing Address, ADS may be able to solve by retyping or correcting a typo in the address

Orange Banner – Usually indicates incomplete action by DC or AC.

Reason for “No Match“ not given; Reason for Assignment Ended not given
ADS or DC/AC should correct

Contact Record – Errors

Return to

Index

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Lifecycle of a Volunteer�

Life Cycle of a Volunteer Part 1: Recruitment

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Part 1: Recruitment

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Recruiting

A Prospect is someone who shows interest in becoming a Volunteer for an AARP Program. Prospective volunteers may apply to become a volunteer with the Tax-Aide program through these recruitment sources:

Source	Description	URL
Tax-Aide Application	Asks prospective volunteers specific questions geared towards AARP Foundation Tax-Aide recruitment. and has information about different roles	www.aarpfoundation.org/taxaidevolunteer
TA Application w prior AARP.org login	PV Logs into AARP.org first (or registers) than goes to Tax-Aide Application	http://www.aarpfoundation.org/taxaidevolunteer After AARP.org login
Tax-Aide information on aarp.org	Page with Taxpayer information for Tax-Aide on aarp.org (also has a link to application)	www.aarp.org/taxaide

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Lifecycle of a Volunteer 1: Recruitment

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Tax-Aide Application:

www.aarpfoundation.org/taxaidevolunteer

Preferred method – Gets most Tax relevant info for PVS/District
Link takes Prospect to Prospective Volunteer page on aarp.org

Tax-Aide Application

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Lifecycle of a Volunteer 1: Recruitment

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If Issues during the application process (Use ONLY as backup if issues – not as first choice application*):

Prospective Volunteer: http://tinyurl.com/PVEntryForm
Volunteer leader: http://tinyurl.com/BehalfofPVEntry

Also if there are application issues (spinning circle or will not submit) – wait a few hours or days and try again before trying anything else as problem may clear up on its own.
Submit a Request ticket if problems with applications– Recruiting and Communications>Recruitment
*This application is processed manually by staff and takes 1-2 weeks to get into the system and does not have all the info that the TA application contains

Alternative Backup Applications

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Lifecycle of a Volunteer 1: Recruitment

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Do NOT have Volunteers/Prospects submit new Applications when:

Trying to change Portal Email (will create Duplicate Contact Record)
Returning from Retired or LOA – (See Tip Sheet V06 Returning Retired or LOA Volunteers)*
Transferring across Split States or Districts (See Tip Sheet V06 Transferring Volunteers Across Split States)*

* At the current time a New Application does not work as desired for these changes.

Do NOT have Volunteers/Prospects submit NEW applications for:

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Recruiting Information in Portal

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Lifecycle of a Volunteer 1: Recruitment

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Helpful Info to Manage Prospects

Activities Info: Log Call, Email – Upper Left Corner of Contact Record

New Note in Upper Right Corner of Contact Record.
See VP02 using the Notes Tip Sheet for more info

Return to

Index

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Part 2: New Volunteer�

Life Cycle of a Volunteer Part 2: New Volunteer

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Life Cycle of a Volunteer Part 2: New Volunteer

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New Volunteer Overview
Processing a Prospective Volunteer
Send Access Notification
Placing a Prospective Volunteer in No Match status
Placing a Prospective Volunteer in an On Hold Status
Prospective Volunteer Reports
Converting a Candidate to a Volunteer (Part III)

Portal Guide Tip Sheets- 04 Prospective Volunteer Processing

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Life Cycle of a Volunteer Part 2: New Volunteer

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System automatically

Creates a contact record
Routes to a district based on zip code
Sends email to the District Coordinator and the Prospective Volunteer Specialist, with PV’s Name, Vol ID# and contact info

When a Person Applies

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2023 SMT ADS

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Contact Record for new Applicant

Volunteer Assignment of “Prospective Volunteer” with status of “Submitted”

Program Volunteer Assignment in Tax-Aide with status of “Prospect”

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Life Cycle of a Volunteer Part 2: New Volunteer

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Done automatically by address or preferred zip
View/edit on Program Volunteer record
If incorrect, Administration Specialist or Prospective Volunteer Specialist can edit
If zip code table is incorrect, Administration Specialist should Submit a Request.

Routing

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2023 SMT ADS

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On Program Volunteer Record

Zip code used – usually from address

Preferred Zip Code: Use this field to edit

Routing based on zip code routing table

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Prospective Volunteer

2023 SMT ADS

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Start

End

PV Status =

SUBMITTED

PV vetted

Perform in this order:

1) Mark Certifications

2) Give Volunteer Assignment:

Status -> Approved

Start Date = Today

3) On PV Assignment

Status = Approved

Start Date = End Date = Today

(VP04 – Converting a Candidate to a Volunteer)

Try again later

PV

certified?

NO

PV

accepted?

YES

NO

YES

NO

Can attend Training?

PV Status = CANDIDATE

(Send Portal Access Invite)

PV Attends Training

PV Status =

ON HOLD

Will attend training later

(*add Note)

PV Status =

NO MATCH

(*add Note)

YES

End

*if appropriate

(On this slide, PV = Prospective Volunteer Assignment)

This flowchart show the process and statuses that should be used for a Prospective Volunteer.

As noted before when a Prospective Volunteer registers, a contact record is created in the Portal with a status of SUBMITTED.

The appropriate DC and PVS are notified by email and the Prospective Volunteer is vetted to determine the appropriate position for the Prospective Volunteer.

If it is determined that the Prospective Volunteer is not interested or not a good fit for Tax-Aide, their Prospective Volunteer status should be changed to NO MATCH.

If it is determined that the Prospective Volunteer is a good fit for Tax-Aide but cannot attend training, their Prospective Volunteer status should be changed to ON HOLD.

If the Prospective Volunteer is a good fit for Tax-Aide and can attend training, their status should be changed to CANDIDATE. This will make the Prospective Volunteer active in the portal and allow them access to the portal, once an invitation to access the portal is sent.

(Rest of Flowchart will be covered in LifeCycle Part 3)

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2023 SMT ADS

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Find Volunteer Assignment

On Contact Record

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2023 SMT ADS

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Change Volunteer Assignment Status

In Volunteer Assignments

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2023 SMT ADS

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Place On Hold

Change status on Prospective Volunteer assignment to “On Hold”

Status of Tax-Aide Program Volunteer is changed automatically to “On Hold”

*add a Note in Program Volunteer record, if appropriate

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Life Cycle of a Volunteer Part 2: New Volunteer

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No Match Requires a Reason on Volunteer Assignment

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2023 SMT ADS

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No Match

Change status on Prospective Volunteer assignment to “No Match”

Status of Tax-Aide Program Volunteer is changed automatically to “Declined”

*add a Note in Program Volunteer record, if appropriate

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2023 SMT ADS

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Good fit! Mark as Candidate

Change status on Prospective Volunteer assignment to “Candidate”

Status of Tax-Aide Program Volunteer is changed automatically to “Under Consideration”

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Life Cycle of a Volunteer Part 2: New Volunteer

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Portal Access should be sent to all Candidates before their Training starts so that they can access Libraries and LMS courses.

Per State/District choice this can be:
Immediately upon conversion to Candidate (easiest to not forget)
Right before Training starts - if not wanting to confuse Candidates if conversion to Candidate happens in Summer/early fall

Candidates are now able to be Sent Portal Access (Active)

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2023 SMT ADS

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Send Portal Access

To Send Portal Access, go to Program Volunteer Record and then click Send Access Notification box at top, right of screen

(Vol must have an ACTIVE assignment – PV/Candidate is ACTIVE)

If Access NOT sent:

If Access sent, Vol NOT logged in:

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2023 SMT ADS

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Send Portal Access

If VOL HAS logged in:

Read carefully. This is NOT an error. Vol HAS previously logged in. If they don’t remember their password they will need to reset it.

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2023 SMT ADS

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Send Portal Access

Submit a Request to: Operations > Volunteer Portal > Send Access Error

Include Volunteer’s first and last name and Volunteer ID#

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Life Cycle of a Volunteer Part 2: New Volunteer

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IMPORTANT – NOTE when you are supposed to use SANDBOX. These changes will not affect any Active Portal Assignments. You will not want to make any assignment changes in Active (regular) Portal

Try 3 ways to get to Active Prospects report
In SANDBOX:

Change a prospect’s preferred zip code
Change a submitted prospect’s status to On Hold, No Match and Candidate
For Prospect that you made Candidate (or any other Candidate), Send Portal access (it won’t actually Send since this is in the Sandbox)

Self Study Activities - Summary

Return to

Index

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Converting a Candidate to a Volunteer

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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Overview – Converting a Candidate to a Volunteer

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Tip Sheet – VP4 – Converting a Candidate to a Volunteer

Responsibility of District Leaders – with support / training from ADS

Candidate Trains, Certifies, and Certification is entered in Portal (District)
Add new Volunteer Assignment (DC / AC)
End Prospective Volunteer Assignment (DC / AC)
Check Program Start Date (DC / AC)

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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2. Add New Volunteer Assignment

Where? Volunteer’s Contact Record

Click on New in Volunteer Assignment List Box

A Certified Prospective Volunteer with “Candidate” Status

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Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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2. Add New Volunteer Assignment (continued)

Create New Assignment for certified Prospective Volunteer

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Short Cut to bring up assignment is to enter the numbers of the site’s SIDN (S########) and select the assignment from the results

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

After clicking on New, the Prospects name will be listed in the “Volunteer” box. In the “Position” field, enter the assignment by picking from a list. Shortcut to bring up a site assignment is S######## (numbers of SIDN). Enter the whole SIDN number in the Position box and click on search icon to see complete list. Use caution to get the correct Assignment – CANNOT be undone once saved. Confirm correct SIDN (for site assignments) and correct position – ie “Counselor” or “Client Facilitator”

Change Status to Approved, Enter Start Date of “Today” – Do not backdate, especially the first assignment. Why can’t you back date a new assignment? Because the new assignment start date is what triggers the volunteer receiving their Chromebook ID (once or twice a week) – if back dated they will not get a Chromebook ID. Also it takes up to a week to get a Chromebook ID. – a process controlled by the Technology group and out of NOC control. And “SAVE”.

