When setting up a Registration Fee within the Registration Options for a Child Care Program, the option to defer or not defer that fee is available. The option to defer a Prepayment (deposit) is also available. With any of these methods, the payment is charged and collected as soon as the contract is accepted by an Administrative user.
Deferring a Registration Fee payment does not mean the saved payment method will not be charged. It only reflects how the transaction will be reported upon within the financial reports. Deferring a registration fee and/or prepayment also indicates which Season that fee line item and any payments will be reflected on an invoice. Below is a description of results for each deferral option.
None (posts on next invoice)
When you choose to not defer the Registration Fee, it is added to the next invoice that is generated for the account. Along with the fee line item, the payment that was collected is also displayed on and applied to the next invoice. If the family attends the Program in a current Season, the next invoice for the current Season would show the Registration Fee for the upcoming season. For example, if it is the Summer Season when a contract is accepted for Fall, the Registration Fee and payment will appear on the next Summer invoice and be applied to the current Season's balance due.
Beginning of Contract (most common)
When you do defer the registration fee to the beginning of the contract by default, the fee is still charged at the time an Administrative user accepts the contract. The registration fee is added to the first invoice for the new contract's Season. For example, if it is the Summer Season when a contract is accepted for Fall/School Year Season, the Registration Fee and payment will not appear on the Summer invoice and will correctly be reflected on the first School Year invoice.
End of Contract
When you defer the item to the end of the contract, it is similar to deferring to the beginning of the contract. However, the payment would apply to the last invoice of the contract's Season. This is most commonly used for prepayments rather than registration fees (those are usually applied at the beginning of the contract). Note: Deferring a prepayment to the end of the contract would allow a Program, such as a tuition-based Pre-K Program, to collect the last month's tuition at the time the child is accepted into the Pre-K class. Until the first day of the new fiscal year, financial reports will use the deferred budget code linked to the regular code (if using deferred codes).
Important Notes:
- With any of these methods, the payment will be charged as soon as the contract is accepted by an Administrative user.
- The Budget Code will reflect the payment as soon as it is entered into the system.
- Additional details on Accepting Contracts
- Additional details on viewing the Fiscal Year Payment Breakdown report
- Additional details on Setting up Budget Codes and Deferred Budget Codes