Overview
In Case of Overpayments, Issue a New Transaction of Unconnected Type/OP_In_Case_Of_Overpayments_Issue_A_New_Transaction_Of_Unconnected_Type_Free is a setting located under Financial Settings > General Settings > e-Payments, in the Transaction properties for addressing for Free Value Payments sub-group.
What This Setting Does
This is an on/off setting that controls what happens when a _Student_’s online Free Value Payment is larger than the outstanding balance owed for the academic period it applies to. When enabled, the extra amount (the overpayment) is issued as a separate transaction that is not linked to a specific payment arrangement or installment plan, instead of being forced into the existing arrangement or left unaddressed.
Where It Is Used
This setting is used automatically in the background rather than being read from any staff-facing page. It is applied by the automatic addressing process that runs when an online Free Value Payment is completed and the amount paid exceeds the _Student_’s due balance, so its effect is visible afterward rather than on a configuration screen.
- Main Menu > Financial > Transactions > Online Payments: once an overpaid Free Value Payment has been automatically addressed, both the regular transaction and the separate unconnected transaction for the excess amount (when this setting is enabled) can be reviewed here, where each payment row shows whether it has been addressed and links to the transactions that were generated.
Business Logic / Behavior
- When enabled, any amount paid beyond the _Student_’s balance for the academic period results in a separate, unconnected (without arrangement) transaction for that period.
- This behavior only applies to Free Value Payments, since these payments are not tied to one fixed installment amount and can therefore exceed what is due.
- When this setting is disabled, an overpayment is instead left as credit against the arrangement, rejected, or handled by another configured rule, rather than being issued as a new unconnected transaction.
- This setting only matters when automatic addressing of Free Value Payments is active, since it defines a rule applied during that automated process.
Example(s)
A parent at Beta Academy, paying online for their child Maria Souza, intends to pay $500 but the outstanding balance for the current term is only $350. With this setting enabled, Classter automatically issues a regular transaction for the $350 owed and a second, unconnected transaction for the remaining $150, keeping the extra amount clearly recorded rather than mixed into the existing arrangement.
When to Use
When to Enable
Enable this setting when the institution wants overpayments from Free Value Payments to be tracked as their own distinct transaction, making it easy to identify and later refund or reallocate the extra amount.
When to Disable
Disable this setting if the institution prefers that Free Value Payments never exceed the recorded balance in a way that creates a separate, unconnected transaction, for example if overpayments should be handled manually by finance staff instead.
Notes
- Prerequisite: Free Value Payments and automatic transaction addressing for Free Value Payments should be enabled for this setting to be relevant.
- Related settings: Payment Method/OP_Payment_Method_Free (Financial Settings > General Settings > e-Payments > Transaction properties for addressing for Free Value Payments), Default Location for Students Found With No Record in Period/OP_Default_Location_For_Students_With_No_Record_In_Period_Free (Financial Settings > General Settings > e-Payments > Transaction properties for addressing for Free Value Payments), Auto Address Payments Priority/OP_Auto_Address_Payments_Priority_Free (Financial Settings > General Settings > e-Payments > Transaction properties for addressing for Free Value Payments).
- 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.
