If you use Billing Method By Total Hours you will set up a Fee Schedule and, optionally, a Multi-Student Discount.
You can add and edit your "Total Hours" Discount Settings in Tuition Settings.
- Go to the Gear (icon) > Settings > Tuition & Discounting.
- Click + Edit Fee Schedule (button) in the Tuition Billing Settings to create or edit your Fee Schedule.
- Click Update Now in the Update Total Hours Discount Settings section to select a Billing Cycle and set up discounts.
Select Billing Cycle You Use for Total Hours Billing
When you bill By Total Hours you can only use one Billing Cycle. Typically, Monthly is selected which means you bill monthly based on the number of hours a student or family is in class per week.
Set up Discount (Multi-Student)
How should the multi-student discounts be applied?
There are two options:
- Select Use the discount rate listed for each student if you'd like Jackrabbit to apply the corresponding discount to each student's total tuition.
- Select Add up the students in the family and use the discount rate listed for the total if you'd like Jackrabbit to add up the students in a family and use the discount associated with the total to apply to each student's total tuition.
Example
- The family has 4 students enrolled in classes
- The discount for multiple students in a family is:
Use the discount rate listed for each student
Student 1 uses the discount listed in Student 1 (0%) and their classes are not discounted, Student 2's classes use the discount listed in Student 2 (5%), Student 3's classes use the discount listed in Student 3 (10%) and Student 4's classes use the discount listed in Student 4 (15%).
Add up the students in the family and use the discount rate listed for the total
The 4 students in the family are added up and the discount rate for Student 4 (15%) is applied to all students' classes.
Specify a unit for this discount
The discount can be a dollar amount or a percentage to be applied to the tuition fee(s).
Total Tuition Discount Method
Specify the discounts for students one through six. The 7th student and beyond will use the discount defined for Student 6 (Six or more students).
If you are using the discount rate listed for each student you will be asked In what order would you like to apply the discount?
- Highest tuition gets the lowest discount (most common) - Jackrabbit will order the students with the student having the highest priced tuition considered as Student 1. The lowest discount is applied to the student with the highest tuition.
- Lowest tuition gets lowest discount - Jackrabbit will order the students with the student having the lowest priced tuition considered as Student 1. The lowest discount is applied to the student with the lowest tuition.
If you post tuition by adding up the hours spent in classes (Billing Method - By Total Hours), you will create a Total Hours Fee Schedule that outlines how much you charge for each hour increment. Jackrabbit will add up the hours in class, either by student or by family, and look to the Fee Schedule to locate the corresponding fee for the number of hours.
Your Fee Schedule is created and edited from the Gear (icon) > Settings > Tuition & Discounting > Tuition Billing Settings. Select + Edit Fee Schedule (button) in the Tuition Billing Settings to create or edit your Fee Schedule.
Fee Schedule Example
For this example, 1 hour of class per week is $85:
- If your Billing Cycle is Weekly the tuition fee for 1 hour should be $85 ($85/wk x 1 week).
- If your Billing Cycle is Monthly the tuition fee for 1 hour should be $340 ($85/wk x 4 weeks).
- If your Billing Cycle is By Session, and your Session is 8 weeks, the tuition fee for 1 hour should be $680 ($85/wk x 8 weeks).
Important to Note
- If you don't see the + Edit Fee Schedule option in your Tuition Settings it may be that your system is currently only set to use the By Class Fee Billing Method. The Fee Schedule is only available when you bill your classes By Total Hours.
- It is only possible to have one Fee Schedule at a time.
- Only one Billing Cycle can be used for your classes billed By Total Hours.
- When entering part hours in the Fee Schedule enter 15 minutes as .25, 30 minutes as .50, and 45 minutes as .75.
- When posting tuition, if the total hours aren't listed in your fee schedule Jackrabbit will select the next higher total hours and use that tuition fee.
Post Tuition Fees, located under the Transactions menu, is a powerful tool that allows you to post tuition fees to more than one family at a time. It can also be used to post tuition to a single family or to a specific class.
The tuition fees can be posted immediately (Post Now) or scheduled to post at a future date and time (Post Later).
The flexibility of the Post Tuition Fees feature makes it an essential tool for posting tuition!
