Grouping entries for a single payment

The "Group payments" function lets you merge / group several entries together.

This article explains the use cases supported by this feature, how to group these recorded entries, and what to do if the entries have not yet been edited.

• Use cases
• Group recorded entries
• Entries not yet posted
• You get an error message when grouping payments

Use cases

Register a single payment for several purchases

Someone wants to make a single payment for several purchases (memberships, donations, sales). It is therefore necessary to :

• First, register the purchase of each service separately and check "Pay later":

• Link each transaction to the buyer (via " Relate to a contact " when registering, or a posteriori, via the transaction) :

This will enable you to find entries in your payables and receivables and group them together to record a common payment, as explained here. In this way, your entries will be balanced and your accounts will reflect what really happened (single payment for several services).

To find out more, see the article Managing debts and receivables.

Payment in installments for several services ( family example )

For example, a parent wishes to enroll his three children in music lessons and benefits from a family discount. This person would like to pay the total amount in installments. If she did this online, you'll just need to go to the transaction details and register new payments.

However, if you need to register manually, it's best to register the three children separately, linking them to the parent's profile (as explained in the first case above), while indicating personalized discounts corresponding to the family rate. All you have to do is group the transactions together (in your payables and receivables) and add cheques as a payment method. More on the process here.

Partial repayment / Debt waivers

Someone owes you $100 (for event registration, for example) and has already paid you $30, but refuses to pay you the rest. As this sum of $70 will never be received, you must declare it as a "loss" in your accounts:

• Go to the Accounting > Book Entry > Payables and Receivables menu;
• Select " Payables" 
• Link the transaction to the person who wished to register and tick "Further payment" ;
• Then go to the Payables menu (accessible via the Input menu or the Dashboard) and group this new entry with the initial entry for the booking.

Please note: in the case of an overpayment, a credit note will be recorded in the same way.

For more details, see the article Entering a refund or credit note.

Managing volunteer expense waivers

A volunteer/elected official advanced expenses. He does not wish to be reimbursed for the expenses incurred and would like to turn this sum into a donation:

• Go to Accounting > Book Entry > Book a new revenue
• Register a donation and check " Pay later " ;
• Then go to your Payable and receivables (via the Input menu or Dashboard) and group the donation entry with the expenses the volunteer has collected.

Untreated cases

The aim of this feature is to group entries for which there is a common payment. It's not about grouping entries into coherent groups.

So, if you have made several separate expenses for an event, there's no reason to group them together, since they are not linked by the same payment. If you want to track projects, use cost accounting. The same applies to revenues: you can't link revenues that aren't linked by the same payment.

To group receivables together, or debts together, they must be linked to the same buyer (customer or supplier), and that person must be present in your community. In the general case, it is forbidden to offset debt and claim from a third party. It is therefore not possible to group entries for which a third party is both supplier and customer. Instead, enter a payment for each debt and receivable entry.

Group registered entries

To view the list of entries recorded and to be grouped, go to Accounting > Book Entry > Manage your Payables and receivables:

On this page, enter your search parameters and click on Search.

In this case, we'd like to group together the payments for this $5 donation and the donation of $45.

To group payments, select the relevant receivables (tick them on the left) then click on the "Consolidate payments " button on the right.

• Show the entries to be grouped on the Payables/Receivables page;
• Group them and separate them if necessary;
• Understand the main grouping scenarios.

A single line containing the selected claims then appears. Payments are now grouped together. The total amount displayed corresponds to the sum of the combined payment amounts ($45 + $5 = $50).

To add a payment, click on the details (eye icon) and then on the "Add a payment" button.

Next, fill in the payment information (Date, Amount, Payment method, Account) you wish to save and click Save.

To note: You can unbundle payments after the fact if you wish. Click on the line details (eye icon) and then on the "Pay separately" button. Your payments are then unbundled. We return to the initial situation with two distinct lines. 

To link a receivable and a debt together, the debt must be a refund recorded in one of your ticket offices. Example: someone was supposed to take part in an event, but doesn't want to anymore: so you can reimburse them from the event.

Entries not yet posted

If you wish to combine two payments that have not yet been registered, at the time of registration check (in the last step) the " further payment " box: the payment will appear in the list of receivables.

You have an error message

"You can't bundle expenses and revenues".

An expense implies that you're going to take money out, an income implies the opposite. It makes no sense to group them together.

However, one case is allowed on the platform: if you try to link an expense/receipt with an associated reimbursement. This situation corresponds to the use case concerning partial reimbursement.

"Some entries are linked to a third party: check that they are all linked to the same third party."

Here, we're talking about non-user third parties. In fact, it is possible to group together the expenses of several users.

Let's take an example in which this case may be displayed:

• You owe supplier A $10
• You owe supplier B $20

By combining these two entries, you indicate that you owe $30... but to whom? Supplier A or B? This information is not legible and could be misleading. To link entries of this type, make sure they are associated with the same customer or supplier, which will simplify your management of third-party accounts.

"You're trying to group together entries that are too different, which would lead to accounting inconsistencies."

If this message appears, you're probably trying to divert the use of the feature.

Please note: it is not possible to combine more than 20 transactions (debts or receivables) into a single transaction.

Accounting explanation (technical)

The Springly platform has been designed in such a way as not to create inconsistencies between third-party accounts. This is why these error messages correspond to blockages in the platform, with the aim of avoiding misunderstandings.

We aim to ensure that the account is balanced once payment has been made. You should therefore not mix several class 4 accounts (third-party accounts), but use a single third-party account for all these parts.