In this guide we’ll look at some common questions regarding Clubs and Trips, we will be specifically thinking about Paid Clubs and Trips however you may find some of the questions are also applicable to Free Clubs.
See Also: How to Create a Club or Trip and Tips on Managing Paid Clubs and Trips
Q: Why is my Club/Trip not displaying in MCAS?
A: There are a number of possible reasons for this. First on the Group Page for the Club/Trip, in the Basic Group Details section check that the Display Club in the following section on MCAS drop down is set to the correct page, and that the page it is set to display on is active.
Next, in the Additional Group Details Panel, check that the Start Date within the Live on MCAS Between field is set to todays date or before and that the End Date is either not present or set in the future. Also check the Membership Limit and Reserved Spaces against the Student Membership panel. If the Club/Trip is full, it will not display in MCAS. Bear in mind that the Reserved Spaces are included in the Membership Limit, so if you have a Membership Limit of 20 and 5 Reserved Spaces, 15 spaces will be available to book in MCAS.
If the Club/Trip has an Associated Group, you will need to ensure that any Students wishing to book on are a part of the Associated Group otherwise the club will not be visible to them. You also need to ensure that in the Schedule section, you have a session scheduled for a future date, otherwise the Club/Trip will not appear. Finally, check that the Student is not already a member of the Club/Trip, if they are then it will display in the Enrolled section in MCAS rather than the Available section.
Q: Do I need to add Student Memberships to the Club?
A: No, in fact if you are using MCAS we would strongly recommend that you do not do this, especially for paid Clubs and Trips. The Student will be added and an order created when the Parent enrols them through MCAS.
Q: What dates should I use as my Start and End Dates when setting up the club?
A: The Start Date and End Date within the Basic Group Details panel dictate when the Club is Active and able to receive new Student Memberships. It is advisable to have the Start and End Dates within Basic Group Details cover a slightly longer period of time than the Live on MCAS dates, and extend slightly past the payment deadline to enable you to more easily manage payments. Students who are already enrolled on the Club will still be able to make Payments if they have an Outstanding Balance however, after the End Date, the Club will not appear on the Clubs & Trips list on the Groups List page unless you select Show Past Clubs/Trips Only within Search Filters.
Q: What is the difference between the different Payment Options?
- Variations – Using Variations allows you to set different fixed prices for different groups of Students. For example, you could have one set price for non-pupil premium Students and then a different set price for those Students who receive pupil premium. Variations does allow you to issue Partial Refunds, however, you cannot use Instalments or Part Pay when using Variations so it may not be suitable for more expensive Clubs and Trips.
- Fixed Price – Fixed Price allows you to set one price that will apply to all Students and must be paid in one lump sum. This is the most straight forward payment option and does allow you to issue Partial Refunds, however, as with Variations, the Parents will be unable to make Part-Payments or pay in Instalments.
- Variable Price – This allows you to set a price range (for example £1 – £1000) and the Parents can make a one off lump sum payment for whatever amount they would like. This option is generally used for charitable donations. It does allow you to issue Partial Refunds.
- Instalments – Enables you to set up a Deposit and a then specify a set number of Instalments as well as Due Dates to create a Payment Schedule. Parents will pay a Deposit upon booking, and the remaining Instalments will be added to their Outstanding Payments. This allows Parents to plan their payments and allows the school to ensure the Parents are keeping up with payments, however you will be unable to issue Partial Refunds.
- Part Pay – Selecting Instalments will reveal the Enable Part Payments option. This allows you to set a Total Price and a Minimum Payment. Parents will then be able to make Payments as and when they would like until they have paid the Total Price, providing that each transaction meets the Minimum Payment you have set. This option allows Parents the most flexibility however tracking payments can be more difficult than with Instalments and you will not be able to issue Partial Refunds.
Note: You cannot use Part Pay and schedule payments through Instalments at the same time, it is either one or the other.
Q: I’ve added an Associated Group but the Students have not been added as members of the Group – Why is this?
A: This is because adding an Associated Group does not automatically add the Students as Members. Adding an Associated Group simply limits who is able to view the Club/Trip in MCAS to the Members of the selected Associated Group, the Students will still need to be added as Members to the Club/Trip.
Q: More Students have been able to book on to the Club/Trip than the number of available spaces – how has this happened?
A: This can sometimes happen when a Parent books a Student on to a Club/Trip and makes a payment but their bank doesn’t confirm the payment to our payment provider in the expected timeframe. In this instance the payment is left in a holding status until our payment provider does another check, which happens daily at 8pm.
In the period between the order being made and the payment being confirmed it is possible for another Parent to book their Student on to the Club/Trip, effectively taking the place that the first Student would have taken. Then, when the first Parents payment is confirmed the Student is automatically added to the Club/Trip, resulting in more Students being booked on to the club than the number of available spaces.
Q: How can I remove/zero out remaining balances on Running Balance Clubs for Leavers?
