Payment tracking

What is this feature?

The payment tracking feature allows you to view and manage the payment schedule for funding allocations. This makes it easy to keep track of which grantees are receiving funding, the amount they've been funded, payment dates, how that funding has been allocated, and any outstanding balance.

Should I use this feature?

Programs who send funding to grantees over a period of time and/or in several instalments will find this feature most useful. 

Configure payment tracking

Payment tracking is composed of several smaller features that, when used in conjunction, allow for seamless payment tracking. Below you'll find sections outlining each of these features with instructions on how to configure each element. 

Payment methods

Payment methods are used to denote how an applicant has been paid. Default options that are provided by Good Grants are:

• Bank transfer
• Wire transfer
• SWIFT transfer
• Cheque

You can configure additional payment methods, like Venmo or PayPal, in just a few steps. 

1. In the Manage workspace, navigate to Grants > Settings > Payment methods
2. Click New payment method
3. Assign a Name to your payment method; i.e. Venmo
4. Provide a Value that is used to facilitate API and webhook actions
5. If desired, input an Order value to control the order in which the methods appears in a list view
6. Hit Save when finished

Tip: payment methods may be edited or deleted by clicking the ellipsis (three dots) next to the payment method. 

Payment schedule templates

For programs that will stick to a prescribed payment structure (or several payment structures), payment schedule templates can help to save time and simplify the process. 

In cases such as this, you can quickly create a payment schedule template that is used for your designated grantees. 

1. Go to Grants > Settings > Payment schedule templates in the Manage workspace
2. Click New payment schedule template
3. Provide a concise, unique Template name that is easily identifiable if multiple templates are created
4. Select a payment method from the Method drop-down
5. Key in either a Reference name or ID that correlates to your program's accounting
6. Choose a Date due
7. Select whether this date is days before, after, weeks before or after, or months before or after the following prompt
8. Choose whether the prompt is when the payment schedule is created, the allocation has been created, or the grant end date
9. In the next drop-down choose how much the allocation should be, either a percentage of the total amount, a numeric value, or the remaining balance
10. For programs with more than the default two payments, click Add payment to configure additional payments
11. Click Save when finished

Payment tracking

To track your program's payments, navigate to Grants > Payments. From here you manage the payment schedule for an existing allocation. This page also supports export and broadcast functionality, allowing you to gather your data into a single spreadsheet or interact with your grantees. 

Allocating payments

The process of allocating funds is outlined in our Fund management overview guide. Once a certain amount of funding has been allocated to an application, payment tracking can begin.

To record a payment or manually record a payment:

1. Go to Grants > Allocations in the Manage workspace
2. Click the ellipsis (three dots) next to an allocated grant application
3. Choose Payment schedule
   
4. In the pop-up that appears, select a configured payment schedule template or choose to Add payments manually
5. If you select a configured template, the allocated amount will display with the defined payment structure; i.e. with the same method and amounts
   
   
   Tip: to add additional payments to the schedule click Add payment. To edit the method, reference, due date, status, or amount, click the ellipsis (three dots) next to the allocation and choose Edit.
6. Click Done when finished

Updating payment status

By default, once a payment schedule template has been applied, it is marked with the 'Scheduled' status in Grants > Payments. Payments can be marked with a four different statuses.

• Scheduled: this payment will take place in the future
• Processing: this payment has been initiated outside of Good Grants
• Failed: this payment has failed (most commonly due to incorrect banking details)
• Failed permanently: this payment could not be completed and should not be calculated into the allocated funds
• Paid: this payment has been successfully completed

To update a payment's status:

1. Navigate to Grants > Payments in the Manage workspace
2. Click the ellipsis (three dots) next to a payment
3. Select the Edit option
   
4. Set the Date paid to the date of your payment transaction
5. Update the status drop-down to fit the appropriate status, like Processing or Paid
6. Click Save

Tip: once a status has been applied to a payment, it can be edited by clicking the ellipsis (three dots) next to it. This may come in handy if you set the status to 'Processing' and then need to change it to 'Paid' once the transaction completes. 

Delete a payment

You may need to delete a payment from an entry for a variety of reasons. Doing so can be accomplished in just a few steps. 

1. Navigate to Grants > Payments in the Manage workspace
2. Click the ellipsis (three dots) next to the payment you wish to remove
3. Select the Delete option

Configure payment due reminders

For accounts who will be funding successful grantees over an extended amount of time, it is recommended that payment due notifications be configured. These notifications act as timely reminders to allocate funds and can be configured in just a few steps.

1. In the Manage workspace, go to Settings > Communications > Notifications
2. Click New notification
3. In the Trigger drop-down, select Payment due
4. Under the 'Recipients' heading, choose the These email addresses and/or phone numbers radio button
5. Key in the email address(es) of the individual responsible for allocating funds
6. Under the 'Send time' heading, choose when to Send notification
   • At due time
   • Before due time
   • After due time
7. If 'Before' or 'After' are selected, choose the number of days or hours before or after
8. Configure your Email subject, Email body, and SMS message as desired, including the available merge fields and Markdown formatting as necessary
   
   Important: to comply with local regulations, SMS messages cannot be sent to numbers registered in Singapore or to UAE residents between the hours of 9pm and 7am.
9. Click Save when finished 

Video overview

Part 1: Creating and editing payment methods

Part 2: Configuring payment schedule templates

Part 3: Allocating payments

Part 4: Configuring payment due reminders and managing payments