Creating Financial Items (Dues and Charges)
How to set up membership dues, levies, fees, and other financial items in the admin panel.
Financial Items are the templates behind every charge in your association. Before you can bill a member, you must create the corresponding financial item.
Types of financial items
| Type | Use case |
|---|---|
| One-time charge | A single fee — e.g., registration fee, event fee |
| Recurring charge | A fee that repeats — e.g., annual dues, monthly levy |
| Subscription | A time-based ongoing charge with automatic renewal tracking |
Creating a financial item
Navigate to Financial Items
In the admin panel, go to Finances → Financial Items.
Click Add Financial Item
Click the Add button to open the creation form.
Name and describe
Give the item a clear name (e.g., '2025 Annual Dues') and a short description.
Set the amount
Enter the charge amount. The currency is your association's configured currency.
Set the type
Choose one-time, recurring, or subscription, and configure the applicable period.
Set due date
Optionally set a due date — members will see overdue warnings if they haven't paid by this date.
Save
Save the financial item. It's now available to assign to members.
Linking to an event or project
If the charge is for a particular event or project, choose it in the 'Linked to (optional)' section on the Late Fees tab. Everything members pay on the item is then tracked on that event or project. See Linking a Financial Item to an Event or Project.
Related articles
Assigning Dues to Members
Recurring dues bill themselves. When you do (and do not) assign a charge by hand, and how new members are handled.
Financial Management Overview
How the Zenith AMS financial system works — from financial items to payments and reports.
Recording and Approving Payments
How to handle online payment confirmations and manually record offline payments.
Linking a Financial Item to an Event or Project
How to tie a levy, fee or donation to an event or a project so that everything members pay on it is tracked in one place.