Handling Account Deposits

Owned by Mahnoor Khan (Deactivated)
Last updated: Jul 27, 2021
5 min read

Summary

This article describes how deposits are implemented and how they should be used within EngageIP Billing. Deposits are a separate entity in relation to payments.

Intended Functionality of Deposits

Description: a deposit is a dollar amount paid by a customer and posted on the customers account but not reflected in the immediate balance on the account. A deposit is applied directly to invoices.

Scenario: Deposits can be entered into the system months before a service is added or activated on that account. You need to be able to accept that deposit and track it but because there is nothing to apply it to, you cannot have it sitting on the customers balance.

A deposit is added using the Payment section and checked as deposits

  • A deposit is posted in the deposit balance and does not affect the customers current balance in anyway

  • A deposit can be disbursed directly to an invoice, there is no option to partially disburse, the system will disburse as much as it can to the invoice

  • If a partial amount is disbursed, that amount is applied to the invoice and therefore will be reflected also in the account balance

  • The remaining portion of a partially disbursed deposit will be switched to a regular payment and will be set as auto-disburse. (At which point the system will automatically disburse the payment as need for new invoices or any other unpaid invoices on the system)

  • A deposit payment does not show up on the invoice (it only shows on the invoice when it is disbursed, at which point it ceases being a deposit. It is considered a payment at that time and follows standard rules for showing payments on the invoice)

  • If a deposit that is disbursed is greater then the invoice its disbursing to and there are no other outstanding invoices, the customer will have a credit balance

  • When the deposit is applied to an invoice as a payment and is only partially dispersed, only the partially dispersed amount is reflected on the invoice. The rest simply reflects in the account balance or is otherwise disbursed

  • When the remainder of the deposit is disbursed to a new invoice, the system will populate the payments and credits section with that remainder value as if it were any other payment.

  • When applying deposits, there is no need to change any of the check box settings. When anything is disbursed, the system will automatically switch the amount from deposit to payment and will auto select the auto disbursement option

  • Whether or not an invoice is open or closed does not affect the application of payments

Adding Deposits

  1. Load the appropriate account

  2. Click on the Transactions tab

  3. Under the Payments section click Add button

  4. Select the PaymentType

  5. Enter the Amount of deposit and a description in the Detail textbox

  6. Uncheck AutomaticDisbursement

  7. Check Deposit

  8. Click Save

Disbursing Deposits

  1. Load the proper account and click on the Transactions tab

  2. Under the Payments heading click the ID associated with the deposit

     

  3. Check the invoice to disburse to, or multiple invoices

     

  4. Click Disburse

  5. The account in the above scenario will have a credit of $50 showing on the account and the invoice will have a zero balance. The deposit balance will now show zero.

Reporting on Undisbursed Deposit Amounts

The Undisbursed Payments Report will show all undisbursed deposits and payments on accounts within the system.

  1. Click the Reports tab

  2. Under the Owner Reports section select the Undisbursed Payment option

FAQ

When the deposit is applied as a payment and can only be partially disbursed to an invoice will the "total payments & credits" reflect the whole deposit or the partially disbursed amount?

Payments and credits will show only the amount disbursed to the invoice.

If a deposit payment is partially disbursed then the rest will automatically be disbursed against the next invoice with that 'other partial' amount be reflected on the new invoice in the "total payments & credits"?

Yes, during the disbursement process, the system will add that disbursed amount to the payments and credits section.

Do I need to un-check deposit or check auto disburse when applying deposits?

You will not need to uncheck deposit, the system will do this automatically as it switches it to a payment. Same for auto disburse, when the deposit is flipped to a payment, auto disburse will get selected on the backend automatically.

Do I need to have the initial invoice as OPEN or CLOSED before applying the deposit payment?

This does not make a difference, closed just means you cannot add any more debits to the invoice. Payments are reflected the same way.

Is there a different result if a apply the deposit to an OPEN invoice?

No.

I have a $4000 dollar deposit but I only want to disburse $500 of it to an invoice whose balance is currently $1000. Is there a way to do that?

If you choose to disburse a deposit to an invoice, the system will attempt to fully pay off the invoice balance, you cannot disburse an amount less then the invoice balance to that invoice. If you need to only put $500 from a particular payment onto an invoice, you can split up the payment by reversing the original one entered, and enter multiple smaller payments with which you can disburse as needed to invoices.