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3. End Prospective Volunteer Assignment

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Where? Volunteer’s Contact Record – Volunteer Assignments

End Prospective Volunteer Assignment

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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4. End Prospective Volunteer Assignment (continued)

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Where? Volunteer’s Prospective Volunteer Assignment

End Prospective Volunteer Assignment – “Approved” with Start and End Dates

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

In the Prospective Volunteer “Assignment Record”, after a new assignment is added and active:

Status: Approved
Start Date: Add “Yesterday”
End Date: Add “Yesterday”
Save

Both Start and End dates should be entered as the day before the start date of the new Assignment. Both should be the same date.

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Prospective Volunteer Assignment Ended�Onboarding Complete!

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Where? Volunteer’s Contact Record

Note - Send Portal Access Invitation If this was not done when the Prospect was a Candidate.

See Life Cycle of a Volunteer Part 2.

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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4. Check Program Volunteer Start Date

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Program Volunteer Start Date should be the same as the Volunteer’s First Assignment Start Date

Where? Tax-Aide Program Volunteer Record

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

“Program Start Date” is automatically entered by the system
Check it by going to the Program Volunteer record (click on PVxxxxxxxx)
Scroll down to the “Program Start Date”
Confirm that the Date is entered and correct

Return to

Index

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Volunteer Management Overview

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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Volunteer Management Overview

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Tip Sheet – VP06 – Volunteer Management Overview

Add Another Volunteer Assignment (DC / AC)

Tip Sheet – VP06 – Add a New Volunteer Assignment

End Volunteer Assignments (DC / AC)

Tip Sheet – VP06 – End a Volunteer Assignment

Volunteer Departs Tax-Aide (DC / AC / ADS)

Tip Sheet – VP06 – Volunteer Departs from AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Program

Volunteer Returns from Leave of Absence or Retired (DC / AC)

Tip Sheet – VP06 – Returning Retired of Leave of Absence Volunteer

Volunteer Transfers to/from another Split State (DC / AC / ADS)

Tip Sheet – VP06 – Transferring Volunteers Across Split States

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

An overview of Volunteer Management, including various other things District Leadership must do to properly manage Volunteers in the Portal. There are several tip sheets for this – one for each major process – so be sure to look for these in the Volunteer Portal library folder “06 – Volunteer Management” and pass them on to your leaders that are doing the “work”.

ADS’s need to monitor and provide training to district leaders on these things. ADS’s also “Submit a Request” for situations like deceased volunteers, duplicate contact records and other contact record errors. ADS’s also assist in handling transfers of volunteers between split states (or to other districts).

All of these activities are covered in their respective tip sheets. And we’ll review them briefly here.

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1. Add Volunteer Assignment

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Tip Sheet – VP06 – Add a New Volunteer Assignment

Reasons to add another Volunteer Assignment

Volunteer is going to volunteer at a new / additional site
Volunteer adds a new position
Volunteer returning from LOA / Retired

Steps to add a new Assignment

Go to Volunteer’s contact record
Go to Volunteer Assignment List Box
Click on New

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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1. Add Volunteer Assignment (continued)

New Assignment for Certified Volunteer

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To find District level (non-site) assignments, type in TA-Rxx-SSx-Dxx for the district and select from results listed

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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2. End Volunteer Assignment

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Tip Sheet – VP06 – End a Volunteer Assignment

Use “View All” to find the correct assignment to end

Many assignments look alike! Make sure you are ending the right one!

Click on ASxxxxxxxx link (blue highlight) to open, then click on Edit

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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2. End Volunteer Assignment (continued)

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Assignment Record “Edit” screen:

Enter and End Date: Use a day before “today” so assignment ends immediately
Save
On assignment list, “Is Active” will no longer be checked

Important Notes!!!

Never Change Status from “Approved”
Do not use “On-Hold” or “No Match” for ending a regular Volunteer Assignment

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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3. Volunteer Departs Tax-Aide

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Tip Sheet – VP06 – Volunteer Departs from AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Program

End all Active Assignments – When last one ended, system generates a warning:

Add “Assignment Ended Reason” in Program Volunteer Record

Leave of Absence – may return to Tax-Aide in future - Add LOA Start date
Retired – not expected to volunteer in the future – receives a “Thank you” email

Volunteer is Deceased – DO NOT end active assignments or mark “Retired”

“Submit a Request” with following information (ADS submits)

Deceased Volunteer’s name
Date of death
Who informed you of the volunteer’s passing

Portal Staff will end the assignments and mark volunteer as deceased

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

When last active assignment is ended, an Orange warning flag will appear on contact record – an Assignment Ended reason is required. Either click on the link in the warning message or navigate to the Tax-Aide Program Volunteer record. Enter the “Assignment Ended Reason” – only use LOA or Retired – other reasons are for special purposes. Volunteers marked in other ways will be “lost” in reports. Example, if your volunteer is moving to another state where he wants to volunteer, you might think “I’ll show assignment ended = “Relocated””. This causes that volunteer to not show up on any report for his new or old state, so he will be difficult to “find” in the new state! Don’t do it.

Deceased Volunteer – important to NOT end assignments and Do NOT mark “Retired” – ADS submits a ticket to have Portal Staff handle it, without the automatic “thank you” email. Also do this for previous LOA or Retired volunteers, to have marked deceased.

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3. Volunteer Departs Tax-Aide (continued)

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Upon completing the steps for a departing volunteer

Volunteer Assignments show no ”Active” assignments

Volunteer Program Volunteer status is “Assignment Ended” and Assignment Ended Reason is “Leave of Absence” or “Retired”

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

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4. Volunteer Returns from Leave of Absence or Retired

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Tip Sheet – VP06 – Returning Retired or Leave of Absence Volunteer

Tip Sheet provides the “normal / official” process

Returning Volunteer that has missed one or more tax seasons
Bring onboard the same as a new Prospective Volunteer
Given a NEW Prospective Volunteer Assignment with Submitted or Candidate status
After certifying, create NEW volunteer assignments

Do NOT back date start of new assignment
The old assignments are not to be added on to or overwritten

TY 2021 & 22 streamlined process – under review for TY2023

Stay tuned for updates via email or ADS monthly meetings

Returning Volunteers that did NOT miss the previous tax year and were Certified

May be given a new assignment at any time – Do Not backdate starting date

Updates to this process, if any, will be communicated through ADS meetings and emails.

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

First here is the Official Process - Returning Volunteers that have taken several tax seasons off, are brought back like a new Prospect – with a Prospective Volunteer Assignment – with status of Candidate so that they have access to the Portal. Once certified, they are given NEW volunteer assignments.

For the last two tax seasons a modified process was approved and may be approved again for this year for short absences – this process skips the “Prospective Volunteer” Assignment step. Updates will be communicated to all ADS’s. One activity you’ll be asked to do will use this modified process.

Returning volunteers that did NOT miss the prior tax season (were certified and active in prior TY, often changing sites or prior site closed) can be given a new assignment at any time – avoid having a gap in service, if possible, but do NOT backdate the starting date! Instead, change the end date of the previous assignment if necessary.

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5. Volunteer Transfers To/From Another Split State

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Tip Sheet – VP06 – Transferring Volunteers Across Split States

Tip Sheet has specific steps for both Split State leaders
Both ADS’s make sure sending and receiving Split State District Leaders are communicating with each other about the move
New Split State ADS must manually update “Preferred Zip Code” field on Program Volunteer record to new location’s Zip Code
Make sure the volunteer does not submit a new Tax-Aide application. If email needs changing, the volunteer needs to change email at aarp.org

Life Cycle of Volunteer Part 3

Return to

Index

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Part 1: Certification Overview

2023 ADS SMT Certifications

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Certification Overview

84

Tip Sheet – VP05 – IRS Certification Overview

Certification Policies
Certification Calendar
Certification Requirements

See “Minimum Certifications Required by Position TY YYYY.xlsx” in

Libraries > Tax-Aide: Volunteer Portal > 05 IRS Certifications

Documenting Certification Results

Tip Sheet – VP05 – Documenting IRS Certification

Entering Certifications in Portal (Inst/TrC/AC/DC)

2022 ADS SMT Certifications

This will be a general overview of Certification Policy, calendar, documentation and reporting to the IRS. Important for ADS to understand overall process, but we are not generally responsible for required training, testing and documenting certifications.

Overview Tip Sheet – covers basics of IRS Certifications and a spreadsheet in the VP05 library folder has the minimum certification requirements in detail by position. Currently it is for TY 2021, anticipate it will be updated for TY 2022.

“Minimum Certifications Required by Position TY YYYY.xlsx” – this is a detailed listing of certification requirements and LMS courses by position. A joint effort of NTTC and NOC – expect updates for TY 2022 when decisions on certifications / LMS are finalized.

Last, we will cover how to document certifications in the volunteer Portal.

