PAC - Discount Structure Tab (SU)

Overview

The 'Discount Structure Rules' that are set up in this program are used by the auto account billing programs Finance > Parent Accounts > Billing Cycle > Pre-Billing Report and Finance > Parent Accounts > Billing Cycle > Auto Account Billing.

Use 'Discount Structure Rules' to create:

Percentage-based sibling discounts (using 'Student Position in Family').
Dollar based sibling discounts (using 'Student Position in Family' and specific student 'User Defined Billings Flags').
Percentage or dollar-based discounts using 'Total Family Size'.
Other percentage-based discounts (eg: scholarships).
Other dollar-based discounts (eg: special discounts where a specified discount amount has been negotiated).

For each 'Discount Structure Rules' the calculation can work in one of the following modes:

Mutually Exclusive. As an example, the school may stipulate that students who receive scholarships are not to receive any other discount.
Reducing Balance. As an example, the school offers a hardship discount to specific students. This discount gets calculated after all other applicable discounts have been applied for that student.
Blank (Neither Mutually Exclusive or Reducing Balance).

The table below illustrates the difference between the three discount 'Types' (assuming that a student is eligible for both discounts).

	Hierarchy Sort Key	Mutually Exclusive	Reducing Balance	Blank (Neither Mutually Exclusive or Reducing Balance)
Tuition Fee		$1000	$1000	$1000
Discount Rule 1 (10%)	1	$100	$100	$100
Discount Rule 2 (10%)	2	$0	$90	$100
Calculated discounted Tuition Fee		$900	$810	$800

Adding a Discount Structure Rule

To add a new discount structure rule, click the 'New Rule' button to display a blank 'Discount Structure Rules' screen.

When satisfied with your entry, click the 'Save' button to commit your changes to the database or 'Cancel' to return to the selection screens.

Viewing and Editing Discount Structure Rules

To 'View' or 'Edit' a discount structure rule, click on the associated link next to the relevant discount structure rule.

When satisfied with your entry, click on the 'Update' button to commit your changes to the TASS.web database.