- Jackrabbit does the heavy lifting and calculates all discounting and prorating according to your Tuition Settings.
- Prevent tuition fee posting errors with Jackrabbit's Advanced Detection.
- Automate! Schedule the posting of your tuition fees. Learn more about Automated Tuition Fee Posting.
Permissions control a User's ability to view certain data or perform certain actions. Before moving forward review User Permissions - Post Tuition Fees to Multiple Families at Once.
The Post Tuition Fees Process
The Post Tuition Fees feature can be used to post to classes with either Tuition Billing Method (By Class Fee or By Total Hours).
Some settings are different between the two methods, but the process is the same (learn about each setting/criteria below):
- Use the Post Setting to determine whether you want to post fees now or post fees later.
- Select your Billing Settings (Billing Method, Billing Cycle, and Tuition Posting Date).
- Choose your Class Criteria, Family Criteria, Multi-Student Discount Settings (By Total Hours only), and Additional Settings. Add Transaction Details and define any Additional Discount you may want to apply to the posting.
- Set your preferences for Advanced Detection.
- Preview the tuition fees and make any changes needed. Learn more about the Preview Tuition Fees page.
- Post Now or Post Later based on the Post Setting you selected in Step 1.
Post Tuition Fees Settings & Criteria Explained
Expand each section to learn more about the settings and criteria involved in the Post Tuition Fees process.
Post Setting
| Post Now |
Use the Post Now button to post tuition fees to your families on the spot. The fees are posted to the families' accounts immediately, and the current balance on their accounts is updated to include these fees. The tuition fees will also be included in the Dashboard Aged Accounts total, in the 0-30 days column. If Post Now is used to post fees with a future date, they will still be included in the current balance on the family record and will still be included in the Dashboard Aged Accounts 0 - 30 days column. Instead, schedule the fees to Post Later.
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| Post Later |
Use the Post Later button to schedule the tuition fees to be posted at a later date, optionally creating the fee posting as a recurring task. The fees will not be posted to families' accounts until the date they are scheduled to post and the Dashboard Aged Accounts will not include the fees until then. Set the date you want the scheduled task to start; this date can be edited later in the Task Scheduler if needed. Learn more about Automated Tuition Posting. |
Billing Settings
| Post to classes with this Billing Method |
Choose whether to post to classes with a Billing Method of By Class Fee or to classes that are billed By Total Hours. If your classes are a mix, and you use both Billing Methods, they will need to be posted separately.
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| Post total hours per (By Total Hours only) |
Choose whether to calculate total hours fees based on the total hours of all students in the family (Post total hours per Family) or by the total hours of each student separately (Post total hours per Student). If you opt to total the hours separately for each student, you'll be given the option to add multi-student discounts further in the process in the Multi-Student Discount Settings section. Example
Total hours by student:
Total hours by family:
Learn more about the Fee Schedule used for posting tuition by total hours. | ||||||||
| Post tuition to classes with this Billing Cycle |
The Billing Cycle is how often you post tuition fees; it defines the range of days your families are billed for. Note: If you bill By Total Hours, you are limited to one Billing Cycle for those classes, and therefore, the Billing Cycle field in the Post Tuition Fees - Billing Settings is disabled. When you choose to post your fees later with the Post Later option, the only Billing Cycles available are Monthly and Weekly. Custom cycles and By Session Date cycles cannot be automated.
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| Billing Cycle start date |
The options that appear in the Billing Cycle start date drop-down list depend on the type of Billing Cycle selected and the day it starts:
When posting fees immediately (Post Now), your options will be as follows:
When you opt to Post Later, you will only see two cycles to choose from, the current Billing Cycle and the next Billing Cycle.