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Certification Policies

AARP Policies and Procedures Manual – Chapter 3

Tax-Aide National / IRS set training, testing and certification requirements (including LMS courses) for Tax-Aide volunteers

Documented in current year Policy and Procedures Manual
Each split state SMT determines responsibility for implementing

District leaders train and document certifications (Inst/TrC/AC/DC)

District Leaders are responsible for ensuring the training of all District Volunteers
ADS monitors certifications in the Portal

Best Practice – Have one contact in each district

Completed Certifications are sent by National to the IRS

National Certification Reports are the official (and only) method used to notify the IRS
No split state information should be provided to the local SPEC office

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2022 ADS SMT Certifications

Certification is a multi-step process managed by the National Tax Training Committee (NTTC) of the Tax-Aide program. A volunteer is ‘Certified’ when the certification requirements for their assignment(s) are met. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide certification requirements are set by National leadership and documented in Section 3 of the Policy and Procedures Manual, which is available in the Tax-Aide: General Information Library located in the Volunteer Portal on the Libraries Tab. Section 3 of the 2021-2022

1. Training and Testing is completed by training organization and on line via LMS courses. District Leaders are responsible.

2. Documenting of completed certification in the Portal also responsibility of District Leaders. – ADS does not do the documenting but does monitor to ensure certifications are correct.

3. Reporting of the certified Tax-Aide volunteers to the IRS. By National. No Split State / District / Site certification information is to be provided to the local SPEC RM. Big change from just a few years ago!

Who Can Document Volunteer Certification

Volunteers with the following roles can enter and save Certification information.

Instructor, Administration Coordinator, Training Coordinator, District Coordinator (NOT LCs)
Training Specialist, Administration Specialist

Reporting of Tax-Aide Volunteer Certifications to the IRS -

The National Office does all formal reporting of certified Tax-Aide volunteers to the National SPEC representative. Tax-Aide leaders should not provide certification information to their local SPEC contact. Any Tax-Aide leader can run certification reports for the state, district, and site.

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Certification Calendar

Beginning of Season

Instructors in November/December
Counselors/Client Facilitators/Others by February 5, 2024

First Monday of February each year
Cannot be assigned to a site if not certified
Volunteers and PVs not certifying should have status updated by 2/1
Review outstanding people regularly – weekly or biweekly

Middle of Season

Review certification matrix reports

End of Season

Enter Certifications before records are locked May 1

Enter by April 30 in the Portal

Volunteers and PVs NOT certified must be removed as active Volunteers or Prospects

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2022 ADS SMT Certifications

Instructors and Training Coordinators will generally certify early – November / December – Must Certify before training others.

All active volunteers should certify by First Monday of February or before they start volunteering at a site

All PV’s and Volunteers that are not going to certify should have their PV assignment updated to On Hold / No Match or Vol assignments Ended. The earlier this is done the better, especially before Feb 1.

There will always be some stragglers, but they must be monitored closely

Near the end of the season – May 1 (or April 30) – very important as this is when final certifications are sent to the IRS.

All volunteers and PVs must be resolved before the lockout date of 5/1

IMPORTANT - MUST HAVE ALL CORRECTED BEFORE THEN or must Submit a Request with all information.

Active Volunteers must be certified or moved to LOA or Retired

Prospects must be converted to Active Volunteer or change status to On Hold or No Match

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Certification Requirements – set by National/IRS

All Volunteers and Prospects

Assignments doing Tax Preparation / transmissions

Prospect – On Hold or No Match

Volunteer – End Assignment / LOA or Retired

Assignments with NO

Tax related interactions

Assignments WITH Tax related Interactions

Mark added checks for optional tests

Certification Requirements

Tier 1 – Standards of Conduct

Policies & Procedures

All Required LMS Training

Volunteer Agreement

Tier 2 - Intake/Interview &

Quality Review

Tier 3 - Advanced Test

Proficiency Problems

State Training (if required)

Optional: Military, Intl, Foreign Students
Qualified Experienced Volunteer (QEV) Test doesn’t apply to Tax-Aide
Leader requirements not shown

For all requirements met, mark the certification check boxes. When all certifications are complete, fill in the Certification Complete Section.

YES

Pass

Tier 1

Pass

Tier 2

YES

Pass Tier 3

(Tax Prep)

YES

Pass Optional

Tests?

NO

END

NO

Flow Chart for Certification Requirements – Simplification, but important to understand that different assignments require different training, testing and LMS training – set up as graduated tiers –

Think of Certification Requirements as 3 Tiers -

All Volunteers and Prospective Volunteers must certify every year per Tax-Aide Policy and Procedures – Requirements are set by IRS / National.

Tier 1 – All Volunteers: Standard of Conduct and Policies & Procedures, All Required LMS Training – LMS will be covered in the fall at monthly ADS meeting

If Volunteer or PV does not pass after 2 attempts, PV is a No Match or On Hold for Tax-Aide; Previous Volunteers - end all assignments and mark Program Volunteer as “Retired” or “LOA”.

If Pass / complete And Don’t Do Tier 2 – Assignments in “Non-Site / no taxpayer contact” or continue to Tier 2

Tier 2 – Volunteers that interface with Taxpayers: All of Tier 1 plus Intake/Interview & Quality Review,

If Volunteer or PV does not pass Tier 2 after 2 attempts, they can only hold Non-Site roles (e.g. TC that is not counselor).

If Pass – may have site assignments with taxpayer interface but not tax preparation / transmission assignments.

Tier 3 – Volunteers that prepare Taxes: – All of Tier 2 plus Advanced Test, Proficiency Problems and State Training if required

If Volunteer or PV does not pass after 2 attempts, they can only hold Tier 2 Positions.

Optional Tests for Counselors – If Counselor passes these tests, they should be marked in the portal certifications – may be done after having certified

NOTES: Leader requirements are not shown.

For all certifications that have been completed / passed, the corresponding boxes are to be checked in the Portal “Certification Bulk Edit”. When all required certifications are complete, including all required LMS training, then the “Certification Complete Section” should be filled in and saved.

“Minimum Certifications Required by Position TY YYYY.xlsx” – this is a detailed listing of certification requirements and LMS courses by position. A joint effort of NTTC and NOC – expect updates for TY 2023 when decisions on certifications / LMS are finalized.

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Documenting Certification Results

Certifications are entered on the Program Volunteer Record (PVxxxxxxxx) in the “Certification Bulk Edit” section
Can also be accessed through Certification Dashboard / Pie Chart Report and several other ways
Entry should be by local leader closest to the training / certification process or designated district leader – Inst / TrC / AC / DC

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Tip Sheet – VP05 – Documenting IRS Certification

2023 ADS SMT Certifications

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Certification Entry Detail

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Check all completed Certifications

Select all states that volunteer is certified to complete returns for

When all - requirements are met and ID verified, check two boxes, enter date certified and date entered, then click “Update Certifications”

2023 ADS SMT Certifications

Return to

Index

As ADS, you are not the one entering Certifications in the Portal – but you need to know how to, so that you can train and support your District leaders.

Check all boxes for completed training and certification. Select state certification from drop down list.

Check boxes may be entered as items are completed by whomever is closest to the testing / training – doesn’t need to be done all at once or by one person. If entering before completion, be sure to click on “Update Certifications” to SAVE. And see “Success!” notification.

When volunteer has completed all required training, certification tests and other requirements (including LMS), fill in the lower section.

When minimum requirements are completed and ID Verified,

Check the Completed Certification Requirements checkbox at the bottom.
Click the ID Verified checkbox at the bottom
Enter a date in the Date Certification Requirements Met field or use the popup calendar to choose the date when the volunteer completed the minimum required certification(s) and ID was verified.
Enter Date that certifications were entered on the far right.
Click the Update Certifications button to save the data
Confirm Save with “Success!” notification at top of Bulk Edit Section

Completed Certification Requirements not filled out with date or ID verification are incomplete!

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Part 2: Certification Monitoring / Review

2023 ADS SMT Certifications

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Certification Monitoring / Review

91

Tip Sheet – VP05 – IRS Certification Reports and Dashboards

Certification Dashboard and Reports
Monitor IRS Certification Completion (ADS)
Certification Cleanup (AC/DC)
Certification Results Matrix (CRM) (ADS)

2023 ADS SMT Certifications

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Certification Dashboard

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Use Split State Certification Dashboard to view certification status

Allows filtering by District, Volunteer Position, or Certification Status
Click on Dashboards – select “TA - Rxx - SSx - Certifications” if in recent list

Or use Global Search > “SSx” > Dashboards

2023 ADS SMT Certifications

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Certification Dashboard (continued)

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2023 ADS SMT Certifications

Volunteer or Under Consideration

False = Incomplete

True = Complete

Filter Charts and Reports by District

To run report, click on Pie chart or “View Report” at bottom of chart

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Certification Report – Vol & PV Certification Status

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2023 ADS SMT Certifications

Certification Status Report is useful for checking details of certification records

Download this report to use in Certification Results Matrix–Export>Details Only>Excel Format .xlsx

That is the Certification Dashboard, now let’s look at the reports:

Chart / Report on left will show details of Volunteer and PV certification status –

Pro ADS Tip – scroll to bottom of the screen and uncheck the “subtotals” toggle box – reduces lines on screen by half!

Every active volunteer and Prospect with “candidate” status is listed. Sort is alphabetical by first name. Report displays with a “1” any boxes on the certification bulk edit entry that have been checked. Does NOT show if “certifications are complete” section has been entered.

Downloading Details Only report includes additional information of Program Route To and whether or not certs are marked complete. However, not very useful as each person is listed 16 times (one for each possible certification check box. Run and download this Report to run the Certification Results Matrix (later in presentation), otherwise, just view.

