Adding a New Subscription for a Person or Organization

Once a donor has committed to recurring gift or pledge you must open the necessary subscription in the person's record. If the donor is an organization, you must open the subscription under the person record of the linked contact person, then select the organization in the subscription setup.

Steps to Open a New Subscription

1. Check that the person has an existing record, and if necessary, is linked to the necessary organization. Create and link any necessary records before you proceed.
2. Save a valid credit card in the person's record on the Credit Card Manager tab. This card will be selected as the billing card in the steps below.
3. Go to the Subscriptions/Pledges tab and click New.
4. Use the guidance below to complete all necessary fields.

Basic Pledge Information

Category: Select from drop-down of preset subscription categories.

Type: Select from drop-down of preset subscription types.

Option: Select from drop-down of preset subscription commitment levels.

Organization: A linked organization could be selected if the organization will be making the actual payments and should be recognized.

Person: Defaults to person’s name.

Status: Set to appropriate initial status option, mostly likely Active. This field will soon auto update based on future payment activity and can also be set manually if necessary.

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Dates

Begins On: This is the subscription start date; enter date and tab out to auto populate the remaining date fields based on the subscription option presets.

Payments Due __ days from invoice: Enter the desired number of days. For donor subscription types, meaning non-membership commitments, it is recommended to set this field to 0. To set a default amount an administrative user can perform the following:

1. Go to Settings > Preferences & Settings > Subscriptions Management > Default Days to Pay Subscription.
2. Enter a default number in the first column.
3. Click Save & Close.

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Income

Full Amount & Billing Rate: If either amount is preset in the subscription options settings, that default amount will show and simply click the calculator icon to populate the other field.

When setting up a time-based subscription using a variable rate, enter the Billing Rate amount and use the calculator in the Full Amount field.

Check the Override box to enter different amount if necessary.

Balance Remaining: Will update upon saving new subscription when finished; will auto update with each payment.

Payment Method options: Select desired payment method.

• Payment Sent In means the donor is not electing for auto billing on a saved credit card and payments will need to be manually entered despite the how the donor is planning to pay.
• Use debit/credit card on file means the billing run process can be used to automatically invoice and pay the necessary installments using a saved credit card.
• Third party serviced means payments coming from another party on behalf of the donor and therefore payments will be manually entered.

Credit Card to Use: Select from saved credit cards in the person’s record; credit card must be saved first; only set for donors who wish to be charged automatically and not receive an invoice reminder.

Pay Credit Card Fees: If this option has been configured in your system, see Donor Pays Credit Card Fees, once a valid card is selected in the field above simply check this box to add applicable credit card fees to all payments made in the subscription.

Automatic Billing: Check for all subscriptions to activate the billing process. You must check this box for subscriptions regardless if they are being auto billed or not. Not checking this box will prevent the subscription from being included in any type of billing run.

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Account Settings

All accounts will default to the subscription preset accounts or check the Override box to select a different account. It is not common to override account selections.

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Preferences

Mail Preference: Select Physical Mail or Email; note this setting applies only to the auto-generation of transaction correspondence but does not affect the initial sending of correspondence when setting up a new subscription.

Invoice Method: Send a Bill (typically for annual donors) or Send a Receipt; note this is simply recording a preference and not linked to any communication action.

Email: Will auto-fill from person’s records data but can be changed if subscription documentation needs to go to a different email address.

Sub. Name: If desired, you may enter text for a shortened or nickname to identify this subscription; this is not a required field.

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Campaign Management

Campaign, Source, Solicitation Code: Select any desired values from the available pick lists; none are required but would allow for more detailed reporting.

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Billing

Invoice Now: Clicking this button will save the subscription and create a new open invoice for initial payment. IMPORTANT: Do not click this box if are planning to manage the subscription using the billing run process or if you already using the billing run process, as doing so can negatively affect the billing schedule.

Charge CC/Pay Now: Clicking this button will save the subscription, create a new open invoice for initial payment, and make the payment. Do not click this box if are planning to manage a subscription using the billing run process.

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Other

Notes: Use as desired for more detailed notes on subscription information. You can add to this field as desired, using the the Stamp button to insert the current date for the notation.

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Billing History Screen/Tab

As invoices are generated and payments are made, all activity will be shown in the Billing section.

Payments can be applied to the open invoice on this tab or on the Invoice History tab.

All payments will show here as well as the Contributions tab for a full donor picture.

If an organization is making the payments, all information will be displayed in both the person and organization record but will only be included the organization giving history for reporting.