When a Member Pays More Than a Charge Asks
A member gives 100,000 on a 5,000 levy. Receive Payment accepts it and asks what the extra is for: an extra contribution, or credit kept for the member.
Members sometimes pay more than they were asked, because they can. A levy of 5,000 may be paid with 100,000. This is welcome and it is not an error, so Receive Payment accepts any amount. What it does not do is guess what the extra is for, because only the member knows. When you are in front of them, you ask, and the form asks you the same question.
The question Receive Payment asks
Enter the amount as usual. If it is more than the member owes on the charges you chose, the second step shows the split (for example 5,000 to the levy, and 95,000 more than the member owes) and asks: What is the extra for? You must choose one. There is no default, so nothing is decided by accident.
| Choice | Use it when | What is recorded |
|---|---|---|
| An extra contribution | The member is giving more than was asked: a gift on top of the levy. | Income, at once, on its own line named Extra contribution followed by the levy it was given on top of. The levy itself is unchanged, so what the levy raised and what was given beyond it can be reported separately. |
| Credit for the member | The member wants the association to hold the extra for them, for later. | Credit on the member's account. It is not income and it is never used unless the member, or an administrator for them, chooses to. See Credit on Account. |
What the member receives
One payment and one receipt, in the email and the PDF. The receipt lists the charges the payment settled, and says what became of the extra: either that it was recorded as an extra contribution (with the line named above), or that it is kept for the member as credit and how much credit is now held for them. On their statement, an extra contribution appears as a paid line; credit appears in its own block, beside what they owe.
Where it shows afterwards
- Extra contribution lines are created automatically the first time they are needed. You will see them in Financial Items, marked as donations. You do not need to set them up.
- A payment that settled several charges and carried an extra is still one payment. Every kobo is accounted for: what was received equals what settled charges, plus the extra contribution, plus any credit kept.
- The extra goes on the newest charge the payment settled. If nothing was owed, it goes on a plain Extra contribution line.
What still stops a payment
- Choosing specific charges but ticking none. Tick at least one, or let the payment settle the oldest charges first.
- A charge that does not allow part payment, when the money cannot settle it in full. The extra is only accepted once everything else is placed.
- A receipt or transfer reference that has already been used.
- An amount with more than two decimals.
If the payment has to be reversed
Reverse it from the member ledger, with a reason. The charges it settled owe again, an extra contribution it recorded is removed, and credit it put on the member's account is taken back. That last part only works while the credit is still there: if the member has already used some of it, the reversal is refused and tells you why, so you can deal with that first. The member is sent a short email saying the payment was reversed and which charges are owed again. A gift is never listed as a debt.
Related articles
Receiving a Payment and Spreading It
Record cash, a transfer or a cheque from a member and apply it across everything they owe, with a preview of where every naira goes.
Credit on Account
Money the association holds for a member: where it comes from, who can see it, and how it is used, refunded or given as a donation.
Refunding or Donating a Member's Credit
How to pay credit back to a member, or record it as a donation they agreed to, with a second person approving.
Statements, Arrears and Payment Status
Read a member's statement, see who owes what and for how long, and understand the Paid, Partly paid, Overdue and Not yet due labels.