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| Transaction date |
The Transaction date is the date that will be stamped on each tuition fee that is posted in the batch; it is not the date the posting was done. Example - Fees posted on August 5th with a Transaction date of September 1st will all be stamped with the September 1st date. When you select the current Billing Cycle, the Transaction date will default to the current date. When previous or future cycles are selected, the Transaction date defaults to the start date of the Billing Cycle. The Transaction date field is editable and does not impact when your Billing Cycle starts. Changing the Transaction date in this workflow will not change your Billing Cycle start date. If you have chosen to post these fees at a later date (Post Later) and are creating a recurring task, the Transaction date determines the Transaction date of subsequent postings, e.g., if the 1st of the month is chosen for a monthly billing task, the next time the task runs the Transaction date will be the 1st of the next month. These dates can be customized in the task scheduler. Learn more about Automated Tuition Posting. |
Class Criteria
In addition to the Billing Method and Billing Cycle selected in the Post Tuition Fees - Billing Settings, the Class Criteria can be used to further narrow down the list of classes to be included in the posting.
| Class Search | Use the Class Search field to post tuition fees to a specific class. The classes that are available in the search depend on the Billing Method and Billing Cycle selected in the Post Tuition Fees - Billing Settings. |
| Post to classes with this session |
Use these criteria to post tuition fees for classes in a specific Session or Sessions (use CTRL or CMD to select multiple).
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| Post to classes with this Category 1 |
Use these criteria to drill down to just the classes with a specific Category 1 value or values (use CTRL or CMD to select multiple). To further narrow down the classes you are posting tuition fees for, select a Cat2 or Cat3 value.
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| Use these Tuition Discount Rules |
If you selected the Billing Method of By Class Fee, this criteria will default to include all By Class Fee classes, i.e., all rules. Clear the checkboxes for any rules you want to omit from the posting. Note: At least one Discount Rule must be selected.
When Tuition Discount Rules are used, you can view the rule or edit it on the fly in this workflow by clicking the Pencil icon. |
Family Criteria
The Family Criteria can be used to limit the tuition posting so that only families that have the selected criteria in their Family records are included. The families that meet these criteria must also have students that are enrolled in classes with the Billing Method and Billing Cycle selected in the Post Tuition Fees - Billing Settings that also match any Class Criteria you've selected.
| Family Search | Use the Family Search field to post tuition fees to a specific family. The only families that can be searched are those with students enrolled in classes that have the Billing Method and Billing Cycle you selected in the Post Tuition Fees - Billing Settings and that match any Class Criteria you've selected. |
| Family Location |
Use the Family Location criteria to post tuition fees only to families in a specific Location (use CTRL or CMD to select multiple).
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| Membership Type |
Use the Membership Type criteria to post tuition fees only to families with a specific Membership Type.
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| ePayment Schedule |
Use the ePayment Schedule criteria to post tuition fees only to families with a specific ePayment Schedule.
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| Family Discount Rule |
When you are posting to classes billed By Class Fee, you'll have the option of posting tuition fees to only those families with a specific Family Discount Rule. Select the checkbox for any rules you want to include in the posting.
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If you want to exclude a family when using Post Tuition Fees (Transactions menu), select the Omit Family from Transactions > Post Tuition Fees setting on the Billing Info tab of their Family record.
Multi-Student Discount Settings
You can include multi-student discounts if you are posting to classes with the Billing Method of By Total Hours and you have set Post total hours per Student.
The discount settings default to those defined in the Total Hours Discount Settings under the Gear icon > Settings > Tuition & Discounting. They can, however, be edited in this workflow and applied to this posting without affecting your Total Hours Discount Settings.
Additional Settings
There are a number of Additional Settings that can be selected when posting tuition fees. By default, all checkboxes are selected.
| Post tuition to active classes only |
When selected, only classes with a Status = Active will be included in the posting.
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| Post tuition to students with Enroll Type = Trial |
When this setting is selected, students that are enrolled with the Enroll Type of Trial will be included in the tuition posting. The trial class must have the Billing Method and Billing Cycle selected in the Post Tuition Fees - Billing Settings and must also match any Class Criteria selected. To be included in the posting, the student's family must also match any Family Criteria selected.
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| Post tuition to students with Enroll Type=Waitlist |
When this option is checked, students enrolled in classes from a Waitlist and whose Enroll Type is still set to Waitlist will be included in the tuition posting. The classes must have the Billing Method and Billing Cycle selected in the Post Tuition Fees - Billing Settings and must also match any Class Criteria selected. To be included in the posting, the student's family must also match any Family Criteria selected. Important Note: This does not include students who are on a Waitlist. It only includes students who have been enrolled into a class from the Waitlist and who still have the Enroll Type set to Waitlist.
