Overview
The ‘Do not allow any installment with an agreed payment date before the prepayment/deposit agreed date’ setting (Setting ID: Do_not_allow_any_installment_with_an_agreed_payment_date_before_the_prepayment_deposit_agreed_date) is located in Financial Settings > General Settings > Arrangements Parameters, in the Arrangement Constraints & Controls sub-group.
What This Setting Does
This setting ensures that the prepayment/deposit installment is always the earliest scheduled payment in a financial arrangement. When enabled, no other installment in the arrangement can have an agreed payment date earlier than the prepayment/deposit’s agreed payment date, guaranteeing a logical, chronological order of payments starting with the deposit.
Where It Is Used
This setting validates installment payment dates on the arrangement creation form.
- Main Menu > Students > Students List > (open a _Student_) > Financial Data tab > New/Edit Arrangement > Arrangement Installments section – each installment’s agreed payment date entered here is checked against the prepayment/deposit’s date while building a _Student_’s payment plan.
Business Logic / Behavior
- When this setting is turned on, Classter validates that every installment other than the prepayment/deposit has an agreed payment date on or after the prepayment/deposit’s own agreed payment date.
- If a user attempts to set an installment’s agreed payment date earlier than the prepayment/deposit’s date, Classter prevents the action or displays a validation message.
- When turned off, installments can be freely scheduled with any agreed payment date, regardless of their position relative to the prepayment/deposit.
Example(s)
At Alpha Institute, Student Ms. Johnson’s arrangement has a prepayment/deposit with an agreed payment date of October 10, 2026. When staff member Mr. Carter tries to add a second installment with an agreed payment date of October 5, 2026 – 5 days earlier than the deposit – Classter blocks the action because this setting requires all other installments to fall on or after the October 10, 2026 prepayment date. Mr. Carter must instead choose a date of October 10, 2026 or later, such as November 10, 2026.
When to Use
When to Enable
Enable this setting when your institution wants to enforce a strict payment order where the deposit is always collected first, before any other scheduled installment, keeping payment plans logically consistent.
When to Disable
Disable this setting if your institution allows more flexible installment scheduling where other payments could be due before the deposit, for example in special payment arrangements negotiated case by case.
Notes
- Prerequisites: this setting is enforced only when Enable arrangement constraints/Enable_Arrangement_Constrains is turned on.
- Related settings: Prepayment/deposit agreed payment date should be maximum X days from the arrangement creation date (Prepayment_Deposit_Agreed_Payment_Date_Should_Be_Max_X_Days_From_The_Arrangement_Creation_Date in Financial Settings > General Settings > Arrangements Parameters > Arrangement Constraints & Controls), Maximum number of allowed installments is (Max_number_of_allowed_installments_is in Financial Settings > General Settings > Arrangements Parameters > Arrangement Constraints & Controls), Enable arrangement constraints (Enable_Arrangement_Constrains in Financial Settings > General Settings > Arrangements Parameters > Arrangement Constraints & Controls).
This setting behaves the same regardless of whether Higher Education Mode (Enable Configuration for Higher Education/Xrisi_parametropoihshs_kolegiou) is enabled or disabled.