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Certification Report – All PVs and Vols Cert (Pie Chart)

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2023 ADS SMT Certifications

Click on “Full Name” heading to sort by first name

Click on PVxxxxxxxx to go to Volunteer's Certification Bulk Edit

Sorted by “Not Complete” (False) and “Complete” (True box checked)

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Monitor IRS Certification Completion

Monitoring of Certifications for SMT is responsibility of ADS

Start monitoring well before Feb 1; Continue through March; finish before May 1
Suggest weekly reviews and follow-ups with Districts as needed through February

Using the “Pie Chart” Cert Report

By Feb 1, all volunteers and PVs should be marked as Completed (True)
Follow-up with District Leaders fix or understand Incomplete (False) certifications
Will always be a few stragglers, but clean up any that will not certify by Feb 1

Using the “Certification Status Report”

Note any volunteers missing required certifications – i.e. VSOC and P&P

Using the “Certification Results Matrix” (CRM)

More on this later in presentation

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2023 ADS SMT Certifications

Tools for ADS to Monitor Certifications:

Monitoring of Certifications is responsibility of ADS – in most split states – although Districts should also be monitoring

Start monitoring well before Feb 1; Continue through March; finish before May 1

Suggest weekly reviews and follow-ups with Districts as needed through February, as needed after February until 100%!

Using the “Pie Chart” Cert Report – most useful for finding PV or Vols that have not been marked as certified

By Feb 1, all volunteers should be marked as Completed (True) – if not, why not?

Follow-up with District Leaders to find reason for Incomplete (False) certifications – if not going to certify, PV’s need to be changed to On Hold or No Match and Volunteers need to have all assignments ended and be marked as Assign Ended Reason of LOA or Retired

Will always be a few stragglers, but clean up any that will not certify as soon as it is known. This will REALLY make monitoring easier!

Using the “Certification Status Report” – may be difficult to find errors, except for VSOC (Volunteers Standard of Conduct Test) and P&P (Policy & Procedures LMS Training). Only need to scroll down and across and view

Note any volunteers missing required certifications – i.e. VSOC and P&P – all volunteers need these!

Difficult to find issues by “viewing” or even downloading and sorting…. Solution - Using the “Certification Results Matrix” (CRM) – highlights errors for follow-up

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Certification Cleanup

Cleanup is done by District Leaders with support and reminders by ADS

Initial cleanup should be done before Feb 1; Final clean up before May 1

Volunteers that do NOT certify – End all assignments

End all assignments (by adding an end date, leave status = Approved)
Set “Assignment Ended Reason” as “Retired” or “Leave of Absence”
Do NOT use “On Hold”

Prospective Volunteers that do NOT certify – end PV assignment

On Hold – if they expect to volunteer next year
No Match – if they will not be a volunteer / mark with “reason”

Volunteers that are changing assignments (Cou > CF or CF > Cou)

Ensure that assignments match certifications

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2023 ADS SMT Certifications

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Certification Results Matrix (CRM)

Excel tool developed by Tom Haydon and enhanced by Danny Colburn and Robert Borochoff that uses Portal data to identify and highlight certification errors
Plan to generate the results weekly by Region until end of March
View / download weekly results. https://tinyurl.com/tacertresults

All reports are available in this drive, including prior years.

More details / training coming in future ADS monthly meetings.

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2023 ADS SMT Certifications

CRM “Read Me” tab (partial)

The Real Challenge for you as ADS, is that the Portal Certification Reports are difficult to use to “find” whether, or not, the Certifications are correct for the Positions that each Volunteer holds. The solution is The Certification Results Matrix! Part of the CRM “Read Me” tab is shown here.

Originally developed by volunteer Tom Haydon and called Certification Macro - An Excel Macro (Automatic running of a long series of steps in Excel). Logic was added by Danny Colburn for split states that do not have state tax requirements. Robert has made enhancements to add additional logic to better handle “leadership only” volunteers.

On the screen shot here, you can see the roles that are currently being reviewed in the CRM for correct certifications. These are the most common Tax-Aide roles. Robert’s upgrades will expand this list to include volunteers that are “Leaders Only” – such as Technology Coordinators.

Carmen and Katie will generate results by region weekly through March. These can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/tacertresults.

The reports are sorted by Last Name and First Name. Sort or filter by “Program (TA-Rxx-SSx-Dxx) to easily find your split state results.

Color Codes and Roles are noted on “Read Me” tab.

This will be covered again in one of the monthly ADS meetings.

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Certification Results Matrix (CRM)

ADSs may run the CRM to generate current split state results
First, download the CRM file.
Next, download Certification Status and Volunteer Reports
Then click on “Click to Run” in CRM and follow prompts

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2023 ADS SMT Certifications

CRM “Read Me” tab – How to run the CRM for current results

Although NOC will be running the reports and posting them weekly during the prime season, The CRM can be run by an ADS for their split state “as needed” for current results.

The CRM merges a Certifications report and a Volunteers report, highlighting missing certifications or other problems with the Certifications in the Portal.

It is a macro, which is a single instruction (Click to Run) that automatically runs a series of instructions to perform a series of Excel tasks.

First, download the CRM file – the macro on the “Read Me” tab must be run from your computer, not from the Google Drive.

The macro requires current input data from the AARP Volunteer Portal:

Create a "Vol & PV Certification Status" report for district or split-state
Export the Certifications report (Details Only) and open it
Give the Certifications report a descriptive name and save it as an .xlsx file
Note: If doing more than one split state, sort Cert. file by Program Route To First
Create a Volunteers report - Export the Volunteers report (Details Only) and open it Give the Volunteers report a descriptive name and save it as an .xlsx file

Run the macro by clicking “Click to Run”. Results on next screen!

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Certification Results Matrix (CRM) (continued)

Results Matrix example – from either downloaded Regional Report or by running the CRM
Results matrix is color coded to highlight problems or errors with certifications – see “Read Me”

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2023 ADS SMT Certifications

Plan to cover the CRM in future ADS monthly meeting.

Examples of the CRM results that show various problem color codes – Yellow missing Assignment and / or missing certifications (checked boxes); Red is an error in Completion – either no certifications or marked certified with no Assignment.

Volunteers listed by program (TA-Rxx-SSx-Dxx) – Certification overall status and individual certifications marked. Far right are “Roles” or Assignments that determine certification requirements.

This is a wonderful tool – it highlights the errors in Certifications. RAA’s can pull the weekly report for their region, break it down into reports for each Split State and provide that by email to their Region’s ADSs, but ADSs can do this for themselves also. Thank you, Rita, R09 RAA, for doing this for use last year!

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Certification Activities

Find and explore the Certification Dashboard
Run, explore, and export the “Vol & PV Certification Details” Report (left side)
Run and use the “Pie Chart” Report (right side) to go to a Volunteer’s Certification Bulk Edit screen
View Certification Results Matrix (CRM) reports using URL https://tinyurl.com/tacertresults to view past reports

Self Study Activities

2023 ADS SMT Certifications

Return to

Index

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102

Learning Management System (LMS)

2023 ADS SMT Certifications

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Learning Management System

Tax Year 2023 Training Courses

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State Management Training

Outlined below are the courses that will be available for the upcoming tax season: �

Introduction to Tax-Aide �
Policy and Procedures �
Reimbursement (for Volunteers and Leaders)

Session Management

Technology & Security

Introduction to Chromebooks

Tax Software Configuration

Local Coordinator

State Coordinator

District Coordinator

Service Delivery Models

Program Location Record

*

Note: The * details courses that are required

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Volunteer Position	Course Requirements
All Volunteers	Required: Technology and Security and Policies and Procedures
District Coordinator	Required: First Year District Coordinators
Local Coordinator & Shift Coordinator	Required: Technology and Security, Policies and Procedures, and Local Coordinator

TY23 Required e-Courses by Position

Model Type	Course Requirements
Drop-Off	Required: All Volunteers Using Drop-Off Model
Scan	Required: Volunteers at Sites Using a Scan Model for the First Time Encouraged: All Volunteers

Service Delivery Models (SDM)

Note: The LMS only allows courses to be uploaded as a required course for all positions or none. Therefore, Volunteer Leaders should be communicating that first year District Coordinators are required to take the District Coordinator e-course. This chart is not designed to cover IRS VITA/TCE required trainings and certifications; please refer to the P&P Manual for that information.

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TY23 Strongly Encouraged e-Courses by Position

Course Name	Strongly Encouraged For
State Coordinator	First Year State Coordinators
Introduction to Chromebooks	First Year Counselors
Tax Software and Configuration	Volunteers Who Set Up and Manage Local Software Configurations
Session Management	First Year Volunteers Using the Session Management Tool
Reimbursement for Leaders	First Year Leaders
Reimbursement for Volunteers	First Year Volunteers
Service Delivery Models	Volunteers Utilizing Service Delivery Models
Program Location	Local Coordinators, District Coordinators, Administrative Specialists, and Administrative Coordinators

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Learning Management System

How to toggle between Admin and Learner view in Litmos

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State Management Training

As an ADS, you will have Admin access to Litmos in order to view completion status of courses for those Volunteers who are using the PDF version. Please follow the steps below to toggle back and forth between Admin and Learner view in Litmos (Training Tab).

After accessing the Training Tab, navigate over to the right corner where your initials are presented
Click on the drop-down arrow and select ‘Switch to Admin View’. Your screen will change and show an internal view of the Training Tab, which AARP staff members work within
When you are finished in Admin view, click on your initials drop-down arrow again and select ‘Switch to Learner View’ to go back

Note: You will know you are in Learner View when you see the ‘Assigned Training Metrics’ presented.

