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Pledge, Payment, Expectancy and Write-Off Transactions

A constituent may make a promise to contribute to the institution at a later time and Millennium handles such promises by creating Transactions with a Type of Pledge. Pledges may be a promise of a single gift, or a promise that extends over a lengthy time period with a schedule of when any number of payments toward that promise can be expected. The pledge may be unconditional meaning that the promise is considered binding and the institution may count on receiving the asset value of the pledge, or the constituent may specify that the pledge is conditional on another set of circumstances (if a regional club raises a target amount, the constituent will fulfill the pledge, for example) and in that case, the institution may not count the pledged amount as an asset until the payments are received. These and other variations of Pledge Transactions are described in the following section.

Pledge Transactions may be Jointly owned, they may be Matched by an Employer, they may be made in Honor/Memory of another, they may have linked Quid Pro Quo items, or any of the other variables that are shown in the Transaction Index.

Create Unconditional or Conditional Pledges from a Single Constituent to a Single Allocation

Follow the procedures for a Simple Gift Transaction, or other appropriate procedures that are required by the details of the Pledge Transaction, with the following exception. Do not choose a Type of Gift or Dues. Instead, choose the Transaction Type, Pledge Transaction.
In the Total Amount, enter the complete amount of the pledge that the constituent has made. (You will be prompted later for the amounts and other details of the anticipated schedule of payments toward this pledge.) Note: You may enter an amount of $0 to create an unspecified pledge . If you do so, the pledge will automatically be considered conditional and you will not be prompted for additional Pledge Information as described below.
Complete all other data boxes as appropriate to the constituent's specifications.
Click Insert. You will automatically be given the Pledge Information form in which to enter the following information. Most of this information will be used to build a Payment Schedule for the pledge. The Payment Schedule is stored in Millennium's Payments data table. After this initial Payment Schedule has been created, it can then be edited to suit any schedule or variable amounts that the donor or institution wants. Refer to the Payments topic for complete details.

Pledge Type - These standard cycles are taken from the Pledge Types lookup table and for a complete listing and further information, see that topic. Each cycle is represented twice in the list, once with words, No Bill and once without. The No Bill option allows you to flag the entries that will be created in the payment schedule so that no bill or reminder notice will be generated for that scheduled payment.

Locate the pledge billing cycle from the drop down list that most closely approximates the intended cycle for the Pledge Payments. If the billing cycle is to be irregular, select the Special or Special, No Bill item. (Note that once the Payment Schedule has been created, it is still available for further editing, as is the procedure for an irregular or Special Payment schedule.)

If you leave this data box blank, the system will schedule a single payment, equal to the Pledge Amount.

Payment Count - This text box is used to enter the total number of anticipated payments that the constituent will make in order to fulfill the pledge commitment.

Start Date - The date on which the first Payment may be expected. This information must be entered as yyyy/mm/dd. Note that the payment start day is optional - if it not entered, the start day will default to the first day of the month.

Conditional? - This check box may be used to indicate that the Pledge will only be fulfilled if another circumstance occurs. Click to place a check in this box if you want to make this a Conditional Pledge. If you do so, you should also give the details of the conditions using the Comment text box or an Attached document.

OR

Leave this box unchecked to flag the Pledge as Unconditional.
When all of the appropriate data is in place, click Insert to register the information,

OR

Click Cancel to halt the process without registering any inputted Payment schedule information. If you do so, the Payment Schedule will default to a single payment for the full amount, with no due date. And the Pledge Transaction itself will default to be Unconditional.

Create Unconditional or Conditional Pledges from a Single Constituent to Multiple Allocations

Create the Pledge Transaction as instructed directly above. But, make sure to check the Multiple Allocation? check box before clicking the Giving Detail Insert form's Insert button (step 4, above).

Immediately after completing the Pledge Information form and clicking Insert (step 5, above), you will automatically be presented with the Add Allocation Maintenance form. The Allocation Data Maintenance, Add Allocation topic gives details on how to complete this form.

Note that if you click Cancel instead of Insert on the Pledge Information form, you are still presented with the Add Allocation Maintenance form.

