<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Customers > C-B Recurring Fees / CPI

What is this feature?

 

Recurring fees are charges that Frazer applies automatically to a BHPH deal. Fees will always coincide with the deal's current payment schedule. (This cannot be changed.) This module has been created in a way that it can be used for many different processes, however, this tool will primarily be used for CPI.

 

There are buttons for recurring fees on the "Enter Sales" and "Customer Activity" screens. This new window allows dealers to create, edit, or disable recurring fees.

 

 

 

 

Clicking the button (in either location) will bring up the recurring fee window: Click on a section of the image to learn more.

 

 

An explanation of features

 

1) Recurring Fee Type:  This is the name of the recurring fee. What is entered here is what will show up in the Transaction History.

 

2) Amount to charge:  This is the amount that is charged every pay period.

 

3) Next payment:  You may set the start date for the fee here.  It MUST follow the payment schedule of the contract. Dates may be in the future or start with the sale date.

 

4) Payment Schedule: Here you may decide if there is a limit to the number of payments for the fee or if the fee will apply to the rest of the contract. Leaving the box UN-CHECKED will carry the fee throught the remainder of the payment schedule.

 

Recurring fee Types

 

The "fee Policy" screen allows the dealer to set up what the fee is for (this is what will show on the transaction history), the vendor associated with the fee (if applicable), the default amount of the fee (if the vendor fees a flat amount), as well as the frequency and duration of the recurring fee.

 

Click on a section of the image to learn more.

 

 

1) Fee Description:  This is where you put the name of the fee as it will appear in the Transaction History.

 

2) Vendor:  Optionally, you may put a Vendor to be associated with the fee. (For example, dealers doing CPI could have a vendor they purchase CPI from.)

 

3) Default Amount:  The default amount for the fee.

 

4) Frequency and Duration:  The dealer can choose to have the recurring fee last for the entirety of the contract or for only a set number of payments.

 

This window opens automatically the first time a dealer opens the recurring fee window in Frazer.  

 

Upon re-entry, it can be accessed either through the selection menu from the recurring fee window or through the new option in the Customers menu (Customers > B - Recurring fees > 2 - Recurring fee Types):

 

 

Recurring Fees Payment Schedules

 

Recurring fees ALWAYS follow the schedule of the contract they are linked to.  The only control you have here is whether the recurring fee will last a certain number of payments or run the duration of the contract.  If you choose the latter, fees will apply to the contract until the balance reaches 0 (zero). Fees will NOT stop at the contract maturity date if there is still a balance.  

 

Also, the fees ALWAYS stop when the balance reaches 0 (zero) regardless of the “number of payments” you have set.

 

Example: Dealer sets recurring fees for the next 10 payments. Customer pays off the vehicle 5 payments later. The recurring fees will stop.

 

After fee Has Started

 

Once a fee has started you may access the fee details through Customer Activity - R.  You may edit or stop the fee here.

 

 

Fees as Transactions

 

As fees are created they are added to the Transaction History.  These entries are ''added'' by Frazer, and cannot be manually added to an account.  If a fee is deleted (for any reason), running the recurring fees program (explanation in next section) will regenerate the recurring fee.  

 

 

Applying fees

 

Frazer will automatically apply recurring fees when Frazer is first opened in the morning (similar to late fees).  Frazer will analyze the set recurring fees and apply fees to any accounts that need them.

 

For dealers that open Frazer regularly (or nearly every day) you will see a single transaction applied and only on the date of the next payment. However, if a fee is backdated (or you haven't opened Frazer in a while) then Frazer will apply all necessary transactions to the customer's account to ensure that the account is up-to-date. Furthermore, should you backdate a sale (or cancel and re-complete an existing sale) and you wish to manually run the fees right away you may do so from this menu:

 

 

You cannot hurt anything by running recurring fees multiple times. Frazer is designed to only charge a fee when one is due.

 

Multiple fees on an Account

 

There can only be one recurring fee on an account at a time.

 

However, as a result of the your ability to start and stop fees over the course of the contract, a single account can have multiple recurring fees over its lifespan.  To make this work in Frazer, Frazer uses 2 separate balances. Frazer has both an individual fee balance as well as a master “Recurring” balance.

 

Example:

1. Dealer has a fee for $10/month on an account.

2. After a few months the account has a recurring fee balance of $40.  

3. Dealer stops the fee.  Dealer then puts on a new fee for $15 a month.

 

The $40 is still on the account but now $15 will be added each month.  So now, after a month, the Recurring balance on the account will be $55 even though the new fee itself will only internally have a balance of $15.

 

What happens if I Refinance an account with a recurring fee?

 

When an account is refinanced, Frazer will determine if it is possible to keep the Recurring fee. fees must follow the (monthy/semi/bi/weekly) same schedule as the contract. A refinance may change the schedule of the contract. If this is the case, then the fee will be automatically disabled and a message will display encouraging you to add a new one.  

 

 

Similarly, if the fee was set to stop after a specific number of fees were applied then the fee is disabled and a message displayed.  

 

 

Assuming neither of the two conditions outlined above are in effect, then Frazer will keep the fee on the account but move the next fee date to sync with the new next payment date of the contract.  

 

Reports

 

Currently, there are two reports in the software for Recurring fees. They are located in Customers > B- Recurring fees and are 3 - Active Recurring fee Report / CPI Report as well as 4 - Recurring Fee / CPI Payments Report.

 

 

The first report is the active recurring fee report. This report will show you all active recurring fees that you have set up.

 

 

 

The second report is designed to show the total amount paid by each customer for a specific time period. It can be filtered by "All" or by the "Recurring fee Type."