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Learning Management System

Additional Note: Updating Volunteer Emails

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State Management Training

To find where Volunteer email addresses are located in Litmos (Training Tab), please follow the directions below:

In Admin View, click on ‘People’
Search for the Volunteers name in the search bar
Select the Volunteers name in the list that appears
Scroll over to the ‘Options’ drop-down arrow and

select ‘View [Volunteer Name]’

Scroll down to the ‘Basic Information’ section and

click on the pencil icon. Then update the email

address that is on file.

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Learning Management System

Frequently Asked Questions

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State Management Training

When will Tax Year 2023 training courses be available within the Learning Management System?

All training courses for the upcoming tax season should be available for volunteers to complete in late November. A detailed message will be sent via the Volunteer Leader Communication when TY2023 courses are available.

What should I do if I have difficulty accessing the Learning Management System? �If you encounter difficulty accessing the Learning Management System, please Submit a Request to Operations > Volunteer Portal > LMS Online Course. A Tax-Aide staff member or a Volunteer Agent will help troubleshoot this issue.

What actions should I take when a Prospective Volunteer is unable to access the Learning Management System?

If you encounter difficulty accessing the Learning Management System, please Submit a Request to Operations > Volunteer Portal > LMS Online Course. A Tax-Aide staff member or a Volunteer Agent will help troubleshoot this issue. Please note, PVs must be entered into the portal first, in order to access LMS.

Return to

Index

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Life Cycle of a Site�

Data Clean Up

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Site Information is Important for

Letting taxpayers know where and when Tax-Aide services are available
Letting IRS know who, where and when
E-filing: authorization and tracking
Software licensing
Meeting grant/funding requirements

.

Life Cycle of a Site

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References

Policy and Procedures manual – Section 7 Site Operations and Management

Portal Volunteer Guide – Section 7 Site Management (and 14 Appendix)

Life Cycle of a Site

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Life Cycle of a Tax-Aide Site

Life Cycle of a Site

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Opening a new site

Identify
Portal listing
E-Services
Assign volunteers

Normal Operation

Hours, days, contact information
Program metric (“site activity”)

Changes

Move to new location
Close
Re-open
Change district

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Site Basics and Definitions

Three separate listings/databases:

Tax-Aide Portal
IRS SPECTRM *
Software order

Tax-Aide Portal active sites are reported to IRS twice weekly.

Site must be active in Portal and SPECTRM for software to be ordered.

* Stakeholder, Partnership, Education and Communication Total Relationship Management

Life Cycle of a Site

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Site Basics and Definitions

Every Site* must have:

SIDN (Site Identification Number) is assigned by the ADS when a new site is opened. SIDNs are not reused.

EFIN (Electronic Filing Identification Number) is assigned by the IRS.

*Ad Hoc site requires an SIDN only if it should be listed in the Locator

Life Cycle of a Site

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Site Basics and Definitions

Types of Sites:

Base Site - A unique physical location where Tax-Aide services are offered on a regular and recurring basis. Most Tax-Aide sites are Base Sites.

Ad Hoc - Ad Hoc Sites are always affiliated with a Base Site. An Ad Hoc site is a location (site) where volunteers who work at a Base Site also offer Tax-Aide services to the underserved on an infrequent (ad hoc) basis. Infrequent here means open less than once each week during the tax season, and/or are expected to produce fewer than 50 return

Mobile - Examples: a special one-time event, one-time visits to Senior Living Centers, or Veterans’ Stand Down events.

Reference: Policy and Procedure Manual 7.2.1.- 7.2.3

Life Cycle of a Site

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Site Information in the Portal

Life Cycle of a Site

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contact

location

program volunteer

position

volunteer assignment

program

program location

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Site Information in the Portal

Life Cycle of a Site

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Location – The physical location; a building

Program – the organization chart

Program Location – Name of the site used by Tax-Aide

Program record

Location Record

Program Location record

See Tip Sheets: 14 “Site Data Structure” and 7 “Site Management Overview”

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Life Cycle of a Site

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ADS Role throughout the life span

Opening a New Site

Normal Operations

Changes

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Opening a Site

Follow Tip Sheet “Open a Site”

DC identifies and collects information
ADS reviews information and assigns a new SIDN (Volunteer Portal Library - #14 Appendix – “Creating a new SIDN for your Site”)
ADS submits a request to open the new site
The split state’s Responsible Official applies for a new EFIN

Life Cycle of a Site

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Life Cycle of a Site: Changes

All of these require that the ADS submit a request to National:

Move a site to a new physical location
Move a site to a different district
Create a new district and move existing sites to that district
Reopen a closed site
Rename a site
Make an existing Base site Ad Hoc or change an existing site from Ad Hoc to Base

Submit a ticket with the required information

Tip Sheets will indicate what information must be provided
Use the correct topic and subtopic – Operations -> Site Request - > choose type of request

Life Cycle of a Site

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Life Cycle of a Site: Changes (moving)

Life Cycle of a Site

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If a site is moving but will still serve the same clients with the same volunteers:

Submit a request to MOVE the site (Not open a new site)

SIDN and EFIN* will not change!

Example: A community center can not support our WiFi needs. The library two blocks away is thrilled to host a Tax-Aide site.

Example: The senior center has moved into a new facility. The old building is being torn down.

* Responsible Official must change address/name in IRS SPECTRM

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Life Cycle of a Site: Closing a Site

The DC notifies the ADS that a site will be closed
The DC or ADS reviews the volunteers associated with the site

If this is the only site that the volunteer is assigned to, the volunteer must be assigned to a different active site
All assignments for this site must be ended

The ADS submits a request to close the site National staff will mark the site as INACTIVE.
The DC or ADS may notify their local SPEC contact as a courtesy

Life Cycle of a Site

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Frequent Confusion: Active / Inactive; Open / Closed

Active / Inactive – is the site operating or not? Set by national; that field cannot be edited locally

Life Cycle of a Site

123

Open to Public – Will the site be listed on the Site Locator?

Can and should be set locally using “Open to Public” field

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SUMMARY

Site Information in the Portal must be accurate
Remind district leaders to tell you about site changes (open, close, re-open, move, rename …)
Use the tip sheets
Carefully Submit a Request for site changes
Communicate with your split state’s Responsible Official to maintain EFIN records

Life Cycle of a Site

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Life Cycle of a Site: Changes (moving)

Life Cycle of a Site

125

If a site is moving but will still serve the same clients with the same volunteers:

Submit a request to MOVE the site (Not open a new site)

SIDN and EFIN* will not change!

Example: A community center can not support our WiFi needs. The library two blocks away is thrilled to host a Tax-Aide site.

Example: The senior center has moved into a new facility. The old building is being torn down.

* Responsible Official must change address/name in IRS SPECTRM

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Life Cycle of a Site: Closing a Site

The DC notifies the ADS that a site will be closed
The DC or ADS reviews the volunteers associated with the site

If this is the only site that the volunteer is assigned to, the volunteer must be assigned to a different active site
All assignments for this site must be ended

The ADS submits a request to close the site National staff will mark the site as INACTIVE.
The DC or ADS may notify their local SPEC contact as a courtesy

Life Cycle of a Site

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Frequent Confusion: Active / Inactive; Open / Closed

Active / Inactive – is the site operating or not? Set by national; that field cannot be edited locally

Life Cycle of a Site

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Open to Public – Will the site be listed on the Site Locator?

Can and should be set locally using “Open to Public” field

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SUMMARY

Site Information in the Portal must be accurate
Remind district leaders to tell you about site changes (open, close, re-open, move, rename …)
Use the tip sheets
Carefully Submit a Request for site changes
Communicate with your split state’s Responsible Official to maintain EFIN records

Life Cycle of a Site

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Life Cycle of a Site: Changes (moving)

Life Cycle of a Site

129

If a site is moving but will still serve the same clients with the same volunteers:

Submit a request to MOVE the site (Not open a new site)

SIDN and EFIN* will not change!

Example: A community center can not support our WiFi needs. The library two blocks away is thrilled to host a Tax-Aide site.

Example: The senior center has moved into a new facility. The old building is being torn down.

* Responsible Official must change address/name in IRS SPECTRM

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Life Cycle of a Site: Closing a Site

The DC notifies the ADS that a site will be closed
The DC or ADS reviews the volunteers associated with the site

If this is the only site that the volunteer is assigned to, the volunteer must be assigned to a different active site
All assignments for this site must be ended

The ADS submits a request to close the site National staff will mark the site as INACTIVE.
The DC or ADS may notify their local SPEC contact as a courtesy

Life Cycle of a Site

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Frequent Confusion: Active / Inactive; Open / Closed

Active / Inactive – is the site operating or not? Set by national; that field cannot be edited locally

Life Cycle of a Site

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Open to Public – Will the site be listed on the Site Locator?

