InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures About this Guide This document describes the fiscal year closeout procedures in InformationNOW Billing. The Fiscal Year Closeout menu will allow the user to perform the fiscal year closeout in a step-by-step manner, closing the current fiscal year and moving into the next fiscal year. The date and user who performed each step is saved and displayed on the form next to the applicable step. Steps are disabled until the preceding step is completed. Table of Contents InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 1 About this Guide...1 Table of Contents...1 Overview...2 Charges...2 Payments...2 Prepayments and Unapplied Credits...2 Preparing for Fiscal Year Closeout...2 Performing the Fiscal Year End...3 Preprocessing Tab...4 Step 1: Setup Closeout Information...4 Step 2: Apply Prepayments...4 Step 3: Post Transactions...5 Reports Tab...6 Step 4.1 Unapplied Prepayments...6 Step 4.2 Current Household Balances...7 Step 4.3 Aged Analysis...7 Step 4.4 Unused Credit Schedules...7 Closeout Tab...7 Step 5: Trial Closing Report...8 Step 6: Closeout Household Accounts...8 Step 7: Copy Next Academic Year Schedules...9 Step 8: Move to New Fiscal Year...9 Step 9: Procedures after Closeout...9 After Closeout...9 Printing Calendar Year Day Care Statements...9 Using Transaction Summary...10 Logging into last Fiscal Year...11 Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 1
Additional Documentation and Support...11 Support Documentation Page...11 Overview Note to former School Minder Billing Users: The InformationNOW Billing Closeout Fiscal Year process does not behave the same as School Minder Billing. The following section describes how transactions will be handled and brought forward to the new Fiscal Year. There will not be a separate closeout for Household accounts and Day Care accounts. All System Types (Household and Day Care) will be handled accordingly in one closeout. Both Current Year and Next Year transactions will be included in the calculation of Household balances and items to be brought forward. This means that Next Year transactions that do not have a remaining balance will not be copied into the new fiscal year. Because reports are available for a prior fiscal year, there will not be as many steps and reports to print as in the School Minder Billing closeout. All transactions in the fiscal year, regardless of date, will be included in the closeout and calculation of the Household balances. For both Cash and Accrual formats, the InformationNOW Billing Closeout Fiscal Year process will not create a single balance brought forward item for Charges, Prepayments or Unapplied Credits. Each transaction with a remaining balance will be brought forward individually as described below. Charges Charges with an open balance will be copied into the new fiscal year using the remaining balance as their new charge amount. If the original charge date is within the current fiscal year s date range, the new charge will use the date supplied in the New Item Date field on the Set Up Closeout Information screen. If the original charge date is already in the new fiscal year s date range, then the new charge will keep its original date. Payments Only the unused portions of payments (prepayments) are copied into the new fiscal year. Reminder: Both Current Year and Next Year transactions will be included in the calculation of household balances and items to be brought forward. This means that next year transactions that do not have a remaining balance will not be copied into the new fiscal year. Prepayments and Unapplied Credits A new prepayment (both monetary and non-monetary) will be created in the new fiscal year for each prepayment with a balance. The new prepayment will retain much of the original information but will have the New Item Date as its payment date. Both current year and next year prepayments are moved into the new fiscal year using the New Item Date. Preparing for Fiscal Year Closeout Review Household accounts and insure that all data entry has been completed for the fiscal year to be closed. Be sure that all transactions in the Fiscal Year to be closed have been included in a Posting Batch and that all Posting Batches are posted. This includes all transactions dated beyond the Fiscal Year end date. You will be given the opportunity to do this in the closeout steps as well. Apply unapplied prepayments do not forget to create a Posting Batch and post this activity. You might consider using an Application Date within your closeout date range. You will be given the opportunity to do this in the closeout steps as well. Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 2
