Assembly Version: 8.0.2551.

20517

DOCUMENTATION

FOR THE FINANCE SECTION

PART 1

Includes:

- Child specific invoicing by account type

- Child specific invoicing by room
- Child specific invoicing by primary carer

Last Updated: 29th December, 2006

Page 1 of 80
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Child specific invoicing by account type ................................................. 3

Flowchart for the generation of an invoice of a specific child ....................... 3

Section A) Hours and Sessions Nursery ........................................................... 5

Introduction................................................................................................................. 5
Booking sessions and holidays ................................................................................... 6
The Accounts page...................................................................................................... 8
Purchasing a product................................................................................................. 10
General Discount and Sibling Discount.................................................................... 11
Additional Bill Payer ................................................................................................ 13
Invoice Generation.................................................................................................... 14
The Invoice Preview screen ...................................................................................... 16
The Invoice details screen......................................................................................... 17
Flat Rate Charge (FRC) ............................................................................................ 24
Fee Planner................................................................................................................ 29
Editing Sessions, General discount, Sibling discount and Product purchases from the
Invoice screen ........................................................................................................... 33
Processing and printing an Invoice ........................................................................... 36
Raising a Credit Note................................................................................................ 41
Making a Payment against an Invoice ...................................................................... 45
Invoice generation with multiple bill payers ............................................................ 50
Charging a Late Payment fee.................................................................................... 53
Changing the Charge band........................................................................................ 55
Specifying settings for Bespoke, Quarterly and Fee Planner account types............. 58

Section B) Hourly charge band Nursery ........................................................ 59

Configuring the hourly charge bands........................................................................ 59
Invoicing for a child at an hourly charge band nursery ............................................ 60

Section C) Standing Order Invoice Type ....................................................... 65

Introduction............................................................................................................... 65
Processing a standing order invoice.......................................................................... 68

II. Child specific invoicing by room .......................................................... 76

Invoice processing with a room as the search criterion................................ 76

Introduction............................................................................................................... 76
Processing an invoice for a specified room .............................................................. 76

III. Child specific invoicing by primary carer ......................................... 78

Introduction ...................................................................................................... 78
Generating and processing the invoice with the primary carer as the search criterion
................................................................................................................................... 78
Page 2 of 80
 I. Child specific invoicing by account type

Flowchart for the generation of an invoice of a specific child

The following flowchart represents the typical procedure for invoicing, starting from the
adding of a carer and culminating in the processing/printing of the invoice for a specific
child. The process differs slightly depending on whether you

Start

Add Family
[Enter mandatory fields like relationship to child,
title and last name]

Add Child
[Enter mandatory fields like last name, known
name, gender, DOB, start date, leave date and
enter invoice type, discounts, fee planner no. and
deposit if any]

Enter Account details

[Enter the account settings for discounts, invoice
type, deposit, opening balance, SO charges, FRC,
if any, and so on]

Book sessions and holidays and add product

[Book Regular sessions and extra sessions, select
the start date, end date and booking pattern. Add
a product purchase, if any]

Search for an invoice Make modifications to

[Go to the Invoicing page, select child specific invoiced sessions, if desired
invoicing by account type or carer or room, click [Credit note will be raised]
on search)

2
1

Page 3 of 80
 1 2

Is “account No Click “select” in the invoice

type” the list, select the invoice
initial search period, click calculate
criterion?

Yes

Click Preview on a child’s invoice

summary line
[Goes to invoice preview page]

Do you wish Yes Click on the ‘+’

to view button and click
invoice “view”
details?

No

Click close
Click the “process” button

Click the print button

Do you wish Yes Click “New payments” within

to make a Finance>>Accounts>>Payments
payment? [Input payment mode, account,
ref number etc. and click OK]
No

Yes Click “New Credit note” within

Do you wish to Finance>>Accounts>>Credit
raise a credit [Input credit note reason, date,
note? amount, etc. and save]

No

Stop

Page 4 of 80
Section A) Hours and Sessions Nursery

Introduction

In child specific invoicing, one can search for a specific child to be invoiced and
subsequently select the child from a list. Child specific invoicing can be done for any of
the account types: Weekly, Fortnightly, Calendar Monthly, Quarterly, Bespoke date and
Standing order. The calculations carried out to arrive at an invoicing amount for the
weekly, fortnightly, calendar monthly and bespoke date account types are essentially the
same, the only difference being the duration for which the invoice amount is generated.
The following pages describe the child-specific invoicing process for an “hours and
sessions” nursery, that is, a nursery which charges a rate per session, either a flat rate or a
rate arrived at by multiplying the number of hours per session with the cost per hour. The
processes are described by means of illustrations, examples and calculations.

Some of the account/invoice types that can be set up within Abacus are:
Weekly Account Type: The invoice is generated on a weekly basis.
Fortnightly: The invoice for a fortnightly account type is generated for a selected
fortnight.
Calendar Monthly: When an account type is set to calendar monthly, the invoice is
computed for the whole calendar month.
Quarterly: When the invoice type is a quarterly invoice, the invoice amount is calculated
for the whole quarter, the quarters being January-March, April-June, July-September,
October-December.
Bespoke date: When this option is selected, Abacus will calculate the invoice amount for
a selected bespoke period for children whose invoice type has been set to “Bespoke
Date”. The Bespoke period Name, start date and end date are configured within the
Configuration section of the Finance section of Abacus.
Fee Planner: Fee planner is Parenta’s direct debit facility. You can configure fee
planner by setting a unique reference number (URN) for a child within the child
accounts screen. It can be configured to run on certain specific dates. When an invoice is
due, the fee planner screen auto populates for a child whose payment is set to fee planner

The following illustrations describe the calculation of the invoice amount for a child
whose account type is set to weekly, under various scenarios.

Page 5 of 80
Booking sessions and holidays

Illustration 1: Consider a child who has been registered at the nursery. The following
steps are carried out to book his regular sessions, extra sessions and specify his
holidays:
1) Select the child from the registered child list.
2) Click on the Sessions tab in the children menu.
3) Under the schedule heading, click on the drop down menu and select regular
booking pattern.
4) In the screen that opens, choose a start date and a repeat pattern. In our example,
we select 18th December 2006 as the sessions start date and a weekly repetition
pattern.
5) Select a stored session or enter the session info by removing the check mark for
“use stored session”. The session info includes a meal selection.
6) Click on the weekdays at the left hand side of the calendar table to book a regular
session.
7) If you wish to check the availability of a room for the session, put a check mark
against the “check availability whilst booking” option.
8) Click on next. On the page that appears, click on save.
9) Similarly, to book extra sessions, select Extra sessions in the schedule drop down
menu.
10) On the page that appears, select the session timings and click on the days on
which you want to schedule an extra session. In this case, we have selected
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
11) Click the save button to save the extra sessions.
12) Again, in the schedule list on the sessions page, select holiday.
13) On the schedule Holiday page that appears, select a single or a multiple day
holiday and enter a discount percentage for the scheduled sessions. This will
constitute the child holiday discount (CHD).In our example, we select Monday as
a child holiday and 10.25% as the discount.
14) Click on save to confirm the booking.
15) Move the mouse pointer over the settings icon and select holidays in the menu
that is displayed.
16) On the Holidays page, enter the nursery holiday details. Select a single or a multi
day holiday, name it and enter a start date, end date and the nursery holiday
discount (NHD). Check Allow sessions on this day if sessions have already been
booked for this day. In our example, we enter 5.25% as the nursery holiday
discount.

Page 6 of 80
Figure 1: Scheduling Sessions for a child
.

Page 7 of 80
The Accounts page

Figure 2: The Accounts Page

The accounts page lies within the Children section of Abacus. This page includes the
Account information, Summary information, history, charges, discounts, Payments,
Extras (purchases), Bill payer list and Credit notes.

Account information: This heading contains the account balance, account number,
deposit amount and spend fields
Account balance: This field displays the balance amount in the child’s account, after
deducting any payments made, and factoring any opening balance.
Account Number: A unique account number for the child is displayed under this field.
Deposit Amount: This field displays the deposit amount, if any.
Spend: The last invoice amount is displayed here.

Summary Information: This heading contains the Invoice type, Aged debt, Last
invoice, flat rate charge, sibling discount, general discount and fee planner number fields.
Invoice type: Displays the invoice account type (weekly, calendar monthly etc.)
Aged Debt: Displays the elapsed number of days since the invoice processing.
Last invoice: Displays the date of the last invoice processed.
Flat rate charge: States whether or not the account is configured for a flat rate charge.
Sibling discount and General discount: Displays the set sibling discount and general
discount.
Fee Planner number: If the account type is set to “fee planner”, this field displays the
unique fee planner number for the child.