Pledge Payments

When a constituent makes a donation that is a response to an earlier Pledge, that donation is entered into the system as a Pledge Payment, posted against that Pledge. When entered appropriately, these Transactions will automatically be given the Type, Pledge Payment, they will be linked to the original Transaction, and the amount of the Payment will reduce the total amount that remains (the balance) of the original Pledge.

Posting a Pledge Payment to a Single Allocation Transaction

Access the display for the constituent who owns the original Pledge and then locate the specific Pledge Transaction to which this Payment should be posted.
Click the Post Payment Button .

You can use the Transactions menu if is not shown (your display mode is set to Mini) or if that is your preference. Point to the Edit Button to the left of the primary display of the Pledge. Point to Transactions. Click Post Pledge Payment.
A Post Payment form will be presented, already containing much of the information from the original Transaction. Tab or mouse click to any of the text boxes to edit the data that is shown by default, as described in the instructions for a Simple Transaction. Of the data fields and text boxes that are available, the following items are particularly noteworthy in connection with posting a Pledge Payment.

Effective and Process Dates - These will default to either the date that the pledge payment form is accessed, or, if dates are present in the active Defined Default on the Giving/Dues table, to the dates in the default.

Given by - This text box will default to show the name of the constituent whose data you are viewing and who owns the original Pledge Transaction. If you are posting a Payment from the same constituent, accept that information. If not, see Pledge Payments made by Another Constituent.

Type - This data may not be edited. If you display the pull down list, you will see that it is the only entry shown.

Total Amount - The Total Amount due will default to what is due on the date that the pledge payment form is accessed. This default amount is calculated from the payment schedule. If the pledge is joint, this default amount will include the amounts that are due on the linked joint transaction as well.

If the donation amount does not match the default total amount, then edit this field and enter the total, full amount of this donation. If the Pledge is joint, the system will automatically split the entered amount between the two constituents.

Please note that you are allowed to overpay the total amount of the allocation; however, you will not be warned of this. (You do receive a warning if you have accessed the Payments Allocation page to distribute funds).
The system will automatically register the amount against the Payment Schedule that is linked to the original Pledge. In the Payment Schedule table, the amount of the donation will be applied to the next entry shown in the Payment Schedule for that pledge, and reduce Remaining Balance on this entry by the amount of the Pledge Payment Transaction. If the monies received exceed the amount of the next entry, then the excess will be applied to the next entry in the schedule, and so forth.
When all data appears in the form as you want, click onInsert to create the Pledge Payment Transaction,

OR

Click Cancel to halt the process without creating the Transaction.

Posting a Pledge Payment to a Transaction with Multiple Allocations

When a constituent sends a payment to be applied to an existing Pledge Transaction that has multiple Allocations, you may apply that payment to one, to more than one, or to all of the Allocations. When payments are made to multiple allocations, the payments are linked to each allocation's Pledge Key (giftplgkey) and not to each allocation's Allocation Key (giftallkey).

Post Payments Allocation Page

The Post Payments allocation page will be used to distribute the payment amount between the pledge allocations. It has a header section and a details section. You will also use this page if you want to apply a payment to only the first allocation on a multiple allocation pledge.

The header section has the following fields:

Payment Amount shows the total amount of the payment.

Remaining Amount shows the amount of the payment that still needs to be distributed.

When the allocation page is first displayed, the Payment Amount and the Remaining Amount will be equal. Before you can finish, the Remaining Amount must be equal to $0. When the Remaining Amount is $0, then the full amount of the payment has been distributed.

The details section contains the following fields for every allocation:

Pledge: Balance, Deductible, Asset, and NPV show the amounts as they were entered for the allocation when the Pledge Transaction itself was created (or updated). You cannot change the amounts in these fields.

Payment: In this box, you will type in the amount for the portion of the pledge payment that you want to apply to the allocation.

Deductible, Asset, NPV: you can enter values for the Deductible Amount, Asset Amount, or Net Present Value Amounts for the portion of the pledge payment that you want to apply to the allocation. Or, you can leave these blank and let the system assign them according to the default behavior for these Amounts. (For more information on the default rules for these amounts, see Amount Columns in the topic Gift Transactions.)

Purpose, Campaign and Campaign Year shows the values as they were entered for the allocation when the Pledge Transaction was created (or updated). You cannot change the values in these fields.

