AR Configuration Settings
Important
Information and features vary according to the roles to which you belong and the permissions associated with those roles. For more information, contact your module manager or your campus support team.
The AR Configuration Settings page defines how your accounts receivables transactions and processes are handled by the system. From this page, you can:
Select which accounting method to use.
Define receipt printing options.
Determine how third party charges are handled.
Establish settings for receiving online payments, generating course and fee statements, and what information is visible to students in the Campus Portal.
Determine how course refunds are calculated.
To access this page, you must be in a Receivables Administration role with the "Can manage AR configuration settings" permission.
Warning
This permission has far-reaching impacts throughout the product, and Jenzabar recommends limiting which users are granted permission.
You can also manage AR settings in the Desktop A/R Configuration window.
Updates to this page are saved in the BU_CONFIG table. See the links in the Setting Details section for more information about table columns for each setting.
Jenzabar provides two accounting methods for accounts receivable processes.
With the Accrual accounting method, the system recognizes revenue at the time of billing. Select this option if your organization recognizes income when billed and not when cash is received.
With the Cash Based accounting method, the system recognizes revenue when cash is received or paid. Receipts are treated as revenue, and payments are handled as expenses. Select this option if your organization recognizes income when cash is received and not when you are billed.
In addition to the accounting method, you also determine how the system applies payments and other credits. There are two options: Balance Forward and Open Items.
Balance Forward
With the Balance Forward option, you can transfer account balances from one term to the next and keep a running balance on student accounts. When payments are made, the amount is applied directly to the student's subsidiary balance. Statements display unpaid charges and all transactions that occurred since the last statement. These balances may be negative amounts.
Open Items
Important
This functionality is available for schools licensed for Open Items.
With the Open Items option, you can create and apply payments and other credits to specific charges instead of putting them against a running balance on the student's account. Open Items are accessible until they are paid, no matter how long they've been in the system.
This functionality allows you to track and report unpaid items individually instead of tracking them by subsidiary. When payments or additional charges are created, they can be assigned to a specific open item and are associated with the original open item's transaction Source Code, Group Number, and Transaction Key Line Number. These associations let you track the transaction history and sum total for each open item.
Open item transactions are created when:
Student charges are generated
Receipts are entered or imported
Credit card payments are authorized
Transactions are imported from the General Ledger
Payments are voided
Financial aid is distributed or adjusted
Notice
A $50 charge is generated against the charge code BOOKS. Its source code is MS, its group number is 1000, and its transaction key line number is 1.
A $50 payment is received and added to the system on the Create Receipt page. When the payment is applied to a debit open item, the receipt transaction stores MS, 1000, and 1 in the Open Items source code, Open Items group number, and Open Items key line number.
Since the credit from the receipt is applied to the debit charge, the open item is zeroed out and no longer an open item.
There are three possible combinations for setting up Accounts Receivable accounting.
Accrual & Open Items: With this combination, payments and charges are applied directly to individual billing line items and not to a cumulative account balance. Account statements list every unpaid transaction chronologically so students can review the balance breakdown.
Accrual & Balance Forward: With this combination, payments and charges are applied to cumulative account balances that can be carried over from term to term. When payments are made, the amount is applied directly to the student's subsidiary balance. Statements display unpaid balances and all transactions that occurred since the last statement.
Note
Statements display one total amount that includes all transactions from the current and previous months. Students cannot see a detailed breakdown of transactions.
Cash-Based & Open Items: With this combination, payments and charges are applied directly to individual billing line items and not to a cumulative account balance. Account statements list every unpaid transaction chronologically so students can review the balance breakdown.
Note
This configuration is typically used when an organization recognizes revenue when payment is received and an independently operating subset of the organization sends income transactions to the main organization on a regular basis.
Use the links below to learn more about the settings managed on the AR Configuration page.