Finance module

A. Choose the basic settings

Under Club Parameters > Other Parameters > Finance enter the default prices offered when creating an event:

• Country currency
• Default event price for active members, prospects and guests of the club and multi-district
• Default event price for visitors
• Penalty for "noshows", i.e. members registered for an event but absent without announcing it.

At this stage do not activate the other parameters: they will be described later.

B.1. To be done before the event:

Edit Event, Event Finances tab, then button Enter event finance button to enter:

1. The various prices to be applied, and possibly the penalty charged to an active member unable to attend,
2. The cost per participant used to pay the provider e.g. the caterer,
3. The cost charged by the provider for "no shows" e.g. meals ordered but not served,
4. The various possible fixed costs, e.g. room hire, beamer, etc.

B.2 During and after the event

1. Record all member and visitor attendance (QR-code, or manually),
2. Collect contributions on site (cash, credit/debit cards, smartphones, etc.), except those of active members if their individual accounts are debited,
3. Check that the account is complete (see below) and if necessary correct it,
4. When all attendance and expenses are in order, close the event.

Attention: closing the event affects the attendance rates of the members present, but also debits, if necessary, their individual account for their contribution to the event.

The Event Finances tab displays the full event count allowing you to check everything before closing the event.

Please note: re-opening a closed event will create reverse entries in the individual member accounts, not delete them.

Income-expenditure account for an event

Introduction

To activate the individual account system, in the Club parameters > Other Parameters > Finance toggle the Enable member financial account switch

This gives each active member a current account "debits - credits - balances".

Depending on the choice of the club, the current accounts can be of various complexities:

• A single "Main" account WITHOUT automatic entries
• A single "Main" account WITH automatic debit entries for contributions to events
• A second account called "Meal" with automatic debit entries for contributions to events
  

C.1 Individual MAIN account WITHOUT automatic entries

Only one "main" current account per member to enter the various possible accounting entries.

It is accessed via Members > Active members > Edit icon of the selected member > Financial account tab,
alternatively via Members > Active members > Financial tab > Edit icon of the selected member.

• Debits:
  
  
  • Club admission fee for a new active member
  • Periodic membership fee
  • Compensation for absence at a statutory event
  • Donation call ...
    
    
• Credits:
  
  
  • Payment by the member to the club bank account
  • Cash payment by the member to the treasurer
  • etc..

Each entry is created by the treasurer via the button + Add transaction

Individual active member account

An entry requires a choice:

• The individual account concerned, by default the Principal (the sub-account "Meal" is described later)
• The type of entry: by default Other, and by choice the admission fee, the periodic contribution, a participation to an event (meal packages are described later)
• The description of the entry
• Whether it is a debit or a credit
• The amount, which will appear in red if it is a debit
• The accounting date, i.e. the date on which the transaction actually took place; e.g. the date of the payment into the club's bank account.

IMPORTANT: as in any accounting system, once an entry has been created it cannot be deleted.
If an entry needs to be corrected, a "reversal" is created, i.e. an entry which cancels the entry to be corrected.

Example of debit

The date of the transaction appearing in the first column of the current account is the date of recording by Polaris.

IMPORTANT: as in any accounting system, after its creation an entry cannot be deleted. If it is necessary to correct an entry, a reversal is created, i.e. an entry that cancels the entry to be corrected.

Accounting periods and grouped transactions

Accounting periods of 3 months, 6 months or 12 months can be decided.
From the list of members, Financial tab, the treasurer can create at the beginning of the period the fees due in a single operation for all the members, named Grouped or "en bloc" transaction

Following the same model as an individual transaction, the members concerned must be selected from a multiple choice drop-down list. By default all members are pre-selected.

In the case of different subscription amounts depending on the type of active member (compulsory or exempt from attendance, exempt from subscription, etc.), as many grouped transactions are created as possible.

C.2 Individual MAIN account WITH automatic transactions

In addition to the manual transactions, it is possible to automate the entries of the contributions of the members present at statutory and non-statutory meetings.

To do this, in Club parameters > Other parameters > Finance, activate the switch Debit event fees from member accounts

In this case only guests and visitors pay their contribution to the event on the spot, those of active club members are automatically debited from the individual member's account. These automatic debits are the event prices, but optionally also a "no-show" contribution for a member registered but absent at the event.

The automatic creation of the entries is done when the event is closed by the administrator.

Attention: the closing of an event should only be done when all the attendances are entered and verified. In case where a re-opening of the event is required to make corrections, "reversed" entries are automatically created.

C.3 Meal package system

Many clubs use a fixed-rate meal system for a pre-defined period (formerly known as the "meal ticket" system). The principle is to charge members at the beginning of the period a flat fee to cover part of the contributions to the events of the period, typically meals at weekly meetings.

Clubs using the meal plan can choose between two systems:

• Flat rate meal package: for the given period, regardless of the number of statutory events the member attends (no balance charged or refunded)
• Minimum meal package: members pay in advance a pre-defined fixed amount for n "meal tickets". Unused tickets are forfeited to the club and cannot be carried over to the next period, unless exceptionally authorised for a particular member. Additional meals will be charged to the member.

In both cases a second individual "Meal" account is used, from which the contributions due are automatically debited at the end of an event, instead of being debited from the member's main account.

To activate this meal package system, in Club parameters > Other parameters > Finances, activate the Use meal package switch

When creating an event, in its Event Finances tab, a switch appears activated by default for statutory events Debit Meal Package Account. If you do not want a particular event to automatically debit the "Meal" accounts, simply deactivate this switch.

The difference between the two solutions "fixed price" and "minimum price" is regulated by the difference in accounting entries at the end of the period (see below)

Second "Meal" account with automatic debit entries for contributions

For both types of meal packages, a second individual "Meal" account is used, from which the contributions due are debited automatically at the close of an event, instead of being debited from the member's main account.

In accounting terms this is:

• At the beginning of the period to:
  • debit all "main" accounts for the meal package
  • credit all "meal" accounts with the same meal package
  • Invoice the members for the meal package, simply at the same time as the membership fees for the period
    
    
• At the end of the period of:
  • if the flat rate is in force:
    • reduce the positive and negative balances of the "meal" accounts to zero, by making the appropriate entries
    • credit the total of the positive and negative balances in the club accounts
  • if the minimum fee is in force:
    • reduce the positive balance of the "meals" accounts to zero, by making the appropriate entries,
      and credit them in the club accounts
    • reduce the negative balance of each "meal" account to zero, by making the appropriate entries,
      and debit the member's main account by the same amount
    • ask the members to settle the negative balance:
      1. by an email referring them to their individual account
      2. or by an invoice for the negative balance
         

The Members > Active Members > Finances page allows the treasurer to display the balances of all members as of the current date.

Display filters are available to differentiate between:

• older members
• members who are obliged or exempt from attendance
• members with a negative or positive main account
• members with a negative or positive meal account