Classification 1, Classification 2: default to the values as they were entered for the allocation when the Pledge Transaction was created (or updated). You can edit the Classification 1 and Classification 2 fields.

Posting a Pledge Payment to the First Allocation Only/Distributing a Pledge Payment over Two or More Allocations

You must use the following method if you want to post a pledge payment to the first allocation only, or if you want to distribute the pledge payment over two or more allocations.

You can also use this method to post a pledge payment to only one allocation (even if it isn't the first), but a short-cut method for doing so is described in Posting a Pledge Payment to a Single Allocation of a Transaction with Multiple Allocations.

Access the full Giving Detail display for the constituent who owns the original Pledge and then locate the specific Pledge Transaction to which this Payment should be posted.
Click the Post Payment Button (located directly under the common information for the pledge, and above the information for the first allocation).

You can use the Transactions menu if is not shown (your display mode is set to Mini) or if that is your preference. Point to the Edit Button to the left of the primary display of the Pledge. Point to Transactions. Click Post Pledge Payment.
The Post Payment page displays. Several pieces of information from the original Transaction are already shown on the page. Tab or mouse click to any of the boxes to edit the data that is shown by default, as described in the instructions for a Simple Transaction. Of the data fields and text boxes that are available, the following items are particularly noteworthy in connection with posting a Pledge Payment.
- Effective and Process Dates - These will default to either the date that the pledge payment form is accessed, or, if dates are present in the active Defined Default on the Giving/Dues table, to the dates in the default.
- Given by - This text box will default to show the name of the constituent whose data you are viewing and who owns the original Pledge Transaction. If you are posting a Payment from the same constituent, accept that information. If not, see Pledge Payments made by Another Constituent.
- Type - This data may not be edited. If you display the pull down list, you will see that it is the only entry shown.
- Total Amount - The Total Amount due will default to what is due on the date that the pledge payment form is accessed. This default amount is calculated from the payment schedule and will include the amounts that are due for all allocations. And, if the pledge is joint, this default amount will include the amounts that are due for all allocations on the linked joint transaction as well.
  If the payment amount (donation) does not match the default total amount, then edit this field and enter the total, full amount of this donation. If the Pledge is joint, the system will automatically split the entered amount between the two constituents. And, you will be given an opportunity to distribute the total donation amount between all of the pledge's allocations in a later step.
When all data appears as you want, click Insert. The Post Payments allocation page displays to allow you to distribute the payment amount between the pledge's allocations.
- It is not necessary to assign an amount to every allocation. You can assign a portion of the payment to only one allocation, to a select few, or to all of them.
- You cannot assign an amount that is greater than the payment amount, and you cannot click Finish until the entire payment amount has been distributed. If you try to do either, then the system will display an error message.
- If necessary, first review the information about the allocations page in the Payments Allocation Page section of this topic before completing the following steps.
For each pledge allocation that you want to apply the payment to:
1. Type the allocation amount in the Payment box. This amount must be less than or equal to the Remaining Amount that is shown in the header.
  
  Once you type a valid amount in the Payment box, the Remaining Amount field will update to show the amount of the payment that you have left to distribute.
2. Type amounts for Deductible, Asset, and NPV, or you can let the system assign them.
3. Select different Classification 1 and Classification 2 entries from the list boxes if you want to change the current values.
When you have distributed the full payment amount, the Remaining Amount equals $0.00. Click Finish. The system will create one or more Pledge Payment transactions (based on how you distributed the total payment amount),

OR

Click Cancel to halt the process without creating the Transaction.

Posting a Pledge Payment to a Single Allocation of a Transaction with Multiple Allocations

This method is a short cut way of posting a pledge payment to only one allocation of a multiple allocation pledge. If you are posting a Payment to the first allocation only, then you must use the method described in the Posting a Pledge Payment to the First Allocation Only/Distributing a Pledge Payment over Two or More Allocations section of this topic.