Step 7 in the Closeout process will copy Next Year Recurring Schedules and Day Care Charge Templates. Before Day Care Charge Templates may be copied, those students must be registered or enrolled in the new academic session. Next Year Recurring Schedules will copy whether or not the student is registered or enrolled. If the new academic session has not been created, please refer to the 2017-2018 InformationNOW - End of Year Procedures Quick Reference Guide. Create the Next Fiscal Year in Billing Setup Fiscal Year. This step is required in order to begin Step 1. Performing the Fiscal Year End To begin the Closeout Fiscal Year process, select Billing from the InformationNOW menu and then select Utilities. The following control panel will appear Click Close Out Fiscal Year to display the following screen and begin the Fiscal Year Close Out steps: There are three tabs Preprocessing, Reports and Closeout. Each tab will contain steps to be completed before moving onto the next step or tab. When all of the steps on a tab are complete, begin the steps on the next tab. Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 3
Preprocessing Tab Step 1: Setup Closeout Information This step cannot be completed until you have first defined the new fiscal year in Setup. Current Fiscal Year: Displays the date range and Academic Year of the current fiscal year the fiscal year to be closed. Items Brought Forward: o o o New Fiscal Year: Select the next year fiscal year from the drop-down list. If the next fiscal year has not been defined in Setup Fiscal Year, click the Close button and return to Billing Setup Fiscal Year. New Item Date: Enter the date to be used for transactions to be brought forward. This should be the first day of the new fiscal year. Click OK to save the information which will update the step and record the user name and date on which the step was completed. Or click Close to return to the Close Out Fiscal Year control panel without making any changes. Step 2: Apply Prepayments This step will launch the Apply Prepayments process. The Application Date will default to the last day of the current fiscal year, and may be changed. Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 4
No Prepayments to Apply If there are no prepayments to be applied, the following message will display: Click OK to return to the Apply Prepayment screen. Click Cancel on the Apply Prepayment screen to return to the Fiscal Year Closeout. The system will update the step with the user name and date. Applying Prepayments If there are prepayments to apply, click Create or Skip cycling through each Household s prepayments until all prepayments have been processed. On the Prepayment Application Results page, click OK and the system will return to the Fiscal Year Closeout screen and update Step 2 with the user name and date. NOTE: It is important to click the OK button on the Prepayment Application Results page to return to the Fiscal Year Closeout menu so that the step is marked as completed. Before proceeding to Step 3, if prepayments were applied in Step 2, click Close to exit the Close Out Fiscal Year process and select Reports from the Billing menu on the left. Print the Prepayment Application Recap Report for the application date of the prepayments applied in Step 2 and the General Ledger Posting Report for the same date. Return to the Close Out Fiscal Year menu by clicking on Utilities Close Out Fiscal Year and continue with Step 3. Step 3: Post Transactions This option will launch the normal Posting Batch Maintenance process. If prepayments were applied in Step 2, follow the normal posting procedures: Click Add to create the Posting Batch, edit the date to match the transactions that need to be posted. This is the date used in the Application Date field. Select the Batch and click Print to print the Batch Report. Click Export and/or Post, depending on normal posting procedures. NOTE: All pending Posting Batches must be posted in order to continue the Fiscal Year Closeout. No Transactions to Post If there are no transactions to post, the following message will be displayed: Click OK and the system will return to the Close Out Fiscal Year menu and update Step 3 with the User Name and Date. Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 5
No Unassigned Transactions Matching the Criteria If unposted transactions do exist, but you did not enter the correct date and transaction types, the following message will be displayed. Click OK to change the criteria and create the batch. Posting the Batch Select the batch to be posted and click Post. Click Close on the Maintain Posting Batch screen and the system will return to the Close Out Fiscal Year menu and update Step 3 with the user name and date. When all three steps on the Preprocessing tab are completed, displaying the user name and date, click the Reports tab. Reports Tab This tab allows the user to run a series of reports to verify the state of the fiscal year s transactions before completing the fiscal year end. Each report s criteria are set by the system to correctly display the data to be closed. Each report will be launched using a form allowing the user to select a format of PDF or Excel. The transactions on each report will provide the detail of what will be copied to the new fiscal year. All activity associated with the fiscal year will be displayed on the report, regardless of the date of the transaction(s). Step 4.1 Unapplied Prepayments A new prepayment will be created (both monetary and non-monetary) in the new fiscal year for each prepayment with a balance. The new prepayment will retain much of the original information but will have the New Item Date, as defined in Step 1, as its payment date. All prepayments in the fiscal year to be closed, regardless of date, will be displayed on this report. All prepayments displayed on this report will be brought into the new fiscal year as of the New Item Date. Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 6
