Billing Payment Importer

iMIS Billing Payment Importer provides you with the ability to import financial transactions into iMIS, also referred to as “lockbox processing.” The importer is designed to import and process mass payment data from an external import file, allowing you to avoid entering this data manually, transaction by transaction. This module helps you if your payments are received and recorded by an outside organization, such as a bank (lockbox) or an affiliated organization, if this organization can supply the payment data in a usable electronic form.

This module requires at least two data elements to be resident in your import files: the payment amount and the customer ID (either the primary ID or the Major Key of each customer who has paid). For example, if you will be receiving data from an affiliated organization, such as the national or state organization and the receiving organization does not know the customer ID, be sure to have an organization-wide common identifier (such as a certificate number) in the data. You must maintain this common identifier in the Major Key field.

The benefits of using this interface instead of simply importing the data include the following:

Provides a single interface for iMIS Billing payment transactions
Uses the payment records to create dues payment transactions, which debit cash and credit income or deferred income
Automatically applies each customer payment record amount to that customer's open balances until those balances are closed
Any residual payment amount creates open credit balances, which you can refund or apply to future sales

The payment data that is imported will only be applied to a line item that already exists on the customer's Billing tab and has an outstanding positive balance. Importing payment data will not create new line items nor apply an amount against a line item that has a zero or negative balance. If the imported payment exceeds the balance, an overpayment will be applied to the line item. If the line item does not exist, an open AR credit invoice will be created for the payment amount.

To enable the Billing Payment Importer

As with all iMIS modules, you must have this system enabled on the iMIS System Setup level. Refer to your service provider for more details.

To format billing data for import

The transaction format is tab- or comma-delimited input, with various types of records allowed in a single stream. The import file must contain a single batch header record, followed by any number of cash payment records.

📘
Note
You cannot use the Dues Importer for accrual Dues billing cycle. You must use the AR Importer for accrual dues billing. To use the AR Importer, the System field (third field) under the Cash Payment Record should be AR. Make sure to insert the Invoice Number (sixth field) under the Cash Payment Record.

The major transaction formats include the following:

All Records

	Field Name	Data	Comments
1	Record Type		Identifies the type of record
2	Batch Number	10 chars, all upper case

Batch Header

	Field Name	Data	Comments
1	Record Type	BH	Always “BH”
2	Batch Number	10 chars, all upper case
3	Batch Date	Date	Date of batch
4	Batch Description	60 chars
5	Control Count	Numeric	Optional
6	Control Amount	Monetary	Total of the batch of payments
7	Cash Account Code	10 chars, all upper case	Code assigned through AR/Cash> Set up tables > Cash accounts; indicates the cash account where the funds were deposited

Cash Payment Record

	Field Name	Data	Comments
1	Record Type	PAY	Always “PAY”
2	Batch Number	10 chars, all upper case	Optional; if blank, defaults to batch header's batch number
3	System	DUES
4	Member ID	10 chars, customer ID	Can substitute Major Key, if prefixed with \* (asterisk)
5	Date	Date	Optional; if blank, defaults to batch header date
6	Product Code	Character	Optional; payments can be applied to specific Product Codes by including the Product Code in this field
7	Amount	Individual payment amount	Total amount of the check or credit card payment
8	Check/CCType	Check # or credit card type	Optional
9	CCNumber	Credit card #	Optional
10	CCExp	Credit card exp	Optional
11	Name On CC	Name on credit card	Optional
12	CCAuthorize	Credit card authorization code	Optional
13	Name	60 chars for audit trail	Optional but important. Will print on the transaction report to identify the customer/subscriber.
14	Comment	255 chars	Optional but important. Will print on the transaction report and related inquiries to explain the transaction, such as “Dues Payment” or “Subscription Payment.”

Example billing import file