Prepayments (money paid in advance of the posting of any fees) are not recommended because the payment can't be linked to a fee that hasn't yet been posted. Payments that are posted before the fee itself is posted are considered uncategorized (unlinked) revenue. When a fee is subsequently posted the User must then link the payment to it in order for Jackrabbit to categorize (organize) the revenue. Credits on account and overpayments will create the same issue.
It is a recommended best practice to regularly use the Transactions > Search (especially after posting fees) to locate and correct any unlinked revenue. See Prevent & Correct Unlinked Fees for step by step instructions on ways to ensure fees and payments are properly linked.
Prepayment Example
On 12/7/2016, the Peters family had a 0 balance. They made a payment of $100. The payment is considered unapplied (not linked to a fee).
On 12/8/2016, the family's December tuition fee of $100 was posted. The family's Balance is correct ($100 payment - $100 fee = 0), however, the fee and payment are not linked. The fee still shows a pink Date Paid field and the payment shows a green Unpaid Amt field.
The fee and payment need to be linked, so Jackrabbit will know how to categorize the $100 in revenue.
To link the payment to the fee:
- Edit the payment using the pencil icon.
- Click ReApply Payment.
- Click into the Apply Amt column next to the fee.
- Save Payment.
The fee and the payment are now linked and no longer appear as unpaid or unapplied. The payment 'takes on' the category of the fee that it is linked to and is now reported as revenue in that category.
Overpayment (Credit on Account) Example
The Smith family has a $100 fee posted to their account. They made a $150 payment and have a $50 credit balance on their account. $100 of the payment is linked to the Competition Fee dated 12/8/2016 and is organized with the Category 1 of Dance. $50 is not linked to a fee and is unapplied (unlinked) revenue.
The next time a fee is posted, the $50 credit will need to be linked to it.
When the Payment/Credit button is clicked Jackrabbit will alert you to the fact that a credit still exists on the account. This offers a reminder that you may want to link the credit (or a portion of it) to a fee if possible.
