Overview
This article describes the setting ‘Allow users only to issue refund transactions for unconnected installments’ (Setting ID: Allow_Users_Only_To_Issue_Refund_Transactions_For_Unconnected_Installments), located under Financial Settings > General Settings > Transaction Rights & Controls > Transaction Controls.
What This Setting Does
This is an on/off setting that limits how much of a transaction users are allowed to refund. When enabled, the refundable amount available to a user is calculated only from the portion of a transaction that is not connected to a specific installment/arrangement, rather than from the full transaction balance. This helps prevent refunds from being issued against amounts that are already committed to a scheduled installment.
Where It Is Used
This setting affects the refundable amount that is calculated for a _Student_ when a user tries to issue a refund transaction. It applies wherever a new document is created for that _Student_ and a refund/credit amount is being calculated.
- Main Menu > Students > (open a _Student_’s profile) > Financial tab > Accounting Tab sub-tab: when issuing a document (Invoice and Receipt) for the _Student_ and choosing a refund/credit type of transaction, the maximum amount offered for the refund reflects this setting.
- Main Menu > Financial > Transactions: the same Invoice and Receipt screen used to issue documents (including refunds) from the Transactions area is affected in the same way.
Business Logic / Behavior
- When enabled, the refundable balance for a transaction is calculated only using the amount that is not connected to an arrangement (an unconnected installment amount), rather than the transaction’s full balance.
- When disabled (the default), the refundable balance calculation includes the full transaction balance regardless of whether it is connected to an arrangement.
- The underlying refund balance calculation logic changes based on this setting: transactions connected to an arrangement are excluded from the refundable total when the setting is enabled.
- This setting applies specifically within the Billing module of the application.
Example(s)
Example: at Alpha Institute, a _Student_’s family made a $1,000 payment. $600 of it was connected to a scheduled $600 installment in the payment plan, and the remaining $400 was left unconnected. With this setting disabled, the finance officer could attempt to refund up to the full $1,000 transaction balance. With this setting enabled, when the finance officer tries to issue a refund for that payment, the system caps the refundable amount at $400 – the unconnected portion only – protecting the $600 already committed to the installment plan from being refunded.
When to Use
This setting matters whenever the institution needs to control how much of a transaction users are allowed to refund, particularly to protect amounts already committed to a scheduled installment.
When to Enable
Enable this setting if your institution wants to prevent users from refunding amounts that are already connected to a scheduled installment or arrangement, reducing the risk of disrupting a _Student_’s payment plan.
When to Disable
Keep this setting disabled if your institution wants users to be able to refund from the full transaction balance regardless of whether it is connected to an installment or arrangement.
Notes
Prerequisites: none beyond having refund-issuing permissions configured for the relevant users.
Related settings: Allow direct issuing of unconnected credit transactions, without associated transactions (Allow_Issuing_Unconnected_Credit_Transactions_Without_Transaction_Documents in Financial Settings > General Settings > Transaction Rights & Controls > Transaction Controls); In Unconnected Transactions Management, make the connection not per arrangement but based on the chronological pay date of installments (In_Unconnected_Transactions_Management_make_the_connection_not_per_arrangement_but_based_on_the_chronological_pay_date_of_installments in Financial Settings > General Settings > Transaction Rights & Controls > Transaction Controls).
This setting behaves the same regardless of whether Higher Education Mode (Enable Configuration for Higher Education/Xrisi_parametropoihshs_kolegiou) is enabled or disabled.