Click Preview to preview and print the report. Close the report and click Cancel to return to the Reports tab of the Fiscal Year Close Out menu and print the next report. Step 4.2 Current Household Balances This report will display a balance for each Household. This report uses either the fiscal year end date, or the maximum charge/payment date in the fiscal year to ensure that all transactions are included. Click Preview to preview and print the report. Close the report and click Cancel to return to the Reports tab of the Fiscal Year Close Out menu and print the next report. Step 4.3 Aged Analysis This report will display a detailed listing per Household of the unpaid charges or portions of charges. This report uses either the fiscal year end date, or the maximum charge/payment date in the fiscal year to ensure that all transactions are included. Each charge with a balance will be copied into the new fiscal year with a date set as the New Item Date in Step 1. For aging purposes in the new fiscal year, the system will continue to use the original date when printing the Aged Analysis Report in the new fiscal year. Step 4.4 Unused Credit Schedules This report will provide a list of the current year unused credit schedule installments for each household. Closeout Tab This tab allows the user to perform the actual Closeout process and move to the new fiscal year. For each step on this tab, a warning message will display if there are unposted transactions or pending posting batches: To post these unposted transactions/batches, click Close on the Close Out Fiscal Year menu and return to Utilities Maintain Posting Batches, or return to Step 2 on the Preprocessing tab. It is recommended that you use a Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 7
date range beginning with the Fiscal Year start date and ending with the current date. Click Add to create the batch, print the Batch report and complete your normal export and/or posting procedures. To return to the Close Out Fiscal Year menu, click Utilities Close Out Fiscal Year and begin with the Closeout tab. Step 5: Trial Closing Report This report allows the user to verify the balances to be brought forward. The BBF column will display the total of balances due; the Money Prepayment columns will show a lump sum total of unapplied prepayments for each household; and the Credit columns will show a lump sum total of the unapplied credit prepayments for each household. Click the Step 5 button to preview the Trial Closing Report. The Trial Closing Report allows the user to preview all transactions, either in Summary or in Detail, which will be created in the new fiscal year by the closeout process. The original date and the new date are displayed on the report. This report allows the user to verify that balances to be brought forward are correct. The total of the BBF column should balance to the total due on the Aged Analysis Report. The total of the Prepayment columns should balance to the Unapplied Prepayments. The total of the Credit Prepayment columns should balance to the Unapplied Credits. Reminder: Both Current Year and Next Year transactions will be included in the calculation of Household balances and items to be brought forward. This means that Next Year transactions that do not have a remaining balance will not be copied into the new fiscal year. Transactions dated beyond the closeout date range are also included on this report. Regardless of the Academic Year selected (current year or next year), in InformationNOW Billing transactions are associated with the Fiscal Year and will be copied into the new fiscal year, as current year transactions, if there is a remaining balance. Step 6: Closeout Household Accounts This step will perform the actual closeout process. Charges with an open balance will be copied into the new fiscal year using the remaining balance as their new charge amount. If the original charge s date is within the current fiscal year s date range, then the new charge will use the date value supplied in the New Item Date field in Step 1 and the Comment will be appended with :From Closeout. If the original charge s date is already in the new fiscal year s date range then the new charge will keep its original date. A new prepayment will be created in the new fiscal year for each prepayment with a balance. The new prepayment will retain much of the original information but will have the New Item Date as its prepayment date. The screen displays the Current Fiscal Year and Next Fiscal Year information. Click Start to begin the process. When this step is completed, the progress bar will move from left to right to 100% and the Start button will be disabled. Click Close to return to the Closeout tab and proceed with the next step. Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 8
