Julie P... no need to apologize! Handling Dues/Registration, book, uniform and other fees and payments can be daunting, even when you're trying to do it on paper!
This would be a good time to remind everyone that the current functionality of AWdb has evolved based on the requests and feedback from users over the past few years. If users can come up with a better way to meet the needs on this or any other topic, I'm open to it and look forward to making future enhancements. With that said, let's review the current functionality...
Here is the information I copied from the "Info" panel on the Admin > Club Setup screen:
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DUES: To track dues-related payments, the system must have
a Fee record representing the "annualized" dues for the current
club year. This record will be created automaticaly when a
clubber's Registration becomes current, or when the Dues Pd
checkbox is checked.
The "Default Dues Mode" determines the amount of the Dues
Fee record. If the mode is "Annual" then the Annual_Dues_Amt
is used, otherwise the annualized Dues Amount is calculated
as the "Weekly_Dues_Amt * Number_of_Weeks. Note: Either
of these annualized amounts may be affected by the pro-rate
option under Admin > Options >Fees and Dues.
If the Dues_Pd checkbox field of the Check-in List or
Attendance tab of the Member form is used, it is assumed that
Dues are going to be paid on a weekly basis and therefore the
annualized Amount of the Dues Fee record will be calculated
using the Weekly_Dues_Amt. You may also enter payments for
Dues through the Household Ledger.
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Remember, A FEE record representing the Annualized Dues (aka Registration) Amount will be created automaticaly when a clubber's Registration becomes current, or when the Dues Pd checkbox is checked.
The easiest way to set a clubber's Registration to be current is to select one or more clubbers on the main Clubbers List grid. Then right-click a highlighted row and from the popup menu select
"set Registration to Current". This will: a) set the clubber's Status to "Active" and b) set the Registration as current as of the Current Club Date, and c) create a FEE record representing the annual Dues (aka Registration) Amount for the {2009-2010} Club Year.
As you can tell from above, I'm promoting the use of the words "Dues" and "Registration" fees as somewhat interchangeable here. I think that may help reduce confusion and simplyify data-entry if your club uses/considers the word "Dues" to be the same as "Registration Fee". Thus if your Registration Fee is $20 then consider that your Annual Dues amount and enter $20 on the Club Setup screen and select the default dues mode to be "Annual". You would then set your weekly dues amount to $0.50.
You asked "... Won't it still charge for the weeks they don't attend by showing a "balance due ...".
Answer: Mostly "Yes" because if you join a club and the club requires Dues (aka Registration Fee) then you owe the amount. Period. (Think of any of us joining a health club, Rotary, YMCA, etc.) If you decide not to attend one or more club meetings you don't get your money back. Also, for those clubbers who pay the full amount at the beginning of the year and miss a few nights, you probably don't give them refunds (nor should you in my opinion). Thus, if a clubber is allowed to pay their Dues/Registration Fee on a weekly basis and miss a week, technically they still owe for the weeks they missed. Now, here is the exception: Under Admin > Option Fees and Dues > Main you will see a checkbox option to affect how Dues payments received are distributed when applying pre/post paid amounts. You can tell AWdb to SKIP weeks where the clubber was absent if you want to.
Another point about Dues Fees, or technically any kind of Fee, is that you can WAIVE the balance due if you can not or do not want to collect the amount owed. This is a good approach because it will give you a much more accurate picture of costs involved in running the club and you can track who paid or did not pay and for what. There is no free lunch. SOMEONE has to pay for the overhead of running the club. If your club decides to not charge for uniforms, books, dues or whatever, that's ok, but that doesn't mean those items are free... the church and/or others have covered the costs. By creating the Fee records (most of which are done for you automatically in AWdb) you paint a truer picture of club expenses, and having accurate information like this is a good planning and budgeting and reporting tool.
I think most clubs prefer to try and collect the annual Registration/Dues Fee up front and then not hassle with the weekly payments. If so, you can and should hide the Dues band from the Check-in List grid display. Naturally you can collect a portion of the annual Fee and let parents pay in two or three or more subsequent payments and easily log those payments through the Household Ledger. This way you still don't have to "do" the weekly Dues tracking. Note the handy "Household Account Statement" report that you can give to parents periodically.
Another approach I think is useful is to keep separate Fees for Books and Uniforms and Do NOT lump them all together under one Registration Fee. That makes inventory harder to manage and frankly only works for brand new clubs their first year because EVERY clubber needs a book and uniform, starting in the second year some clubbers will re-use their uniform and may still be working in their same book.
Bottom lines (in my opinion):
1) If there is a Registration Fee (it's ok to call it "Dues") and it should be separate from any Fee for a book or uniform.
2) If your club charges a Registration Fee (aka Dues) then use the Annual Dues Amount and try to collect in a single payment up front. If necessary you can allow two or three subequent payments and track them via the Household Ledger.
3) Regards costs for Books, let AWdb automatically create the Fee record for you when assigning books. (be sure to set YOUR Sell Price by editing the specific Inventory Item records for your books.
4) If a clubber misses a week they still owe their dues, but you can use the SKIP option if allowing weekly payments, and you can also WAIVE the balance on any Fee quite easily.
Hopefully this long-winded information will help you decide how to handle your Dues/Registration Fees. We will be having a series of webinars in the coming weeks to cover this topic. I will also be creating a video to demonstrate and talk through this subject. Watch the FAQ and Videos topic for it.
Finally, I encourage others to jump in here and give their opinions and ideas on this topic!
