How to Manage Downpayments and Automate Membership Fees in SPARK MINDS?
Managing downpayments and automating membership fees is essential for ensuring a smooth process for both business and customer experiences. This guide outlines the best practices for setting up payment automation, handling missed or skipped downpayments, and effectively using SPARK MINDS’ Point of Sale (POS) system.
Overview of Downpayment and Membership Fees
When enrolling members, SPARK MINDS allows you to handle fees through automated or manual processes. Options include setting a downpayment, automating recurring monthly payments, and processing invoices for missed payments. Correct setup of these processes ensures clarity and reduces manual errors.
Setting Up Payments: Automation vs. Manual Processes
Automated Membership Payments
For memberships involving installment payments (e.g., deposit and balance), you can:
Set the membership payments as recurring.
Configure the number of installments to
1for a clear deposit-balance payment split.Specify the remaining balance to be collected in the installment.
This ensures the process handles both the initial deposit and follow-up charge seamlessly without manual intervention.
Manual Setup for Zero Downpayment Options
If no downpayment amount is configured, the membership will still be added to the student's profile post-checkout. In such cases, manual actions are needed:
Go to the student's profile.
Add the fee in the POS system to create and process an invoice.
For recurring payments, consider automating monthly membership payments to avoid future manual handling.
Handling Missed or Skipped Payments
Missed Downpayments During Enrollment
Often, downpayments are skipped if not included in the membership template at the time of enrollment. In such scenarios:
Check if the "charge downpayment" prompt was skipped during setup.
Collect the skipped payment manually through the POS system.
Why the Downpayment Screen Doesn’t Appear
The payment prompt for downpayments only appears when setting up a new membership from scratch. If it’s skipped or exited, you must:
Manually create an invoice in the POS system.
Collect the payment manually, as detailed in the steps below.
Step-by-Step: Collecting Payments Manually in the POS System
When automation fails or payments are missed, you can manually process the fees utilizing SPARK MINDS' POS system. Here’s how:
Navigate to the member’s profile in the system.
Click on Quick Actions.
Select Point of Sale (POS) from the menu.
In the POS, search for the product (e.g., "downpayment" or "membership fee").
Enter the correct amount to be charged.
Process the payment. - Alternatively, you can create a new invoice and search for the specific product, add the required amount, and finalize the transaction.
This approach ensures you can collect fees, even when the automatic system screens are skipped.
Summary and Best Practices
Always configure memberships correctly to automate downpayment and recurring payment processes.
Use manual options in the POS system only when automation fails or payments are skipped.
Regularly review enrollment and payment settings to avoid errors in fee collection.
In case of ongoing issues, refer to SPARK MINDS' support resources or reach out for technical assistance.