The Account Balance or Credits product charges or credits a one-off amount to an account. A typical use is a club in its first year on Member Splash with accounts that owe prior balances. You enter an amount (and an optional description) on each account. The next time the member pays, the charge or credit is included automatically, and the amount is cleared from the account once paid.
Step 1: Check the Fee Type
Go to Finances > Products and click the Fee Types tab.
Look for an Account Balance fee type (or Balance Due or Credit). Most sites already have one. If not, create it. Any of these will work.
Step 2: Add the Custom Account Fields
Click Settings in the admin menu and go to Members > Custom Account Fields.
If you don't already have them, add two fields: Account Balance and Account Balance Description. If they already exist, skip to the next step.
Once saved, the fields appear in the list of custom fields and on every account.
Step 3: Enter a Test Amount and Description
Go to Membership > Accounts, open your test or admin account, and go to the Custom Fields tab.
Enter a dollar amount in Account Balance (don't use the $ sign) and a test description in Account Balance Description. Save the account.
IMPORTANT: You won't be able to build the product without this step. The custom fields and a test amount/description need to be in place for the Account Balance pricing section to show the fields in the product. This is a one-time setup step.
Note: The description is optional. If used, it is shown on the payment screen next to the amount being charged or credited.
Step 4: Build the Product
Go to Finances > Products and click the Add New tab.
Name it Account Balance Debit/Credit (or similar).
Set the Fee Type to Account Balance (or Balance Due).
Use only the Account Balance or Credits pricing section. Set Balance Field to Account Balance and Balance Description Field to Account Balance Description.
Step 5: Set the Product Rules
In Show / Hide / Require Rules, check Apply Rules and set Rule Action to Require.
Add conditions such as Account Type and Account Payment Status. In this example, it is required when the Account Type is Full Member and the Account Payment Status is Unpaid, so the balance or credit is applied to the member's first payment of the year.
Note: You can use Show instead, but then the charge is optional because the member has to check the product. We recommend Require so members must pay the balance or apply the credit.
Example: You give a member a -200 credit for volunteering. The -200 stays on the account until they pay for something. If they then book a $50 rental, the total is -$200 + $50 = -$150. The system does not carry the remaining balance forward: after payment it clears the whole Account Balance (and description) on the account. The member loses the remaining -150 unless an admin puts it back on the account.
Step 6: Add Balances or Credits to Accounts
Go to Membership > Accounts and open the account.
On the Custom Fields tab, enter the amount in Account Balance (no $ sign; use a negative number for a credit) and what it is for in Account Balance Description.
Save the account.
To update many accounts at once, select them on Membership > Accounts and use Bulk Actions > Update Custom Field.
How the Product Displays to Members
To check what the member sees, go to Membership > Accounts, click the ... next to the account, and choose Switch to. This is a good idea when adding a large charge or credit.
The balance or credit shows like any other product on the payment screen, and it is placed at the top of the payment screen so members don't miss it.
Limitations
The description is shown to the member when they pay, but once the charge is paid the Account Balance is set to 0 and the description is cleared permanently.
To keep a long-term record of balances, credits, and descriptions, add an account note to the account. Use a note type such as "Account Balance notes" (set up in Settings > Members > Note Types) so you can report on all accounts you added balances to.
We recommend applying this product only to Unpaid accounts to avoid billing mistakes.
The Account Balance field does not calculate a balance; it uses only what the admin enters.
It is mainly for one-time charges and credits, usually included with yearly dues.