Payment mistakes can happen, such as accidentally overpaying or paying for only one student. This article provides a step-by-step guide on adjusting and correcting account balances to address these issues.
Account balances are calculated from invoiced (posted) debits. Adjusting the balance on posted and unposted invoices will change students' balances. This may be necessary if an invoice was created incorrectly or needs to be changed for any reason. Click here to learn more about adjusting invoices.
💡 Debits will be included in the account balance on or after the debit post/invoice date.
Offline Payments and Credits
Offline payments and credits can be used to reduce a guardian's balance.
Offline Payments | Offline payments are additional amounts paid by guardians through methods outside of Playground. These are used to track payments made via check, cash, Zelle, Venmo, and other similar options. |
Credits | Credits do not increase the amount paid by guardians. Instead, they represent funds provided on behalf of a third party for a student's tuition or other charges. Credits are ideal for recording subsidy payments, scholarships, or grant funds received for a student. |
💡 For steps on creating an offline payment, please reference our article on Offline payments.
Reallocating Misclassified Tuition Payments and Correcting Overpayments
Reallocating Misclassified Tuition Payments
If a payment meant as a security deposit is marked as tuition:
Create a debit for the security deposit amount in the account.
Backdate the transaction if the deposit should have been recorded earlier.
The funds from the payment will automatically adjust to this charge without requiring additional payment.
Correcting Overpayments Reflected as Credits
In cases where overpayment is shown as a credit but belongs as a security deposit:
Create a debit to categorize it as a security deposit.
Backdate as needed to assign the correct financial period.
Use the Actions menu to execute the 'Create debits' process, allowing the system to realign the transaction properly.
Ensure no additional payment is required as the paid amount will auto-apply.
Locate the student you wish to create a credit for and check off their name.
Click on the blue Billing Actions button in the top-right of your screen.
Click Record payments/credits
Enter the amount of the credit.
Under the Type option, select Credit
The date of the credit.
Optionally, enter a description for the credit.
Click the blue save button.
Correct Overpayment on a Sibling
💡 To navigate quickly between sibling profiles, click on the Overview tab of the current sibling's profile and scroll down to the Siblings section. Click on the sibling's name to be brought to their Overview tab.
When one sibling is overpaid, it usually means the family's total payment for multiple siblings was applied to just one student. This leads to one student having a credit balance while the others have debit balances.
The best way to resolve this is to create a balance transfer debit on the overpaid student's account and a balance transfer credit on the underpaid student's account.
Follow the steps below to perform a balance transfer:
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Navigate to the Statements tab under Billing to locate the balances for your students.
Identify any overdue or unpaid student accounts by using either the Overdue or Unpaid tab in Statements.
Locate the sibling with a credit and click on their name. This will direct you to the student's profile. Go to the Billing tab in their profile.
Click the blue Billing Actions button in the top-right of your screen.
Make a note of the amount that is credited. We'll be charging the same amount.
Click Create debits
Name the item Balance transfer from [Sibling 1] to [Sibling 2].
The price should be the amount of the overpayment or credit.
The description should list which charge is being corrected
Ex. Overpayment for April Tuition
Leave the This Charge Should Be dropdown menu set to Paid all at Once.
Set the invoice and due dates to today's date.
Click Add Item
Click Notify Guardians to proceed
On the next screen, select how you wish to notify the primary guardians with one of the provided options (see the table below for further explanation of options).
Click Create Debit.
Do not notify guardians | Does not send any notification to any guardians |
Send an app notification to all primary guardians | Notification will be sent to primary guardians within the application; if the primary guardians have push notifications turned off on their phone settings, the notification will stay in-app. |
Send an email notification to all primary guardians | Notification will be sent directly to the primary guardians email addresses on file |
Navigate to the profile of the sibling with an overdue payment.
Click the blue Billing Actions button in the top-right of your screen.
Make a note of the amount that is overdue. We'll make a credit for the same amount of the charge we created for the overpaid sibling.
Click Record credit.
Enter the amount of the charge created on their sibling
Set the invoice and due dates as today's date
The description should be Balance transfer from [Sibling 1] to [Sibling 2]
Click the blue Add Credit button
Refunds
Online Payment Refunds
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Navigate to the profile of the student who is owed a refund.
Click the Billing tab, and then navigate to Credits.
Locate the payment you wish to refund.
Click on the three dots next to the payment and then click Refund.
The Payment Refund window will open. Complete the necessary fields.
Select whether you would like to Refund the entire amount or Refund a partial amount. If you select a partial refund, enter the amount you wish to refund the guardian.