Fields that require further explanation
Period	This indicates the billing period or periods in which this discount structure rule may be applied. Select 'All' if this discount structure rule is to be applied in every billing period. Click here to view an Administrator Note. Billing periods are defined using program Finance > Parent Accounts > Setup Information > Parent Accounts Setup on the 'Billing Periods' tab. Select a range of billing periods by holding down the 'Shift' key and clicking the first and last selection in your required range. Select multiple billing periods by holding down the 'Ctrl' key while clicking.
Type	Three 'Types' of discounts are available: Mutually Exclusive. An example of this would be where the school stipulates that students who receive scholarships are not to receive any other discount. If two or more discount rules with 'Mutually Exclusive' discount types apply to a student, the auto-billing program will use the rule with the lowest 'Hierarchy Sort Key' and disallow all other discount rules. Reducing Balance. A Reducing Balance rule is a calculation of a discount against the residual amount of a charge after other discounts have already been applied. An example of this would be where the school offers a hardship discount to specific students. This discount gets calculated after all other applicable discounts have been applied for that student. When a Reducing Balance 'Type' is selected, this program will force you to nominate a single fee code that the discount will be calculated on. All other eligible discounts that will be applied first before 'Reducing Balance' type discounts are calculated. Blank (Neither Mutually Exclusive or Reducing Balance). Leave this field blank for discount rules that do not force mutual exclusivity or do not use a reducing balance calculation.
Hierarchy Sort Key	Based on the 'Type' field above, this numeric (decimal) field the order in which discounts are applied. A discount rule with a lower number will be applied first. Here's an example of a 'Mutually Exclusive Type': Your school offers a scholarship discount and a staff discount. Students cannot receive both. Scholarship discounts are to be applied in preference over staff discount. Therefore, the scholarship discount would receive a numeric value lower than the staff discount. Here's an example of a 'Reducing Balance Type': Your school offers a hardship discount then a further concessional discount. Students receive the hardship discount first then the concessional discount. Therefore, the hardship discount would receive a numeric value lower than the concessional discount. Here's an example of a 'Blank (Neither Mutually Exclusive or Reducing Balance) Type': Your school offers a sibling discount then a further concessional discount. Students receive the sibling discount first then the concessional discount. Therefore, the sibling discount would receive a numeric value lower than the concessional discount.
Discount Fee Code	The fee code against which this discount structure rule is to be applied. Important! Only Active Fee Codes will be available in this field. Use Finance > Parents Accounts (PAC) > PAC - Setup Information >PAC - Parent Accounts Setup (SU) on the Fees tab to change the Active status of a Fee Code.
From Year	The beginning student year group to which this discount structure rule is to be applied.
To Year	The ending student year group to which this discount structure rule is to be applied.
Calculate Discount on (This field is applicable when the 'Type' field above is set to 'Mutually Exclusive' or 'Blank')	This field is used to nominate the fee code(s) that will be used to calculate this discount structure rule against. You may select multiple fee codes for this rule, in which case this field will display '**'. Select a range of fee codes by holding down the 'Shift' key and clicking the first and last selection in your required range. Select multiple fee codes by holding down the 'Ctrl' key while clicking. Important! This field is only used if this discount structure rule is percentage-based. The auto-billing does not check if the student has been billed the selected fee code. It will process the discount regardless. Only Active Fee Codes will be available in this field. Use Finance > Parents Accounts (PAC) > PAC - Setup Information >**PAC - Parent Accounts Setup (SU) on the Fees tab to change the Active status of a Fee Code.
The Charge to calculate this Discount on (This field is applicable when the 'Type' field above is set to 'Reducing Balance')	The 'Reducing Balance Discount' section of the screen will appear when the 'Type' field above is set to 'Reducing Balance'. For 'Reducing Balance Type' discounts you need to nominate a single 'Fee Code' that will be used to calculate this discount structure rule against.
REDUCED BY: Select one or more Discounts (This field is applicable when the 'Type' field above is set to 'Reducing Balance')	This determines the other discounts that will be considered first (prior to calculating this discount) in calculating a reduced balance. This discount rule will then apply the discount specified (on this rule) to the reduced balance.
Discount %	The percentage discount to be applied. You can also specify the percentage of discount on a 'Student Billing Flag'. By doing so, you can apply individual student percentage based discounts through the student billing grid when using the Reducing Balance rule. See 'Student Billing Flags' below.
Student Position in Family	Enter the student position in the family against which this discount structure rule will be applied, e.g. If you are setting up the discount structure rule for the second student in the family enter a '2'. Sibling discounts calculated by the auto account billing programs as a percentage of one or more 'Fee Codes' are most common and are simple to set up and required no maintenance (unless the percentage changes). However, if your school offers a dollar-based sibling discount, refer to the example below for a suggestion on how this can be set up. You will need to maintain the dollar amounts as required: Example of 'Dollar-based' sibling discount: 2nd student in the family receives a $200 discount. 3rd student in the family receives a $300 discount. 4th student in the family receives a $400 discount. Create three new charge Fee Codes using program Finance > Parent Accounts > Setup Information > Parent Accounts Setup on the 'Fees' tab. Fee Code SIB2 'Second in Family' with an amount of $200. Fee Code SIB3 'Third in Family' with an amount of $300. Fee Code SIB4 'Fourth in Family' with an amount of $400. Create three new Discount Structure Rules using program Finance > Parent Accounts > Setup Information > Parent Accounts Setup on the 'Discount Structure' tab. Discount Structure Rule SIB2 with: 'Calculate Discount on' = 'SIB2'. 'Discount %' = '100'. 'Student Position in Family' = '2'. Discount Structure Rule SIB3 with: 'Calculate Discount on' = 'SIB3'. 'Discount %' = '100'. 'Student Position in Family' = '3'. Discount Structure Rule SIB4 with: 'Calculate Discount on' = 'SIB4'. 'Discount %' = '100'. 'Student Position in Family' = '4'.
Total Family Size	If this discount is to be applied to families who have a specific number of students attending the school, enter the total number of students required here, e.g. If you are setting up the discount structure rule for students in families with 5 students, enter a '5'. In addition to a numeric value, you may include a plus (+) sign to indicate that this discount structure rule is applicable when there are 'n' or more students in the family in attendance at the school (i.e. 4+). Discounts calculated by the auto account billing program as a percentage of one or more Fee Codes are most common. They are simple to set up and required no maintenance (unless the percentage changes). However, if your school offers a dollar-based discount for students in a particular sized family, you will need to maintain the dollar amounts as required, e.g. A discount of $50 is given to each student in a family size of 5.
Include Siblings in Group Schools	This field is only displayed if your school is in Enterprise mode within your group. Tick this field to include student siblings from other schools when determining the 'Student Position in Family' and 'Total Family Size'.
Student Type	Field to indicate whether this discount structure rule applies to 'All Students', 'Day Students' or 'Boarders'.
Student Billing Flags (1 – 20)	A maximum of 20 'Student Billing Flags' may be available for use against this discount structure rule. Click here to view an Administrator Note. 'Student Billing Flags' are initially set up in Student Admin > Student Records > Setup Information > Student Records Setup on the 'User Defined' tab. 'Student Billing Flags' are allocated: Against individual student records using program Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the 'Billing' tab or In bulk using program Finance > Parent Accounts > Billing Cycle > Student Billing Grid. 'Student Billing Flags' enable you to 'fine-tune' this discount structure rule, effectively allowing you to apply this discount structure rule to each student who has this discount status attached their record. Supported flags include: 1 to 9. A to Z (both upper and lower case). $ % Here are some examples of how 'Student Billing Flags' can be used for discount calculations: Dollar based discount where individual students receive different discounts for the same discount rule. Student A receives a $500 scholarship discount on tuition. Student B receives a $250 scholarship discount on tuition. Student C receives a $100 scholarship discount on tuition. Create a 'User Defined Billing Flags' called Scholarship using program Student Admin > Student Records > Setup Information > Student Records Setup on the 'User Defined' tab. Use program Finance > Parent Accounts > Billing Cycle > Student Billing Grid to enter the dollar value for a discount for all students who are eligible for scholarships in the school: For Student A, enter 500 against the 'User Defined Billing Flag' called Scholarship. For Student B, enter 250 against 'User Defined Billing Flag' called Scholarship. For Student C, enter 100 against 'User Defined Billing Flag' called Scholarship. Create a 'Discount Structure Rule' for a scholarship. Enter '$' in the Scholarship field. Percentage based discount where individual students receive different discounts for the same discount rule. Student A receives a 50% scholarship discount on tuition. Student B receives a 25% scholarship discount on tuition. Student C receives a 10% scholarship discount on tuition. Create a 'User Defined Billing Flags' called Scholarship using program Student Admin > Student Records > Setup Information > Student Records Setup on the 'User Defined' tab. Use program Finance > Parent Accounts > Billing Cycle > Student Billing Grid to enter the % discount for all students who are eligible for scholarships in the school: For Student A, enter 50 against the 'User Defined Billing Flag' called Scholarship. For Student B, enter 25 against the 'User Defined Billing Flag' called Scholarship. For Student C, enter 10 against the 'User Defined Billing Flag' called Scholarship Create a 'Discount Structure Rule': Scholarship. Enter '%' in the 'User Defined Billing Flag Scholarship' field.