For Online Payments this guide looks at the following tasks;
- Preparation
- Prerequisites
- Configure Online Payments
- Configure Instalment Reminders
- Adding Bank Accounts
- Bank Accounts in the MIS
The example Bank Accounts and Sort Codes displayed in screenshots in this guide are for illustration purposes only.
Access: The minimum permissions required to access the Online Payments page is found in the MCAS Module of Config>Setup>Roles & Permissions.
See also: How to Manage Product Categories, Online Payments FAQ and How Bromcom Handles Payments for Schools
Preparation
The document below outlines the key steps required to successfully prepare for launching online payments within a school system.
Prerequisites
In order to access Online Payments in your MIS you must:
- Complete the Online Purchases Training as either a Live Webinar or Online Course see here
- Raise a case using our online portal https://help.bromcom.com with the following information (if you do not have a login to the portal to raise a case please follow the guide here):
- Evidence that the user has completed the online training this is usually their training certificate
- Bank account details*
*Bank Account Details
- Evidence of the account in the form of one of the following. Bank Account Statement, Cheque or Confirmation letter from your bank (less than 28 days old, including contact details of the bank).
- The evidence supplied needs to clearly show the Account number, Sort code, School and Account name.
- If you have multiple accounts, please let us know which one of these is for the dinner payments.
Note: If technical support is provided through a Support Centre, the above details should be supplied directly to them.
From the left Menu go to Config > MyChildAtSchool > Online Payments.
Configure Online Payments
- Choose whether it will be Enabled or not. Enabled will display the Widget on the Parent Portal
- Choose the Title for the module and the Subtitle
- Enable PayPoint – for use with PayPoint. Please note that if this option is greyed that you will need to contact the Bromcom Helpdesk, for this option to be licenced on your MIS.
- Enable Offline Purchases – allows for Products to be advertised without online payment required. For example, payment by cheque to the school. You can customise the offline payment message as required.
- Do not allow parents to create negative balances – ticking this option will prevent parents from booking Running Balance Clubs if they have insufficient funds. Parents will be given the option to top up their balance at the time of booking. Clicking on the Information i will display the following explanation: If selected, any purchase for Running Balance Clubs that will create a negative balance will force the parent to make a payment. This will prevent any parent from making a negative balance. Note: Administrators will still be able to create a negative balance.
- Parents can use existing balances to make purchases – ticking this option will allow parents to use existing balances when making a purchase. The balance has to be the same or more than the purchase cost.
- * BACS Remittance Delivery Email Address: if required add an email in here to inform by email when BACS Payments are made.
- Send email confirmation after purchase is completed; tick this box to let parents know when a purchase is completed on MyChildAtSchool
*Amending BACS Remittance Delivery Email Address;
Key Point: Customers can add/amend the remittance email address themselves if needed there is no need to contact Customer Support or Bromcom Support.
Configure Instalment Reminders
This section is for those products with an Instalment. When setting up items in the shop you can select the Instalment option, chose prices, number of Instalments, and the due dates for each Instalment.
Choose to send Instalment Reminders EITHER by Email or MCAS Message, the recipient will not receive both. If MCAS Message is ticked and the recipient does not have an MCAS account then they won’t get any message.
If you wish to set up the Instalments and Reminders, tick the relevant Tick boxes and enter the length of time for when Reminders are sent. Customise the reminder message.
This works exactly the same for Overdue Payments.
Adding Bank Accounts
IMPORTANT: Once you have completed the processes outlined in the Pre Requisites section in this guide then your new Bank Account(s) will show in Config>MCAS>Online Payments>Bank Accounts.
Additional Bank Account Request
Administrators can use the Bank Accounts panel to request additional bank accounts by clicking the New Bank Account Request button.
Clicking New Bank Account Request opens a popup where users must complete the mandatory fields and attach documents proving bank account ownership before submitting. Supported file types include PDF and images, with a 10 MB file size limit per document.
IMPORTANT: Once Online Payments are enabled and you have added a Bank Account you MUST go to Config > MCAS > Online Payments and add your BACS Remittance Delivery Email Address.
Multiple Bank Accounts
Administrators can add multiple bank accounts, as long as the sort code and account number are unique. There is no limit to the number of accounts, and each will be displayed in the Bank Accounts panel.
You can also tick Dinner Money Payment to define which Bank Account is used for Dinner Money.
View Requests History
To view the history and status of Bank Account Requests, click View Requests History. The Status column will show Pending until the request is approved or rejected by the Bromcom accounts team. If rejected, users should submit a new request.
Note: Information in the popup is sorted by Description. but can be sorted by another column e.g. Date.
Approval Workflow
The Bank Account request will automatically be sent to the Bromcom accounts team for validation and approval. The MIS will update the status from Pending when the accounts team approves or rejects the request. A notification will appear in the top right corner, and the notification bell once the decision is made.
Remove a Bank Account through the online portal
IMPORTANT NOTE: Under no circumstances are we able to remove any Bank Accounts that have been used in any transactions.
If you have added an incorrect bank account in error you can raise a case using our online portal with the subject set to ‘remove a bank account’. If you do not have a login to the portal to raise a case please follow the guide here.
Bank Accounts in the MIS
Once a new bank account has been added to your MIS and authorised it can be used with any new payment items you create. Additionally, it can be selected for dinner payments by adjusting the bank account ticked under Config > MyChildAtSchool > Online Payments >Bank Accounts.
IMPORTANT: Where possible we recommend a new item is created and linked to the new bank account and the old item made inactive, as you will not be able to edit the linked bank account on an existing item.
If however you want to move any existing items (products, clubs, or trips) to a new bank account, this will need to be requested via our Helpdesk. Please note linked bank accounts are not set within a date range and once changed this will show as the only bank account that has ever been linked. As such any changes to bank accounts on existing items will cause all previous payment records to show as always being against the new bank account.
To request a change please raise a web case with the Helpdesk. This will need to contain the following information.
- Confirmation that you would like bank accounts changed on existing items for future payments, and you understand that this will affect how this appears historically but will not affect past payments.
- The bank account name items are to be moved to – Please use the name format on Config > MyChildAtSchool > Online payments, and wait until this appears under Bank Accounts before raising a case.
- The item name, as it appears in Bromcom
- If this is simply stopping using Account A, and swapping everything to Account B, that’s all the infomration we need with confirmation of understanding above.
Old Accounts
Old accounts cannot currently be removed without losing all the linked information to this account. Where this account is no longer in use, we suggest the name is changed to something that is clear that it is not to be used. E.g “St Mary’s School account” is changed to “Closed account St Mary’s School account” or “Do Not Use St Mary’s School Account”.