Step 7: Copy Next Academic Year Schedules This step is used to copy next academic year schedules, with installment dates within the new fiscal year, to the new fiscal year. The user may also choose to copy the unused portion of current academic year credit schedules and day care templates for students who are registered and/or enrolled in the new academic year. Copy the unused portion of current academic year credit schedules: This option is used to copy the unused portion of current academic year credit schedules. It will examine credit schedules for the current academic year and copy unused credit installments that have a date value that is inside the new fiscal year s date range. Copy day care templates for students registered/enrolled in the new academic year: This option is used to copy day care templates for students in the current fiscal year who are registered/enrolled in the academic year for the new fiscal year. Click OK to begin the process of copying next academic year schedules or click Cancel to close the form and return to the Close Out Fiscal Year menu. Step 8: Move to New Fiscal Year This process will move the system to the new fiscal year. The current fiscal year will be marked as closed and billing preferences will be updated to use the new fiscal year. At this time, the Next Academic Year default setting in Households Preferences will also be copied to the Current Year default fields. Immediately after closeout, perform these steps: 1. Apply Prepayments Step 9: Procedures after Closeout 2. Process Recurring Charges for the first installment of the new year 3. Apply Recurring Credits for the first installment of the new year After Closeout Printing Calendar Year Day Care Statements Day Care Statements are available for the Calendar Year. To print Day Care statements for the calendar year, select the System Type Day Care from the Household Statement print screen. This will allow you to enter a beginning Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 9
date of January 1 for Statements using the System Type Day Care only. For Household activity prior to the current fiscal year, log into the prior fiscal year following the directions below, or use the Transaction Summary to view transactions for each Household. Using Transaction Summary The Transaction Summary is similar to a quick-balance table, displaying all transactions in non-editable form. The Household Search form is used to locate and select one or more households for viewing transaction summary information. The feature gives the user the ability to view transactions for both the current and prior fiscal years. The Transaction Summary screen allows the user to view a summary listing of transactions and to also view details of a specific transaction. To access Transaction Summary, select Billing from the main menu items on the left. Click the Utilities menu and then click the Transaction Summary hyperlink. Search for and select a Household or multiple Households to display the following screen: Select the current or any prior fiscal year to view the transactions for that year. Additionally, filter the transactions displayed using the radio buttons for Display All or Display for Selected Dates and enter the date range. Click Refresh to update the grid if selecting a date range. The grid will display each transaction charge, payment, credit or discount and the date, type of transaction and description, the student s name (for charges assigned to a specific student), the academic year, the total amount and balance of the transaction in that fiscal year. To view the detail of each transaction click the radio button to the left and the View button, as follows: Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 10
The View Transaction screen for payments, credits or discounts will display the charges to which the payment, credit or discount was applied. The Transaction Summary grid shows a balance for selected year/dates. This is the net amount of the Balance column and may be used as a quick balance for the selected Fiscal Year and Date range, if specified. Logging into last Fiscal Year All reports for the prior fiscal year are available by changing the fiscal year in Billing Preferences. All but a few of the other menu items will be disabled once Step 8 has been completed for a given fiscal year. To change the fiscal year, log into InformationNOW, select Billing from the main menu items on the left. Select the Setup menu and click on Billing Preferences. Select the prior fiscal year from the drop-down list. A Closed Fiscal Year will display with an asterisk. Click OK. A yellow banner in the upper right will display indicating that you are logged into a closed fiscal year. Additional Documentation and Support Support Documentation Page To view other documentation on InformationNOW Billing, go to the Support site at www.sti-k12.com. Select Support and enter your User Id and Password. Select Documentation Quick Reference Guides InformationNOW. The following documents are available: InformationNOW - Billing Monthly Procedures and Posting Processes Guide InformationNOW - Billing Reports Guide InformationNOW - Billing Setup Guide Chalkable_0424180916 InformationNOW Billing 2017-2018 Fiscal Year Closeout Procedures 11