Step 1: prepare a group invoice

Preparing an invoice for collecting contribution works almost in the same way as creating a single invoice. The only difference is the way of sending the invoice: the invoice has to be sent to multiple persons at the same time. That is why contribution is a group invoice.

Follow the steps below to create a group invoice:

  1. Go to the Financial Application;
  2. Choose the correct administration and the correct year. Most communities have only one administration;
  3. In the Financial tree, click on ‘Contribution’.
  4. The element 'Contribution' unfolds. You will see that there are multiple options. Click on ‘New contribution’.

The process of creating and sending the group invoice contains five steps. These five steps are discussed below.

Step 1: Properties

Properties. These are the settings of the contribution. If you want to send the invoice by e-mail, you can make the settings for the e-mail here as well. The following fields are mandatory:

  1. Subject. The subject of the contribution. If you choose to send by e-mail, this will also be the subject of the e-mail. You can still change this in later step.
  2. Invoice template. Choose the invoice template you want to use for this contribution invoice. The template will automatically fill out the fields under ‘E-mail’. Read more about invoice templates.

Payment. This is where you determine the method with which members must pay the contribution. This choice will be explicitely stated on the invoice. There are two possible payment methods:

  1. Transfer. The member will be asked to transfer the amount to the bank account number of the community, within a certain period determined by the community.
  2. Direct debit. When you choose this option, the money will be automatically written off of the acount of the relation. To be able to do this, the correct settings have to have been made on the profile of the relation. If you have not done this yet, read ‘what do I need for direct debit?’.

If you choose direct debit, but the relation did not permit this, he/she will receive an invoice anyway. The invoice will be converted from a direct debit to request for transfer.

If you chose direct debit, you will see another element appear in the screen: direct debit. Under this element, the following settings can be made:

  • Required contract – Select the direct debit contract that is set for the community. By default, there is only one contract.
  • Transfer date – Date on which the direct debit should be executed. This field is not required.
  • Payment in installments – Select this if the amount should be payed in installments. The installments will be spread out over the period between the first transfer date and the final payment date.
    • Final payment date
    • Number of installments

E-mail

  1. Salutation – Choose for a formal or informal salutation.
  2. Subject – Subject of the e-mail.
  3. Text – The content of the e-mail.
  4. Sending date – The date on which the invoices should be sent.

Step 2: Beneficiaries

In this step, the members that have to pay contribution and receive an invoice can be selected. The selection options here correspond with the information in the Organization Application. If you want to send invoices to all members, select the folder ‘Members’. The system will automatically add each relation in this folder to the list of beneficiaries. It is therefore important that each member you want to invoice has a correct relation profile. Read more about relations here.

Step 3: Invoice

This is where you set up the content of the invoice. For each product you can add an invoice line. These will appear on the invoice as separate lines with their own amount. At the bottom of the invoice, the total amount will be displayed.

Click on ‘New invoice line’ to create a new invoice line. Then enter the following information:

  1. Line – Enter the name of the product here. For example, for a yearly contribution, enter ‘contribution membership 2019’.
  2. Number – Indicate the number of times the product should be invoiced per relation.
  3. Amount – The amount of the contribution. If you do not enter an amount or if you enter ‘0’, the invoice will not be sent out.
  4. VAT – If the community is subject to VAT, indicate the rate here. If not, enter ‘0’. Most communities are not subject to VAT.
  5. After saving the invoice line, it will appear in the overview of step 3. You can create multiple invoice lines.
  6. With ‘Dynamic invoice’, you can set up discounts on the invoice for certain groups. Read more about dynamic invoices here.

Step 4: Preview

The real invoice will be attached to the e-mail as pdf. This step gives a preview of the pdf. In the top left of the screen you can see how many invoices will be sent in total.

If you chose for payment in installments in step 1, an extra page will be added to the invoice. On this page, the number of installments, the corresponding collection date and the amounts are displayed.

It is possible to edit the invoice in response to the preview. On the top of the screen, click on the step to which you want to return. If the preview looks good and you want to send the invoices, click on ‘Process’.

Step 5: Process

  1. Carefully read the instructions on the screen. When you are ready to send the invoices, select ‘process this contribution’ and then click on ‘process’.
  2. The contribution will now be placed in the Outbox. The system will send the invoices on the sending date you indicated in step 1. If you change your mind and don’t want to send the invoices anymore, you can take the invoice out of the outbox and place it back into Concepts by clicking on . Then click on ‘Yes, I want to cancel sending’. The invoice will be placed back into Concepts.
  3. When the contribution has been sent, it will automatically be placed into ‘Sent’.

The next step

If payment is via direct debit, go to Step 2. If payement is via transfer, go to Step 3A.