Access the display for the constituent who owns the original Pledge and then locate the specific Pledge Transaction to which this Payment should be posted.
Set the display mode to Long if it is currently set to Short, Mini, or Detail.
Click the Post Payment Button that is located directly below the information for the allocation to which you want to post the Payment.
The Post Payment page displays. Several pieces of information from the original Transaction are already shown on the page. Tab or mouse click to any of the boxes to edit the data that is shown by default, as described in the instructions for a Simple Transaction. Of the data fields and text boxes that are available, the following items are particularly noteworthy in connection with posting a Pledge Payment.

Effective and Process Dates - These will default to either the date that the pledge payment form is accessed, or, if dates are present in the active Defined Default on the Giving/Dues table, to the dates in the default.

Given by - This text box will default to show the name of the constituent whose data you are viewing and who owns the original Pledge Transaction. If you are posting a Payment from the same constituent, accept that information. If not, see Pledge Payments made by Another Constituent.

Type - This data may not be edited. If you display the pull down list, you will see that it is the only entry shown.

Total Amount - The Total Amount due will default to the total balance that is due for this specific allocation only. This default amount is calculated from the payment schedule. If the pledge is joint, this default amount will include the total balance that is due on the linked joint transaction as well.

If the donation amount does not match the default total amount, then edit this field and enter the total, full amount of this donation. If the Pledge is joint, the system will automatically split the entered amount between the two constituents.

Please note that you are allowed to overpay the total amount of the allocation; however, you will not be warned of this. (You do receive a warning if you used the Payments Allocation page to distribute funds).

The system will automatically register the amount against the Payment Schedule that is linked to the original Pledge. In the Payment Schedule table, the amount of the donation will be applied to the next entry shown in the Payment Schedule for that pledge, and reduce Remaining Balance on this entry by the amount of the Pledge Payment Transaction. If the monies received exceed the amount of the next entry, then the excess will be applied to the next entry in the schedule, and so forth.
When all data appears in the form as you want, click Insert to create the Pledge Payment Transaction,

OR

Click Cancel to halt the process without creating the Transaction.

Pledge Payments Made by Another Constituent

A constituent may make a donation with the instruction that it should be applied to an earlier Pledge belonging to a different constituent. When entered appropriately, the system will create a set of Transactions to reflect this, and link them appropriately. In this situation, the donor will be given a Transaction with a Type of Gift that is linked to the original Pledge. The owner of the original Pledge will be given a Transaction with a Type of Credit that is also linked to the original Pledge, and which reduces the remaining Balance of that Pledge. The next entry in the Payment Schedule will also be reduced by the amount of the donor's Gift. And, if the monies received exceed the amount of the next scheduled payment, the excess will be applied to the very next Payment in the Schedule.

Note: There is one exception to the behavior described above. If the donor is already linked to the original pledge (and therefore has a pledge credit for the full pledge amount), instead of a gift transaction, a payment transaction is created for the donor and it is linked to the pledge credit that the donor already owns.

Pledge Payments may be given by any other constituent, whether a Relationship between the two exists or not.

To post a pledge payment made by another constituent, follow the routine pledge payment posting instructions (see above), with the following exception. The Given by field will show the name of the constituent whose data you are viewing; that is to say, the constituent who owns the original pledge transaction. Edit this field to enter the payment's donor name (Last Name/First Name) or ID number (see Data Maintenance, ID lookup for the standard technique). If the information you enter here is not sufficient to uniquely identify another constituent, upon insert of the payment you will be given the Profile Search form in order to further identify the constituent.

Write Off a Pledge Balance

At times, it may be necessary to change the expectations for a Pledge Transaction by writing off all or a portion of the remaining Balance on the original Pledge. If you use the following procedure, the system will create a Transaction with a Type of Write-off and link it to the original Pledge. The Amount of this Transaction will be shown as a negative amount and it will be used to reduce the Balance of the original Pledge. The following is the only acceptable technique for creating a Write-off Transaction which will allow the system to adjust all of the internal linking and appropriately adjust the Amount fields. (You may NOT simply create a Transaction with that Type, nor may you create one using the Post Pledge Payment form and achieve appropriate results.)

Important! If a pledge is Joint with another constituent, a Write-off Transaction will be applied both to the Transaction that you accessed (and its Allocations) and to the joint transaction belonging to the second constituent. If you are writing off only a portion of the balance of the pledge, the amount you enter will automatically be evenly split between the constituents who jointly own the Transaction.

