Setup Standard Fee Items

Riha Moss

Oct 31, 2024

9948

IMPORTANT: Fee Items should not be deactivated if there are open invoices attached. Instead, add OLD to the Fee Item name and create a new Fee Item. Run the Transactions by Contact Report to look for those invoices which have not been satisfied. See Fee Items FAQ & Use Cases for more information.

Click Setup in the Navigation panel.
Click Fee Items in the Services, Products and Commerce section. A list of Fee Items currently configured in your system will be displayed.
Click the New button.

On the Add Fee Item screen, configure the following:

Name: Provide a name for the Fee Item. This will be displayed when you are selecting Fee Items throughout the software.
Fee Item Type : Select a type from the drop-down list. It is important to choose the appropriate type as this drives where the fee item is available in the software. For example a fee item setup of Membership Type would not be available in the Events module. Type can also be used for filtering and reporting. See Fee Item Types for more information.
Product Category: Select a product category from the drop-down list. Product Category is used for filtering and reporting. You can select a previously configured product category from the list, or, to add a new product category, click the + sign.

Description: Enter a description of the Fee Item. This description is displayed in the Fee Items list and will be the line item included on invoices. If needed, you will be able to over-ride the description provided here when adding a fee item to an invoice.
Product Description: This field may be used if you wish to track additional details about this fee item. It is for internal use only.
Default Price: Enter a default price for this Fee Item. This price will automatically display when adding this fee item to an invoice and may be over-ridden as needed. Leaving this at 0 is usually best as, setting this can lead to having to update pricing in 2 places if/when prices change.
Default Quantity: Enter the default quantity for this Fee Item. This would be used if a minimum purchase for this fee item is required, and may be overridden when you are assigning the Fee Item.
Accounting Type: Select either Cash or Accrual. If Accrual is selected, the Revenue Recognition Type drop-down list will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. The Accounting Type refers to when your association recognizes income: Cash is recognized only when it is received. Accrual is recognized as soon as it is rendered. Your accounting practices will determine your selection.
Income Account: Select the income account for this Fee Item. The drop-down list will be populated with the income accounts currently configured in your Chart of Accounts. You may add a new account by clicking the + sign. If you are unsure as to which account should be selected you will want to check with your accountant, as this will affect your financial statements. This is the account the will be credited when this fee item is invoiced.
Receivables Account: Select the accounts receivable account for this Fee Item. When using accrual basis this is the A/R account that will be used to "hold" the revenue until payment is received. The drop-down list will be populated with the receivables account configured in your Chart of Accounts. This is the account that will be debited when this fee item is invoiced. NOTE: If you are using QBO integration set all fee items to your default AR account in QuickBooks.
Deferred Income Account: Select the deferred income account for this Fee Item. If using accrual accounting. The drop-down list will be populated with the deferred income accounts configured in you Chart of Accounts. If you have chosen to defer the revenue for this event to a specific point in time, the revenue will be held in the deferred income account until that point in time.
Deposit Account - Select the deposit account for this Fee Item. The drop-down list will be populated with the deposit accounts configured in your Chart of Accounts. IMPORTANT!! The deposit account selected here is for journal entry purposes. The physical bank account to which funds will be deposited is configured when setting up your gateway. IMPORTANT!! Undeposited Funds is the required Deposit Account selection for use with QuickBooks Online (QBO) integration.
Default Revenue Recognition Months - If the revenue for this Fee Item will be recognized over a period of time, enter the default number of months over which the revenue will be recognized.
Voluntary - Select this check-box if the fees for this Fee Item are voluntary. A voluntary fee may be displayed on an invoice, and the member may choose to or to not pay this fee. If they choose not to pay the fee, it will not be counted against them in any past due invoices reports. Voluntary fees are designed so that it is clear to your members when and if they are opting into the additional fee. For example on invoices, the amount of the invoice without voluntary fee will always be shown first, and if voluntary amounts are included, it will note that with a phrase (voluntary amount).

Taxes: Choose one option or the other

Product Tax Category: Set the product tax category if taxes vary from one contact to another. Tax will be calculated based on the tax set assigned on the contact’s billing tab OR
Tax Set: If tax to be applied to this Fee Item will be the same for all contacts, choose the appropriate tax set. This tax will be applied across the board regardless of the set assigned to a contact. The only exception will be if the contact's tax status is set to tax exempt.

Is Recurring Fee - Select this check-box if this is a recurring fee for things like membership dues or fundraising campaigns.

Note: When creating a voluntary fee, you must select Membership as the Fee Item type. Additionally, when the Voluntary check box is selected, the Accounting Type will automatically be set to Cash and the Revenue Recognition Type will be set to Fully on Paid Date.

Revenue Recognition - From the Revenue Recognition Type select how you will recognize the revenue for this Fee Item. For example, if this is an event related fee, and you wish to defer revenue recognition until the start date of the event, you would select Fully on Event Start Date. NOTE: This option is only displayed if you have selected Accrual as Accounting Type for this Fee Item.

Is Active - Select this check-box to activate this Fee Item. Only Active items may be billed and only active items will be displayed when you need to select a fee item.

Click Done to save the new Fee Item.

NOTE: Once a Fee Item has been created, only those with Full Control access to Billing are be allowed to edit the accounting type and GL accounts associated to a Fee Item will be able to make changes to it. Additionally, if BP Mode is enabled no changes may be made to the fee item once saved. See Best Practices Mode (BP) for further information.

In the Membership Type section you will be able to see the membership types that are tied to this Fee Item.

If you are using the QBO integration be certain to create the item(s) within QuickBooks Online and map the items appropriately.

Realtor Specific

In the Realtor Edition of the software you will have fields to configure for your NAR Ecommerce splits and your financial record mapping.

See NRDS Financial Mapping and NAR E-Commerce Initial Setup - Dues Split for further information on these settings.

NOTE: When BP Mode is enabled no changes may be made to the financial mapping or dues split configuration once the fee item is saved. If you wish to make changes you will need to create a new Fee Item. Learn more about Best Practice Mode (BP Mode).