Can and should be set locally using “Open to Public” field

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SUMMARY

Site Information in the Portal must be accurate
Remind district leaders to tell you about site changes (open, close, re-open, move, rename …)
Use the tip sheets
Carefully Submit a Request for site changes
Communicate with your split state’s Responsible Official to maintain EFIN records

Life Cycle of a Site

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Index

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Reimbursements�

Data Clean Up

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References / Resources

Policy and Procedures Manual – Section 10
Volunteer Portal Library – Tip Sheets in Section 9 divided into subfolders for 1) All Volunteers and 2) Leaders
Videos – Listed in “Portal Training Videos” in Volunteer Portal Library

Pre-Approval Reimbursement Requests (8:00 min.) https://tinyurl.com/y37u85md
How to Complete and Submit Flat Rate Mass Approval Forms (3:20 min.) https://tinyurl.com/2wjvx3eu

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Reimbursements

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References / Resources

Volunteer Portal Library – Tip Sheets in Section 9 Reimbursements has two subfolders

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Reimbursements

REIMBURSEMENTS FOR ALL VOLUNTEERS

Reimbursements Overview
Submit a Flat Rate Reimbursement
Submit an Itemized Reimbursement Using the Wizard
Submit an Itemized Reimbursement Using the Classic Form
Create a New Reimbursement from an Approved Pre-Approval

REIMBURSEMENTS FOR LEADERS

Approve or Reject Expenses or Pre-Approvals
Complete and Submit a Flat Rate Mass Approval Form
Submit a Pre-Approval for Exceeding the Split State Cap
Submit a Pre-Approval for Additional Expenses
Submit a Pre-Approval With Regional Funds

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Reimbursements : General Info

Assume you are already familiar with basics (but I answer questions about them every season)

Best approach for least problems: Educate and remind

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Reimbursements

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Reimbursements : General Info

Volunteers who volunteer at least 40 hours have the options of:

No Reimbursement
Flat Rate ($50 for volunteers; $80 for leaders)
Itemized Reimbursement

Timing

Grant season October 1 – September 30
For working during tax season, submit and clear by June 30
Leaders – suggestion is to submit itemized requests for expenses quarterly
Wait for reimbursement to clear before ending assignments (retirement, leave of absence)

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Reimbursements

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Reimbursements : Flat Rate General Information

One per year (Oct 1 – Sept 30) per volunteer, no matter how many sites worked

Cannot claim flat rate mileage and itemize for purchases (e-filing supplies/Program equipment such as paper, staples, Ethernet cables, routers, etc)

Use highest assignment

Supervisors can submit a mass flat rate approval form for their direct reports (Typically, Local Coordinators for Counselors and Client Facilitators)

Can be paid by check to address on record or by direct deposit

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Reimbursements : Itemized General Info

All requests start from a specific assignment
Volunteers should submit an itemized request for EACH site regularly worked
Policy requires a separate line (date, mileage) for each trip
All expenses except mileage require an attached receipt
Policy and Procedures manual 10.3.2 lists acceptable items which can be reimbursed using Expense Code “Z” E-file Supplies / Program Approved Equipment

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Reimbursements

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Reimbursements : Itemized General Info (cont.)

Funding Code field is automatically populated and should not be changed (in most cases)
Supervisor will receive email that request is waiting for approval
Request will be escalated to next layer if no action within 5 days
Volunteer may be paid by check or direct deposit
State Caps apply only to “I” counseling mileage (not “T”, not “B”)

.

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Reimbursements

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Reimbursements : Itemized General Info

Status of reimbursement requests :

Submitted – Reimbursement has been saved and submitted to their volunteer leader for approval.

Pending - Reimbursements awaiting approval by the volunteer leader.

Further Action Required – Reimbursement has been rejected by approver and is awaiting correction from the submitter (i.e., receipt missing).

Approved by Program - Volunteer leader has approved the reimbursement request. Last status for pre-approvals.

Scheduled for Payment – This is the final status of the request, meaning that the status will not update to indicate when payment is sent.

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Reimbursements

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Reimbursements : Reports Available

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Reimbursements

Report Location	Report	Folder Name(s)
Portal Reports	Pending Approvals*	Tax-Aide: Reimbursements (Cumulative) Tax-Aide: Reimbursements (Current Year)
	Flat Rate Reimbursements
	Itemized Reimbursements
	All Reimbursement
	Submitted Aged Report
	TA – Split-State Mileage Cap	Tax-Aide
	Regional Funds	Tax-Aide: Regional Funds

* Best reached from Split State Supervisor Dashboard (3^rd column)

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Index

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Flat Rate Mass Approval

Reimbursements

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Flat Rate Mass Approval

Volunteer leaders who hold a supervisory position may enter and approve flat-rate reimbursement requests in the Portal for their direct reports using the mass approval form.
Leaders should print the form, have volunteers sign the form if they want flat rate, and verify the mailing address. (Volunteers may decline all reimbursement or submit an itemized request for mileage)
Leaders can then submit the requests (ONLY for those volunteers who signed)

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Reimbursements

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Flat Rate Mass Approval

Instructions:

Video : “Tax-Aide: How to Complete and Submit Flat Rate Mass Approval Forms” (3:20 minutes) https://tinyurl.com/2wjvx3eu

Tip Sheet: “Complete and Submit a Flat Rate Mass Approval Form

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Reimbursements

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Flat Rate Mass Approval

Most common question: Where do I find the form? Does NOT start from reimbursement tab. Start from leader’s supervisory assignment.

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Reimbursements

Top right on leader’s supervisory assignment record (usually Local Coordinator).

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Index

147 of 215

Pre-Approval�

Data Clean Up

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Pre-Approval References

Tip Sheets - Volunteer Portal Libraries -> Volunteer Portal Folder -> Section 9:

Submit a Pre-Approval for Exceeding the Split State Cap
Submit a Pre-Approval for Additional Expenses
Submit a Pre-Approval With Regional Funds
Create a New Reimbursement from an Approved Pre-Approval

Video: “Tax-Aide: Pre-Approval Reimbursement Requests” (8:00 minutes). Link from Volunteer Portal Library ->“Portal Training Videos” folder https://tinyurl.com/y37u85md

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Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

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Index

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Situations Requiring Pre-Approval

Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

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A Pre-approval is needed:

Spending for additional expenses

Supplies purchased by non-leader
Itemized request after Flat Rate claimed
To attend meetings as non-leader

Exceeding the state cap for “I” expenses

State coordinator approves the pre-approval
Direct supervisor approves the reimbursement request

Using regional funds

Purchase of items not covered by grants
Requires Regional Coordinator approval

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Sequence of Events

Pre-approval submitted
Pre-approval approved/rejected
If pre-approval approved, submitter spends funds
Reimbursement request submitted, connected to pre-approval by RE########
Reimbursement approved and paid

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Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

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152

Key points

Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

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System tries to prevent errors

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Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

Warning Dialog box

Red for Reimbursement Request

Green for Pre-Approvals

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Pre-Approvals for Exceeding State Mileage Cap

State mileage caps are found in Reports – “TA - Split-State Mileage Cap”

Amounts range from low of $100 (DC1) to high of $700 (FL2)

Applies to (I) Counseling mileage expense type only,

Not (B) Coordinating or (T) Training

Pre-approval(s) REQUIRED if volunteer’s TOTAL Counseling (I) mileage for the season exceeds the state cap

Total is for estimated mileage for all assignments incurring (I) mileage expense
Pre-approval for (I) mileage should exceed estimated (I) expenses for the season

Training video walks through several scenarios

https://tinyurl.com/y37u85md

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Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

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Pre-Approvals for Exceeding State Mileage Cap

Each pre-approval can only be used once, and only on the assignment where it was created

Local Coordinator for this assignment will receive mileage request for approval

Volunteer works at multiple sites, with total exceeding state cap

Local Coordinator must communicate with other sites where volunteer worked
Option 1

Multiple itemized requests created and submitted
Pre-approval request created on site with most miles traveled
First, submit reimbursement request for assignments without the pre-approval
After those are processed, create and submit remaining miles using the pre-approval

Option 2 - Volunteer creates only ONE reimbursement request for the season

No other requests for mileage are created
Put all “I” expenses on one reimbursement request built from the pre-approval
Reimbursement request is submitted to only one LC, who much verify the data with DC and/or other LCs

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Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

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Pre-Approvals for Exceeding State Mileage Cap - ADS Activities

September – January

Work with State and District Coordinators

Discuss the mileage cap amount with State Coordinator in the summer to confirm amount for next season
Determine which volunteers are likely to require a pre-approval

Use Reimbursement report
Average number of days per week that will require pre-approval

Training

Applies to (I) Counseling mileage expense type only
Pre-approval(s) REQUIRED if volunteer’s TOTAL Counseling (I) mileage for the season exceeds the state cap
Review process to create a pre-approval request

ONLY SC approves the pre-approval

Roles of SC, LC and volunteer in creating and using the pre-approval
Each pre-approval can only be used once, and only on the assignment where it was created

Local Coordinator for that site to approve reimbursement request

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Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

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Pre-Approvals for Other Requests

Spending for additional expenses

Special, rarely used, situations
Create a Pre-Approval request after discussion with State Coordinator

Supplies purchased by non-leader – consider if volunteer should hold a leadership, reimbursement eligible, role
Flat Rate claimed, but itemized desired
To attend meetings as non-leader

Using Regional funds

Create a Pre-Approval request after discussion with State Coordinator

Frequently used for technology equipment

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Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

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Pre-Approvals for Other Requests�ADS Activities

Spending for additional expenses

Review the situation with SC and DC

Suggest options for resolving the issue

New leadership, expense eligible, role
Pre-approval for itemized expenses

Using Regional funds

Work with volunteers to ensure the correct entries are made

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Important Items That Frequently Go Wrong

ONLY approved by State or Regional Coordinator; Not Local or District Coordinator
Pre-Approval must be approved BEFORE the funds are spent
Pre-Approval can only be used up to the amount stated. Expenditures over the approved amount will not be processed.
The reimbursement request must still be submitted, referencing the pre-approval request.
The correct funding codes must be used.
No pre-approval is needed if total (I) Counseling expenses do not exceed state cap
Pre-Approval for (I) expenses must always be for total for the season
A Pre-Approval can NOT be used for a Flat Rate request
LC does not understand that the reimbursement request is for all sites worked, not just their site
LC at other sites submit a Flat Rate request for the volunteer
Volunteer submits multiple reimbursement requests
Volunteer submits pre-approval for Flat Rate

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Potential Training Topics

How-to session to review the creation of a pre-approval

Review the red and green banners – difference between the two
Describe the process to create the pre-approval
Describe the process to create the reimbursement request from the pre-approval
Video Q&A

Emphasize communication between all layers to ensure the correct request is created, submitted and approved
Review the common issues and means to prevent them
Reminder – Volunteers should be reimbursed promptly.