Page 8 of 80
Illustration 2: Entering an Opening balance

An opening balance can be entered within the charges box of the accounts page, or while
initially adding a child. An entrance fee could probably be represented by entering an
account balance. The opening balance can be positive or negative. A negative opening
balance is displayed in green while a positive one is displayed in red colour.

Figure 3: Entering an Opening Balance

The following points pertaining to an opening balance may be noted:

• Upon being entered and updated, the opening balance is reflected in the account
balance
• A separate invoice may be generated for an opening balance, without any
invoice number being generated.
• The opening balance is also reflected in the reports.

Page 9 of 80
Purchasing a product

Illustration 3: To purchase a product for the child, and to add a recurring product,
carry out the following steps:

1) Click on the accounts tab within the children section.

2) Click on the extras tab in the section at the lower half of the page.
3) Click on the New Purchase button at the bottom of the box.
4) On the page that appears, select an item in the drop down list under Product
Name. This would cause the rate to populate. Next, enter the quantity.
5) Click on Add. In our example, we have added 2 T shirts which cost ₤ 2.50
each
6) Click on Save.
7) To add a recurring product, i.e., one which would be provided and charged on a
recurring basis, Click on Recurring Product.
8) On the page that appears, select the product, enter the quantity and click on Add
just as it was done with the new product. Click on Save. In our example, we
have added stationary which costs ₤3.00 as a recurring item, and entered the
quantity as “1”.

Figure 4: Adding a new product

Page 10 of 80
General Discount and Sibling Discount

Illustration 4: Entering a General discount (GD) and a Sibling Discount (SD) for a
child.
General discount and Sibling discount for a child can be entered at Step 4 of the Add
Family procedure under the Families section. It can also be entered on the Discounts
box within the Accounts page under the children section.

Figure 5: Entering the GD and SD from within the Families section

Figure 6: Entering the GD and SD from within the Children Section

Page 11 of 80
In our example, we have added a GD of 35.35% and an SD of 25.25% for a child, Allan
Smith. These discounts have been applied to regular sessions only (excluding meals).

There are five options to which the discounts may be applied:

1. Regular sessions only (excluding meals)

2. Regular sessions only (including meals)
3. All sessions (excluding meals)
4. All sessions (including meals)
5. All Fees.

These options thus enable 25 GD and SD combination scenarios for invoice calculation.

The fifth option (all fees) applies the discount to all fees and purchases.

Page 12 of 80
Additional Bill Payer

Illustration 5: Adding an additional bill payer and splitting the bill amount between
the payers.

Figure 7: Adding a new bill payer

1) Click on the Bill payer tab within the accounts page of the children section.
2) Click on the “edit” button at the bottom right hand corner.
3) Click on Add Carer at the bottom-left corner of the “child bill payers” page.
4) Select the carer from the list on the page that appears, enter his/her relationship to
the child and click on save.
5) Now, on the “child bill payers” page, enter a Fixed Amount or a Percentage that
would be billed to the bill payer. Click on Add and Close. If you wish to delete
the bill payer, simply click on the “delete” link to the right of the bill payer line in
the bill payers list.

Page 13 of 80
Invoice Generation

Illustration 6: Creating an invoice for a child with a weekly account type.

With this procedure, we create an invoice for a child, Allan Smith, whose details,
discounts, purchases and sessions have been entered in the preceding illustrations.

1) Click on the invoice tab in the finance section.

2) Select “Child specific” in the first box at the top-left corner of the screen.
3) In the box below, select “By Account” type, and select “weekly” from the drop
down list.
4) Click on the week. In this case, we have selected the week 18th -24th December.
5) Click on the Search button after unchecking “combine multiple invoices”. A list
of invoices for different children will be displayed for that week.
6) Click on “Preview” on the right hand side of the line for the child whose invoice
you wish to view. This will take you to the invoice preview screen.

Figure 8: Invoice List for a selected Week

7) Click on the ‘+’ sign at the left of the invoice line to view more data about the
invoice such as the start date, end date, bill payer’s name etc.
8) Click on view on the right of this “Details” line to View the detailed Invoice.

Page 14 of 80
Figure 9: Invoice Details Page for Allan Smith

9) To view further details under each invoice entry, click on the “+” sign to the left
of the entry.

Page 15 of 80
The Invoice Preview screen

Figure 10: The Invoice Preview screen

The invoice preview page is displayed upon clicking the “Preview” link to the right of an
invoice line in the invoices list that appears after running a search on the invoices page.

The various columns displayed on the invoices preview page include:

Invoice date: This is the date of invoice generation.
Child Name: The child’s name is displayed in this column.
Nursery fees: This field displays the regular session cost.
Extra Session: The extra session cost during the invoicing period is displayed under this
column.
Meal cost: The total Meals cost during the invoicing period is displayed in this column.
Product cost: The total cost of all the product purchases, including recurring products is
displayed here.
Refund and discount: The sum of all the discounts viz. NHD, CHD, GD, SD is displayed
here.
Invoice value: The invoice amount is displayed under this column.

Upon clicking the ‘+’ sign, the following further details columns are displayed:
Start date: The invoicing start date is displayed here.
End date: The invoicing end date is displayed here.
Bill Payer Name: The Bill Payer is displayed under this heading.
Late Payment Charge: Late Payment fees for any outstanding invoice are included here.
Charged Amount: The amount payable by the stated bill payer is displayed in this
column.

Page 16 of 80
The Invoice details screen

Figure 11: The invoice details screen

The Invoice details screen can be arrived at by clicking on the “View” link in the further
details line on the Invoice preview screen. The various field displayed on this page are:

Child Name: The Child’s name would be displayed here.

Bill Payer Name: The bill payer’s name would be displayed here.
Bill Payer Address: The bill payer’s address as entered in the family section will be
displayed here.
Start Date: The start date of the invoicing period would be shown here.
End Date: Displays the end date of the invoicing period.
Account No.: A generated account number is displayed under this field.
Invoice No.: The generated invoice number will be displayed here, after processing.
Invoice Type: The invoice account type will be displayed here (weekly, fortnightly,
calendar monthly etc.)
Invoice date: The date of invoice generation will be displayed here.

Page 17 of 80
Calculations- Scenario 1: Generation of invoice for Allan Smith with the following
Inputs:
Invoice period: 18th December 2006 to 24 December 2006
Sessions: Regular Booking Sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at ₤ 14.00 per
session.
Extra Sessions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at ₤ 15.50 per session.
CHD and NHD: Child holiday and Nursery holiday on Monday. Child holiday discount
(CHD) = 10.25 % and Nursery holiday discount (NHD) = 5.25 %.
GD and SD: General Discount (GD) = 35.35 % (Regular sessions only, excluding meals)
Sibling Discount (SD) = 25.25% (Regular sessions only, excluding meals)
Products purchased: 2 T-shirts at ₤ 2.50 each and stationery (recurring product) at ₤ 3.00.
Calculations:
The various components that are factored in the calculation of the invoice are as follows:
i. 3 Regular Sessions @ ₤14.00 per session = 3 X 14.00 = ₤ 42.00
ii. 3 Extra Sessions @ ₤15.50 per extra session = 3 X 15.50 = ₤ 46.50
iii. Breakfast provided during the regular sessions = 3 X 10.00 = ₤ 30.00
iv. Lunch provided during the regular sessions = 3 X 11.00 = ₤ 33.00
v. Tea provided during the extra sessions = 3 X 12.00 = ₤ 36.00
vi. Product Purchases: 2 T shirts X 2.50 and 1 stationery kit X 3 = ₤ 8.00
vii. NHD applied to the session and extra session on Monday, 18th December 2006 @
5.25 % = ( 14.00 + 15.50 ) X ( 5.25/100) = ₤ 1.55 (-)
viii. CHD applied @ 10.25 % to the difference between the sum of the session costs
on Monday, 18th December 2006 and the NHD = (14.00 + 15.50 – 1.55) X (
10.25/100) = ₤ 2.87 (-)
ix. GD applied @ 35.35% to regular sessions only, excluding meals and after
subtracting the regular session components* only of the NHD and CHD = (42- (14
X (5.25/100)) – ((14- (14 X 5.25/100)) X (10.25/100))) X (35.35/100)= ₤ 14.11(-)
x. SD applied @ 25.25% to the difference between the regular sessions cost
(excluding meals and after subtracting the regular session components of NHD and
CHD) and the GD = ((42-(14 X (5.25/100)) – ((14-(14 X 5.25/100)) X
(10.25/100))) – 14.11) X ( 25.25/100) = ₤ 6.51 (-)

The Total/ Payable Amount thus becomes 42.00 + 46.50 + 30.00 + 33.00 + 36.00 + 8.00 –
1.55 – 2.87 – 14.11 – 6.51 = ₤ 170.46