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| Prorate tuition for future enrollments during Billing Cycle |
When you prorate tuition fees this setting is available. When it is selected, Jackrabbit will prorate tuition for a future enrollment when the future enroll date is during the Billing Cycle. When it is not selected, the full tuition fee is posted. Example
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| Prorate tuition for drops during Billing Cycle |
When you prorate tuition fees this setting is available. When it is selected, Jackrabbit will prorate the tuition for a future drop when the future drop date is during the Billing Cycle. When it is not selected, the full tuition fee is posted.
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| Include all classes when calculating multi-class discounts |
When multi-class discounts are calculated in Post Tuition Fees, the default is to include ALL classes even if they don't meet the selected settings and criteria. Clear this checkbox to only count the classes that match the settings and criteria selected. Note: Any class assigned the rule 'No Discounts" is always excluded from the multi-class count even when this checkbox is selected. When this checkbox is selected, Jackrabbit will look at the sum of all class tuitions to determine the highest / lowest for both multi-class and multi-student discounting. Example
If this setting is selected, Jackrabbit will count all 5 classes when calculating the student's multi-class discount. If this setting is not selected, only the 3 classes that match the criteria will be used to calculate the multi-class discount. |
| Apply tax to tuition |
This setting is only available if Tax Tuition Settings is selected in your Organization Default Settings under the Gear icon > Settings > General. As a default, the tax will be applied to the tuition fees according to your Tax Tuition Settings. Clear the checkbox if you don't want to include tax in this posting. |
Transaction Details
This section can be used to add a Transaction Subtype and Note to the tuition fees that are posted. The note added here will be visible in the Family record on the Transactions tab and can also be seen in the transaction history in the Parent Portal. The note is limited to 200 characters and will appear after the Jackrabbit system note with the Billing Cycle and any discounting/prorating details.
TIPS
- Transaction Subtypes are created in the Drop-down List Editor (Gear Icon > Settings > General > Drop-down Lists > Transaction Subtypes).
- When Post Later is used to schedule a tuition posting and the Billing Cycle you are posting for is Monthly, selecting one of the three-character abbreviations (created and reserved by Jackrabbit) for the months will sync the Transaction Subtype to the Billing Cycle start date for all future postings. Note: the three-character month abbreviations (created and reserved by Jackrabbit) must be used; if a different Subtype is used, only fees with that Subtype value will be processed.
- Example:
You create a task for your monthly billing beginning with the Billing Cycle start date of 7/1/2021 and you select the Subtype Jul. The next time the task runs, for the August billing cycle, the transactions will be stamped with the Subtype Aug.
- Example:
- The Transaction Type Tuition cannot be changed.
Additional Discount
With the Additional Discount, you can apply an extra discount to the tuition fees, in addition to your other discounting and/or prorating. The discount can be either a dollar amount or a percentage.
- If the Additional Discount is a dollar amount, it will be applied after all other discounts have been calculated and deducted from the base tuition amount (tuition fee before discounting and prorating). The discount will be spread out across all students in the family account.
- If the Additional Discount is a percentage and you prorate tuition, you will be given an option as to how to apply the percentage.
The Discount Label entered will be included in the Notes of the transaction when tuition fees are posted.
Learn more about the Additional Discounts.
Advanced Detection
Advanced Detection is a tool designed to identify tuition fees that may have already been posted (duplicate tuition fees). It can also alert you to any fees that are set to post for a student who was enrolled and dropped during the Billing Cycle due to an administrative error, as an example (dropped student fees).
The Preview Tuition Fees page, generated when the Preview Fees button is selected, highlights the fees detected as being duplicates or dropped students. The reason for being detected as a duplicate or drop is included in the preview results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why are some of my classes not pulled into the batch when I use Post Tuition Fees?
A. When creating a tuition batch, it is your criteria and setting selections that tell Jackrabbit which classes to pull into the batch. The selections you make in Post Tuition Fees, that relate to which classes are having tuition posted, point to fields that are found in the Class record, on the Summary tab.
