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Projects can have an internal reference, a PA reference, both, or neither. References help you find projects and match authority emails.

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Internal reference

The internal reference is your firm’s own label for the project. Enter any text or leave it blank. A non-empty reference must be unique across your firm, regardless of capitalisation. It helps identify a project, can match incoming Planning Authority emails, and appears in new project invoice numbers when present.

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Set the reference

On New Project, Arkata shows the most recently added non-empty reference above the field. Hover over it to copy it. Enter your own reference or leave the field blank. A tick means the text is free, a cross means another project already has it.

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Change it later

Click Edit Project to change or clear the reference. Arkata asks you to confirm.
Changing an internal reference cannot be reversed. The old reference stops matching incoming authority emails, so update any submissions that quote it.
Put the internal reference in your PA submissions exactly as entered. When the Authority replies, Arkata can match the extracted reference to the project, ignoring capitalisation only.

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PA reference

The PA reference, such as PA/00650/26, is the official number the Planning Authority gives you after you submit. You type the number part, 00650/26, and Arkata puts the project type in front. Add it whenever you like, or leave it blank until the Authority assigns one. Several email types fill it in for you when they arrive. Projects of type LRP, Bank Form, Design, Valuation and Other cannot have one.
“PA” here means Planning Authority, not the PA project type. Any project you submit to the Authority can carry a PA reference, including a Regularisation, a DNO or a Dangerous Structure.

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Tracking number

Before the Authority issues a case number, eApps gives your application a tracking number such as TRK309560. Record it so the project is findable from the day it is submitted.

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Add one

The Tracking Number field sits next to PA Reference in the New Project and Edit Project windows. It appears while the PA reference is still empty, on the project types that can carry a PA reference. Type the six digits, for example 309560, and Arkata puts TRK in front. Anything other than six digits is rejected with a message telling you the expected format.

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What it does for you

  • Until a PA reference arrives, the tracking number is the reference shown at the top of the project page.
  • Search for it on the Projects page the same way you search for any other reference.
  • Once you add the PA reference, that becomes the reference on display and the Tracking Number field drops out of the project window. Anything you already saved is kept.
Tracking numbers are not used to match incoming authority emails. Email filing looks at the internal reference and the PA reference only.

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How references affect email matching

When an email arrives from the Authority, Arkata can match an extracted internal reference to a non-empty project reference with the same characters, ignoring capitalisation. Spaces and punctuation must match. Some email types check the PA reference first. If neither reference matches, the email is flagged for manual review rather than filed automatically. See When an email does not match.

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Next steps

How email filing works

What Arkata does with authority correspondence.