* The Regular Session Components of NHD and CHD are calculated as follows:
Regular Session Component of NHD = 14 X 5.25 /100 = ₤ 0.74
Regular Session Component of CHD = (14 – 0.74) X (10.25/100) = ₤ 1.36

Page 18 of 80
Flowchart- Scenario 1:
The following flowchart illustrates the calculation flow in the above example

Start

Book regular sessions

on Monday,
Wednesday and
Friday, 18-24
December

Book Extra Sessions on Monday

Wednesday and Friday and a
child, nursery holiday on
Monday

Enter the CHD and

NHD
[If they haven’t been
entered earlier]

Enter the GD and SD

for the child, for
regular sessions only
excluding meals

Add a product
purchase and a
recurring product

CALCULATE:
Regular session cost
for the week =
No of sessions in the
week X cost per
session

Compute:
Extra session cost for
the week = No. of
extra sessions in the
week X cost per extra
session

1
Page 19 of 80
 1

Compute:
Cost of meals= No of meals
X cost per meal
[Meals include
tea/breakfast/lunch/supper]

Compute:
NHD = (Regular Session
Cost on Monday + Extra
Session cost on Monday) X
(NHD %/100)

Compute:
CHD = (Regular Session
Cost on Monday + Extra
Session cost on Monday-
NHD) X (CHD %/100)

Compute:
Regular session component
of NHD = Cost of Regular
Session on Monday X (NHD
%/100)

Compute:
Regular session component
of CHD= (Cost of Regular
session on Monday- Regular
session component of NHD)
X (CHD %/100)

Compute:
GD = (Regular sessions cost
for the week - Regular
session component of NHD -
Regular session component
of CHD) X (GD %/100)

Page 20 of 80
 2

Compute:
SD = (Regular sessions
cost for the week - Regular
session component of NHD
- Regular Session
component of CHD- GD)
X (SD %/100)

Calculate:
Total Amount = Regular
Sessions cost for the Week
+ Extra Sessions cost for
the week + Meals +
Products - NHD - CHD -
GD - SD

Page 21 of 80
Calculations- Scenario 2 : Generation of an invoice for Allan Smith, with a General
Discount for Regular Sessions including meals and a Sibling Discount for all sessions
excluding meals.
Inputs:
Invoice Period: 18th December 2006 to 24 December 2006
Sessions: Regular Booking Sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at ₤ 14.00 per
session.
Extra Sessions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at ₤ 15.50 per session.
CHD and NHD: Child holiday and Nursery holiday on Monday. Child holiday discount
(CHD) = 10.25 % and Nursery holiday discount (NHD) = 5.25 %.
GD and SD: General Discount (GD) = 35.35 % (Regular sessions only, including meals)
Sibling Discount (SD) = 25.25% (All sessions, excluding meals)
Products purchased: 2 T-shirts at ₤ 2.50 each and stationery (recurring product) at ₤ 3.00
Calculations:
The various components that are factored in the calculation of the invoice are as follows:
i. 3 Regular Sessions @ ₤14.00 per session = 3 X 14.00 = ₤ 42.00
ii. 3 Extra Sessions @ ₤15.50 per extra session = 3 X 15.50 = ₤ 46.50
iii. Breakfast provided during the regular sessions = 3 X 10.00 = ₤ 30.00
iv. Lunch provided during the regular sessions = 3 X 11.00 = ₤ 33.00
v. Tea provided during the extra sessions = 3 X 12.00 = ₤ 36.00
vi. Product Purchases: 2 T shirts X 2.50 and 1 stationery kit X 3 = ₤ 8.00
vii. NHD applied to the session and extra session on Monday, 18th December 2006 @
5.25 % = ( 14.00 + 15.50 ) X ( 5.25/100) = ₤ 1.55 (-)
viii. CHD applied @ 10.25 % to the difference between the sum of the session costs
on Monday, 18th December 2006 and the NHD = (14.00 + 15.50 – 1.55) X (
10.25/100) = ₤ 2.87 (-)
ix. GD applied @ 35.35 % to the regular sessions only, including the meals (
breakfast and lunch) and after subtracting the regular session components only of
the NHD and CHD = (42- (0.74 + 1.36) + 30 + 33)) X ( 35.35/100) = ₤ 36.38 (-)
x. SD applied @ 25.25 % to ( Regular session cost – component of GD excluding
meals + Extra Session cost – NHD – CHD) = 42- ((42 – (0.74 + 1.36)) X
(35.35/100)) + 46.50 – 1.55 – 2.87 = ₤ 17.67 (-)

The Total/ Payable Amount thus becomes 42 + 46.50 + 30.00 + 33.00 + 36.00 + 8.00 –
1.55 -2.87 – 36.38 -17.67 = ₤ 137.03

Calculations- Scenario 3: Generation of an Invoice for a child with the GD and SD

specified as amounts.

NOTE: If the GD is an amount (instead of a percentage), it is directly subtracted from

the sessions cost if it is less than the sessions cost. If however, the GD is greater than the
sessions cost, it is taken as the resultant amount obtained after subtracting the respective
holiday discounts from the sessions cost. After subtracting the GD from the session cost,
if the SD amount is greater than the resultant, the resultant amount is taken to be the SD
is taken to be zero.

Inputs:
Invoice Period: 11-17th December, 2006
Sessions: 3 Regular sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday @ ₤ 20 per session
An Extra Session on Monday at ₤ 20 per session.
CHD and NHD: Child holiday on 11th December. Child holiday discount (CHD) = 5.25
%.
Page 22 of 80
GD and SD: General Discount (GD) = ₤ 50 (Regular Sessions only, excluding meals)
Sibling Discount (SD) = ₤ 200 (All Sessions, Including meals)
Products purchased: Stationery (recurring product) @ ₤ 3.00.
Calculations:
The various components that are factored in the calculation of the invoice are as follows:
i. 3 Regular Sessions @ ₤ 20.00 per session = 3 X 14.00 = ₤ 60.00
ii. 1 Extra Sessions @ ₤ 20 per extra session = 3 X 15.50 = ₤ 20.00
iii. Breakfast provided during the regular sessions = 3 X 10.00 = ₤ 30.00
iv. Lunch provided during the extra session = 1 X 11.00 = ₤ 11.00
v. Tea provided during the regular sessions = 3 X 12.00 = ₤ 36.00
vi. Product Purchases: 1 stationery kit = ₤ 3.00
vii. CHD applied @ 5.25 % to the difference between the sum of the session costs on
Monday, 18th December 2006 and the NHD = (14.00 + 15.50 – 1.55) X (
10.25/100) = ₤ 2.10 (-)
viii. GD amount, ₤ 50, deducted = ₤ 50.00 (-)
ix. SD amount, ₤ 200 to be deducted from (Regular sessions cost + extra sessions
cost + meals - CHD - GD). This being greater than the resultant ( in the brackets)
, the resultant is taken as the SD= 60 + 20 + 30 + 11 + 36 - 2.10 - 50= ₤ 104.9(-)

The Total/ Payable Amount thus becomes 60.00 + 20.00 + 30.00 + 11.00 + 36.00 + 3.00
-2.10 – 50.00 - 104.9 = ₤ 3.00

NOTE: The general logic applied to calculate the SD for a child is as follows:
i. If the GD is applied to all sessions, while the SD is only applied to regular
sessions, the GD used for the computation of SD is the GD applied to the regular
sessions only
ii. If the GD is applied to regular sessions only, but the SD is applied to all sessions,
the GD used for the computation of SD is the regular sessions GD.
iii. If the GD includes meals but the SD excludes them, calculate the GD excluding
meals and then use this figure in computing the SD.
iv. If the GD/SD is applied to regular sessions only, the NHD and CHD used for
calculating the GD and SD are the NHD and CHD calculated for the regular
sessions only.

Page 23 of 80
Flat Rate Charge (FRC)

A flat rate charge (FRC) structure replaces all other calculations for a child. It can be
applied on a weekly or a monthly basis. There are five scenarios where it could be
applied:
1. Regular sessions excluding meals
2. Regular sessions including meals.
3. All sessions excluding meals
4. All sessions including meals
5. All fees.

Illustration 7: Using a Flat rate Charge (FRC) Structure for a child.

To apply a flat rate charge for a child:
1) Click on the charges tab within the accounts page of the “Children” section.
2) Enter the FRC in the Flat rate Charges box at the lower right- hand corner of the
page. In our example, we enter it as ₤ 50 per week for regular sessions excluding
meals.
3) Click on the Save button.

Figure 12: Applying a weekly FRC for a child.

The invoice now generated will reflect the FRC entered as can be seen below.