They include:
| Class Session | Class Categories (1, 2, and 3) | |
| Tuition Billing Cycle | Tuition Discount Rule |
To troubleshoot, look at your criteria and setting selections and then look to a class that was not included in the batch. Does the class have the Billing Method you selected when you created the batch? If you selected a Class Session in your criteria selections, does the class have that session value?
If you are unable to locate the discrepancy, contact Support using the ? icon in your system, we are here to help!
Q. How do I isolate specific families for specific billing frequencies?
A. One way to do this is to use Membership Type (on the Family Billing Info tab) to isolate which families should have tuition posted. For example, Membership Types might be Monthly, Annual, Semester, etc.
- Create Membership Types by going to the Gear (icon) > Settings > General > Drop-Down Lists (left menu).
- Click Membership Type under Family from the choices on the left.
- Use the Add Row button to add a new type.
- Click Save Changes.
- Add a Membership Type to a family by going to the family's Billing Info tab.
- Choose a Membership Type from the drop-down list.
- Click Save Changes.
Post tuition fees to specific Membership Types by selecting a Type in the Membership Type field in Post Tuition Fees.
Reduce billing errors! Advanced Detection in Post Tuition Fees is a tool designed to identify tuition fees that may have already been posted (duplicate tuition fees). It can also alert you to any fees that are set to post for a student who was enrolled and dropped during the Billing Cycle due to an administrative error, as an example (dropped student fees).
The Advanced Detection settings offer several options. The selections you make here will determine which fees are brought to your attention (highlighted) and which fees are selected to post on the Preview Tuition Fees page that is generated when the Preview Fees button is selected. The reason for being detected as a duplicate or drop is included in the preview results.
| Detect duplicate tuition fees | Select the Detect checkbox to enable duplicate detection. Jackrabbit will search for fees with the Transaction Type = Tuition Fee that have already been posted to a family's account for the same student during the chosen time frame. |
| Match on Student plus | Optionally have Jackrabbit also include the Class and/or Category 1 in the criteria for a duplicate fee. The tuition fee for a student must have the same Class/Category 1 to be considered a duplicate. |
| Detect dropped student fees | Select the Detect checkbox to have Jackrabbit identify fees set to post to a student who was enrolled and dropped in a non-prorated class during the Billing Cycle. Dropped student fees are not detected for prorated classes because Jackrabbit already considers the student enroll and drop dates when prorating the fee according to your Tuition Settings (Prorating Options). |
| Check dates from | Enter the Check dates from and through to define the time frame to be searched. The system checks for tuition fees posted for the time frame you select. |
The Preview Tuition Fees page will display a legend for any fees that have been detected and the rows will be highlighted according to the legend.
- When you have opted to Post Now in the Post Tuition Fees - Post Setting, the checkboxes in the first column of the grid will reflect the selections you made in the Advanced Detection settings, however, they can be changed at this point if needed.
- When you have opted to Post Later in the Post Tuition Fees - Post Setting, the checkboxes in the first column are disabled. Any changes must be made on the main Post Tuition Fees page.
The legend in the above screenshot shows the highlighting for three different scenarios:
| Duplicate Tuition Fee |
A tuition fee for this student has already been posted to the Family account during the time frame defined for detection. ExampleAustin Carter was enrolled into Ballet - Mon 6pm and his March tuition fee was posted at that time of enrollment. Later that week, another staff person ran Post Tuition Fees for the March Billing Cycle and Austin was included causing a duplicate transaction. |
| Dropped Student Fee |
This student was enrolled and dropped or transferred from a non-prorated class during the Billing Cycle. ExampleCheryl Woodward was enrolled in Jazz - Tues 7pm on March 1st by a staff member in error. On March 2nd the staff member realized their error and dropped Cheryl from the class without deleting the enrollment. Later that week another staff member ran Post Tuition fees for the March Billing Cycle and Cheryl was included because she had been enrolled in the class during the Billing Cycle. The row for her tuition is highlighted to alert you to the drop so that you can avoid a billing error. |
| Dropped & Duplicate |
This student was enrolled and dropped from a non-prorated class during the Billing Cycle and a tuition fee has already been posted to the Family account during the time frame defined for detection. ExampleOn March 1 Maddox Reed was enrolled in Hip Hop - Wed 7pm by mistake and the tuition fee was posted at that time. This administrative error was discovered on March 2nd and Maddox was dropped from the class. Later that week, another staff person ran Post Tuition Fees for March, and Maddox was included causing a duplicate transaction. The row for Maddox's tuition is highlighted as both a duplicate fee and a dropped student fee. |
Fixed Fees will always be displayed as possible duplicates within the selected date range. Be sure to check a fixed fee was not previously posted to a family account before you post the tuition fees. Be sure to double-check the fee type is set to Tuition Fee.
