Allocate payments

Depending on the configuration by your agency administrator, automatic allocation of payments might or might not work on the Record page.

If you pay more than the total amount, then after you select Save, the payment is complete, and the overpayment directly adds to the Amount not applied of the record.

If you pay less than the total amount, then after you select Save on the Payment tab from the Record page, the fee allocation screen displays. You can then select Full pay to determine the status of automatic allocation for your agency.

When you select Full pay:

• If automatic allocation is not functional, the Amount field at each fee item populates with the value in the Outstanding field. The total amount of the listed fee items can be greater than the Amount not applied. You must adjust the amount to make sure the total amount is equal to or is less than the amount not applied. Otherwise, the payment might fail.

• If the automatic allocation is functional, Civic Platform allocates the Amount not Applied in the fee allocation screen to the Amount fields of the listed fee items. Below are the automatic allocation rules that apply:

  1. Civic Platform pays negative fee items in full with the topmost priority;

  2. Civic Platform allocates the balance of the payable amount (which is the sum of the Amount Not Applied and the absolute values of the negative fees) to fee items by priority first.

     Allocation might or might not happen depending on whether your administrator has configured the fee items with priorities.

  3. If Civic Platform allocates the final amount among fee items with the same priority, it allocates to the fee items according to the orders of the fee items in the list.

  4. If Civic Platform allocates the final amount among fee items without priority setting, it allocates to all the fee items. Each fee item takes a proportion of the final amount equal to the proportion of the outstanding amount in the total outstanding amount.

  5. If the proportion for a fee item is a decimal value (for example, 20.3), Civic Platform rounds up to the next integer (from 20.3 to 21) provided the fee item is not the last one. The last fee item gets the remainder of the final amount.

Civic Platform only supports automatic payment allocation function on the Payment processing page in case of overpayments or underpayments. After you select Pay, the payment is complete with the paid amount automatically allocated.

If a payment on the Payment processing page involves multiple payment methods, Civic Platform allocates the paid amount from non-Cash payment methods first, following the order of the payment methods on the payment screen. Civic Platform allocates the paid amount using the Cash payment method last.

If you pay more than the total amount, the over-paid amount populates in the Change field first of the payment screen. You can set part or all of the over-paid amount as Unapplied Credit. The Unapplied Credit directly adds to the Amount Not Applied of the record. Civic Platform pays the highest record ID.

If you pay less than the total amount, Civic Platform allocates the total tendered in the payment screen to the Amount fields of the record fee items and POS items that you are paying. Below are the automatic allocation rules that apply:

1. Civic Platform allocates POS items as the first priority, from the lowest to the highest POS item IDs; in one POS item, from the lowest to the highest transaction IDs.

2. Civic Platform allocates records after it allocates all POS items, from the lowest to the highest record IDs.

3. If the final amount cannot paid in full for a record:

   1. Civic Platform pays negative fee items in the record in full with the topmost priority;

   2. Civic Platform allocates the remaining payable amount (the sum of the Amount Not Applied and the absolute values of the negative fees) to fee items by priority first.

      This allocation might or might not happen depending on whether your administrator has configured the fee items with priorities.

   3. If Civic Platform must allocate the final amount among fee items with the same priority, it does so according to the outstanding amount of the fee items in the list, from the least outstanding amount to the highest outstanding amount.

   4. If Civic Platform must allocate the final amount among fee items without priority setting, it does so according to the outstanding amount of the fee items in the list, from the least outstanding amount to the highest outstanding amount.

When you allocate a payment, you apply all or part of the payment toward individual assessed fee items for an application. You can allocate a payment at the time you receive the payment, or at a later time as needed.

To allocate a payment at the time of receipt

1. Receive a payment. For details, see Receive a payment for a record.

2. Locate any fees with an outstanding balance.

   Note: Fees with an outstanding balance show a balance greater than zero on the O/S column.

3. Do one of the following:

   • To allocate a payment that covers the full balance of an outstanding fee, mark the check box next to the fee and select Full pay.

   • To allocate a payment that covers only part of the balance of an outstanding fee, enter the partial payment amount in the Amount field next to the fee.

4. To calculate the total allocation, press the Tab key.

   Important: Do not press the Enter key to recalculate the total amount. Doing so completes the transaction.

5. Select Submit.

To allocate a payment separate from the time of receipt

1. Find and open the desired building record.

2. Select the Payments tab.

3. Select the transaction with an unallocated balance.

4. Locate any fees with an outstanding balance.

   Note: Fees with an outstanding balance show a balance greater than zero on the O/S column.

5. Do one of the following:

   • To allocate a payment that covers the full balance of an outstanding fee, mark the check box next to the fee and select Full pay.

   • To allocate a payment that covers only part of the balance of an outstanding fee, enter the partial payment amount in the Amount field next to the fee.

6. To calculate the total allocation, press the Tab key.

   Important: Do not press the Enter key to recalculate the total amount. Doing so completes the transaction.

7. Select Submit.