Reason: Use the dropdown menu to select a reason for the refund.
Details: Add more details if you would like to leave a memo or note for the refund
Check the box next to Refund the processing fee if you would like to refund the processing fee to the guardian. Keep in mind this amount will be deducted from your next payout.
Choose what should happen to the original debit:
The family should owe this amount again:
Select this option if the family is meant to be charged again later. This is common when a payment was made with the wrong payment method, the card needs to be updated, or the payment was refunded temporarily. The original debit will remain, and the student’s balance will increase again.
The family should not owe this amount anymore:
Select this option if the family should not be charged again. This will create a credit that offsets the original debit so the balance does not show as overdue and autopay will not run again for this amount. Enter a Credit description and, if applicable, an Accounting code for the credit that will be created.
If you choose this option, do not delete or edit the original debit. This option already creates a credit that offsets the charge so the student’s balance stays at $0. The point is to save you time so you don’t have to go back and adjust the charge yourself. If you edit or delete the original debit after choosing this option, you will add an extra credit to the student’s account.
Either choose this option to create the credit automatically, or choose The family should owe this amount again and then go back and edit or delete the original debit. Do not do both.
Click the blue Save button to process the refund.
💡 Refunds can take 5-10 days to appear on a customer's statement, depending on their bank.
Record External Refunds
If a payment was made by credit card or ACH and the refund was issued outside of Playground (e.g., cash or check), follow the steps below to record the refund in Playground.
🚨 We always recommend refunding ACH and CC payments through Playground. Click here to initiate an online refund instead.
Navigate to your My School -> Students tab and select the student you want to record a refund for.
Click into their Billing tab.
Select the Billing actions button in the top right-hand corner and click Record credit.
Enter the refunded amount and then make sure you indicate that the credit is a refund in the description
Once you have entered the necessary info, click the blue Add credit button to record the refund/credit.
Offline Refunds
If a guardian pays with an offline payment method (cash, check, Zelle, etc) you must process the refund offline as well. However, it is important to update Playground to reflect this refund.
To record an offline payment refund, you must reduce the associated credit by the same amount. If you want the account balance to remain the same, you will also need to reduce the associated debit by the same amount.
Adjust the Credit
Navigate to the profile of the student who is owed a refund.
Click the Billing tab, and then navigate to Credits.
Locate the offline payment you wish to refund.
Click on the pencil icon next to the offline payment to edit it
Adjust the fields in the Edit Transaction window
Amount: Reduce the amount by the total you are refunding to the guardian.
Date: Leave the date as is.
Description: Include that you are issuing a refund for the offline payment
[Optional] Accounting code
Click Save.
Adjust the Debit
If you want the account balance to remain unchanged, you’ll also need to lower the associated debit.
While still in the student’s profile, go to the Debits tab.
Locate the debit that corresponds to the offline payment.
Click the three dots to edit the credit.
In the Edit Transaction window:
Amount: Reduce the charge by the refund amount.
Invoice date / Due date: Leave these unchanged.
Item Description: Add a note referencing the refund.
Click Save
Discounts
Discounts can be applied to invoices after they are created. If the invoice has already been posted, adding a discount will reduce the total account balance.
Add a Discount to a One-time debit
Navigate to the profile of the student who you would like to apply a discount to.
Click the Billing tab and locate the debit you want to edit.
Click the three dots next to the debit and then click Edit.
If you are editing a single installment of a billing plan, open the billing plan, and then select the blue edit button.
The Edit Transaction Window will open.
Click the blue + Add Discount button.
Select the discount you would like to add or create a new discount. Then click the blue Save button under the discount.
Click the blue Save button at the bottom of the Edit Transaction window.
Add a Discount to an Existing Billing Plan
🚨 A discount applied to a billing plan will be applied to every installment in the billing plan, including installments that have already been paid. If you want to apply the discount to a single installment, follow the instructions above. If you want to apply a discount to an entire billing plan or a portion of it, click here.
Navigate to the profile of the student who you would like to apply a discount to.
Click the Billing tab and locate the billing plan you want to edit.
Click the three dots next to the charge and then click Edit.
The Edit Payment Plan window will open.
Click the blue + Add Discount button.
Select the discount you would like to add or create a new discount. Then click the blue Save button under the discount.
Click the blue Save button at the bottom of the Edit Payment Plan window.
Held Deposits
Playground allows you to hold deposits so they can be applied to a student's balance at a later date.
Create a Held Deposit for an Offline Payment
Open the student's profile and click the Billing tab.
