Payment Screen

Updated on 05 Jul 2023

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The Payment screen can be used to view a previously recorded payment, record a payment, and/or apply a credit memo to an invoice. It is accessible from the following locations.

Selecting an existing payment (not a credit memo) on the Payments Search List screen
The New Payment option in the Aspire Tool Bar
The New Payment option in the Add icon is available at the top of the Payments Search List screen
Clicking the Add Payment icon for an invoice listed on the Invoices Search List screen
Clicking on the Add Payment icon is available for properties listed in the Receivables Search List screen.

When creating a new payment using options 2 or 3, above, before Aspire displays the Payment screen, it shows the Select Payment Account screen as shown at right. This allows you to specify who is responsible for payment – either a company or a contact – allowing Aspire to display the list of invoices for which the company or contact is responsible for billing. Alternatively, the screen will allow you to enter an invoice number to which the payment should be applied. If you input an invoice number, Aspire verifies that it is a valid invoice number and that there is an amount remaining to be paid on the invoice. If the invoice specified is valid, then Aspire displays the Payment screen associating it with the billing contact^b on the invoice, the invoice is selected^c in the list of invoices and the invoice amount defaults into the Amount field^d as shown below.

For commercial accounts, it is best practice to set up the system so that you can choose a company responsible for each property. On this screen, once you have specified a company, contact, or invoice number, they click the Save icon to display the Payment screen.

The following image shows the layout for the Payment screen.

When creating a new payment, if you do not apply the entire payment to invoices, Aspire will save a credit. If a credit balance remains for the payment when you click the Save icon, Aspire prompts you for a note to be associated with the payment/credit.

The following table describes each of the sections and screen elements:

