What a charge is and its statuses
Charge statuses, payment methods and waive reasons, what each one means and how it changes.
Ask ClassyExplains the life of a charge: from being issued, through payment, to being waived, cancelled or deleted. That way you know what you can do with any charge and what the member sees.
A charge is an amount one member (or a parent's child) owes your school, with a description, a due date and optionally a group. Charges are created by hand with New charge, automatically by payment plans, or when a member buys or picks a plan themselves.
Every new charge is Pending. Only a pending charge can be paid, waived, cancelled, or have its amount or due date changed. A charge paid in cash or by bank transfer can be put back to unpaid. A charge paid online cannot be undone or deleted, because a real card transaction stands behind it.
The payer is notified when you issue them a charge ("New charge"), when you record a cash or bank payment for them, when their charge is waived, and with up to three automatic overdue notices after the due date. When a charge is paid, the owner and the staff responsible for its group get a "Charge paid" notification.
Good to know
Partial payments are not supported: a charge is always paid in full.
A single charge's amount is between €0.01 and €99,999.99.
On this screen
Charge statuses
The coloured labels in the Status column and in the charge details.
Charge statuses
The coloured labels in the Status column and in the charge details.
Show at a glance whether a charge is owed, late or settled.
A charge has four real statuses. Overdue is not a separate status but how an unpaid charge is shown once its due date has passed.
Pending status
The charge has been issued and is waiting to be paid; its due date hasn't passed.
Pending status
The charge has been issued and is waiting to be paid; its due date hasn't passed.
Tells you the amount is owed but not yet late.
Yellow label. Every new charge starts here. While pending you can mark it paid, send a reminder, change the amount, waive it or cancel it. If the member pays online, it becomes Paid on its own.
Overdue status
An unpaid charge whose due date has passed.
Overdue status
An unpaid charge whose due date has passed.
Highlights the charges it's time to act on.
Red label. Under the date in the Date column it shows how many days late it is, such as "3d overdue". You can do everything you can with a pending charge. After the due date the payer automatically gets an "Overdue charge" notification each evening, at most three times per charge, and then no more. Once it's paid the label goes, but the column keeps showing "Nd late".
Paid status
The charge has been paid in full, online, in cash or by bank transfer.
Paid status
The charge has been paid in full, online, in cash or by bank transfer.
Confirms the money has been received and counts as income.
Green label, shown next to a payment-method label. The Date column now shows the payment date instead of the due date. A charge paid in cash or by bank can be put back to unpaid or deleted; one paid online cannot. If the charge is for a pack, paying it grants the credits. When you record a cash or bank payment by hand, the payer is notified.
Waived status
The school has decided the charge won't be paid and recorded why.
Waived status
The school has decided the charge won't be paid and recorded why.
Clears the debt while keeping a record of the reason, such as a sick month or a scholarship.
Blue label. The charge details read "Waived —" followed by the reason. The member gets a "Charge waived" notification. Waiving can't be undone; a waived charge can only be deleted.
Cancelled status
The charge has been voided and can no longer be collected.
Cancelled status
The charge has been voided and can no longer be collected.
For a charge issued by mistake or no longer relevant.
Grey label. Cancelling needs no reason and sends no notification. It can't be undone. A charge is also cancelled on its own when a member who picked a plan takes the choice back before paying. Cancelled charges only appear under the All filter, there is no filter of their own. You can delete them from the charge details.
Payment methods
The labels that say how a charge was paid.
Payment methods
The labels that say how a charge was paid.
Show whether the money came online, in cash or by bank transfer.
The label sits next to the Paid status in the list and in the Paid via line of the details. You can filter by it on the Charges tab too.
Online label
The member paid by card themselves through the app.
Online label
The member paid by card themselves through the app.
Marks payments that went through the school's online payments.
Only appears when the school has Stripe connected and the member pressed "Pay now". The charge is marked paid automatically. Such a payment can't be undone or deleted in Classes.
Cash label
The payment was taken in cash and recorded by a staff member.
Cash label
The payment was taken in cash and recorded by a staff member.
Shows the money was received in person.
Set when you use Mark paid, cash or Add payment with Cash. Such a payment can be undone. The payer is notified when it is recorded.
Bank transfer label
The payment arrived by bank transfer and was recorded by hand.
Bank transfer label
The payment arrived by bank transfer and was recorded by hand.
Shows the money was transferred to the school's account.
Set when you use Mark paid, bank or Add payment with Bank transfer. Classes doesn't check your bank account, you confirm the transfer arrived. Such a payment can be undone. The payer is notified when it is recorded.
Preset reasons
The reasons you pick from when waiving a charge.
Preset reasons
The reasons you pick from when waiving a charge.
Save typing and keep reasons consistent so they read easily in reports.
In the charge details under Waive you choose Sibling discount, Scholarship, Staff family, Sick month (selected by default) or Other…, which lets you type your own reason of up to 500 characters. Reasons for discounts and amount corrections are typed freely; if one matches a preset, it's shown under the preset's name. Payers see the reasons for discounts and amount corrections on their own payments page.
Sibling discount reason
For families with more than one child at the school.
Sibling discount reason
For families with more than one child at the school.
Records that the charge was reduced or waived because of a brother or sister.
Picked when waiving; shown as a label in the details and in Discounts.
Scholarship reason
For a member studying free or at a reduced rate on a scholarship.
Scholarship reason
For a member studying free or at a reduced rate on a scholarship.
Records that the charge isn't paid because of a scholarship.
Picked when waiving; shown as a label in the details and in Discounts.
Staff family reason
For relatives of the school's staff.
Staff family reason
For relatives of the school's staff.
Records that the charge was waived because the member is a staff member's family.
Picked when waiving; shown as a label in the details and in Discounts.
Sick month reason
For a month the member missed because of illness.
Sick month reason
For a month the member missed because of illness.
Lets you waive the charge for a missed period without touching attendance.
This is the reason selected by default when waiving in the charge details.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between waiving and cancelling?
Both stop the charge being owed. Waiving needs a reason, which is kept, and the member is notified. Cancelling takes no reason and sends no notification, use it for a charge issued by mistake.
Can I bring back a cancelled or waived charge?
No. Both are final. If you still need to collect the amount, create a new charge.