Membership Installment Plans

For recurring programs and for lifetime programs with payment options other than pay in full, a revenue transaction type of Membership installment plan is used. Membership installment plans are also used for any program that can be pledged.

Membership installment plans are similar to pledges but are not technically pledges. Unlike pledge revenue, revenue from membership installment plans is not always bookable. There is a setting on the membership program which determines whether the plans themselves are bookable. The plan transactions are also mapped separately to the ledger.

Note: In order to post membership installment plans and payments to membership installment plans to the ledger, the necessary mappings must be set up in Administration. Your business or accounting office can help you determine whether membership installment plans should post to the ledger or if only payments for the plans should post. This determination will answer the "Do you post membership installment plans to GL" question on the membership program.

For programs which allow membership installment plans for payments, you set up the installment plan when you add members. For a lifetime program with a "five annual payments" option, the default installment plan would be set up with five annual payments. You can modify the installment plan schedule if needed.

Tip: If you have an irregular installment schedule that is similar to one of the "regular" schedules (such as annually, quarterly, or monthly), you can select the regular frequency first. The payment schedule and amounts default according to the frequency you select. You can then modify the dates and amounts to meet your needs. For example, if you want a 12-month installment plan with a first payment of $50 and subsequent monthly payments of $5, you can first select a frequency of monthly. The 12 monthly installment dates and amounts will default into the schedule with the amounts evenly divided. You can then easily modify the amounts to reflect your payments.