Overview
Auto Address Payments Priority/OP_Auto_Address_Payments_Priority_Free_MassImport is a setting located under Financial Settings > General Settings > e-Payments, in the Transaction properties for addressing Payments via Mass Imports (Excel/DB) sub-group.
What This Setting Does
This setting controls the order in which Classter checks a _Student_’s academic period and payment arrangement type when it automatically matches a mass-imported payment to the correct installment. The two available options are to match by period first and then by arrangement type, or to match by arrangement type first and then by period. This ordering can influence which installment is picked when a _Student_ has multiple possible matches.
Where It Is Used
This setting is not shown or referenced on any screen by name; it is read automatically by Classter in the background when a mass payment import is processed. Its effect becomes visible through the mass import feature reached from the following path.
- Main Menu > Financial > Financial Documents (Transactions tab) > Online Payments, using the Import action to start a mass import of payments; once the imported file is processed, this setting determines whether academic period or arrangement type is checked first when matching each imported payment to a _Student_’s installment.
- The actual matching happens automatically once the import is submitted, and the resulting installment matches can be reviewed afterward on the Online Payments list and on the affected _Student_’s Arrangements List / Installment Analysis screens.
Business Logic / Behavior
- One option prioritizes matching by academic period first, then narrows down by arrangement type.
- The other option prioritizes matching by arrangement type first, then narrows down by academic period.
- By default, the system uses period first and then arrangement type, based on the default value configured in the setting.
- This setting only affects behavior when automatic addressing of Mass Import payments is enabled, since it defines part of that automated matching logic.
Example(s)
Alpha Institute imports a $500 payment for a _Student_, Diego A., who has two due installments of $500 each within the same Fall 2026 academic period: one under a Standard Payment Plan arrangement and one under a Scholarship Arrangement. With Auto Address Payments Priority (Mass Import) set to match by period first, then arrangement type, Classter first narrows candidates to the Fall 2026 period (both $500 installments qualify) before using arrangement type to decide which of the two $500 installments the payment is applied to.
When to Use
This is a dropdown selection rather than a toggle, relevant whenever automatic addressing of mass-imported payments is enabled and a _Student_ could have more than one plausible installment match.
Configure this setting based on which distinction is more reliable or important for the institution’s payment structure: choose period-first if academic period is the primary organizing factor for payments, or arrangement-type-first if the type of payment plan should take precedence when narrowing down a match.
Notes
- Prerequisite: the Mass Import payment feature and automatic transaction addressing for Mass Import payments should be enabled for this setting to take effect.
- Related settings: Auto-Calculate Transactions’ Period in Auto Address Payments (OP_Auto_Calculate_Transaction_Period_In_Auto_Address_Payments_Free_MassImport in Financial Settings > General Settings > e-Payments > Transaction properties for addressing Payments via Mass Imports (Excel/DB)), Included Transaction Periods When Override Period Is Selected (OP_Included_Transation_Periods_When_Override_Period_Is_Selected_Free_MassImport in Financial Settings > General Settings > e-Payments > Transaction properties for addressing Payments via Mass Imports (Excel/DB)), Default Location for Students Found With No Record in Period (OP_Default_Location_For_Students_With_No_Record_In_Period_Free_MassImport in Financial Settings > General Settings > e-Payments > Transaction properties for addressing Payments via Mass Imports (Excel/DB)).
- K-12 vs Higher Education: This setting behaves the same regardless of whether Higher Education Mode (Enable Configuration for Higher Education/Xrisi_parametropoihshs_kolegiou) is enabled or disabled.
