How to handle NSF checks & declined credit cards

NSF Checks (bounced checks) and declined credit cards need to be recorded on the Account Ledger Card in order to reverse the payment that was originally made and to charge an additional processing fee, if appropriate.

1. Reverse the original Payment.
   1. Go to the Ledger Card of the family whose check bounced (or credit card was declined).
       
   2. Select an appropriate payment description, like NSF Check or Declined Credit Card.

      Note: You may need to create a description first under the "Payment" section of Charge/Credit Descriptions.

   3. Enter a Comment if desired. If the original payment was part of a Tuition Express batch you may wish to use the Batch ID number.
       
   4. Enter the amount as a negative number, like -100.00, since the bounced check is considered a negative payment. This will cause the account balance to increase by that amount, indicating the money is still owed to you.

   Note: The negative payment should appear in YELLOW. Even though it is negative it is still a payment category. Payments and credits are always indicated by yellow lines.

   5. Click Post & Exit.
       
2. Additional Processing Fee
   1. You may wish to add an additional service charge or processing fee. To do so go to the Ledger Card of the appropriate family.
       
   2. Select a charge description, like Returned Check Fee, NSF Charge or Declined Credit Card Fee.

      Note: You may need to create a description first under the "Other Charge" section of Charge/Credit Descriptions.

   3. If you have set up Standard Amounts the amount of the fee will be entered automatically, otherwise you may manually enter the amount or type over the standard amount if needed.

   Note: The fee should appear in BLUE. Blue lines indicate charges to the account.

   4. Click Post & Exit.
       
3. Close the Deposit Report
   1. Close a Deposit Report that contains only the NSF Checks or Declined Credit Cards recorded in step 1. The total will show as a negative number since the balance of your bank account is being reduced.

   Note: If you posted multiple NSF Checks or Declined Credit Cards you may wish to close each in its own separate Deposit Report. This may make things easier when you reconcile your bank account since each will appear as a separate deduction, rather than all together as one lump sum.

Redeposit the Payment Manually

When the time comes to redeposit the payment simply handle it like any other payment on the Account Ledger Card. In the comment box you might choose to say "redeposit check #1234".

Redeposit with Tuition Express

You may choose to deposit the payment through Tuition Express, a second time, or collect the money directly from the family (as a cash or check payment). Tuition Express WILL NOT automatically reprocess the item on its own.

• If you collect the money directly from the family be sure to post the payment manually on the Account Ledger Card.
   
• If you redeposit through Tuition Express follow the steps to Process Recurring Payments except that it won't be necessary to run Automatic Billing. Make sure to select only the families you really wish to process.
   
• Another option could be to collect a Point of Sale credit card payment directly from the family. This might be useful if their recurring fees could not be deducted from a bank account with insufficient funds (ACH batch).

Deposit Reports & Redeposits

 This series of transactions will affect three different Deposit Reports. Once when the original payment was deposited, a second time for the NSF Check (or Declined Credit Card) shown as a negative, and a third time when the payment is redeposited. This is truly the way it happened and the total amount deposited is correct.