Preventing errors in this process will speed the reimbursement

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Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

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Finding Past Pre-Approvals

Reports -> All Folders -> Tax-Aide: Reimbursements (Cumulative)
Find your Split State All Reimbursement Report

SS#: All Reimbursement

On left, look in Status column for “Approved By Program” – these are pre-approval requests, since this is the final status for pre-approvals
Filter by Created Date for last year if needed

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Reimbursement Pre-Approvals

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Index

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Session Management

Presentation Title

162

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What is Session Management?

Presentation Title

163

Tax-Aide solution for scheduling taxpayer appointments
Can replace most existing site appointment systems
Integrated into the Volunteer Portal

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164

National Operations Committee Updates

Session Management History

180,416

121,463

54,118

19,728

1,988

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Session Management Components

Presentation Title

165

Taxpayer Scheduling via web page

Taxpayers use a public page to make their own appointments
Integrated into Tax-Aide Site Locator

Volunteer Scheduling

Schedule volunteers at your site
Use is not required – you may have another way that works for you

Site Calendar

Set up days and times when your site is open
Set up appointment slots (appointment duration and number of concurrent appointments)

Appointment Report

Print daily report of taxpayers that have appointments

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Session Management Training Info (Portal Libraries)

Presentation Title

166

Tax-Aide: Volunteer Portal

Session Management folder

Session Management Adoption Checklist

What you need to do when

Six PowerPoint decks
Session Management Tip Sheets

Detailed work instructions in a ZIP file

Session Management Training Videos

Introductory presentation plus 33 task-focused videos

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Session Management and the Portal

Presentation Title

167

Assignments that can set up Session Management

Local Coordinator (LC)
Shift Coordinator (SCO)
Session Management District Coordinator
District Coordinator and Administrative Coordinator
State Coordinator and Administrative Specialist
Session Management Regional Super User
Regional Coordinator and Administrative Advisor
Regional Staff Leads and Tax-Aide Staff

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Session Management and the Portal, continued

Presentation Title

168

Streamlined Session Management Setup

Some Session Management configuration contained in Program Location Record
LC/SCO controls whether or not SM is enabled for their site

Can disable SM scheduling when all appointments are booked

Program Location Record Locator Comments

Included in appointment confirmation and reminder emails
Included on Scheduler web page confirmation page

Each Site has its own Site Calendar
Each Site has its own Scheduler web page

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169

Three-member team, part of NOC, monitors and addresses Submit a Request tickets
60 Session Management Regional Super Users from all regions provided Q&A support and local training

Session Management Super User Report in the Portal Reports

Session Management District Coordinators provided local support and offloaded duties from their LCs

National Operations Committee Updates

Session Management Support Model

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170

Focus on Taxpayer scheduling web page user interface experience

Serve older adults, who may have little or no technology experience

Focus on administrative burden at the DC/LC/SCO level

Simplify where possible, reduce repetitive tasks
DC/LC needs to focus on volunteers and tax law changes

National Operations Committee Updates

Session Management Priorities

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Index

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Data Clean Up�

Data Clean Up

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Data Clean-up

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From ADS Position Description: Ensure the Integrity of Volunteer Portal Information by working with leaders to establish correct personal information, assignment records, and program volunteer records for all volunteers

Just as weeds grow in in your garden, and dirty dishes grow in your sink, sometimes there are issues in your Split State data that the ADS will need to take care of.

Data Clean should be done at least once/per year and many ADSs do it quarterly.

Data Clean

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Data Clean Reports – Most Important

2023

SMT ADS

Report	Where Found	Timing	Responsibility
Assignment End Reason Empty	ADS Data Clean Folder	At least 1/year before 10/1	ADS
PVs – PV=Vol VA=Appr	ADS Data Clean Folder	2 times/yr before 10/1 & before 2/1	ADS
Net Years Served	Split State Years of Service Report	Prior to 3/1	ADS
Correct Assignment End On Hold	ADS Data Clean Folder	At Least 2/times year Summer and before 1/1	ADS/DC/AC
Zip Code Routing Correction	Split State Zip Code Route To Report	At Least 1/year and after any changes	ADS

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Data Clean Reports�Less Frequent/Important

2023 SMT ADS

Report	Where Found	Timing	Responsibility
Correct Needed Vol Route To’s	Split State Years of Service Report	At Least 2/times year Summer and before 1/1	ADS
All Zip Codes Without Route to	ADS Data Clean Folder	1/year	ADS
VOL–PV=Vol VA=Appr Multi	ADS Data Clean Folder	1/year	ADS/DMT
Route to Zip Code Missing or incorrect	TA Nat'l Years of Service Report	Prior to 12/1	ADS

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2023 SMT ADS

How to Access Data Cleanup Reports in Portal

Log into Portal
Select Reports Tab
Click “Folders” in Side bar
Then “All Folders”
Tax-Aide: ADS Data Cleanup

near the top

3

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2022 SMT ADS

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2023 SMT ADS

DATA CLEAN PVs – PV=Vol VA=Appr

Select DATA CLEAN PVs – PV=Vol VA=Appr
Scroll down to your Region and Split State (if shown)

Click on Volunteer’s first or last name

Scroll down to Program Volunteer section (right side)
Click on Program Volunteer ID# (PVxxxxxxxx)
Scroll down to Certification Bulk Edit section

If volunteer is certified

Find out site and position for the volunteer and add:

New Volunteer Assignment and
End Date on the Prospective Volunteer Assignment

If volunteer is NOT certified, change status. Probably should be Candidate

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2023 SMT ADS

Data Clean for Net Years Served

Run Years of Service Report for your Split State ((Split State ex. OH2) in Global search then choose Years of Service Report from report list)
Compare

Years of Service with Net Years Served
If difference is > .3 and you don't understand why, visit contact Record

Adjust

Go to Program Volunteer record > Program Start Date > Volunteer Assignments (View ALL)
First Vol Assignment Start Date should Match Program Start Date (or be 2/1 of same year)
If not, fix difference > look for gaps in assignment dates

Verify with local leader if volunteer took a year or two off or gap should be eliminated. If year off was taken may want to put note in record so this is not needed to be researched again.

Check to make sure no assignments were ended with No Match or On Hold. If so correct those.

. Continued on next slide.

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2023 SMT ADS

Data Clean for Net Years Served p. 2 ServiceRoute to Zip Code Missing

If changes need to be made to Historical Record (pre-Portal)or you are not sure what to do, consult your RAA or Submit a Request
Look at change to Net Years served
Does volunteer now qualify for award?

If so, ADS (or DC or SC)can order 5-15 year pins on the Portal
Personalized 20+ Awards require a “Submit a Request”

Need help?

Submit a Request (Operations>Volunteer Portal>Missing Years of Service)

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Data Clean-up

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Years of Service Report

Used to prepare for Certifications
Locate missing volunteers

To run report:

Global Search > Split State > Years of Service Report

Check top and bottom of report for Volunteers that may need Zip Code “Route to” corrections (assignment Split State/District are different from Route to. Note there may be a reason for this (i.e. snow bird , live near state line)

Correct Any Needed Volunteer “Route To’s”

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Data Clean-up

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All Zip Codes within a Split State should be routed to the correct district. D00 may be used for areas that are not covered by existing Districts. When the routing is missing or needs to be changed due to District changes, a Zip code Routing request should be submitted (next page)
To find the Zip Code Routing Report, Search for the Split State SS# in the Global search window, then open the report, TA-R##-SS# Zip Code Route To
If you find Zip codes at the beginning of the report not assigned to any District (They will only show a Route to of TA-R##-SS#) then you should assign them to a District or D00 via a Zip code Routing request
You should use your Split State’s District by County map and a Zip code lookup feature on the Internet to determine which District any unassigned Zip codes should be assigned to.

Zip Code Routing Report Correction

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Data Clean-up

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Update Zip Code Routing Table

Open your split-states’ “Zip Code Route To" report, which is located in the "Tax-Aide: Zip Code Routing" folder.
Export the report and add a column to the report titled "Updated Routing.“
Please add routing information to those zip codes that need to be updated (leave others blank).
Submit your spreadsheet via “Submit a Request” using the form “Operations" and the “Site Request>Zip Code Update" subtopic.

Zip Code Routing Report Correction p. 2

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2022 SMT ADS

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Index

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Data Clean – On Hold

Sept 2022 ADS Meeting

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Data Clean Report: Assignments Ended with “On Hold”

“DATA CLEAN – Assignment Status - On Hold” report

Tool to find site assignments that have an incorrect status of “On Hold”
Typically, these are previous assignments for inactive Volunteers or incorrectly created assignments for Prospects
Incorrect use of “On Hold” may cause “Lost” volunteers – some don’t show in either the “Prospects – On Hold” or the “LOA” reports
Will also cause errors in Net Years Served
Reminder: “Approved” is the ONLY correct status for site / district assignments

Find using “Report - All Folders” method

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DataClean On Hold

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STEP 1 – Run the new report and filter it to your Split State, using the report filter tool with “TA-Rxx-SSx”
STEP 2 – Check individual Contact records in the report for your split state - “View All” Volunteer Assignments

Right click and select “new tab” to avoid having to run and filter the report again

STEP 3 – If Status is “On Hold” for Site Assignments

If both Start and End date are present, just change status to Approved
If End date is not present, look at Last modified date or Status History to determine End date and change status to Approved

STEP 4 – Enter Assignment Ended reason:

“Retired” (if End Date 2019 or Earlier) or
“Leave of Absence” (if 2020 or later) and use End date as start of LOA

“DATA CLEAN – Assignment Status - On Hold” – Directions

Use Report Filter Tool

These are high level instructions for working with the “On Hold” data clean report. More detailed instructions will be in a separate Tip Sheet.

