Eight weeks out
- Confirm current-year rates, penalty dates and installment rules are configured
- Verify parcel, bill, owner and address search all resolve correctly against the digest
- Decide whether prior-year and supplemental bills appear in the portal
- Confirm eCheck is enabled for large payments
Four weeks out
- Print the payment URL and toll-free number prominently on the bill
- Add a seasonal Pay Property Tax entry point to your homepage
- Schedule reminder messages for due date and penalty date
- Brief counter and phone staff on the self-service options they should mention
Two weeks out
- Run a test payment through every channel: web, IVR, counter and mobile
- Confirm the daily reconciliation report contains the fields your digest requires
- Confirm deposit schedule and account details with your bank
- Verify multi-parcel checkout works for escrow and multi-property payers
During the peak
- Reconcile daily rather than weekly — discrepancies are cheap to fix on day one
- Watch reminder conversion to decide whether to add a second send
- Route payer questions to Government Window support rather than absorbing them
- Track online share of total payments against last year
After the season
- Compare online share, call volume and counter volume year over year
- Note every configuration gap you worked around, while it is fresh
- Schedule the changes for the next cycle now, not in November