NIC Actual Rates Reference Guide

Use ALIS data to streamline your reporting to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC). If you utilize ALIS Billing and the Floor Plan, you can quickly generate the required files with minimal effort.

• What is NIC? NIC delivers the most trusted, objective, and timely insights derived from its analytics, which benefit from NIC’s affiliation with NIC MAP Vision, the leading provider of comprehensive market data for senior housing and skilled nursing properties.

• What is NIC Actual Rates? The NIC Actual Rates Initiative helps the sector by providing accurate data on the monthly rates that senior housing residents are specifically paying compared to properties’ asking rates. The NIC ensures that your specific occupancy rates remain anonymous and cannot be discovered by third parties. Learn about the program and the benefits of participating here. 

• Which ALIS clients can use the NIC export feature? This feature is for multi-unit companies that utilize the ALIS Floor Plan and Billing. Note that before enabling the feature in ALIS, you must be accepted to the program by the NIC; your data has to be certified by the NIC before they will accept it. 

Enable NIC Actual Rates Export

The NIC Actual Rates export requires enabling an integration in the ALIS App Store, and there is no charge for using the NIC export tool in ALIS. To get started, contact your Account Manager or the ALIS Customer Success Team.  

Typically, only users with the Company Administrator level permissions have access to the NIC Actual Rates Exports. When enabling this feature, our team will confirm with you appropriate security role access. 

First Time Setup & Configuration 

If this is your first time using this feature, or if your export files are empty, complete the following configuration steps. 

Step 1: Update Floor Plan Settings 

This step ensures your ALIS Room Categories and Types match the standardized categories used by the NIC.

1. From the dashboard, navigate to the Communities dropdown menu > Floor Plan.

2. Click the Settings tab.

3. Update Room Categories:

   • Click the pencil icon next to a Room Category.

   • Select the corresponding NIC Unit Category from the dropdown.

   • Click Update Room Category. Repeat for all categories.

4. Update Room Types:

   • Click the pencil icon next to a Room Type.

   • Select the corresponding NIC Unit Type from the dropdown. 

   • Ensure the Market Rent Rates are also set. 

     • Note: You can bulk set market rates for individual rooms by going to the main Floor Plan tab and using the Bulk Edit button.

   • Click Update Room Type. Repeat for all categories. 

Step 2: Configure the ALIS Rent Roll

This step maps your ALIS General Ledger (GL) accounts to the NIC export file to accurately report Rent and Care revenue. Configuration is done in the Rent Roll report. For more information about the ALIS Rent Roll, refer to this Rent Roll Reference Guide.  

1. Navigate to the Billing dropdown menu > Reports > Rent Roll.

2. Click the Report Configuration tab.

3. Scroll down to the Income section.

4. Configure the Rent Column: 

   • If a "Rent" column does not exist, click +Add Column. Otherwise, click the pencil icon to review and update associated GL Account #s. 

   • In the pane that opens to the right, enter the following: 

     • Column Display Name: Type "Rent".

     • Type: Select "Rent".

     • Select GL Account #s: Check the boxes for all GL accounts associated with Rent revenue.

   • Scroll down and click Create/Update Column.

5. Configure the Care Column:

   • Repeat the steps above, naming the column "Care" and selecting "Care" as the Type.

   • Select all GL accounts associated with Care revenue.

Monthly NIC Reporting Process

The data reporting process occurs monthly (due to NIC on the 10th of the following month). Time Required: ~15 minutes

Step 1: Generate Files in ALIS

1. From the ALIS Dashboard, navigate to the Communities menu and select NIC Actual Rates.

2. Locate the month you are reporting on and click +Create Export. Click Export in the confirmation pop-up.

3. Once processed, two download links will appear for that month:

   • Rent Roll

   • Prop List

4. Click each link to download and save both files to your computer.

Note: If the generated files are empty, your Floor Plan or Rent Roll configurations may be incomplete. Please see First Time Setup & Configuration.

Step 2: Submit to the NIC

1. Log in to the NIC Portal.

2. Upload the Rent Roll and Prop List files.

   Please refer to the official NIC documentation for specific portal upload instructions.

Related Articles: 

• How to export NIC Actual Rates

For more assistance with NIC Actual Rates Exports,

Contact our ALIS Customer Success Team: 

888.404.ALIS(2547) or support@go-alis.com