Page 24 of 80
Figure 13: Invoice generated with FRC

Calculations- Scenario 4: Generation of an invoice for Allan Smith, with a FRC of ₤ 50

per week for Regular sessions, a general discount for Regular Sessions excluding meals
and a Sibling Discount for all sessions including meals.
Invoice period: 18th December 2006 to 24 December 2006
Sessions: Regular Booking Sessions on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at a FRC of ₤
50.00 per week.
Extra Sessions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at ₤ 15.50 per session.
CHD and NHD: Child holiday and Nursery holiday on Monday. Child holiday discount
(CHD) = 10.25 % and Nursery holiday discount (NHD) = 5.25 %.
GD and SD: General Discount (GD) = 35.35 % (Regular sessions only, excluding meals)
Sibling Discount (SD) = 25.25% (All sessions, including meals)
Products purchased: 2 T-shirts at ₤ 2.50 each and stationary (recurring product) at ₤ 3.00.
Calculations:
The various components that are factored in the calculation of this invoice are as follows:
i. 3 Regular sessions at an FRC of ₤ 50.00 per week = ₤ 50.00
ii. 3 Extra Sessions @ ₤15.50 per extra session = 3 X 15.50 = ₤ 46.50
iii. Breakfast provided during the regular sessions = 3 X 10.00 = ₤ 30.00
iv. Lunch provided during the regular sessions = 3 X 11.00 = ₤ 33.00
v. Tea provided during the extra sessions = 3 X 12.00 = ₤ 36.00
vi. Product Purchases: 2 T shirts X 2.50 and 1 stationary kit X 3 = ₤ 8.00
vii. NHD applied to the extra session only on Monday, 18th December 2006 @ 5.25
% = 15.50 X ( 5.25/100) = ₤ 0.81
viii. CHD applied @ 10.25% to the difference between the extra session cost on
Monday and the NHD = (15.50-0.81) X (10.25/100) = ₤ 1.51
ix. GD applied @ 35.35 % to Regular sessions , excluding meals = 50 X (35.35/100)
= ₤ 17.68
x. SD applied @ 25.25% to (( Total Regular session cost – GD) + Extra session cost
+ all meals – NHD – CHD ) ) = ((50.00 – 17.68) + 46.50 + 30.00 + 33.00 + 36.00
- 0.81 – 1.51) X ( 25.25/100) = ₤ 44.32

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The Total Amount thus becomes 50.00 + 46.50 + 30.00 + 33.00 + 36.00 + 8.00 – 0.81 –
1.51- 17.68 – 44.32 = ₤ 139.18, as shown below.

Figure 14: Invoice details for Scenario 3

NOTE: The NHD and CHD for a session which is assigned a FRC is zero, hence the
NHD and CHD of the regular session in the above example is excluded.

The figures below illustrate the invoice breakup that results from the application of FRC
to:
a) Regular Sessions including meals
b) All sessions excluding meals
c) All fees

a) Regular Sessions including meals:

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Figure 15: Invoice when an FRC is applied to Regular sessions including meals

It can be seen that meals included during the regular session are included in the flat rate
charge of the regular session. However, meals during the extra session are charged
separately.

b) All sessions excluding meals:

Figure 16: Invoice created when a FRC is applied to all sessions

In the above figure, one may note that the extra session cost and regular session cost are
combined together with a flat rate and hence the extra session cost is seen to be zero.

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 c) All fees:

Figure 17: Invoice created when a FRC is applied to all fees

In the above figure, all the fees have a single flat rate charge and this is indicated under
regular sessions. Hence the extra sessions cost and meals cost is displayed as zero.

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Fee Planner

Fee planner is Parenta’s direct debit facility. You can configure fee planner by setting a
unique reference number (URN) for a child within the child accounts screen. It can be
configured to run on certain specific dates. When an invoice is due, the fee planner screen
auto populates for a child whose payment is set to fee planner or standing order (with
URN). You can amend the displayed collection amount by highlighting the appropriate
child, entering the amount in the amend box at the bottom of the screen and then clicking
on the amend button. Finally, click on the process button to send the amount along with
the URN to fee planner. The file would then be processed by Parenta and the payment
collection will be done on the due date.

Illustration 8: Configuring a child for a “Fee Planner” account type and generating the
invoice.

To configure Fee Planner as the account type for a child, carry out the following
procedure:
1) Click on the accounts tab in the Children section of Abacus.
2) On the accounts page, click on the Charges tab in the lower section of the
page.
3) In the Invoicing box, select “fee planner” as the Invoice type in the drop down
menu and enter a unique fee planner number. This number is mandatory as
abacus will not save “fee planner” as the account type for a child if this
number is not entered.

Figure 18: Configuring Fee Planner as the account type

4) Click on the Save button in the lower-right corner of the screen.

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 5) Move the mouse pointer over the finance icon in the menu on the left hand
side of the screen. In the menu that appears as the mouse hovers over the icon,
click on configuration.
6) Select the fee planner date (date for the periodic generation of the invoice) in
the drop down list within the Fee Planner box on the left hand side of the
configuration page. In our example, we have selected the 15th of every month.

Figure 19: Configuring fee planner dates

To generate an invoice for a child whose account type is set to fee planner, we carry out
the following steps:
1) Click on the Invoicing option in the finance menu.
2) Select “Fee Planner” invoice in the top left box on the Invoice page.
3) Select any date within the billing cycle, for example, if the invoicing
cycle is 15th December to 15th January, you could select 20th December.
4) Click the Calculate button below the calendar on the invoice page, after
unchecking “combine multiple invoices”.
5) A list of invoices for children whose account type is set to “fee planner”
is displayed. Select the invoice you would like to process and click the
process button in the lower-right hand corner. If you wish to view
invoice details, click the “detail” link on the right hand side of the
invoice preview line.
6) The invoice amount can be amended if desired by highlighting the
appropriate child, entering the amount in the amend box at the bottom of
the screen, and clicking on the amend button.

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 7) The invoice is generated from a date defined on the configuration page of
the finance section. For example, if the date is set as the 15th of every
month, we can generate an invoice for the period 15th December to 14th
January via Fee Planner.

Figure 20: Generating an invoice for the “Fee Planner” account type.

Figure 21: Amending an invoice amount

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Figure 22: Invoice details for an account type set to “fee planner”. Due to a bug currently present in
the software, only 4 regular sessions have been included in the invoice. The actual number of sessions
is 21 over a span of a month, i.e., 15/12/2006 to 14/01/2007.

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Editing Sessions, General discount, Sibling discount and Product
purchases from the Invoice screen

Illustration 9: Procedure to edit the sessions, GD, SD and product purchases from the
invoice details screen.
After selecting invoicing from the finance menu, and subsequently generating a list of
invoices for the chosen period and/or account types, one can preview an invoice from the
list of generated invoices by clicking on the preview link on the right hand side of the
invoice line. This would open the Invoices preview page.
The following steps may then be carried out to edit sessions, general discount, and
product purchases from the invoice details screen within the invoice tab of the finance
section.

1) Click on the ‘+’ sign on the left hand side of the invoice line to display further
details such as the start date, end date and bill payer name.
2) Click on the “view” link on the right hand side of the line with the additional
details to open the invoice details screen. The invoice details screen contains a
scrolling box with a breakup of various invoice items including sessions,
products, meals and discounts
3) To edit regular sessions from this screen, click the “Edit regular session” link on
the right hand side of the “Regular sessions” line. This will take you to the
Sessions page within the Children section.

Figure 23: The invoices preview page

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 Figure 24: The Invoice details screen

4) Edit the regular sessions as desired within the sessions page and click on next.

Figure 25: Editing Sessions on the sessions page

5) Enter the start and end dates in the respective rooms and click on save. You will
then be redirected to the updated invoice details screen.

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Figure 26: Entering the start and end dates on the sessions page.

6) Similarly, to edit extra sessions, product purchases, general discount and sibling
discount click on the respective “edit” links on the right hand side of the invoice
detail line, make the desired changes and save the changes.

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Processing and printing an Invoice

Once the invoice has been previewed and the details viewed, the invoice can be
processed. The following procedure is carried out to process the invoice. Once an
invoiced has been processed, an invoice number will be generated for it and the invoice
will be added to the sales ledger. Please note that once an invoice has been processed, it
cannot be modified or deleted. To cancel an invoice, you would have to raise a credit
note.

Illustration 10: Processing and printing an invoice, invoice summary reports and invoice
history.
Assuming that we are on the Invoice details screen, we can carry out the following steps
to process an invoice:

1) Click on the close button in the lower-right hand corner of the page to close the
“invoice details” screen and go to the “invoice preview” page.
2) Click the Process button in the lower right hand corner of the “Invoices preview”
page.
3) The invoice is processed once the process button is clicked, and an invoice
number is generated. The invoice is added to the sales ledger as well, and the
processed invoices page opens, displaying the invoice.
4) Click on the print button in the lower-right hand corner of the “processed
invoices page” to print the invoice.

