INQ Voucher Department Manager, Tara Appleby ensures PBCA Owner/Agents are paid accurately and timely.
The Project-Based Contract Administration (PBCA) program plays a critical role in ensuring the effective management of affordable housing initiatives. One of the most essential elements of this program is the voucher process, which ensures property owners receive timely and accurate payments while maintaining compliance with contract requirements.
PBCA voucher managers must do several key tasks with department team members to make this process efficient and compliant. We discuss these in this week’s blog with Indiana Quadel Voucher Department Manager, Tara Appleby.
Emphasize the Reason for the Work
Indiana Quadel processes multi-million dollars of vouchers each month. When communicating the importance of ensuring accurate and compliant voucher processing to her department employees, Appleby reminds them about the amount of money involved in the program and the allocation of taxpayer dollars.
“I always reinforce to them how critical this job is and why it’s important for us to be very diligent. There’s a great sense of responsibility to really pay attention to our jobs and follow through with our analysis and research to make sure our tax dollars are getting to the people that need it,” Appleby said. “This includes the residents being served and the owners who agree to contract with HUD to house those residents. We want to make sure they are being compensated and receiving their payment appropriately.”
Train on Common Discrepancies to Resolve Findings Quickly
The voucher team plays a critical role in ensuring that the correct amount of funds is distributed to the correct parties. The goal is a three-way match: the property’s records, the PBCA’s records, and HUD’s TRACS database should all align perfectly.
However, achieving this perfect match is often easier said than done. Discrepancies in voucher processing may occur due to incomplete or inaccurate information submitted by property managers, such as missing certifications, miscalculated subsidy requests, or unaddressed HUD-required penalties. Consistent and thorough reviews help reduce issues over time. By identifying and resolving discrepancies early, teams can ensure property owners are paid accurately while preventing overpayments and ensuring compliance with federal regulations.
“In a perfect world, we all match, but that doesn’t always happen,” Appleby said. “Sometimes, the file doesn’t contain the necessary information to pass the TRACS edit checks or it’s not consistent with the information that they have provided to us for that resident before. It could be lots of different things.”
Create Shareable Resources for Voucher Specialists
Appleby and her department lead created living “FAQ” resources and documents voucher specialists can reference at any time. Helpful Word and Excel documents can be found on a shared drive with clearly labeled folders. Appleby considers the resource folders to be living because they are continually updated when changes occur within the PBCA program or the HUD software program.
“Voucher specialists can search by subject, keyword, or phrase within the resource folder. We’ve been building the folder up over the past 17 years,” Appleby said. “The folders have screenshots or links to screenshots and examples of common issues and discrepancies that occur in the TRACS system. There are action steps for research and then action steps for resolution. It’s really handy.”
Hire the Problem Solvers – and Gamers
Successful compliant voucher processing requires more than administrative skills—it needs problem solvers. Employees who can assess situations, think critically, and resolve complex issues quickly are invaluable to Appleby’s department. When interviewing for voucher specialists, she often uses unique interview questions to get an understanding of someone’s critical thinking skills.
“I’ve always said that a successful voucher specialist is a unique person because they have to have both right brain and left brain skills. It’s a combination of the two,” Appleby said. “A person that enjoys puzzles or games, especially ones that are kind of analytical – those are the team members that make successful voucher specialists. We ask if someone has a favorite puzzle or game in every interview. It sounds funny, but it is telling. It always throws people off balance, and we say ‘Trust us. There’s a method to our madness.’”
Quadel’s team of PBCA experts have worked with the program since its inception. Quadel offers successful and stable PBCA operations with a special focus on owner relations and tenant concerns. To see how Quadel can assist your PBCA program, request a quote today.