Click Billing Actions button and select Record payment.
Enter the payment method, amount, and date.
Check the box next to Hold as deposit.
Add a description and, if applicable, an accounting code.
Click Record payment.
Create a Held Deposit by Charging a Payment Method
Admins can charge a family's payment method directly and hold the amount as a deposit. Families cannot make a payment through the platform outside of an enrollment listing and have it recorded as a held deposit, this must be initiated by an admin.
Open the student's profile and click the Billing tab.
Click Billing Actions and select Charge payment method.
Select a payment source, enter the amount, and add a description.
Check the box next to Hold as deposit.
It is best practice to leave Save as a new item on statement unchecked. Selecting this option will create a charge for the amount collected, which will show as overdue on the student's account since the deposit will not be applied until you do so manually. When you are ready to apply the deposit, create the debit at that time.
Click Charge.
Apply a Held Deposit
Once a held deposit has been recorded, you can apply it to a student's balance from their profile or from the Billing tab.
🚨 Held deposits automatically apply to the oldest unpaid debit on the student's account. When you apply a held deposit, it will apply to the current billing cycle, so make sure the intended debit is already posted and is the oldest unpaid charge before applying. Applying it early will cause it to apply to the wrong debit.
From Student Profiles
Navigate to My School and click the Students tab.
Click into the student's profile with a held deposit and navigate to their Billing -> Credits tab.
Next to the student's held deposit, click the three dots and select Edit held amount.
This will bring up the Manage held amount window. From this window, choose the exact amount you want to apply, or click Apply All to apply the entire held deposit automatically.
Once you have entered the amount you want to apply, click Confirm.
After the held amount has been applied, the status of the credit should reflect as "Paid."
From the Billing Tab
Navigate to Billing tab, then Transactions and the Credits tab
Locate the held deposit you want to apply. To view all held deposits from this screen, click Add filters and set the Payment Status to Deposit Held.
Click the three dots next to the deposit you would like to apply and select Edit held amount.
This will bring up the Manage held amount window. From this window, choose the exact amount you want to apply, or click Apply All to apply the entire held deposit automatically.
Once you have entered the amount you want to apply, click Confirm.
After the held amount has been applied, the status of the credit should reflect as "Paid."
Reapply Payments: Credits and Debits
Playground's 'Reapply Payments' feature automatically allocates payments and credits to the oldest outstanding charges, addressing discrepancies in payment applications. This feature ensures that the account balances are kept accurate and eliminates errors caused by invoice or payment adjustments, such as outdated invoices appearing overdue.
Reapplying credits to debits will impact your reporting, as debits will show as paid for by the date on the credits to which they are applied. Additionally, the 'Reapply Payments' can resolve synchronization issues, ensuring that all payments and credits match the historical invoice records and restoring invoice history accuracy.
💡 The 'Reapply Payments' feature is now available to all users. For any questions or further guidance, contact the Playground support team.
Reapply credits one-by-one
Navigate to My School, then hit the Students tab.
Navigate to the student's profile who's payments you want to adjust by clicking on their row in the table.
Under the Billing tab, click the Credits tab.
Select the Three dots on on the top of the table.
Click on Reapply to oldest on the dropdown
You will need to Confirm that you do want to reapply the credit.
You will need to refresh the page to see the changes take affect.
Remap to specific debits
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💡 This is currently in beta. Please message us through Playground support chat if you need access to this feature.
Navigate to My School, then hit the Students tab.
Navigate to the student's profile who's payments you want to adjust by clicking on their row in the table.
Under the Billing tab, click the Credits tab.
Select the Three dots on on the top of the table.
Click on Apply to invoices on the dropdown.
On the modal that pops up, you will be able to see a list of debits
Gray rows have no outstanding balance
Orange rows have some amount of the credit applied to them
Red rows means there is an error. There are three reasons for that:
It includes non numerical characters
It is a negative number
The amount is greater than the total amount unpaid
Enter in the correct amounts that the credit should be applied to for each debit.
Once completed, press the Confirm button on the modal.
You will need to refresh the page to see the changes take affect
Staying Proactive with Adjustments
If debit or credit amounts change after reapplying payments, review the adjustments promptly to ensure proper allocation to outstanding invoices. This practice helps prevent unnecessary credit rollovers and maintains account synchronization.
Best Practices for Managing Payments and Deposits
Consistently backdate transactions when reclassifying payments to align with the correct financial period accurately.
Periodically audit account adjustments to identify and address issues like misclassified credits or overpayments.
Maintain detailed records of all changes and updates for transparency and auditing needs.