12 June 2013
Background
A Referee Management Site (through Version 5.0.3) collects the results of a Match Report from a Referee into a database table called the "Accounting" table. The Referee is paid from entries in this table, which also acts as a historical repository for completed Assignments.
However, the Accounting table's architecture does not lend itself to recording other fiscal transactions that a Chapter might like to track. Things such as:
- Client Invoices issued and Payments received
- Uniform fees
- Chapter dues
- Registration fees
- Penalty assessments
Feature=Finances
Version 5.0.3. delivers a new system Feature named Finances, which adds several elements to the system and changes a few others. It (the Finances table and mechanism) is intended to provide a double entry generalized financial mechanism to a Referee Management Site that permits the Chapter to monitor and track all aspects of Chapter fiscal operations including, but not limited to, the items listed above as shortcomings of the Accounting table.
To accomplish this, Chapters that adopt Feature=Finances will see the following changes made to their site to implement the Feature
- A new database table (named "Finances") is added to the system
- Administrator: Manage-Finances is added to permit Administrator oversight of the data
- Referee: Finances is added to the system, which displays the Credits and Debits associated with the individual Referee's virtual account at the Chapter
- Referee: Accounting becomes Referee: Finances-Reports and continues to display the detail of any Match Report that has been filed
- Administrator: Finances-Process is changed to Administrator: Finances-Close Period and criteria adjusted to permit the generation of suitable Finances Credit entries with Type=Referee when the Accounting entries are changed from Status=Pending.
- Administrator: Finances-Pay is added to permit the mass changing of Accounting entries to Status=Paid, as well as generating suitable Finances Debit Type=Pay entries to represent payment made to the Referee
Conversion Considerations
Existing Chapters with extensive Accounting tables will need to generate suitable Finances entries to properly reflect the historical financial history to the Referee on the new Referee: Finances page. To accomplish this (should the Chapter choose to do so), Administrator: Manage-Finances offers an UpgradeAction to the system. Click it ONCE to process the entire Accounting table for each Referee's Accounting entries that have a Period value and generate appropriate Type=Referee and Type=Pay Finances table entries.
Once Upgrade has been performed, the Chapter will be immediately ready to proceed with new fiscal procedures based upon Feature=Finances concepts. There is a FAQ available that describes a typical Chapter procedure for the sequence of processing to pay the Referees using Feature=Finances.