Figure 27: Processing an invoice

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Figure 28: The processed invoices page

5) Click on the View link on the right hand side of the processed invoice line if you
wish to view the detailed invoice.

Figure 29: Viewing the detailed invoice

6) Click the Invoice summary tab to go to the invoice summary page, where a
summarized list of invoices is displayed.
7) Click on the Print Invoice summary button after placing a tick mark against the
desired invoice to print the Invoice summary or the print invoices button to print
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 a brief invoice. If you wish to include all the details, check the “View all details”
box. To print a receipt, click on the print receipt button.
8) To view and print the invoice history for a child, click on the accounts tab within
the children section. The history box within this tab will be displayed by default.
9) To print the invoice history, click on the print button in the lower- right hand
corner of the screen, as shown in figure 26.

NOTE: When a list is displayed in Abacus, it is possible to rearrange the order of the
list items. To do so, simply click on the heading of the column whose list you wish to
reorder.

Figure 30: The invoice summary screen

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Figure 31: Printing the Invoicing summary report

Figure 32: Viewing the Invoice history

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Figure 33: The printed invoice history

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Raising a Credit Note

A credit note can be added whenever the invoiced amount has to be changed, either due
to changes in a booked session, scheduled holidays, errors in billing or any other reason
deemed eligible for a refund.
A predefined reason for a refund can be entered under the data lists tab in the Setting
section of Abacus as illustrated in Fig 30 below. Simply select “Credit note reason” from
the drop down list and click the Add button below the drop down list. Next, enter a credit
note reason and click on the save button.

Figure 34: Adding a Credit Note reason

Figure 35: Stating the credit note reason

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Figure 36: Invoice generated for a child, Janet Andrews, for whom credit notes have to be
subsequently raised.

The following Example illustrates the sequence of events that occur while a credit note is
automatically raised upon modifying sessions or holidays that were already invoiced:

Illustration 11: Adding credit notes for a child.

Consider a child, Janet Andrews for whom 3 regular sessions have been booked between
18th December-24th December and an extra session has been booked on Friday, 22nd
December. Wednesday, the 20th of December is a Nursery holiday while Monday, the
18th of December is a Child holiday. An invoice of ₤ 141.03 is processed for this child for
the week 18th-24th December. The fact that the invoice is processed is indicated by the
dark borders applied to the session bars in the Children section.

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Figure 37: Child summary for the child in the illustration. Note the dark borders of the sessions as a
result of the invoice having already been processed.

Let us now consider the following scenario which would lead to the generation of a
credit note.

Deletion of a session during the invoiced period: If a session between the invoiced
period, say the extra session on Friday, is deleted, a credit note would be
automatically raised for the invoiced amount.(Figure 34)
i. Click on the extra session.
ii. In the list that populates, click on the “delete” link.
iii. Click on the Save button in the lower-right corner of the screen.
iv. A dialog box will popup asking you whether you want to Save the changes
for the child and stating that “ Saving these changes will raise the credit
note for Invoice No. #”. Click on “Yes”.
v. Click on the Credit tab within the Accounts page of the children section.
You will notice that a credit note has been raised against the previously
processed invoice for a sum of ₤ 141.03. This is also reflected in the
invoice history list.
vi. A new invoice can now be processed, excluding the extra session that has
been deleted. The new invoice generated displays a total amount of ₤
110.03

The following scenarios would also lead to generation of a credit note:

1) Rebooking a session
2) Adding a Nursery holiday
3) Deleting a child holiday

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Figure 38: Credit note arising from the deletion of an extra session.

A credit note can also be generated by clicking on the new credit note button within the
Credit box, selecting a predefined credit note reason, clicking on the add link to the left
of the invoice and then saving it.

Figure 39: Raising a credit note within the accounts section

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Making a Payment against an Invoice

With Abacus, one can make a payment against an invoice from the payments page within
the accounts section or via quick pay within the finance section.
Illustration 12: To make a payment from the payments page, carry out the following
steps:
1) For an unpaid invoice, click on the new payments button in the bottom-right
cornet of the payments screen, within the accounts section.

Figure 40: Adding a new payment

2) On the payment receipt screen that appears, select the bank account which you
would be paying funds into followed by the date the payment was made. You can
configure the bank account in “data lists” under the settings section in the main
menu.
3) Select the payment mode from the drop down list and the amount of money which
is being paid. The payment can be made by cash, cheque, credit card, debit card,
direct debit, fee planner, standing order, voucher etc.
Cash: select this option if the payment has been made in cash
Cheque: Select this option if a cheque has been offered for the payment.
Credit card: Select this option if the payment has been charged to a credit card.
Debit card: Select this option if the payment is made via a debit card.
Direct debit: Select this option if the payment amount is directly debited from the
bill payer’s account.
Fee planner: Select this option if Parenta’s direct debit facility is used.
Standing order: Select this option if the payment is made by means of a standing
order.
Voucher: This option is selected is the payment is made by means of a voucher.
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 4) Add some text to describe the transaction, if needed.
5) Select which outstanding invoices you want theses funds to be allocated against.
6) Click on the OK button at the bottom of the screen.(Figure 37)
7) You can now Save and Print the payment or, if desired, cancel the payment.
(Figure 38)
8) The Payment is then listed in the Payments section and you can re-allocate it to a
different invoice if needed by clicking on the “re-allocate” link on the right-hand
side of the payment line.(Figure 39)

Figure 41: The Payment Receipt page

Figure 42: Saving the Payment Receipt

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Figure 43: List of Payments. Notice the reduction in the account balance from the previous value.

This payment is reflected in the reports section of Abacus. To confirm this, click on
report menu within the reports section of Abacus. Next click on finance and then, paid
invoices. Select the dates and mode of sorting (by child/invoice number). You may be
prompted to enter the administrator name and password. The invoice will be displayed in
the “paid invoices” report, and removed from the unpaid invoices report (Figure 40).

Figure 44: A payment reflected in the paid invoices report

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Quick Pay allows a user to enter payments into abacus and allocate them to the relevant
processed invoice without having to navigate to each child’s account screen
To make a payment via quick pay, carry out the following steps:
1) Click on Quick Pay within the Finance section.
2) On the quick pay screen that appears, select the child against whose invoices you
wish to make a payment, by selecting the check box to the left of the child’s
name. To change the invoice search dates, modify the “from” and “to” dates on
the page and click process.

Figure 45: Pending Invoices listed on the Quick Pay screen

3) Click on the pay link on the right hand side of the invoices line.
4) You will then be directed to the Payment receipt screen, and the same procedure
is carried out as before to enter a payment.
5) One the payment is saved, the invoice is listed under “paid invoices” in the
reports section instead of “unpaid invoices”

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Figure 46: Creating a payment receipt through Quick Pay

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Invoice generation with multiple bill payers

The Procedure to add an additional bill payer for a child and to split the invoice amount
between two bill payers was shown in illustration 4. We can see the effect this has on the
invoices generated below:

Illustration 13: Invoice generation with additional bill payer

Consider a child, Janet Andrews, whose primary carer is Susan Andrews. Let us add an
additional bill payer as described in illustration 4. Let us assign a percentage of the bill,
say 30% to be paid by this additional payer for each invoice. (Figure 43). It can been that
for invoices processed after adding the additional bill payer, the invoice amount is split
between the two bill payers based on the amount or percentage each bill payer is
configured to pay.(Figures 44,45)
In the example below, the total invoice amount for the period 1st January 2007 to 7th
January 2007 is ₤ 176.04. This is split between the primary carer, Susan Andrews and an
additional carer, who pays 30% of the total amount, i.e., ₤ 52.81, as shown in Figure 46.

Figure 47: Additional bill payer configured to pay 30% of the bill amount

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Figure 48: Total invoice amount split between the two bill payers in the invoices preview page

Figure 49: Two separate invoices generated for the two bill payers.

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Figure 50: Invoice for the additional bill payer

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Charging a Late Payment fee

The Late payment fee can be configured on the configuration page within the finance
section. Here one can specify the type of fee, i.e., a percentage or a fixed amount,
whether the charge is mandatory or optional and the late payment action (raise new
invoice or add in new invoice)

Figure 51: Configuring the Late Payment fee settings

Illustration 14: Charging a late payment fee.

The figures below illustrate the case of a child with several pending invoices, whose
cumulative late fee is ₤ 80.

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Figure 52: Invoice preview for a child with several unpaid invoices

Figure 53: Detailed invoice with a late fee.

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Changing the Charge band

A change in the charge band could occur if a child’s age changes during the invoicing
period, or at the start of an invoicing period.