Element	Description
Payment Invoice Context Section^a – This section allows you to update the context for the payment that is being made and determines which invoices and/or credits are displayed. Upon entering the Payment screen when creating a new payment, the context for the fields in this section is provided
Company (new)	Allows you to specify the company that is making the payment. For existing payments, the field initially contains the company previously selected for the payment. For new payments, the field initially contains the company specified on the dialog displayed when entering the Payment screen. When you change the value in the company field, Aspire updates the contact list to only show contacts assigned to that company.
Contact (New)	Allows you to specify the contact making the payment. The drop-down for this field only makes available contacts associated with the selected company. If no company is selected, all contacts are available for selection.
Property or Opportunity	Previously labeled “Deposit For.” Allows you to choose a property or opportunity. The property or opportunity that they choose filters the list of invoices shown in the Invoice Section and the list of credits shown in the Credits Section. As you type into this field, the list of available options narrows down to properties containing the string they have typed. If they select a value for this field and do not immediately allocate any portion of the payment to an invoice, they will still be allowed to save the payment. The selection of property or opportunity will be saved. you will be able to come back later to allocate to the specific invoice (or invoices). you may only enter this value when they initially create the payment. After they have created and saved the payment, when they go back into the payment, this field will be read-only. Aspire will allow you to apply a single payment to invoices for multiple properties. If they anticipate that this will be the case when they receive a payment, they must not select a value in the Deposit For field.
Screen Totals Section^b – This section provides totals that are updated as the payment or existing credits are applied to invoices. It was shifted from the bottom to top so it is always visible when scrolling through invoices.
Invoice(s) Selected	Displays the sum of payment amounts for all invoices selected in the invoice list.
Fee(s)	Displays the sum of electronic payment fees from the Fee column in the Invoice List section.
Credit(s)	Displays the amount of credit to be applied to the company/contact based on the payment total and the invoices and credits selected. If credits are selected and applied to invoices, this amount can be negative reflecting that when the payment is applied, some of the available credit dollars will be applied to invoices.
Payment Total	Total payment amount which is the sum of invoice payments, fees, and credits. Allows you to specify the amount of the payment. If they choose invoices by clicking their checkmarks in the Invoice Section having not entered an amount, Aspire will update the amount to match the sum of the selected invoices, credits, and fees. However, if they enter a value directly into the Amount field, the value they enter will take precedence, and Aspire will no longer update it as they modify the invoice selections. There is a Reset Payment Amount icon next to the field that allows you to clear out the value so that it will be calculated by invoice/credit selections. If there is no payment and they are only using the payment screen to apply a credit to invoices, then they should make sure the Amount field is $0 before they save the payment.
Payment Information Section^c – This section allows you to view and specify information about the payment.
Payment Date	The date on which the payment is received.
Payment Method	Select from the drop-down list to specify how the customer is making their payment. Options provided are Check, Credit Card, Cash, EFT (electronic funds transfer), or electronic payment methods (i.e. credit card, debit card, or EFT) defined for the selected contact. The ability to select electronic payment methods on this screen is new for Aspire V5.3. If you select a contact-specific electronic payment method while creating a new payment, then upon saving payment, Aspire will initiate the payment. you may choose to use the Add new Payment Method option to enter credit card information for the contact on the fly. If you select an electronic payment method when credits have already been selected to be applied for the payment, Aspire clears the credit section and displays a notification as shown. Some 3rd party card processors will validate the numbers associated with a credit card or a banking account without regard to the actual payment type (credit card, ACH, etc.. )As, such, it is possible if you are adding an ACH/eCheck payment method using their Routing and Account Number to see the logo of a credit card (MasterCard, Visa, or American Express) mistakenly appear. This issue can only be addressed by the 3rd party card processor. However, when this happens, completely clear out the numbers on the New Payment Method screen and select the correct Payment Type from the drop-down menu before saving the payment method.
Reference No.	Allows you to specify a number or code that identifies the payment. (i.e. check number). For credit cards, a common practice is to enter a “cc” prefix followed by a number representing the date – i.e. “cc170715.”
Branch	Allows you to specify the branch with which the payment should be associated.
Invoice List Section^d – This section displays a list of invoices to which the payment may be applied. The list is initially populated based on the selection when entering the screen. you can modify the list of available invoices by choosing a different value in the Deposit For field. Aspire allows you to click on the column headers to sort by the specified column. When a column header is clicked, the column is sorted, and an arrow indicates whether it is sorted in ascending order (up) or descending order (down).
Selection Check Box	Allows you to select the invoice(s) to which the payment should be applied. See the Amount field for additional information.
Prefix	Read-only. Shows the invoice prefix based on the invoice branch.
Invoice #	Read-only. Shows the invoice number.
Description	Identifies the invoices to which payment may be applied. The list of invoices defaults initially based on the selections as you enter the screen as represented by fields in the Payment Invoice Context Section of the screen. For each invoice, this field shows the property name, the opportunity number, and the service performed.
Invoice Date	Read-only. Displays the invoice date for the displayed invoices.
Invoice Amount	Read-only. Displays the invoice amount for the displayed invoices.
Open Balance	Read-only. Displays the amount of the invoice that has not yet been paid prior to the payment that is being recorded.
Payment	Allows you to enter the amount of the payment that should be applied to each selected invoice. If they have not explicitly typed any value into the Amount field, then when you click the checkbox next to an invoice to select it, Aspire will automatically place the open balance for that invoice into this field and increment the Amount field appropriately.
Fee (New)	Read-only. This field only displays a non-zero value if the payment is being applied electronically through Aspire. The value is automatically calculated based on the amount being paid on the invoice multiplied by the Credit/Debit Card Fee Percent value specified in the Electronic Payments tab of the Application Configuration screen.
Credit List Section^e – Displays a list of credit memos and credits from prior payments that were not applied to invoices. If there are no credits or credit memos, the list will be empty. Additionally, if you have selected an electronic payment method, then credits are hidden. Aspire allows you to click on the column headers to sort by the specified column. When a column header is clicked, the column is sorted, and an arrow indicates whether it is sorted in ascending order (up) or descending order (down).
Credits	Read-only. Identifies the credit or credit memo. For credits, displays the date, payment type, and reference number of the payment that generated the credit. For credit memos, displays the credit memo date, the word “credit memo”, and the credit memo number.
Payments and Collection Notes	Read-only. Displays a Payments and Collections Notes section. If there are any notes associated with the credit or credit memo. When the tab is clicked, Aspire displays the notes. To edit the note, you must go to the credit memo or payment with which the note is associated.
Property or Opportunity (new)	Read-only. Displays the property or opportunity that the credit memo or credit payment was tied to when it was created.
Credit Amount	Read-only. Amount of the credit or credit memo.
Open Balance	Read-only. Displays the amount of the credit or credit memo that has not yet been applied to any invoice prior to the payment that is being recorded.
Payment	Allows you to enter the amount of the credit that should be applied to selected invoices. When they choose a credit by enabling its checkbox, the credit open balance will be filled into this field. You may change the value in this column to specify the amount of the credit that will be applied to existing invoices.
Notes Section^f – Only contains a Notes field.
Notes	Displays a note associated with the payment and allows you to update the note. Clicking on the Note field displays an editor for modifying the note.
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Save Icon	When creating a new payment, saves the payment. If you have selected an electronic payment method, Aspire initiates the payment transaction with the payment processor and notifies you that the payment will take several minutes to process. The payment will not become available on the Payments Search List screen until it has been processed.

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Filtering of Invoices for Payment

Table of contents

Payments Screen