Customize the billing year

Before using Blackbaud Billing management, the billing years must be set-up. Set-up requires defining the different fees, how each fee calculates and posts to different accounts, and the payment plans, financial aid, and behavior of advance payments used in repayment.

To change the school year and configure the settings for a different year, select the school year drop-down located near the top of the page; the page will update to reflect the settings for that school year. The drop-downs feature the previous two school years, the current school year, and all defined upcoming school years.

• Set-up

  • Billing dates:
    The specific dates determining the billing year, including the earliest and latest times that statements can occur (e.g., Aug 1 to May 31).

  • Statement periods:
    The time frames during a billing year—such as monthly or quarterly—that summarize all transaction activity for payer statements.

  • Contract fees:
    The criteria for automatically or manually generating required fees when enrollment contracts are signed and processed (e.g., a $500 enrollment fee).

  • Roll over:
    The process of copying settings from a previous billing year—including fees, payment plans, and auto-pay—to expedite setup and minimize errors.

• Fees

  • Tuition and course fees:
    Calculations for school tuition set as flat rates or variable amounts based on unique student circumstances (e.g., grade levels or boarding statuses).

  • Miscellaneous fees:
    Additional, non-tuition charges applied to student accounts across the billing year (e.g., uniform fees, late pickup fees, or field trip costs).

  • Enrollment deposits:
    The criteria for how upfront enrollment deposit amounts are calculated and automatically set up to offset future tuition balances.

  • Special fees:
    Dynamic operational fees that are systematically automatically calculated based on met conditions, such as credit card or direct debit surcharges, payment plan fees, and late fees.

  • Tuition refund plan:
    Variable or static flat-fee insurance charges applied to families who opt into the Tuition Refund Plan (TRP) during their enrollment.

• Payments

  • Payment plans:
    Installment schedules designed to ease tuition repayment by dispersing balances over time (e.g., 10-month installments or semi-annual schedules).

  • Financial aid:
    Default configurations for grants, scholarships, and financial aid packages applied to reduce a student's total tuition obligation.

  • Advance payments:
    Rules for handling prepayments made before a specific date, initially posting to a deferred liability account (e.g., Prepaid Revenue) until realized.

• Refunds

  • Refunds:
    The processing and configuration rules for returning overpaid funds to families.