Within TutorCruncher, a Credit Request is a request for upfront payment from a Client so that credit might be applied to their account to be used to pay for future tutoring services rendered to them. When a Client pays a Credit Request, their client balance will increase accordingly - the credit on their account can then be used to pay for Lessons Invoiced against their name.
Note: Credit Requests act as a means for clients to add credit to their account. You will still need to issue Invoices in order to deduct that credit and keep your Clients’ accounts up to date.
Once a draft Credit Request has been raised, you will find the raised Credit Requests within the Raised Credit Requests page, found via Accounting > Raised Credit Requests. This page contains a list of all Credit Requests that have been sent out to your Clients, alongside how much the Credit Request was for, the Credit Request’s status, and how much of the Credit Request is still left to pay.
An example of a Raised Credit Requests page.
Here you can:
Use the tabs at the top of the list to show a list of Credit Requests filtered out by the Credit Requests’ status (whether the Credit Request is paid/unpaid/pending/void).
Use the ‘Filter’ fields to filter out Credit Requests within a specified time period, or by a paying Client or Client Manager.
Use the green Pay by Card button to trigger a card payment from your end, using either previously saved card details or new ones.
An example of an unpaid Credit Request.
Here you can:
Use the View PDF button to view the PDF attached to the Credit Request’s payment request email.
Click Delete to delete the raised Credit Request - note that deleting a paid Credit Request will still leave any money the Client has already paid on their account as credit, unless you select the option to refund the payments via the ‘Refund payment’ checkbox.
Use the Send Reminder button to trigger either the Payment Request or Payment Request Reminder Email Definitions to remind the Client to pay the Credit Request.
Use the Mark as Paid button to open the ‘Mark Credit Request Paid’ page, from where you can mark the Credit Request as paid. You will need to specify the payment method and the amount using the relevant fields, and you can also add in a description and payment date if you wish. Use the ‘Send Receipt’ checkbox to send the paying Client a receipt.
Use the Take Card Payment button to access the Credit Request’s payment portal and trigger a card payment from your end.
Use the Take Deferred Card Payment button to take a card payment after an amount of days specified via the ‘Auto charge and deferred payment delay’ field found in System > Settings > Accounting Settings > General.
Can the credit from Credit Requests be used to automatically mark off Invoices?
Yes - enabling the Automatically mark Invoices paid checkbox in System > Settings > Accounting Settings > General will allow your TutorCruncher system to check the Client’s balance to see if they have enough credit prepaid to mark an Invoice as paid from credit. With this enabled, the credit will be automatically used to pay the Invoice whenever an Invoice is raised.
You can also do this manually by navigating to an unpaid Invoice and selecting Pay from Credit.
Where can I quickly see if a Client has credit on their profile?
This can be found by navigating to the Accounting tab on a Client’s profile - any Credit Request payments will be reflected in their Invoice balance. Read more about Client balances here.
An example of a Client’s account balance with the Invoice Balance section highlighted.
What happens when an Invoice is raised to a Client who does not have sufficient credit in their account to cover the total?
In this case, any credit that the Client has will be deducted from the Invoice as a partial payment, and the remainder will be reflected in the Credit Request list under the ‘Still to pay’ column.
In the inverse situation, where a Client has more credit on their account than the Invoice total, the remaining credit will remain on their Client balance as part of their Invoice balance.
How do I avoid confusing my Clients with multiple payment requests when I raise Credit Requests and then Invoices subsequently?
In this case you can deselect Clients from being notified of payment requests when confirming Invoices. On the ‘Raise Confirmed Invoices’ panel that appears when you select Raise Confirmed Invoices button in your Draft Invoices, there is a checkbox list of users who will be notified via email when the Invoice is raised - you can use the checkboxes to deselect some or all of these users.
Selecting Clients to be notified.
Can I automatically charge my Clients for their Credit Requests?
If you have Auto Charge enabled in your General Accounting Settings then any Clients with a valid Direct Debit or credit/debit card can be automatically charged after a predetermined deferral period.
Enabling Auto Charge with a five day delay.
You can enable/disable Auto Charge on a per-Client basis by navigating to their profile and selecting Actions > Edit Profile. From there, you will find a ‘Auto Charge override’ dropdown menu in the ‘Accounting & Client Manager’ tab allowing you to enable/disable auto charge for that Client only.
Disabling Auto Charge for a specific Client.
Can my Clients pay their Credit Requests via Direct Debit?
Clients who have a mandate set up with GoCardless can pay their Credit Requests via Direct Debit. Read more about that here.
Can my Clients pay their Credit Requests by bank transfer?
Note: This feature is currently only available to companies based in the United Kingdom.
If you have bank transfers enabled in your General Accounting Settings, your Clients can opt to pay this way. Read more about bank transfers here.
What if I’ve taken payment from a Client outside of TutorCruncher?
In cases where you have taken some other form of payment (i.e. cash or cheque), you can navigate to the unpaid Credit Request and select the Mark as Paid button to open the Mark Credit Request Paid panel.
Marking a Credit Request as paid.
Here you will be prompted to select a payment method from the ‘Payment Method’ dropdown menu and specify an amount - this can be a partial payment or the full amount. You can also add a description, specify a payment date and opt to send the Client a receipt via email.
What does the ‘Pending’ status mean?
Raised Credit Requests that have been marked as ‘Pending’ status are auto charge Credit Requests that are still in their deferral period (the time period set by you to determine how long the Client is given to review incoming charges and dispute them if needed).
Once the deferral window has passed, TutorCruncher will automatically draw the money from the Client’s payment method and the Credit Request will then be marked as ‘Paid’. If, for whatever reason, the auto charge fails, the Credit Request will be marked as ‘Unpaid’, and there should be a record of the payment failure in the Invoice’s ‘Payment Events’ panel.
Can I send Credit Request Reminders?
If you want to remind a Client that there is an unpaid Credit Request Reminder on their account, you can send a Credit Request Reminder by navigating to an unpaid Credit Request and selecting Send Reminder. This will open the Send Invoice Reminder panel, from where you can opt to send just a reminder, or resend the full Credit Request.
Sending a Credit Request Reminder.
Reminders can be automatically sent via email for unpaid Credit Requests after a set number of days have passed by navigating to System > Settings > Accounting Settings > General before enabling the ‘Automatic Invoice Reminders’ checkbox. The number of days that the automatic Invoice reminder is sent after is set via the ‘Automatic Invoice Reminders Delay’ field.
Setting up an automatic Invoice reminder.
What is the best way to use Credit Requests?
Generally speaking, Credit Requests would be ideally raised at the beginning of the month for upcoming Lessons, while Invoices would be raised at the end of the month. You can do both of these on the same day at the end of the month. That way, you will be deducting any credit that your Clients had off the Invoices for the Lessons they received, while also issuing a Credit Request for the coming month.