Illustration 15: Generating invoices for a child with a weekly account type whose charge
band/age has changed.
Regular sessions are booked for a child, whose age changes from 24 months to 25 months
on 17th January 2007 (his Date of Birth is 17th December 2004). We book these sessions
for the week during which his age is 24 months and week where he would have
completed 25 months, and a transition week during which his age changes from 24 to 25
months.

Figure 54: Scheduling regular sessions for a child. The charge bands for the session are displayed in
the upper right hand section of the screen

The invoice generated for a week during which his age is 24 months (say, 8th-14th
January) is displayed below:

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Figure 55: Invoice generated when the child's age is 24 months

Note that he is charged under the 0-24 months charge band, i.e., ₤ 20 per session.

In the subsequent week (15th- 21st January), his age changes from 24 months to 25
months (on the 17th of January). He is therefore charged under 2 charge bands in the
invoice generated, i.e., ₤ 20 for a session booked on 15th January and ₤ 30 (24-48 months
charge band) for the sessions on the 18th and 19th of January.

Figure 56: Invoice generated for the week when the child’s age changes from 24 to 25 months

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In the invoice for the week 22nd-28th January, the child falls completely under the 24-48
months charge band, and hence each regular session is charged at ₤ 30 per session, as
shown below:

Figure 57: Invoice generated for the week when the child is 25 months old

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Specifying settings for Bespoke, Quarterly and Fee Planner account
types

Settings for the bespoke, quarterly and fee planner account types can be specified on the
configuration page of the Finance section. Click on the configuration tab to view the
settings.
Bespoke Dates: You can edit the start and end dates for a bespoke period in the “Bespoke
dates” box at the bottom of the screen. Enter a Bespoke period name, click on Add, and
finally click on Save.
Quarterly: The starting month of a quarter can be defined in the “Quarterly” box on the
upper right hand side of the configuration page.
Fee Planner: The date on which fee planner will automatically raise an invoice can be
selected here.

Figure 58: Settings for Bespoke, Quarterly and Fee Planner account types.

One can also specify the fortnightly, termly and calendar monthly settings on this page.
The number of weeks for which the nursery is open the settings for switching a child’s
charge band and the late payment fees can also be specified on this page.

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Section B) Hourly charge band Nursery

In an hourly charge band nursery, the sessions charges are calculated on an hourly basis,
i.e., the regular and extra session hours during an invoicing period are totaled up, and
multiplied by a rate per hour to arrive at the invoicing amount.

Configuring the hourly charge bands

The hourly charge bands can be configured on the hourly charging page within the
settings section of Abacus. This option will only be available to hourly charging
nurseries.

Figure 59: Configuring the hourly charge bands within the settings section

The Default charge bands available are therefore 0-10 hours, 10-20 hours, 20-30 hours,
30-40 hours, 40-50 hours and 50-200 hours, which can be edited by clicking on the
“Edit” link.

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Invoicing for a child at an hourly charge band nursery

The invoice generation procedure for a child at an hourly charge band nursery remains
the same as that for an hours and sessions nursery. Similarly, most of the other aspects of
invoice calculation remain the same, for instance, when an FRC is applied. For further
details, please refer to the above section on Hours and Sessions nurseries. As such, most
of the topics under the hours and sessions nurseries section (Section A) above would
be applicable to hourly charge band nurseries as well. The only major difference
between the two lies in the use of total hours per invoicing period for the invoicing
amount calculations in hourly charge band nurseries.
We can illustrate this difference by means of the below example.

Illustration 16: Generation of invoice and invoice calculations for a child at an hourly
charge band nursery.
Consider a child who has been registered at the nursery. We follow the same procedure as
described in Section A to add the child, book regular and extra sessions and book
holidays and to make product purchases.

Figure 60: Booking sessions for a child at an Hourly charge band nursery

To generate the invoice for this child, we:

1) Click on the invoice tab within the finance section.
2) Select “Child Specific” and “By Account Type” on the invoice screen.
3) Select a “Weekly” invoice type, select the week (18th-24th December in this case)
and click on search.
4) In the invoice list that is displayed, click on the preview link on the right hand
side of the line for the child.
5) On the invoices preview screen that appears, click on the ‘+’ sign to the left of
the invoice line to view further details pertaining to the invoice.

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Figure 61: Invoice Preview screen for Elizabeth Johnson

6) Click on the “view” link to the right of the details line to view the invoice details
or click the process button on the screen to process the invoice.

Figure 62: The detailed invoice screen

7) The invoice is thus generated using hourly charge bands.

8) Click on the print button to print this invoice or close to close it.

NOTE: For details on how to make a payment against this invoice, raise a credit note and
add an additional bill payer, please refer to section A.

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Calculations- Scenario 4: Generating an invoice for Elizabeth Johnson for an hourly
charge band with the following inputs:
Inputs:
Invoice Period: 18th December 2006 to 24 December 2006
Sessions: Regular Booking Sessions on Monday, Thursday and Friday and an Extra
Session on Monday
Total Hours in the invoicing period: 5 + 2.5 + 5 + 5 = 17.5 hours
Child’s Charge Band: 0-23 months: ₤ 4.10 per hour
CHD and NHD: Child holiday and Nursery holiday on Monday. Child holiday discount
(CHD) = 12.50 % and Nursery holiday discount (NHD) = 25.25 %.
GD and SD: General Discount (GD) = 25.25 % (All sessions, including meals)
Sibling Discount (SD) = 35.35% (Regular sessions only, excluding meals)
Products purchased: 1 Polo shirt for ₤ 5.00 and birthday parties (recurring product) at ₤
7.50
Calculations:
The various components that are factored in the calculation of the invoice are as follows:
i. Regular Sessions and Extra sessions cost @ ₤ 4.10 per hour = 4.10 X 17.5 = ₤
71.75
ii. Lunch provided during the sessions = 3 X 1.95 = ₤ 5.85
iii. Product Purchases: 1 Polo shirt @ ₤ 5.00 and 1 birthday party @ ₤ 7.50 = ₤ 12.50
iv. NHD applied to the session and extra session on Monday, 18th December 2006 @
25.25 % = ( 7.5 X 4.10 ) X ( 25.25/100) = ₤ 7.76 (-)
v. CHD applied @ 12.5 % to the difference between the session costs on Monday,
18th December 2006 and the NHD = ((7.5 X 4.10) – 7.764375) X ( 12.5/100) = ₤
2.87 (-)
vi. GD applied @ 25.25 % to all the sessions , including the meals and after
subtracting the NHD and CHD = (71.75 + 5.85 – 7.764375 – 2.873203125) X (
25.25/100) = ₤ 16.91 (-)
vii. SD applied @ 35.35 % to ( Regular session cost – Regular sessions component of
GD excluding meals and excluding regular session components of NHD and
CHD * – regular sessions component of NHD** – regular sessions component of
CHD***) = ((15 X 4.10) – 13.738091015625 – 5.17625 – 1.91546875) X
(35.35/100) = ₤ 14.38 (-)

The Total/ Payable Amount thus becomes 71.75 + 5.85 + 12.50 - 7.76 - 2.87 - 16.91 -
14.38 = ₤ 48.18

* Regular sessions component of GD excluding meals and excluding regular session

components of NHD and CHD = [(15 X 4.10) - 5.17625 - 1.91546875] X (25/100) = ₤
13.738091015625
** Regular sessions component of NHD = (5 X 4.10) X (25.25/100) = ₤ 5.17625
*** Regular sessions component of CHD = (5 X 4.10) X (10.25/100) = ₤ 1.91546875

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Figure 63: Invoice generated for the above calculations.

NOTE: Unlike the calculations for an hours and sessions nursery, the parameters such as
NHD, CHD, and GD are not rounded up to the last 2 decimal places during calculations.
Instead, the complete values of these parameters are used during the calculations. The
rounded off is done only while displaying these fields and while computing the overall
amount

Another scenario that can be considered is that of a nursery which has opted to include
sibling bookings in calculating total hours and relevant charge. This can be done from the
Hourly charging page within the Settings section.
In such a scenario, the sibling’s booked hours for the invoiced period are included to
determine the charge band in which the child’s account would be placed.

For instance, let us consider a child, Elizabeth Johnson (who falls in the 0-23 months age
group) for whom sessions of 12.5 hours (10 regular and 2.5 extra) have been booked for
the week 1st -7th January, 2007. This would put her in the 10-20 hours charge band (₤
4.10 per hour). Now, let us assume she has a sibling, James Johnson in the same nursery
for whom 18 hours (all regular session). Now the Total number of hours for the two
siblings would become 30.5 hours, thus shifting Elizabeth to the 30-40 hours charge band
(₤ 3.65 per hour), as illustrated in the figure below.

