Overview
The ‘Maximum number of allowed installments is’ setting (Setting ID: Max_number_of_allowed_installments_is) is located in Financial Settings > General Settings > Arrangements Parameters, in the Arrangement Constraints & Controls sub-group.
What This Setting Does
This setting lets you define the maximum number of installments (including or excluding the prepayment/deposit, depending on configuration) that a single financial arrangement can be split into. It prevents staff from breaking a _Student_’s payment plan into an excessive number of small installments.
Where It Is Used
This setting controls how many installments can be added on the arrangement creation form.
- Main Menu > Students > Students List > (open a _Student_) > Financial Data tab > New/Edit Arrangement > Arrangement Installments section – staff are prevented from adding more installments than this maximum while building a _Student_’s payment plan.
- Main Menu > Financial > Financial Settings > Dropdown lists > Arrangement Plan tab > New/Edit Arrangement Plan – the same maximum is also read here when defining a reusable installment plan template.
Business Logic / Behavior
- This setting defines the upper limit on the total number of installments allowed within one financial arrangement.
- If a user attempts to add an installment that would cause the arrangement’s total installment count to exceed this configured maximum, Classter prevents the addition or displays a validation message.
- This rule helps keep payment plans manageable and reduces administrative overhead from tracking excessive numbers of small installments per _Student_.
Example(s)
Alpha Institute sets the maximum number of allowed installments to 10. Staff member Mr. Carter is building a $9,600 annual arrangement for Student Ms. Johnson and tries to split it into 12 monthly installments of $800 each. When he attempts to add the 12th installment, Classter blocks the action and informs him that the arrangement has already reached the maximum of 10 installments; Mr. Carter must instead spread the $9,600 across 10 or fewer installments, for example, 10 installments of $960 each.
When to Use
Use this setting when your institution wants to cap how granular a payment plan can be, encouraging fewer, larger installments rather than many small ones. Set a higher number if your institution wants to offer _Students_ more flexible, smaller payments, or a lower number to keep collections simpler and less fragmented.
Notes
- Prerequisites: this setting is enforced only when Enable arrangement constraints/Enable_Arrangement_Constrains is turned on.
- Related settings: Do not allow any installment with an agreed payment date before the prepayment/deposit agreed date (Do_not_allow_any_installment_with_an_agreed_payment_date_before_the_prepayment_deposit_agreed_date in Financial Settings > General Settings > Arrangements Parameters > Arrangement Constraints & Controls), At least one installment other than prepayment should be with an agreed payment date X days before the end of the current main period (At_least_one_installment_other_than_prepayment_should_be_with_an_agreed_payment_date_X_days_before_the_end_of_the_current_main_period_where_X_is in Financial Settings > General Settings > Arrangements Parameters > Arrangement Constraints & Controls), and 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.
