Navigating a Successful Contract Season: Part 1

Welcome to Contract Season! We know that this time of the school year can be a hectic time for many as not only is it a hugely important event, but there are a lot of components to it. To help you have a successful Contract Season, we’ve put together these series of journal entries to highlight some things to watch out for, keep in mind, as well as offer some handy tips and tricks.

So why Part 1? Well, for you Contract Season veterans, you’ll know that there are phases to this, so to best match the season, I’ll be putting out Parts 2 and 3 as we get closer to them.

This first Contract Season journal focuses on the setup portion and things to consider as you get started.

Before You Begin: Things To Consider

One thing to note is that you can only have one contract per type per year. In addition, you’ll want to double check that your students have an entering year or enrollment row for that year. We’re not going to go through the entire contract creation process here, so make sure to visit our online help for more on that process.

While it may sound a bit obvious, one of the biggest things during contract season is to not wait until the last minute. Here are some things you’ll want to prepare early:

• Have your specific contracts ready to go weeks in advance.

• Create a test user to run through the process to make sure everything works as expected.

• We also recommend running through it with a faculty member, and then a small group of parents. As they say: Practice makes perfect!

Preparation: Set Up and Verifying Data

Alright, you’ve done your run throughs and considered all of the things, so what’s next? It’s time to talk data, as it tends to be one of the bigger stumbling blocks with contracts, especially if something is overlooked or incorrectly listed.

So, let’s first check your users you remove or merge any duplicates you come across. Also, keep an eye out for their entering year and that the grade is correct.

Another source of frustration can come from family details, especially if something has changed. Family status is a field that should be verified especially if something has changed such as divorce, remarry, etc.

Communication is key, so we highly recommend that you reach out to your responsible signers and let them know what they will be expected to complete and by when. The more communication that can be done, the better, so don’t rely on one source of communication. We have a variety of ways for contacting responsible signers like Notifications or PushPages.

Remember, setup issues now will likely lead to bigger issues in January and February when parents get their hands on things. Making sure your settings and data are accurate now will save you time and effort later.

So the big TL;DR of this section is that when you approach the start of contract season, verify your data and information are accurate and as you expect it.

What About Integrated Contracts?

For those of you using integrated contracts with Blackbaud Tuition Management, there is an extra step to remember. Verify that both the billing information and settings are correct in Blackbaud Tuition Management as well as Blackbaud Enrollment Management System.

Also, verify that you don’t have any missing information such as tuition details or payment plans.

Making Decisions

Part of the setup is making decisions on certain options that families will face. For example, if you have a deadline set for the first payment being due on a certain date, does that mean families can still select the contract after the deadline has passed or will it be expired?

We hope these tips help you to a successful contract season, but of course, if you get stuck or run into a major issue, definitely reach out to our support team for assistance and make sure to check out our online help for more contract related information.