From “Computer Green Bar Paper” to Electronic Filings: the Evolution of State Reporting Technology

July 19, 2012 Blog Post by Kathleen Moyer, Managing Partner – Compliance Services

In the 28 years I’ve been involved with the preparation of state unclaimed property reports, I have seen many changes in the required medium used for submitting reports to the states.  In the early 1980s, all reports were printed and submitted on “computer green bar” paper, and states like New York required had a “special paper”’ with square holes for their reports.  The Holder would typically download data from their mainframe system and print on the green bar paper.  Upon receipt of the paper reports, the states would devote resources to manually enter the data into their mainframe systems.  Most Holders did not have all their data on one mainframe system, and some poor soul had to manually type the report or, even worse, “cut and paste” the reports together (the 1980s version of a consolidated report).  “Cut and paste” was exactly that; scissor and glue were used to put the reports together into the states required format.  New Jersey was on the cutting edge of technology when they allowed high volume Holders to report on “8 Track tapes” (no, not the kind used for playing music).  Over the years, floppy disks, diskettes and CDs have quickly replaced paper reports, especially for high volume Holders.  With the advancement of technology over the years, the states can now upload the data directly into their databases and eliminate potential keying errors. 

As we look to the future, on-line reporting is the next logical step in the evolution of unclaimed property reporting.  Providing Holders with the option to upload the data and reports directly to a secured state website would be beneficial to both the Holder and the states. 

Some benefits to the Holders are as follows:

  1. Have additional time to perform due diligence and pay claims directly to the owners before the data is due for reporting;
  2. Streamline the report preparation process by eliminating the need for diskettes, paper or CDs; and
  3. Eliminate the cost of sending the report package to the states. 

While, some benefits to the states are as follows:

  1. Reduce post-escheat claim payments;     
  2. Eliminate the need to handle diskettes, paper or CDs; and
  3. Eliminate the administrative costs of processing hundreds of reports received via UPS, FedEx, or U.S. Postal Service.       

The technology is available to make on-line reporting an option for Holders.  The next step is for the Holder community and states to work together and develop a reporting process for the 21st Century.          

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