If you are a subscriber to FASTER Systems’ Court Accounting, Estate Tax and Gift Tax Software and use EstateVal as your source for security valuations, the EstateVal/FASTER interface can eliminate manual entry of data between the software packages.
In the FASTER software, initialize your estate. Enter your securities in the proper schedule and when ready to send for pricing, simply select Utilities → Create EVP Import File for Account. Enter the path and filename of the export file and click OK. This will create a file with a .FAI extension.
To import the file into EstateVal, you’ll need to configure it first. Select Tools → Options… → Import, and set the Type to “FASTER”, Extension to “FAI”, and Path to the folder were you exported the data file. Click OK.
Now that EstateVal is configured, select File → Import → To EstateVal and click on the exported file. Click Import and the data will be brought into EstateVal. You can now run an evaluation in EstateVal as you would normally.
To export the file back to FASTER, you’ll now need to configure EstateVal’s export format. Select Tools → Options… → Export, and set Type to “Faster” and Path to the same folder that you imported the Faster data from. Click OK to save your preferences.
To export the data from EstateVal, select File → Export → From EstateVal → [Report Type]…, where [Report Type] is the type of report you want to export: Date of Death, Alternate Date, etc. Enter export file name, and click Export. EstateVal will say “The portfolio has been exported.”
Now that the file has been exported from EstateVal, you can import it back into FASTER. Select Utilities → Import EstateVal Valuation File, and enter the filename of the export file. Your securities will then be updated and values posted.
If you have trouble, you can reach FASTER Systems’ technical support at (203) 467-6231 (Connecticut), (508) 588-2034 (Massachusetts), or support@fastersystems.com.