Billing Payment Importer

iMIS Billing Payment Importer provides you with the ability to import financial transactions into iMIS, also referred to as “lockbox processing.” The importer is designed to import and process mass payment data from an external import file, allowing you to avoid entering this data manually, transaction by transaction. This module helps you if your payments are received and recorded by an outside organization, such as a bank (lockbox) or an affiliated organization, if this organization can supply the payment data in a usable electronic form.

This module requires at least two data elements to be resident in your import files: the payment amount and the customer ID (either the primary ID or the Major Key of each customer who has paid). For example, if you will be receiving data from an affiliated organization, such as the national or state organization and the receiving organization does not know the customer ID, be sure to have an organization-wide common identifier (such as a certificate number) in the data. You must maintain this common identifier in the Major Key field.

The benefits of using this interface instead of simply importing the data include the following:

■ Provides a single interface for iMIS Billing payment transactions

■ Uses the payment records to create dues payment transactions, which debit cash and credit income or deferred income

■ Automatically applies each customer payment record amount to that customer's open balances until those balances are closed

■ Any residual payment amount creates open credit balances, which you can refund or apply to future sales

The payment data that is imported will only be applied to a line item that already exists on the customer's Billing tab and has an outstanding positive balance. Importing payment data will not create new line items nor apply an amount against a line item that has a zero or negative balance. If the imported payment exceeds the balance, an overpayment will be applied to the line item. If the line item does not exist, an open AR credit invoice will be created for the payment amount.

To enable the Billing Payment Importer

As with all iMIS modules, you must have this system enabled on the iMIS System Setup level. Refer to your service provider for more details.

To format billing data for import

The transaction format is tab- or comma-delimited input, with various types of records allowed in a single stream. The import file must contain a single batch header record, followed by any number of cash payment records.

Note: You cannot use the Dues Importer for accrual Dues billing cycle. You must use the AR Importer for accrual dues billing. To use the AR Importer, the System field (third field) under the Cash Payment Record should be AR. Make sure to insert the Invoice Number (sixth field) under the Cash Payment Record.

The major transaction formats include the following:

All Records

	Field Name	Data	Comments
1	Record Type		Identifies the type of record
2	Batch Number	10 chars, all upper case

Batch Header

	Field Name	Data	Comments
1	Record Type	BH	Always “BH”
2	Batch Number	10 chars, all upper case
3	Batch Date	Date	Date of batch
4	Batch Description	60 chars
5	Control Count	Numeric	Optional
6	Control Amount	Monetary	Total of the batch of payments
7	Cash Account Code	10 chars, all upper case	Code assigned through AR/Cash> Set up tables > Cash accounts; indicates the cash account where the funds were deposited

Cash Payment Record

	Field Name	Data	Comments
1	Record Type	PAY	Always “PAY”
2	Batch Number	10 chars, all upper case	Optional; if blank, defaults to batch header's batch number
3	System	DUES
4	Member ID	10 chars, customer ID	Can substitute Major Key, if prefixed with * (asterisk)
5	Date	Date	Optional; if blank, defaults to batch header date
6	Product Code	Character	Optional; payments can be applied to specific Product Codes by including the Product Code in this field
7	Amount	Individual payment amount	Total amount of the check or credit card payment
8	Check/CCType	Check # or credit card type	Optional
9	CCNumber	Credit card #	Optional
10	CCExp	Credit card exp	Optional
11	Name On CC	Name on credit card	Optional
12	CCAuthorize	Credit card authorization code	Optional
13	Name	60 chars for audit trail	Optional but important. Will print on the transaction report to identify the customer/subscriber.
14	Comment	255 chars	Optional but important. Will print on the transaction report and related inquiries to explain the transaction, such as “Dues Payment” or “Subscription Payment."

Example billing import file

In the following import file example, two cash payment records follow the batch header line. Make sure that your Cash Account code exactly matches the setting on the Set up cash accounts window.

BH,DUES030802,3/08/02,Dues Payments for 3/08/02,,195.00,CASH

PAY,DUES030802,DUES,152,3/08/02,,95.00,1234,,,,Marcie Farmhaven,,,Dues Payment

PAY,DUES030801,DUES,111,3/08/02,,100.00,VISA,4610-8904-4005-4568,9/02,,C98084,Richard Harris,Dues Payment

Note: If your import fails, check your import file for stray spaces, missing tabs, and so forth.

To review history before importing billing transactions

Before you introduce third-party transactions into your iMIS data file, view the relevant payment history for items such as dues for a sample customer (one who will be affected by the incoming data).

1. From Customers, select Manage customers to open the Manage customers window.

2. Find the customer's record.

3. Select the Billing tab.

4. Click the History or Current button located at the bottom of the Billing tab. This is where your imported transactions should appear after the import process.

Note: You can review the outstanding balances by printing the Open Items by Name report.

To perform the billing import

Caution! Back up your database. Before performing the import, it is very important that you make a current backup of your iMIS database. If your import is in error, you can restore your database from the backup copy; otherwise, you must manually delete each transaction in the imported batch.

1. From AR/Cash, select Enter and edit transactions> Import transactions to open the Select import file window.

2. Select the tab- or comma-delimited file that you prepared.

Note: If a message is displayed indicating that the Cash Account code does not exist, check that the name of the Cash Account code in your import file matches the one in your iMIS-system Cash Account Table on the Set up cash accounts window.

3. When complete, open the Manage batches window.

4. To review the results of the import, select the open import batch on the Open Batches window and click Print Selected.

5. (optional) To finalize the transactions, select the open import batch on the Open Batches window and click Post Selected.

To verify the billing import

To verify that your transactions have correctly posted to your iMIS data file, view the relevant payment history again for your sample customer:

1. From Customers, select Manage customers to open the Manage customers window.

2. Find the customer's record.

3. Select the Billing tab.

4. Click History and compare the contents of the History view, where the imported transactions should appear. Note whether the Paid Thru date advanced.

To view open credits from a billing import

If the payment amount imported was larger than the total outstanding balance for a customer, the amount of the overpayment automatically creates an open credit. To view overpayments by an individual:

1. From Customers, select Manage customers to open the Manage customers window.

2. Find the customer's record.

3. Select the AR/Cash tab.