Payment Plan - Quick Tour

This is a quick tour of the steps involved when you want to set up a payment plan in Collect!.

Only use a Payment Plan when you are sure that payments will be consistent and regularly paid on time. Otherwise, use Promises.

We will cover:

Payment Plan - Entering Details
Posting the Payment Plan
Payment Plan Payment Received

Payment Plan - Entering Details

Let's say a debtor has signed a contract to pay off a debt of $8745.95 in 36 monthly payments with an initial discount of $125, a down payment of $500 and a service charge of $45. How can we calculate the amount of each payment and keep track of when the payments are due?

This type of contract, with definite installments that must be met consistently, may be managed very well using Collect!'s Payment Plan feature.

Payment Plan form with Details

1. Access the Payment Plan form through the debtor's Principal field. Select the Payment Plan tab when the Financial Detail form displays.

2. Enter the details of the payment contract, including any service charges or discounts.

3. Collect! takes into account all discounts, down payments and charges when calculating the plan payments.

Posting The Payment Plan

When you select OK to post your Payment Plan, Collect! prompts you to post the plan.

Prompt to Post the Payment Plan

Select YES and Collect! lets you know how many planned payments were posted to the account.

Payment Plan Schedule Completed

You can view the list of transactions on the account to see all the transactions posted for the Payment Plan.

Payment Plan Transactions

1. By default, Payment Plans use the Transaction Type 151 for planned payments.

2. Service charges and discounts are posted according to the Payment Plan details. Planned payments start on the date set in the Payment Plan ' First Payment' field.

3. The default Payment Period is 'Monthly', so the planned payments are scheduled one month apart as far as necessary into the future to satisfy the debt.

4. The last payment is adjusted if necessary to complete the payment. In the example, it is $226.90, while each monthly planned payment is $226.83.

Now there is a Promise active on this account. If the Payment date passes without payment, the Debtor screen will show the Promise field as Delinquent - red.

Debtor Screen with Payment Plan Delinquent

Ensure that Automatically Manage Promises is switched ON in the Payment Posting Options form.

There are other options available for handling payment plans. They depend on the way you do business.

Some of these options are:

1. Payment Plan Actions

Use Payment Posting Options to run contact plans for Overpayment, Underpayment, and Full Payment.

Payment Posting Options Payment Plan Actions

Each code in the Payment Plan Actions section is a contact plan set up in the database to be evaluated when Collect! posts a planned payment. These are demonstrated in the Demodb database and may be copied to your Masterdb. You may modify the events in the plans if you need to. Please refer to the Help topic, Payment Plan Actions for details and tips.

If you do not want to run any contact plans, just erase the codes from each one of the Payment Plan Actions, but make sure you leave 'Automatically Manage Promises' switched ON.

Payment Values

Set up default values to consider as over or under payment in the Payment Values form accessed through the ADVANCED button on the Payment Posting Options form.

Payment Values form with defaults entered

These defaults will be evaluated whenever a planned payment is received. They will affect whether or not one of the payment plan actions executes.

Payment Plan Payment Received

What happens when a payment is received?

To post the payment, locate the appropriate transaction in the transaction list. This already has the Payment Date filled in and the amount of the Payment.

Planned Payment Transaction with no Posted Date

Just fill in the Posted Date.

Planned Payment Transaction with Posted Date

Summary

How do you keep track of a contractual agreement to pay definite installments? By scheduling a Payment Plan.

Enter the Payment Plan details in the Payment Plan form for the account.
Post the Payment Plan to create the transaction that comprise the payment schedule.

Then make sure that 'Automatically Manage Promises' is switched ON in the Payment Posting Options form.

When a payment is received, locate the appropriate transaction and fill in the Posted Date.

Make sure you understand what events the Payment Plan Actions will trigger on your accounts. Delete the contact plan codes from the Payment Posting Options form if you do not want this automation.

Only use a Payment Plan when you are sure that payments will be consistent and regularly paid on time. Otherwise, use Promises.