Run the “Data Clean – Assignment Status - On Hold” report and filter it for your split state – the report is sorted by region>split state, so you can just scroll down the list to find your volunteers with this error.
Check each record for your split state – right click on the volunteer’s name and click on “new tab” so you don’t have to repeat the report filtering. In the Contact Record, look at the assignments list box – “view all” – to see what regular volunteer assignments have “On Hold” status.
Site or District level assignments that are marked “On Hold” need to be corrected – by changing status to “approved” and entering an end date if it is missing. Best guess for end date would be the date the assignment was changed from “Approved” to “On Hold”.
In some cases, correcting all the “on holds” may in effect end the volunteers last assignment – in this case you will need to enter an “Assignment Ended reason” in the Program Volunteer record, either Retired or LOA.

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Preventing Future “On Hold” Issues

If you have one or two Districts with frequent recent use of “On Hold” to end site Assignments, provide them with these Tip Sheets to prevent future issues

“VP06 - End a Volunteer Assignment”
“VP06 - Volunteer Departs from AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Program”

If this problem is widespread in your Split State, consider training leaders to prevent future problems

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Index

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188

Finding Reports

2023 ADS SMT Reports and Tips

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Finding Reports

Find a report you have used “recently”

Click the Reports tab and select the report from the list

Find using Global Search

Enter your Split State (SSx) in the Global Search box > press Enter
Add a keyword to get more specific results
Select Reports from the left menu list
Select Report needed from the list
Once a report is used, it will appear in your Recent list

Finding reports through the Reports Tab > All Folders

Tip Sheets – VP02 – Run a Report and by specific topic

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Not listed here are finding a report using the Dashboards – This is the best way to find commonly used reports for Volunteers, Sites, Prospects and Certifications. If you are using a report that is in a dashboard, you can go from Dashboard to Report without searching. Susan covered this on Day 1. So here are the other ways to find reports:

If you have used / run the report recently (2 months or so), you will find it by clicking Reports Tab (red bar) which displays recent items. Next click on the desired report to run it.

2nd method here is to search for a split state report NOT in your recent list using the global search box. Just type your split state and / or other related word in the global search box and enter, then scroll down the left panel to click on reports. Select your split state report from the list. Adding a word that is in the title of the report – “sites” “volunteers” or such will narrow the list.

Global search will also work for non-split state reports, however, you’ll need to know a key word or two in the report title to find what you are looking for – like Clean or Service Type.

The 3^rd way is to find reports by clicking on “All Folders” in the reports tab – this is the best method to get to the ADS Data clean reports, for example. After clicking on Reports tab and “All Folders”, find the folder that matches the report you are looking for – like ADS Data Clean

The next 3 slides will give you screen shots of these three methods

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Find a Report in your Recent List

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Use Global Search to Find a Report

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Split State = SSx; Optional Key Word

Example = MT1 efile

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Find Through Reports Tab – All Folders

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Index

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Useful Reports

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Overview - Reports

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Many reports for many different purposes

Split State Reports via Dashboards
Other Split State Reports
National reports

Tip Sheets – VP02 – Run a Report, Also by specific topics

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Split State Reports via Dashboards

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For reference – these are the dashboards available for each split state – only 5! I’ve highlighted the Split State reports that you, as an ADS are most likely to run. Specifically, on the Dashboards, you have direct access to reports that ADS’s may use often highlighted in yellow:

The Leader Dashboard has The Volunteers Report – shows Volunteer assignments organized by district and site; and The Sites Report – shows all active Sites in your split state.

The Certifications dashboard has the “Certification Status” report, which is used for running the Certification Results Matrix and the “Pie Chart” report – which is a quick way to see how your split state is doing on certifications marked complete and has active links directly to the Program Volunteer records where certification data is entered.

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Other Useful Split State Reports

Split State Reports [Reports Folder]

All Sites (including Inactive) [Tax-Aide: Sites]
Efile & Flash Reports (4) [Tax-Aide: Efile / Flash Cumulative/Current Reports]
Reimbursements (10) [Tax-Aide: Reimbursement (Cumulative) or (Current)]
Zip Code Route To [Tax-Aide: Zip Code Routing]
Other Volunteer Reports

Emergency Contact [Tax-Aide: Emergency Contact]
Years of Service [Tax-Aide: Years of Service]
All Volunteer Roster [Tax-Aide: All Volunteer Roster]

LMS Completion Reports [Tax-Aide: LMS TY 20xx]

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In addition to those found in the split state dashboards, Many other Split State Reports can be accessed most easily through Global Search using your split state as the search term or through the reports folders highlighted in blue on this list.

All Sites report – shows inactive sites, along with active sites – useful when looking to reactivate or set up a new site.
Efile & Flash reports – provide statistics by year for active sites – either cumulative or current
Reimbursements – either cumulative or current – generally need to sort or filter by date to find current reimbursements – All, Flat Rate, Itemized, Submitted Aged, Pending
Zip Code Route To – shows all split state zip codes and corresponding District – Used by the Portal to direct Prospects to their closest Tax-Aide district and send a note to the PVS and DC. Also, useful as a look up tool. It must be updated by SC’s and ADS’s with a Ticket when districts / sites are moving or changing

In addition to the Volunteer by site report on the Dashboard, here are 3 other Volunteer reports –

Emergency contact – all volunteers with home phone and emergency contact information
Years of Service – useful for finding errors in volunteer service records, also a complete volunteer list with mailing addresses, phone numbers, and assignments.
All Volunteer Roster – includes mailing address, but no assignments

LMS Completion Reports will be updated for TY23 and made available later in the season.

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National Reports – For Special Purposes

National Reports [Reports Folder]

Note – these reports show data for the whole Tax-Aide program

Split-State Mileage Cap [Tax-Aide]
Sites with Service Type [Tax-Aide: Sites]
ADS’s Only – Data Cleanup [Tax-Aide: ADS Data Cleanup]
LMS Prospects (PV) Completion Reports [Tax-Aide: LMS TY 20xx]
Assignment Specific Reports (ADS, RAA, etc.) [Tax-Aide]

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Index

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Report Tips

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Report Tips

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Report Layout – Top and Bottom (Subtotal Switches)
Filtering Reports – Why and How
Exporting Reports – Why and How
Report Tips

The Right Click
Modifying a Report Layout
Search within a Report

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Reports – Layout – Top of Report

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Reports – Layout – Bottom of Report

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Notice two scroll bars on the right side of many reports
Use the far right scroll bar to get to the very bottom of the Report
At the bottom are some options to change details on the formatted report, to eliminate extra lines
Also at the bottom, is a Horizontal Scroll Bar, which will help you navigate right / left

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Filtering Portal Reports – Why and How

Why Filter Reports?

To limit a report to data of interest (Date, District, status)

Tips for Filtering Reports

Dashboards are easy way to filter Reports – pick list in dropdown boxes
Other reports – click on the filter icon at top right of a report

Select a field, edit the criteria, and click “Apply”

Many reports and / or fields in reports cannot be filtered

“Lock” icon means it cannot be filtered
“Trash Can” icon or no icon means it can be filtered

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How to Filter a Report using the Filter Tool

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1) Click on Filter Icon

Filter window opens

2) Select one of the available Fields that is not locked (Ex: Program)

3) Set Operator using drop down box (Ex: Starts with)

4) Edit Field to filter as needed (Ex: TA-Rxx-SSx)

5) Click on “Apply”

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2

3

4

Tip Sheet – VP14 – How to Filter Reports

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Exporting Portal Reports – Why and How

Why Export Reports?

Print reports – export, open in Excel, then print
Edit in Excel or Sheets – sort, reformat, delete un-needed data, filter
Save Volunteer records (annually)

Tips for Exporting Reports

Click on “Export” in upper right of report, then select options
“Formatted Report” – will look just like on screen report
“Details Only” – change format to either “xlsx” or “csv” format

Allows data to be easily reformatted in Excel or Sheets
May include additional information not in “Formatted Report”
Rename Report promptly, if using csv format

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Reports – Exporting

Formatted Report will look like online report

Use “Details Only” if you plan to manipulate the report in EXCEL or Sheets

Comma Separated Values .csv is most flexible format – can be saved in Excel or Sheets. Be sure to update file name.

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Report Tips: The Right Click (1 of 2)

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You run a report with a list of Volunteers that you want to step through

The report has been filtered or sorted for your needs
Clicking on a name or other link takes you to the Contact Record
Clicking the Browser Back button takes you back to the reports, BUT it reruns the report changing the order and not remembering your place in the list

Very frustrating!

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Report Tips: The Right Click (2 of 2)

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“Right Click” Tip

On the report, point to a name and Right Click (*)
In the list shown, choose “Open link in new tab”
When finished, Close the new tab
The original tab is as you left the report, to repeat on next name

* Control Click on Apple Macs

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Report Tips: Modifying a Report Layout (1 of 4)

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If a report does not present the data in a way you want to see it, you may want to modify the report layout
You can rearrange the data in two ways: