Managing finances for a club often involves juggling “lump sum” payments from members that cover multiple fees or seasons. To keep your books accurate and your members happy, it is essential to allocate these receipts correctly.
In Clubtreasurer, the most efficient way to handle these scenarios is by using Unallocated Membership Transactions. This guide walks you through how to record these payments and the three best ways to distribute them across billing lines.
Step 1: Recording the Receipt
When you receive a bulk payment and enter it via Receipts & Payments or Transaction Import, you are presented with three membership options.
For bulk or “to-be-decided” payments, always select Option 3:
- Specific Billing Line: Best for a single payment matching a single bill.
- Non-Membership Transaction: For income unrelated to membership (e.g., buying a club tie) that shouldn’t affect their membership balance.
- Unallocated Membership Transaction: (Recommended) This records the money immediately but leaves it “open” to be assigned to one or more billing lines later.
Step 2: Choosing Your Allocation Method
Once the money is in the system as “Unallocated,” you have three flexible ways to assign it to the correct membership fees.
Method A: Manual Splitting (At Source)
If you know exactly how the payment should be broken down at the moment you are entering it, you can “split” the entry.
- In Receipts & Payments: Use the Add New Line button.
- In Transaction Import: Select the row and click Split/Copy.
- The Goal: Ensure the total of your split lines matches the original payment, then assign each line to its specific Membership Billing Line.
Method B: The Individual Approach (Member Tab)
If you prefer to manage members one-by-one, use the Unallocated Payments tab. This tab only appears if a member has an outstanding unallocated balance.
- Navigate to: The Member or Membership Assignment pages.
- How to Allocate: Double-click the cell in the Allocate Payments column, choose the unpaid billing line, and click Save. This will reduce the unallocated balance until it’s fully utilised.
Method C: Mass Allocation (The Power User Option)
If you have a high volume of payments to process at once, the Mass Allocate and Convert Payments tool is your best friend.
- Navigate to: Membership Utilities > Mass Allocate and Convert Payments.
- Filter & Select: Filter by date or member, then check the Validate selection box.
- The “Magic” Button: Click Allocate Payment Line(s).
- The Result: The system automatically flows the money into unpaid billing lines in chronological order (oldest first) until the balance hits zero.
Why use Unallocated Payments?
Using this workflow ensures your Member Reports remain clean. It prevents “overpaying” a single line and provides a clear audit trail showing exactly when a payment was received and exactly when it was applied to a fee.