Bill+Payment 3.0 Frequently Asked Questions for Users of SunGard Higher Education Banner

Transcription

1 TouchNet Support Reference Bill+Payment 3.0 Frequently Asked Questions for Users of SunGard Higher Education Banner SR42-TBP-1007 Document Version 1.0 Last revised November 8, 2007 TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. Copyright 2007 TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. TouchNet, the TouchNet logo, and T-Serve are trademarks of TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned within this document may be the trademarks of their respective owners. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted without the express written permission of TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. Information represented in this document is subject to development and change without notice.

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3 1 Bill+Payment 3.0 FAQ for Banner Users In this reference, we answer frequently asked questions about some of the new features of Bill+Payment What Are the New Features I Might Be Interested In? Student Payments Bill+Payment 3.0 features an updated, streamlined interface for students and authorized users. Most Bill+Payment reports are now downloadable in CSV format, which can be imported into spreadsheet programs. The Scheduled Payment report now shows completed scheduled payments (for scheduled payments completed after your upgrade to version 3.0). Additional customizable messages are available. Authorized users can change the login address. The Term List now displays in term code order. Administrators can upload custom header, footer, and logo images through the Operations Center. Schools can now use different Host System Accounts and Payment Methods for different student levels. Schools can lock the payment amount; when locked, users must pay the exact amount displayed. Schools can display the amount of charges not included on payment plans and allow the students to choose to pay that amount or include it with their next payment plan installment. Schools can prevent ACH payments based upon the number of failed ACH payments; schools can also use AR hold codes to stop either ACH or all payments. (This functionality depends on setup within the Banner system.) 2007 TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. SR42_TBP_1007

4 2 HTML codes used in the Announcements section can now be displayed in a preview window. Payment Plans Payment Plan installments can now be written back to Banner as memo items. Schools can choose to recalculate all payment plans on login; when a student logs in, that student s plan is recalculated. Enrollment and delinquency reports are now downloadable in CSV format, which can be imported into spreadsheet programs. A printable enrollment agreement is now available when administrators enroll students in plans. erefunds Schools can now update the description field for a refund in TBRACCD when a paper check transaction is converted into an electronic refund. ebill ebills can now be loaded online using the Operations Center. Users can now choose from multiple billing formats during the bill loading process. SR42_TBP_ TouchNet Information Systems, Inc.

5 3 2.0 Frequently Asked Questions Student Payments What does Bill+Payment 3.0 use to differentiate the student levels? Bill+Payment 3.0 uses the Student Level Code from SGBSTDN. Since students can now pay an amount that is not on a plan, are the students forced to pay that amount? No. While the student can see the amount, the student is not forced to pay the amount. The school should continue to follow its established business procedures in dealing with students who fail to pay amounts that are not on a plan. What Banner setting does Bill+Payment look at to prevent ACH payments from students who have had too many bad checks? Bill+Payment looks at the student account table for the detail codes that are defined in TBBRETC as returned checks. What Banner codes can Bill+Payment use to block ACH payments or all payments for students? Bill+Payment compares the Hold Codes provided in the Operation Center to the codes displayed in the student's AR Holds screen. Which HTML codes can be used in the Announcement section? There is no formal list of codes that are or aren't allowed. TouchNet recommends that users test the HTML codes they wish to use in their test environment TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. SR42_TBP_1007

6 4 3.0 Frequently Asked Questions Payment Plans Do I have to let Bill+Payment write payment plan installments back to Banner as memo items? No. This a new feature that some schools may choose to take advantage of, while other schools choose to use the previous functionality. How does Bill+Payment write payment plan installments back to Banner? Each payment plan installment is written to the TBRMEMO table as a separate memo entry. The expiration date is equivalent to the payment due date from Bill+Payment. Why don t I see individual installments on the TSAAREV screen? Why doesn't Bill+Payment update the TBRACCD table with the individual installments instead of the TBRMEMO table? Because Bill+Payment can recalculate plans both during student logins and the batch process, attempting to write to the TBRACCD table could result in an unmanageable number of line items on the student records. Updating to TBRACCD would require a reversal for each installment item and the addition of a substitute line for the updated amount, exponentially increasing the detail shown on the student's TSAAREV screen. If I post installments as memo items, what happens to memo entries in Banner when the payment plan installments change? The memo entries previously created will be updated to reflect the changed amounts. When an installment is paid, its memo is expired. Will the number of memo entries in Banner change when the payment plan installments change? No. Since Bill+Payment only updates the existing records, no new records are added during recalculation. Also, Bill+Payment does not create reversal records for the original memos. SR42_TBP_ TouchNet Information Systems, Inc.

7 5 Where can I see the memo amounts from the Bill+Payment installments? You can see the memo amounts in two places: Banner includes the summary total plan amount in the existing memo total field in the TSAAREV screen, and it shows the detailed memo items in the TSADETL screen. If I post installments as memo items, what happens in Banner when a student fails to pay a plan installment? As before, any Bill+Payment late payment fee would be charged. Additionally, the memo item for the installment would expire to reflect the non-payment, and the summary memo amount in TSAAREV would be reduced appropriately. The memo item itself would remain in the TBRMEMO table. Will the memo items created by the Bill+Payment installments affect my student balance? No. Banner will treat these memo items as it treats other memo items and the student balance will not be affected. Some schools may wish to develop their own Banner modifications to allow these items to be reflected in the student balance. How can I use memo items posted by Bill+Payment to assist with business processes, for instance, dropping students for non-payment? As no two schools have exactly the same business process, it will be up to your school to determine the best way to use these memo items in your processes. Some schools may create business processes using standard Banner features such as population selections, while other schools may choose to customize their Banner product to add non-standard functionality. Can I include the Bill+Payment memo items on my billing statement (TSRCBIL)? Yes. These items can be included or excluded in your standard TSRCBIL file using selection criteria in Banner TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. SR42_TBP_1007

8 6 Can the Bill+Payment memo items reduce the balance shown on my TouchNet ebill statement? Yes. Some schools may choose a format that allows the totals shown to the student to be reduced by the amount of the memo items. If you would like to use do this, discuss it with your implementation specialist as it may require revised explanations to your students and staff regarding the balances and possible differences shown to them in Banner, Bill+Payment, and on the Bill+Payment ebill. If I am using the recalculate upon student login functionality, will Bill+Payment always show the student the latest payments to their account? No. While this functionality will update the student's account more frequently, amounts displayed to the student rely heavily on the Banner application of payment process. Payments may not be properly reflected in the student's payment plan until application of payment has been run. Schools will want to evaluate their current process scheduling and may want to consider automated solutions to assist in this process. 4.0 Frequently Asked Questions ebill Can I load different types of bills for my students? Yes. You could load different billing formats (such as a schedule or an invoice) for different students or for different statement dates for a specific student. If you need different billing formats, discuss them with your implementation specialist; there may be additional customization fees for providing additional bill formats. SR42_TBP_ TouchNet Information Systems, Inc.

9 7 To Contact Client Services For technical assistance, continuing customer support, or other questions, contact us at: Telephone: or Fax: Web site: Address: TouchNet Information Systems, Inc College Boulevard Lenexa, Kansas TouchNet Client Services is available Monday through Friday between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Central Time. Extended support hours are available by agreement with TouchNet TouchNet Information Systems, Inc. SR42_TBP_1007