Set Up Recurring Payments

Set up a family for recurring payments to be deducted from a bank account or charged to a credit card.

This article outlines the process for setting up recurring payments for an individual. To learn more about how you can save time and send the form to multiple accounts, view Recurring Payment Request – Batch

Getting There

Look Up the family and click the Tuition Express icon on the account toolbar.

Digitally Set Up an Account (Family) for Recurring Payments

Time to say goodbye to using paper forms to collect and store family payment information! Obtain and store credit card and ACH payment information digitally without having to worry about PCI compliance or deal with storing paper forms. Parents can also provide their own payment details through a digital form in Procare, which can then be used when your center runs batch payments for tuition.

Follow the steps below to send an authorization form to a parent. Important: After sending the authorization form, parents have four days to complete and submit the form. All forms expire four days after they are sent. If a form expires, the process below must be repeated.

1. Click the Recurring Payments Request icon.
   

2. On the Recurring Payments Request screen, choose whether to send the authorization form via Cell Phone or Email, then click Send. Important: The form link will expire after 24 hours, and a new request must be sent.
   

   a. If the selected family has a payment method on file, it will display the last 4 digits of the account/card number below their name – continuing this process will allow you to update any current payment methods on file.
   b. If “There is a pending profile ready to import” is displayed, the account has been updated, but it has not been synced with TE at this time.
   c. The Cell Phone and Email fields will prepopulate based on the person record. Please be aware that the Cell Phone number is not pulling from the ‘Person Information’ screen, it is pulling from the ‘Text Message’ screen.

3. Once the request for has been sent, the parent will receive a text or email containing a link to the form.
   

4. Upon clicking on the link, the Recurring Payments Authorization Form will open for the parent to complete. Once completed, they will have the option to save or print their authorization form.
   

5. After the authorization form has been completed by parents, navigate to the Tuition Express > Process Tuition Express screen to synchronize accounts.
   

6. The payment profiles will automatically begin to synchronize. Once complete, click Next.
   

7. After the synchronization takes place, the payment information will populate on the Tuition Express screen. Important: Clicking the Clear button from this screen will delete current payment information on file from Tuition Express.
   

   a. Click the Print Electronic Agreement button to print the completed authorization form.

8. To see a history of Recurring Payment Request forms sent to parents, visit the Account Log Sheets.
   

Manually Set Up an Account (Family) for Recurring Payments

1. If you will automatically collect recurring payments from this family select hecking, Savings, or Credit Card and enter the Payer Information.
   

   a. Checking Account: Enter the routing and account numbers from the bottom of a check. Do not use a deposit slip. The routing number (9 digits) usually appears in the lower left and cannot begin with the number 5. The account number can be any number of digits and is typically in the middle. The check number, which is not used, is generally in the lower right.

   

   See: Common Mistakes with Checking Accounts.
   Also enter the name and phone number of the primary person on this bank account along with the name of the bank or credit union.

   b. Savings Account: This is similar to a checking account, but since there probably will not be a check to look at, the account and routing numbers would need to be obtained from the parent (the account holder). Account information can be found on a pre-printed withdrawal slip or the savings passbook. Do not use a deposit slip.
   c. Credit Card: The Credit Card option will only be available if the center has been approved for credit card transactions. The types of cards your center accepts will be displayed. Enter the requested information including their name as it appears on the card, the phone number of the card holder, the billing address for the card, the credit card number and expiration date.

IMPORTANT! Do not select Website Registration for automatic recurring payments. This is used only when you allow the family to make their own online payments by credit card AND the family does not want to share their card number with you. See: Enable Online Payments before selecting this option.

2. Enter the Maximum Amount that may be transferred from this family’s account for a single transaction. This should be higher than the normal weekly or monthly amount to account for other fees they may be charged, like late pick ups, extra days, supply fees, etc. For weekly fees you may want to double the amount and add 50. Example: Family pays 200/week, multiply by 2 and add $50. Maximum = 450

3. Enter the Start Date on which transactions may begin. Typically today’s date.
   Hint: Change the Start Date if you’ve made arrangements with the family not to begin collecting funds with Tuition Express until a particular date.

4. In the lower left uncheck Disable batch processing. At the same time it’s best to place a check in Disable online processing (recommended). That way there can be no confusion over who controls payments. With batch payments you (the child care provider) control when a payment is made.
   

5. Enter any Comments regarding this family’s account. The comment is for your purposes only. It is not used in the transaction process. At this point the approval status for the family will say New Record – Not Transmitted (upper part of screen).
   

6. Click Save & Exit. The information is automatically sent to Tuition Express for approval. If you return to the family’s Tuition Express screen it should now say Approved.
   

Online Payments

You may choose to allow parents to pay online at their own discretion. Usually you would do this instead of setting up automatic recurring payments. See: Enable Online Payments.