The Post Tuition Fees feature includes a robust preview capability to give you peace of mind. Review the fees that are set to post based on the settings and criteria you've selected. Have the chance to make any necessary changes before you push the Post Now or Post Later button!
Preview Tuition Fees can also be used as a revenue forecasting tool...just because you preview it doesn't mean you have to post it!
The Preview Tuition Fees page has several features:
 | A data summary provides at a glance the totals for the tuition fees to be posted. This data is dynamic; it will update each time a fee is selected or deselected for posting. |
 | When Advanced Detection is enabled in the Post Tuition Fees - Advanced Detection Settings, a legend will explain the highlighted fees:
The Dup Reason column lists the reason for the duplication. If a family has been omitted from the posting with the Omit Family from Transactions > Post Tuition Fees on the Billing Info tab of their Family record, they will be highlighted in teal as explained in the legend. |
 | The first column in the grid indicates which fees are set to post. When you have opted to Post Now in the Post Tuition Fees - Post Setting, the checkboxes in this column will reflect the selections you made in the Advanced Detection settings. However, they can be changed here if needed. When you opt to Post Later, the checkboxes in this column are disabled. |
 | Hyperlinks are provided to access the Family, Student, or Class records quickly. |
 | In the Details column, click the link to see details of how the fees were calculated.
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Once you have reviewed the tuition fees in the preview and are happy that everything is as it should be, it's time to post the fees.
The post option that displays is determined by the Post Tuition Fees - Post Setting you've selected.
 | With the Post Now button, the tuition fees will post to your families on the spot. The fees are posted to the family's accounts immediately, and the current balance on their account is updated to include these fees. Once fees are posted to the accounts, you will see a green confirmation box. A link will take you to a listing of all the tuition fees that were completed and posted. |
 | The Post Later button opens the Schedule Tuition Fee Task window, where you'll define when and how often you want this posting to run. Learn more about Automated Tuition Fee Posting. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How can I edit a posted class transaction if the wrong amount was entered?
A. Posted transactions can only be edited at the family level, individually (Family record > Transactions tab using the pencil icon). It is not possible to edit a batch of transactions all at once.
If you have mass posted a class fee and need to edit it you are better off deleting the batch (Transactions menu > Delete Transactions) and then re-posting it with the correct amount.
Q. How can I project income for the next month or year?
A. To get an idea of how much revenue you plan to collect within the next month, year, or any specified time frame of your choice, projected income can be found using Transactions > Post Tuition Fees. Select Search Criteria as you normally would when posting tuition and Preview Tuition Fees. The Total Amount in the data summary is the projected amount for the Billing Cycle you used and the Advanced Detection settings selected.
Based on how often you bill your customers, you may need to take this a step further and multiply the amount listed under Total Amount. For example, if your Billing Cycle is monthly, but you would like to project income for the year, multiply the amount listed by 12. Note: Projecting income does not account for new student enrollments or students who drop classes. This should be used as an estimate for future revenue.
Q. Am I limited to the number of items per page I can view on the Preview Tuition Fees page?
A. You can adjust the number of items on the Preview Tuition Fees page from 10 to 1000.
When you have worked through all of the articles outlined in the lesson, select the Take the Quiz button to be taken to the Lesson #9.2 Quiz where you can test your understanding of the concepts in this lesson. You will be asked to enter an email address for quiz results to be sent. The quiz includes Review questions.
Quiz #9.2 - Post Tuition Fees (By Total Hours Billing Method)
| Number of Questions | Total Possible Points | Points Needed for an "A" | Points Needed for a "B" | Points Needed for a "C" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
