Organizations have the option of allowing constituents to make multiple payments on a pledge through a payment schedule. Rather than requiring the pledge be paid in one full payment, payments can be spread out over a specified period of time. A payment schedule is comprised of defined “scheduled payments”, which are assigned a due date and dollar amount. The sum of each scheduled payment must add up to the pledge total.
The Payment Schedules screen is used for pledge donations on the Simple Gift Entry and Donation Entry screens. The number of pledge periods and the payment frequency is determined by the DEFAULT_PLEDGE_PERIODS and DEFAULT_PLEDGE_PYMT_FREQUENCY application parameters. By default, the first payment occurs immediately (with the next run of the process). You can change the default payment frequency and date that the first payment occurs from the Payment Schedules screen which can be accessed via the "Working with Payment Schedules" task in the Donation task category. If the price of a pledge is adjusted at any time, the payment schedule updates accordingly. The debit/credit transaction is processed, and then each scheduled payment is recalculated by dividing the number of PENDING payments into the new balance. If a zero-priced pledge that has been defined "Allow Price Update" is changed to a non-zero price, the system will automatically generate the payment schedule.
When a payment schedule is created, the system creates a deferred receipt transaction (Type 9) for the total amount due in the future. If a batch is open, the system will calculate the deferred receipt transaction amount based on the batch date, not the current date. Running the FAR680 batch process recalculates deferred receipt amounts by comparing the due dates on the payment schedule against the FAR680 process date. For example, if the Process Date is 11/1 on the current year, then deferred receipt amounts will be decremented by all amount dues on or before 11/1 of the current year.
From the Payment Schedules screen, you can perform the following tasks:
· Defining a Payment Schedule
· Modifying a Payment Schedule
o Adjusting an Order Line Price
o Changing the Payment Frequency
o Adding a Manual Scheduled Payment
o Deleting a Scheduled Payment
o Modifying a Scheduled Payment
· Processing Automatic Payments
o Managing Credit Card Payments
o Managing Direct Debit Payments
o Resolving Rejected Payments
· Processing Manual Payments, Transfers, and Refunds
o Applying a Manual Payment
o Making a Partial Payment
o Transferring a Scheduled Payment Receipt
o Reversing a Scheduled Payment Receipt
o Authorizing a Payment Schedule Refund
o Reversing a Payment Schedule Refund
· Reviewing Balances and Transactions
o Reviewing the Balance Summary
o Reviewing Transactions
For more information on payment schedules, please see Working with Payment Schedules.