Access the appropriate display for the constituent who owns the Pledge Transaction and locate that specific Transaction.
Point to the Edit Button to the left of the primary display of the Pledge. Point to Transactions. Click Write-off Pledge Balance.
You will be given a very limited version of a Transaction maintenance form. Only a few columns, including the Amount, Effective and Process Dates, Batch, and Comment data boxes are available for editing.
The form will default to show the entire balance. If you want to write-off only a portion, you may edit the Amount appropriately. Be certain that the Amount shown is a NEGATIVE amount. You may not write-off more than the outstanding balance.
It is important that you document the reason for writing off the Pledge Balance or the portion thereof, using the Comment field.
When the Type, the Amount and the Comment data appear as appropriate in the form, click on Insert to create the Write-off Transaction

OR

Click Cancel to halt the process without creating the Write-off Transaction.

Write Off a Pledge Balance with Multiple Allocations

Note: If the Pledge Transaction has multiple Allocations, you will be given the opportunity to apply the amount of the Write-off to any or as many of the Allocations as you want. Also note that if a Pledge is jointly owned and a Write-off Transaction is applied to one constituent's Allocations, the second constituent's share is also written off accordingly.

Follow the instructions for a Write Off Transaction. After clicking the Insert button, the Write-off Allocation page displays. It is a variation of the Payments Allocation page. The Write-off Amount field in the header shows the total amount that you are writing off. The Remaining Amount field in the header shows the amount of the write-off that still needs to be distributed between the allocations. Notice that the amounts shown are negative amounts. In the details section of the page, The Pledge: Balance, Deductible, Asset, and NPV fields show the amounts as they were entered for the allocation when the Pledge Transaction itself was created (or updated). You cannot change the amounts in these fields.
- It is not necessary to assign an amount to every allocation. You can assign a portion of the write-off to only one allocation, to a select few, or to all of them.
- You cannot assign an amount that exceeds the total amount that you are writing off, and you cannot click Finish until the entire write-off amount has been distributed. If you try to do either, then the system will display an error message.
For each pledge allocation that you want to apply a write-off amount to, type the amount in the Amount box.
- Be sure to enter a negative amount, and that the amount is greater than or equal to the Remaining Amount that is shown in the header (For example, -75 is an amount that is greater than -100. -150 is an amount that is less than -100. The system will display an error message if you type -150 in the Amount box).
- Once you type a valid amount in the Amount box, the Remaining Amount field in the header will update to show the amount of the write-off that you have left to distribute.
When you have distributed the full write-off amount, the Remaining Amount equals $0.00. Click Finish. The system will create the Write-Off Transaction or Transactions (based on how you distributed the total write-off amount),

OR

Click Cancel to halt the process without creating the Write-off Transaction.

Expectancy Transactions

A Transaction Type of Expectancy indicates that the constituent has promised that the institution will be included in the distribution of the funds from his or her estate. This Transaction Type is considered and behaves as a special kind of pledge in Millennium. An Expectancy may have a schedule of Payments, though they should never be billable. When the funds are received from the constituent's estate the Transaction(s) should be posted against the Expectancy and they will automatically be given a Type of Bequest. (Bequest Transactions can also be entered as independent Transactions if no Expectancy exists for the constituent.) Multiple Bequest Payments may be posted against an Expectancy.

Follow the procedures for a Simple Gift Transaction, or other appropriate procedures that are required by the details of the Expectancy Transaction, with the following exception. Do not choose a Type of Gift or Dues. Instead, choose the Transaction Type, Expectancy Transaction.
In the Total Amount, enter the complete amount of the Expectancy that the constituent has made. (You will be prompted later for the amounts and other details of the anticipated schedule of payments toward this Expectancy.)
Complete all other data boxes as appropriate to the constituent's specifications.
Click Insert to create the Expectancy Transaction. If you have checked the Multiple Allocation? check box, you will automatically be presented with the Add Allocation Maintenance Form. The Allocation Data Maintenance, Add Allocation topic gives details on how to complete this form. The Expectancy Transaction will default to be Unconditional, and the Payment Schedule will default to a single payment for the full amount, with no due date. The Payment Schedule can then be edited to reflect the wants of the donor.

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