How do I add a new Dues Tier?

Add a New Dues Tier

Also searched as: create a dues item, set up HOA dues, add a new fee, dues and fees setup

Your organization funds at least part of its operations through the dues and fees you collect from your membership. This article walks through creating a new payment item (a "Dues Tier") and configuring its settings.

Before you begin: to collect online payments, you must first set up your Stripe payment processing account on the Settings page. This account handles card payments and ACH debits.

 Step 1: Open the Dues & Fees Window

1. Click on the Payments tab to open it.
2. Click on the Dues & Fees tab to view and create your items.
3. Open the Dues Actions dropdown menu and choose +Add New Dues Tier.

The "ADD NEW DUES TIER" window opens with four tabs. You must work through all four tabs and complete all required fields to finish setup. Use Next to move forward and Back to return to a previous tab.

 Step 2: Invoice Details Tab

• Dues Name – type a descriptive name for the dues item.
• Amount – enter the billable amount of the item.
  • Note: editing the Amount of an existing Dues & Fees item only changes the billable amount of future invoices, not any existing invoice.
• Would you like to activate this Dues Tier? – set to "Yes" to schedule this item for invoicing, or "No" if you're not ready to create actual invoices.
• Should this due be required for Member Access? – set to "Yes" to block late-paying members' access to members-only portions of your website until they pay this invoice.
• QuickBooks Account (if synced with QuickBooks) – choose a QuickBooks Account Name other than your default (set on Account > Settings) to receive this item's invoice and payment data. Only change this to override the default.
  • Note: not all customers have access to QuickBooks integration.
    
    

• Enable Partial Payments – checkbox that allows members to pay a dues item in multiple installments. This does not set a payment schedule; it simply allows more than one payment toward the total due.
  • Note: you cannot activate both partial payments and late fees.

• Enable Service Fees – checkbox that applies a transaction fee to each payment. Once activated, service-fee percentage and amount boxes appear.
  • These are preset with correct values for dues items valued at $625 or less. If your dues item's face value is greater than $625, change the ACH service fee to 0% and $6.25.
  • Transaction processing fees are added to the amount the resident pays. If "Enable Service Fees" is off, these fees are instead deducted from the amount Stripe deposits into your community bank account.

 Late Fees (choose either or both options)

Option 1 – Interest-Based Fee

1. Activate Enable Interest-Based Fee.
2. Set Interest type to "Simple" or "Compound."
3. Enter the Percent – the fee as a percentage of the face value (for simple interest) or the face value plus interest (for compound interest).
4. Choose a Frequency: Once, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Bi-Annually, or Yearly.
5. Enter a Grace Period (number of days before the late fee applies).

Option 2 – Flat Fee

1. Activate Enable Flat Fee.
2. Enter the Amount (dollar value of the late fee).
3. Choose a Frequency: Once, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Bi-Annually, or Yearly.
4. Enter a Grace Period (number of days before the late fee applies).
5. Click +Add Another to add more flat fees, or click the trash-can icon to remove one.

 Step 4: Select Frequency Tab

1. Use How often should this due repeat? to select an invoicing frequency: Annually, Quarterly, Semi-Annually, or Monthly.
2. Choose how recurring dues are scheduled:
   • Based on each member's join date – uses each member's website-signup date.
   • Based on due date – uses a specific date you select from the calendar.
3. Click the Terms dropdown to select payment terms (Net 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, or 365 days), or choose Custom Terms and enter your own number of days. The system automatically shows the date invoices will go out.
4. Set End Repeat to "None" if the dues item recurs indefinitely, or "On" and select an end date if it should stop recurring on a specific date.
   

 Step 5: Configure Invoice Tab

Choose one of four options for Whom would you like to invoice? (leaving all boxes unchecked bills based on Member Tags only):

• Option 1 – Member Tags: Leave the checkboxes deactivated and choose one or more Member Tags from the "Select Applicable Member Groups (Tags)" dropdown. Only members with those tags applied are billed.
• Option 2 – Invoice All Members: Bills everyone registered for website access.
• Option 3 – Invoice Individual Members: Select specific members from the "Invoiced Members" dropdown.
• Option 4 – Invoice All Households (One Payment Per Address): Available if the Households feature is active; sends one invoice per household to members whose Household Access Type allows dues. The first Household member to pay closes the invoice for the whole household.
  • Activate Invoice Empty Households to also send invoices to addresses with no owner, unregistered members, or members whose access type excludes household dues.
  • Use Select Applicable Household Labels to limit billing to households with specific Labels applied.

Note: if you do not select any of these four invoicing options, your dues item will not bill anyone.

Additional steps on this tab:

1. In Add Invoice Instructions, type or paste payment instructions or other details for residents.
2. Click Calculate Invoice Schedule to preview the invoicing and due dates, and the number of invoices this item will generate. This button reappears whenever you change a setting that affects the schedule.
   • Click the invoice count to see the list of members who will be invoiced.
   • Click Payment Schedule to see the full billing/due-date schedule.
     

 Step 6: Save

Click Save to finish creating your Dues & Fees item.

To exit without saving, click Cancel, press Esc, or click the X in the top right corner of the window.