A: Go to the Student List Page, select Search Filters in the top right and set the Active Date to a date that the Student was on roll for. Find the Student in the list and select them, then go to Actions > Running Balance Payment and add a payment to write off a debt, or add a negative amount to zero out a left over balance.
Q: We have recently moved to Bromcom and some Parents have made payments towards the Club/Trip on a previous system, how can we record these payments in Bromcom?
A: Within Edit Payment Options from the Group Page and select Installments and Enable Part Payment, then set your Total Price and Minimum Payment. You’ll then need to add the Students who have made a payment to the Club/Trip in the Student Membership panel individually. When prompted, select Create Order and then enter the amount that the Student has already paid towards the Club/Trip in the previous system and click Create Order. Once you’ve added all the orders, go to Modules > MCAS > View Orders, select the order by double clicking on it and select Pay Order. Select the Payment Method from the drop down, select the member of staff recording the payment and check that the date is correct then click confirm. This will mark the order as Paid and the Parent will see the remaining balance as outstanding within MCAS. You can optionally add a note to the payment by double clicking on the Order again within View Orders and adding a note, for example ‘Paid on previous system’ and clicking the floppy disk icon.
Q: Can I change the Payment Options on my Club/Trip?
A:You can only change the Payment Options if the Club/Trip has not had any Student Memberships added. After a Student is added to the Club/Trip you can no longer make any changes to the Payment Options (excluding Running Balance Clubs, for which you can update the available Charges at any time.)
Q: I’ve updated the cost of the instalments within Edit Payment Options – will this apply to all students?
A:No, the Student’s Installments are created at the time they are initially booked on to the Club/Trip, any changes made to the Installment amounts after that will not affect Students already booked on to the Club/Trip and will only apply to future bookings. You can manually update the Installment amounts for individual Students within Modules > MCAS > View Purchases.
Q: Can Parents use existing balances to pay for a Club/Trip?
A: Yes, within Config > MCAS > Online Payments there is a tick box labelled Parents can use existing balances to make purchases. If this is selected then when a Parent comes to purchase a Club/Trip in MCAS and select Checkout, within the Payment Options menu they will see an option for either Dinner Money (to use the Students Dinner Balance) or Club Transfer (to use a balance from a Running Balance Club).
Q: How can I identify Parents who have yet to pay and contact them directly?
A: The easiest way to do this is through Modules > MCAS > View Purchases. Double click on the Club or Trip in the list and then select View Debt, this will display a list of all Students with an outstanding balance. Select the Students whos Parents you would like to message using the tick boxes on the left, if you would like to select all of the Students use the Select All tick box in the top left of the table. Then click Send Messages. You will be taken to the Send SMS/Email pop-up on the Student List Page, the Students you ticked will be already selected. Compose your message and click Send when you are happy.
Q: How can I apply a discount to certain students when all students have been charged the same amount?
A: This can be useful when you’ve created a club and applied the same charge to all Students and later discover that you need to apply a discount to some students. The method will depend on how you have set the club up.
If you have selected Part Pay, you can create an order for the amount of the discount by selecting Create Order from within Modules > MCAS> View Orders, then selecting Process Installments or Part Paid Items. Enter the amount of the discount and select Create Order & Pay Now, then select the payment method as Voucher, and click Confirm. The amount outstanding will now update to the Total Price minus the amount of the Discount.
If you have selected Instalments, go to Modules > MCAS > View Purchases, select the Club or Trip from the list. This will load a list of Students, double click on the Student you would like to add a discount for. You will need to amend the Instalment amounts so that one of the instalments is the amount of the Discount to be applied, and then update the remaining instalments so that the Total Price of the Club or Trip remains the same. Once you’ve done this, go to Modules > MCAS> View Orders and follow the same process as with Part Pay (see above paragraph) selecting to Create and Pay an order for the Instalment that is the same value as the Discount to be applied.
If you have selected Fixed Price or Variations you will need to remove the Students from the club, delete the orders associated with those Students and create a separate Club for only the Students who you would like to apply a discount for. Create the Club as Part Pay, add the Students as members and Create Orders for the amount of the Discount you would like to apply. Next go to Modules > MCAS> View Orders and mark the Order as paid, the remaining amount will show as outstanding in the Parents MCAS.
Q, The school wants a Club or Trip to span more than one Academic Year, this is normally when for example a Trip is expensive so parents may need longer than one Academic Year to make the payments.
A. For example the school has created a skiing trip and the cost is £6,000 per child and the school wants the parents to have 2 years to pay it off, so you’d create the club at the beginning of when they’re in year 10, so they have two Academic Years to pay.
If you were doing this as of todays date for example Friday 26th September 2025, you couldn’t set the End Date of the Club to be 31.07.2027 as you don’t have a 2026/2027 Academic Year, so you’d create the Academic Year for 2026/2027 first, then setup the Club. The Dates/Days/Period Structure of the Academic Year doesn’t matter too much at the moment, as you’d review those when you come to do End of Year procedure in around May next year.