Overview
The ‘Minimum prepayment/deposit amount’ setting (Setting ID: Min_Prepayment_Deposit_Amount) 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 smallest monetary amount that a _Student_’s initial prepayment or deposit installment must be, when creating a financial arrangement. It ensures that the first payment collected toward a payment plan meets a minimum fixed value set by your institution.
Where It Is Used
This setting feeds the Prepayment Amount field on the arrangement creation form.
- Main Menu > Students > Students List > (open a _Student_) > Financial Data tab > New/Edit Arrangement > Arrangement Installments section – the Prepayment Amount field in the Easy Creation area is validated against this minimum when building a _Student_’s payment plan.
Business Logic / Behavior
- This setting defines a minimum fixed monetary value for the prepayment/deposit installment of a financial arrangement.
- If a user attempts to create or save an arrangement with a prepayment/deposit amount lower than this configured value, Classter prevents the action or displays a validation message.
- This setting works alongside Minimum prepayment/deposit percentage/Min_Prepayment_Deposit_Percentage, since deposits may be validated as either a fixed amount or a percentage of the total arrangement value, depending on institutional policy.
Example(s)
Alpha Institute sets this value to $100, requiring every new financial arrangement to start with a prepayment of at least $100. When staff member Mr. Carter creates a $6,000 annual arrangement for Student Ms. Johnson and enters a prepayment/deposit amount of $75, Classter flags the $75 as below the configured $100 minimum and prevents the arrangement from being saved until the deposit is increased to at least $100.
When to Use
Use this setting when your institution wants to guarantee a minimum upfront payment is collected before a payment plan begins, helping to secure commitment from the _Student_ or guardian and reduce the risk of non-payment. This is typically configured together with enabling arrangement constraints and other related deposit and installment rules.
Notes
- Prerequisites: this setting is enforced only when Enable arrangement constraints/Enable_Arrangement_Constrains is turned on.
- Related settings: Minimum prepayment/deposit percentage (Min_Prepayment_Deposit_Percentage in Financial Settings > General Settings > Arrangements Parameters > Arrangement Constraints & Controls), 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), 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.