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Figure 64: Including the sibling’s bookings in determining the relevant charge band.

Figure 65: The invoice after including the sibling’s hours for determining the charge band. Note that
the Siblings hours are only included in determining the band, and are not included in the actual
calculations

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Section C) Standing Order Invoice Type

Introduction

When a child’s account is configured for a “Standing Order” account type, (either within
“charges” on the accounts page of the children section or during the addition of the child
to abacus), the invoices generated for the child will be of standing order invoice type. In
this case, a regular sessions cost is calculated for the entire year from the joining date,
and then divided by 12 to arrive at a monthly figure. The extra session costs are
considered individually (total extra session cost per calendar month). The invoices for the
starting and ending calendar months ( known as the starter and leaver invoices) are
calculated in the usual manner, i.e., on a monthly basis, whereas the invoices for the
intermediate months are calculated using the standing order method.

NOTE: The session costs considered for the standing order calculations of an
intermediate month depend on the charge band of the child during that specific month.

Figure 66: Configuring an account as "Standing order" invoice type while adding a child.

Some of the points to be noted for the Standing order invoice type are:

ƒ Child holiday discounts and nursery holiday discounts on the regular sessions are
only computed in the “starter” and “leaver” months. If a child holiday or a nursery
holiday is added in the months “in-between”, they are not considered for the CHD or
NHD applied to the regular sessions. They are, however, applied on the extra
sessions.

ƒ Calculation of regular sessions cost for A Weekly booking Pattern:

For a child with a weekly booking pattern, the system will need to look at the child’s
current one weekly booking pattern and calculate how much the session values total,
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considering the age of the child and the corresponding charge band. This weekly figure is
the weekly charge.
To calculate the monthly charge, the system will then need to multiply this amount by the
number of weeks the nursery is open (stated in finance>configuration), and divide this
total by 12 (months in the year). This amount will be the regular sessions cost on the
invoice.
Sum = Weekly session value x no. of weeks nursery open /12

ƒ Calculations of regular sessions cost for A Two Weekly Pattern:

For a child with a two weekly booking pattern, the system will need to total all regular
sessions in the child’s two weekly booking pattern and divide by two to give a weekly
session value, considering the age of the child and the corresponding charge band. This
weekly figure is the weekly charge.
To calculate the monthly charge, the system will then need to multiply this amount by the
number of weeks the nursery is open (configured in Finance>Configuration), and divide
this total by 12 (months in the year). This amount will be the regular sessions cost on the
invoice.
Sum = Weekly session value x no. of weeks nursery open/12

ƒ Calculations of regular sessions cost for A Three Weekly Pattern:

For a child with a three weekly booking pattern, the system will need to total all regular
sessions in the child’s three weekly booking pattern and divide by three to give a weekly
session value, considering the age of the child and the corresponding charge band. This
weekly figure is the weekly charge. To calculate the monthly charge, the system will then
need to multiply this amount by the number of weeks the nursery is open (configured in
finance>Configuration), and divide this total by 12 (months in the year). This amount
will be the regular sessions cost on the invoice.
Sum = Weekly session value x no. of weeks nursery open/12

ƒ Calculations of regular sessions cost for a four Weekly Pattern:

For a child with a four weekly booking pattern, the system will need to total all regular
sessions during the child’s four booked weeks and divide by four to give a weekly
session value, considering the age of the child and the corresponding charge band. This
weekly figure is the weekly charge. To calculate the monthly charge, the system will then
need to multiply this amount by the number of weeks the nursery is open (configured in
finance>Configuration), and divide this total by 12 (months in the year). This amount
will be the regular sessions cost on the invoice.
Sum = Weekly session value x no. of weeks nursery open/ 12

NOTE: All numbers should be calculated to 2 decimal places. If required, the number
should always be rounded up to 2 decimal places.

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Figure 67: Configuring the invoice type.

Examples:

Within these examples, the nursery is open for 50 weeks of the year and each session is
valued at £10.00 each.

Example 1: 1 Weekly Booking Pattern

Sam’s weekly booking pattern is 3 days a week.

Weekly session value = £30

Monthly S/O Charge =

Sum = 30×50 /12 = £125

Example 2: Two Weekly Booking Pattern

George has 3 sessions in the first week and 2 sessions in the second week.

Weekly session value = £30 + £20 / 2 = £25

Monthly S/O Charge =

Sum = 25×50/12 = £104.17

Therefore, George’s monthly standing order invoice amount against regular sessions
should show as £104.17.

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Processing a standing order invoice

As mentioned earlier, a standing order account calculation can be divided into 3 parts:
Calculation of the invoice for the starting calendar month (starter invoice).
Calculation of the invoice for the leaving calendar month (leaver invoice).
Calculation of the invoice for any calendar month in-between the starting and leaving
calendar months.

We shall describe the calculations involved and the various scenarios that could take
place by means of the following illustrations.

Illustration 17: Processing a standing order invoice for a booking pattern which includes
regular sessions only.
In this illustration, we book regular sessions for a child, William Hawkins with a standing
order account type. His starting date is 16th January 2006 and leaving date is 18th
December 2006. The regular sessions are booked on Mondays, Tuesdays and
Wednesdays in a weekly pattern. We also schedule child holidays on 23rd January and
12th December 2006. We can now generate the standing order invoice for January
(starting month), March (intermediate month) and December (leaving month).The
invoices for January and December would be calculated in the same manner.

Calculations- January 2006

Inputs:
Invoice Period: 1st January 2006 to 31st January 2006 (Effective period: 16th -31st January
2006)
Sessions: Regular Booking Sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays @ ₤ 20 per
session.
CHD and NHD: Child holiday on Monday, 23rd January 2006. Child holiday discount
(CHD) = 10.50 %.
GD and SD: General Discount (GD) = 5.50 % (Regular sessions only, excluding meals)
Sibling Discount (SD) = 15.25% (All fees)
Products purchased: 1 T shirt for ₤ 2.50.
Calculations:
The various components that are factored in the calculation of the invoice are as follows:
i. 8 Regular Sessions @ ₤ 20.00 per hour = 8 X 20 = ₤ 160.00
ii. Breakfast provided during the sessions = 8 X 10 = ₤ 80.00
iii. Tea provided during the sessions = 8 X 12 = ₤ 96.00
iv. Product Purchases: 1 T shirt @ ₤ 2.50 = ₤ 2.50
v. CHD applied @ 10.5 % to the regular session cost = 20 X ( 10.5/100) = ₤ 2.10 (-)
vi. GD applied @ 5.50 % to the regular sessions only , after subtracting the CHD =
(160-2.10) X ( 5.50/100) = ₤ 8.68 (-)
vii. SD applied @ 15.25 % to ( Regular session cost + Meals + Product Purchases –
CHD- GD) =(160.00 + 176.00 + 2.50 - 2.10 - 8.68) X (15.25/100) = ₤ 49.98 (-)

The Total/ Payable Amount thus becomes 160 + 80 + 96 + 2.50 - 2.10 - 8.68 - 49.98 = ₤
277.74, as shown below

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Figure 68: Invoice for the month of January

Calculations - March 2006

Inputs:
Invoice Period: 1st March 2006 to 31st March 2006.
Sessions: Regular Booking Sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays @ ₤ 20 per
session.
CHD and NHD: Child holiday on Monday, 20th March 2006. Child holiday discount
(CHD) = 10.50 %. However, since the invoice type is “standing order” CHD = 0
GD and SD: General Discount (GD) = 5.50 % (Regular sessions only, excluding meals)
Sibling Discount (SD) = 15.25% (All fees)
Products purchased: 1 Jacket for ₤ 8.00.
Calculations:
The child’s booking pattern is weekly, 3 days a week.
Number of weeks the nursery is open = 50
Weekly session value= 3 X 20 = ₤ 60.00
i. Monthly S/O Charge (Regular sessions) = (60 X 50)/12 = ₤ 250.00
ii. Monthly Breakfast Charge = (30 X 50)/12 = ₤ 125.00
iii. Monthly Tea Charge (36 X 50)/12 = ₤ 150.00
iv. Product purchase = ₤ 8.00
v. General Discount applied @ 5.50 % to the regular sessions charge = 250 X
(5.50/100) = ₤ 13.75(-)
vi. Sibling discount applied @ 15.25 % to all fees, after deducting the general
discount = (250 + 125 + 150 + 8 - 13.75) X (15.25/100) = ₤ 79.19(-)
The Total/ Payable Amount thus becomes 250 + 125 + 150 + 8 - 13.75 - 79.19 = ₤
440.06

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Figure 69: Invoice details for the month of March

Illustration 18: Processing a standing order type invoice for a booking pattern which
includes regular and extra sessions.
When a booking pattern includes extra sessions, these are calculated separately (standing
order calculations not being applicable to extra sessions) and are included in the invoice.
In this illustration, we book extra sessions for a child, William Hawkins on the 25th of
January, 2006, 13th March 2006 and 15th March 2006.
As can be seen from the fig. below, the extra session cost, ₤ 20 is included in the invoice
for the month of January and the invoice amount is calculated as usual.

