The Prorated Contracts feature streamlines the enrollment process by automatically adjusting dues to correspond with the actual number of days a member is active, ensuring that members are billed only for the time they utilize.
With Member Manager, you have the ability to configure your contracts to automatically determine the member's initial prorated amount due, based on a payment due date of your choosing, which can be any day from the 1st to the 31st of the month.
Configuring Monthly Proration on Contracts
Configuring the system is straightforward. Follow these steps:
Navigate to Setup > Inventory > Packages.
Next, edit an existing contract or create a new one by clicking the Add Contract button. (Click here for more details on creating a new contract.)
Note: Monthly proration only applies to contracts, not packages.
To configure proration, head to the Renewal Details section, where proration settings are managed. Keep in mind the following exceptions when configuring proration:
Contract Type: Must be set to "Term" or "Ongoing".
Payment Frequency: Must be set to "month(s)".
Prorate First Month: Ensure this checkbox is checked.
Payment Due Day: Must be set to a value other than zero. This number refers to the day in the month you would like billing to occur. For example, enter 1 for accounts that bill on the 1st of the month, 10 for accounts that bill on the 10th of the month, and so on. Member Manager will set up the contract with the prorated amount between “today” and the regular billing date set as the payment due day. This amount will be shown under “due today” and will include any initiation fees or down payments entered.
After entering all required fields, scroll to the bottom and click either “Save” or “Save and Exit” to save the contract.
Point of Sale (POS) Experience
You can sell a contract as usual from the POS system in Member Manager. During the sales process, edit contract details by clicking “Edit/View Details”. However, if a contract is prorated (“Prorate First Month” is checked), there are specific exceptions to consider:
Payment Frequency: Only monthly contracts can be prorated, therefore this field is set to “1 Month(s)” by default and is disabled. Payment Frequency cannot be updated unless the “Prorate First Month” box is unchecked.
Contract Start Date: All prorated contracts must start “today”, therefore this field is set to the current sale date by default and is disabled. The “Contract Start Date” cannot be updated unless the “Prorate First Month” box is unchecked.
Free Payments: This field is set to “0” by default and is disabled. “Free Payments” cannot be updated unless the “Prorate First Month” box is unchecked.
Override Payment Due Day: This field can be edited and is set to the day indicated by “Payment Due Day” during contract set-up. This number refers to the day in the month you would like billing to occur, and therefore must be greater than “0”. For example, enter 1 for accounts that bill on the 1st of the month, 10 for accounts that bill on the 10th of the month, and so on. Member Manager will set up the contract with the prorated amount between “Contract Start Date” and the billing date set as the “Payment Due Day”. This amount will be shown under “Due Today” and will include any initiation fees or down payments entered.
To update any contract details, users must click the "Save & Update Payment Schedule" button. This action will regenerate the Payment Schedule displayed below the details section. The schedule includes the prorated amount in the pre-payment.
If an initiation fee and down payment are set, the payment schedule will display a pre-payment that includes the prorated amount, the down payment, and the initiation fee. For example, if a contract is configured for 24 payments, the schedule will show a pre-payment that combines these amounts, followed by 24 additional payments.
Note: If you want the pre-payment to count as one of the 24 payments, set the "Number of Payments" to 23 and recalculate the payment schedule using Save & Update Payment Schedule.
In the example below, using the contract details above (contract is prorated, $10 initiation fee, $10 down payment set to "Apply to All"), starting on 7/19 with the payment due on the 1st, the pre-payment amount is broken down as follows:
Prorated amount: $16.35
Initiation fee: $10.00
Down payment: $10.00
Tax: $1.82
Total pre-payment: $38.17
After finalizing the contract details and capturing the member’s signatures, you will be directed to the Items in Cart screen. In the checkout section, the original item amount is deferred, this becomes “payment 1” and is due on the set Payment Due Day and displayed as “Deferred Payment”. The Checkout section also shows the initiation fee and the prorated amount labeled as “Prorated First Month”.
Next, proceed to checkout, select a payment method, and complete the payment process.
Member Portal Experience
Members can purchase prorated contracts through the Member Portal using the "Enroll" function. Discounted contracts are clearly marked, with the original price shown as strikethrough and the discounted price displayed beneath it.
When you click on the contract, a detailed view will be displayed. This view clearly shows the prorated amount, accompanied by a "P" tag or tooltip to indicate that the contract is prorated.
Members can click “Join Now” and proceed through purchasing the contract. Click here for an overview of the Member Portal and details on purchasing contracts.