Skipping a Payment 3.1
In the case where a payment has already been made in person, the scheduled payment transaction can be skipped by clicking on the “Skip” button in the Actions column.
You will then be asked to confirm the transaction and enter a remark for the skipped payment. Here you can enter the reason why the payment was skipped or leave as blank. If the comment is left as blank, a default value of "N/A" will be displayed in the Transaction History.
After confirming and entering a remark, the status for the installment will be updated to "Skipped", and the Payment Date will reflect as "N/A". Any comments entered can be viewed in the Transaction History (Hover your mouse on the "(?)" link).
Skipping Payments
You can skip a payment by doing the following:
› Go to "Fee Tracking" > "Payment Plan" tab.
› Select the active payment plan from the list.
› In the Payment Schedule table, click on the "Skip" button in the "Action" column, for the installment you would want to skip.
↪ Confirm the transaction by clicking on "Yes"
↪ Enter the remarks for the skipped payment in the "Remarks" field (Optional) > Click on "OK"
↪ If no value is entered for the Remarks, a default value of "N/A" will be displayed.
Manually Charging Payments 3.2
In the case where the school wants to charge a payment before the scheduled payment date, the scheduled payment transaction can be manually processed by clicking on the “Charge Now” button.
Users must be configured with the appropriate access in order to see the “Charge Now” button in the Actions column. When clicked, the system will charge the payment method on file for the selected installment.
- If the payment is successful:
- The installment status will be updated to "Paid".
- The Payment Date will reflect the current / charge date.
- Online payment transaction details will be logged in the Transaction History.
- If the payment fails:
- The installment status will be updated to "Failed (n)", where "n" would refer to the number of tries.
- The Payment Date will remain as "N/A", and the Next Automatic Retry date (if applicable) would be displayed under the Installment Date.
- Online payment transaction details will be logged in the Transaction History.
Enabling "Charge Now" Option
You can enable the "Charge Now" option by doing the following:
› Go to "App Store" > "My Apps" tab.
› Click on "Configure" for the Payment Plan App.
↪ Add users to the "Who can manually run scheduled payments?" option > Click on Save.
Manually Processing a Payment
You can manually process a payment by doing the following:
› Go to "Fee Tracking" > "Payment Plan" tab.
› Select the active payment plan from the list.
› In the Payment Schedule table, click on the "Charge Now" button in the "Action" column, for the installment you would want to manually process.
↪ Confirm the transaction by clicking on "Ok".
↪ The system will then process the installment using the payment method on file.
Handling Failed Payments 3.3
When a payment fails, a record of the transaction will be added to the Installment Transaction History and Online Payments tab, and an email notification will be sent out to the Payer set in the Payment Plan.
- Failed Payments (Automatic Retries)
- Installment Payments are rescheduled and retried based on the specified number of automatic retries and wait time between retries. The next scheduled automatic retry will be noted below the Installment Date (if applicable).
- When the maximum number of retries has been reached, the “Charge Now” button will be made available, which would allow the school to manually run the payment. A “Final Attempt Failed” label will be indicated under the Installment Date, and an email notification will be sent to the Payer set in the Payment Plan.
- Failed Payments (Manual Repayment)
- In the case where an installment payment fails, and the student / parent wants to pay for the failed transaction using a different mode of payment, you can Skip the installment in the Payment Plan and add a Manual Payment in the Fee Tracking.
- The Unpaid Amount of Payment Plan will be automatically updated when the manual payment is allocated to the same invoice.
Automatic Retry Behaviour
This section explains how the automatic retries are scheduled, where the number of days between retries is set to 10 days, and will be referred to as “X Days":
› Past Installment Dates
↪ When a payment fails for past installment dates, the next repayment will be scheduled X Days after the charge date.
↪ Example: If the installment date was on Feb. 2, and the current and charge date is on Feb 9, the next automatic retry will be scheduled on Feb 19.
› Current Installment Dates
↪ When a payment fails for current installment dates (dates on or after the current date and before the X Days set), the next repayment will be scheduled X Days after the charge date.
↪ Example: If the installment date is on Feb. 10, and the current and charge date is on Feb 9, the next automatic retry will be scheduled on Feb 19.
› Future Installment Dates
↪ When a payment fails for future installment dates, the next repayment will be scheduled for the installment date.
↪ Example: If the installment date is on Feb. 28, and the current and charge date is on Feb 9, the next automatic retry will be scheduled on Feb 28.
Consolidating Partial / Early Repayments 3.4
In the case where the student/parent wants to make an early/advanced payment (either partially or in full), there are a few ways to do this:
- Manually Run the Scheduled Payment
- If the payment method and amount remain the same, you can enable the “Charge Now” feature and manually run the scheduled installment ahead of time.
- Full Early Repayment via Manual Payment
- If the student/parent wants to make the early repayment using a different payment method, the scheduled installment would need to be skipped, and then the manual payment can be processed separately via the Fee Tracking module.
- As long as the payment is allocated to the same invoice, the Unpaid Amount will be updated accordingly.
- Other Options
- If the amount to be pre-paid is not EXACTLY the same as the installment amount, you should process the payment manually, and skip the appropriate amount of installments.
- If the payment method is different, you also have the option of changing the payment method for the student/parent, and charge the payment plan ahead of schedule.
- You can also implement a combination of manual and pre-paid charges.