Figure 70: Invoice details for the month of January with extra sessions.

Calculations - March 2006 with Extra sessions

Inputs:
Invoice Period: 1st March 2006 to 31st March 2006.
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Sessions: Regular Booking Sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays @ ₤ 20 per
session.
Extra sessions on Monday, 13th March 2006 and 15th March 2006 @ ₤ 20 per session.
CHD and NHD: Child holiday on Monday, 20th March 2006. Child holiday discount
(CHD) = 10.50 %. However, since the invoice type is “standing order” CHD = 0
GD and SD: General Discount (GD) = 5.50 % (Regular sessions only, excluding meals)
Sibling Discount (SD) = 15.25% (All fees)
Products purchased: 1 Jacket for ₤ 8.00.
Calculations:
The child’s booking pattern is weekly, 3 days a week.
Number of weeks the nursery is open = 50
Weekly session value= 3 X 20 = ₤ 60.00
i. Monthly S/O Charge (Regular sessions) = (60 X 50)/12 = ₤ 250.00
ii. 2 Extra sessions during the invoice period @ 20 per session = 2 X 20 = ₤ 40.00
iii. Monthly Breakfast Charge = (30 X 50)/12 = ₤ 125.00
iv. Monthly Tea Charge (36 X 50)/12 = ₤ 150.00
v. Lunch during the extra sessions = 2 X 11= ₤ 22.00
vi. Product purchase = ₤ 8.00
vii. General Discount applied @ 5.50 % to the regular sessions charge = 250 X
(5.50/100) = ₤ 13.75(-)
viii. Sibling discount applied @ 15.25 % to all fees, after deducting the general
discount = (250 + 40 + 125 + 150 + 22 + 8 - 13.75) X (15.25/100) = ₤ 88.64 (-)

The Total/ Payable Amount thus becomes 250 + 40 + 125 + 150 + + 22+ 8 - 13.75 -
88.64 = ₤ 492.61

Figure 71: Invoice details for the month of March with extra sessions.

This invoice can be processed by clicking on the process button on the invoice preview
page

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Figure 72: Processing the invoice, the invoices preview page

Illustration 19: Processing a standing order (SO) type invoice for March with regular
sessions only and adding extra sessions post- processing.
When a standing order invoice is processed and extra sessions are subsequently booked
for the child in the invoiced month, a new invoice is generated for the extra sessions.

Figure 73: Booking Regular Sessions for a child, William Hawkins

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Figure 74: Processed invoice for William Hawkins

Figure 75: Scheduling extra sessions in March, after processing the invoice

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Figure 76: Invoice generated for the extra sessions only

Illustration 20: Processing an invoice for a child with a standing order invoice type and
with a flat rate charge (FRC) applied.
When the child’s invoice type is “Standing order” type and in addition, a flat rate charge
(FRC) is applied simultaneously, only a monthly flat rate charge can be applied and the
weekly FRC option becomes unavailable.
The sessions with/without meals to which the FRC is applied are then charged at a flat
rate while the standing order calculations are applicable to all the other sessions
including/ excluding meals (extra sessions and the extra session meals being the
exception).

For example, let us consider the standing order invoice for a child, William Hawkins,
with an FRC applied to all regular sessions, excluding meals.
We then generate an invoice for the month of August. In the figure below, we can see
that the regular sessions have been charged at a flat rate of ₤ 400 for the month. By
contrast, the extra sessions are charged separately, i.e. extra sessions per month X cost
per session, as is typically done for extra sessions in standing order invoices. The same
applies to the extra session meals (lunch, in this case).The normal standing order
calculations are applied only on the regular session meals in this case. For instance, for a
weekly booking pattern:
Breakfast charge = (charge per week X no. of weeks in a year the nursery is open)/12
The charge per week = Cost per meal X no of meals in the week

In this case, Cost per breakfast = ₤ 10.00

No of breakfasts per week = 3
The breakfast charge per week = 10.00 X 3= ₤ 30.00
Therefore, the breakfast charge for the invoice month = (30 X 50)/12 = ₤ 125.00, as
shown below.

The same calculations apply for tea (as it has been entered as a regular session meal), but
not to lunch (extra session meal in this case).

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Figure 77: Standing order invoice with FRC applied to regular sessions, excluding meals

In general, the invoice that is generated after performing a search on the invoices page of
the finance section can be previewed by clicking on the “preview” link in the invoice
line. The detailed invoice can then be viewed by clicking on the “view” link in the
invoice details line that appears when the ‘+’ sign next to the invoice line on the “invoice
details” screen is clicked. The invoice can be processed by clicking on the process button
on the “invoices preview” screen.
A payment can then be made against the invoice either from the quick pay page within
the finance section or from the payments tab under accounts in the children section.
A credit note can be raise in case of an error in the bill or any other specific reason either
from “credit” within the accounts page or automatically in the event of an already
invoiced session being deleted, an additional session being added during a period already
invoiced and so on, as described in Section A. The invoice can also be viewed in the
reports section, by clicking on the “finance” link within the reports section, and then
clicking the “paid invoices” link.

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 II. Child specific invoicing by room
Invoice processing with a room as the search criterion
Introduction

In Abacus, invoices can be generated and processed by specifying a room as the search
criterion. It is therefore possible to generate a list of invoices for a desired room. The
calculations and other aspects of creating and processing the invoice remain the same,
the only differentiating factor being the use of a room as the search criterion as opposed
to say, the invoice type or primary carer.

Processing an invoice for a specified room

The illustration below describes the procedure to search for an invoice for a specified
room.

Illustration 21: Creating invoices for a desired room.

The general procedure for generating an invoice for a child in a specific room is as
follows:
1) Click on the invoicing link within the finance menu.
2) Select “Child Specific” search in the box at the top-left corner of the screen.
3) Select the “By Room” radio button in the box below the previous one.
4) Select the desired room from the drop-down list.
5) Uncheck combine multiple invoices if you wish to generate individual invoices.
6) Click on the search button at the bottom-left corner of the screen.

Figure 78: Searching for an invoice by room on the invoicing page within the finance section

7) A list of invoices for the selected room will appear. Click on the “select” link on
the right hand side of an invoice line to select the invoice.

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Figure 79: List of invoices for the selected room

8) Based on the account type, a calendar, a drop-down list of months or a radio

button list of calendar quarters will appear in the lower-left area of the page.
Select the week, month, fortnight, quarter or bespoke period.
9) Click on the calculate button. The “invoices preview” page will appear. Continue
as usual to process and print the desired invoice.

Figure 80: Invoices listed on the Invoices preview page

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 III. Child specific invoicing by primary carer

Introduction

Child specific invoicing by Primary carer involves the generation of an invoice for a child
by entering the primary carer as the search criterion. One has to enter the first or last
name (or a part of the name) of the primary carer in the search box and abacus will
generate the invoices for that particular carer. In the following illustrations, we shall add
a primary carer to a child, book sessions, holidays and add a product purchase. Later, we
shall run a search for an invoice for this child based on the primary carer from the invoice
screen in the Finance section and subsequently, process the invoice.

Generating and processing the invoice with the primary carer as the
search criterion

The illustration below describes the procedure to search for an invoice for a certain
primary carer.

Illustration 22: Displaying the invoices for a particular carer and processing an invoice.
The general procedure for generating an invoice for a child with a specific primary carer
is as follows:
1) Click on the invoicing link within the finance section.
2) Select the “child specific” invoicing radio button in the box at the upper-left hand
corner of the screen.
3) Select the “By Primary Carer” radio button in the box below the previous one.
4) Enter the first or last name of the carer in the “Name of Carer” box.
5) Uncheck “Combine multiple invoices” in the box at the top-right hand corner of
the page.
6) Click on the Search button in the lower-left hand corner of the page.
7) A list of child specific invoice summaries for the desired primary carer will
appear. Click on the “select” link on the right hand side of an invoice summary
line to select the invoice.
8) Based on the child’s account type, a calendar, a drop-down list of months or a
radio button list of calendar quarters will appear in the lower-left area of the page.
Select the week, month, fortnight, quarter or bespoke period.
9) Click on the calculate button. The “invoices preview” page will appear. Continue
as usual to process and print the desired invoice.

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Figure 81: A Search for invoices based on the primary carer

Figure 82: Selecting a child and calculating the invoice

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Figure 83: The Invoices preview page in child specific invoicing by primary carer.

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