This article covers how to manage payments such as vacation checks, ANCV vouchers, Pass'Sport, and similar subsidy programs. Since there are many types of discounts and coupons, we'll focus on the most common examples — but the same approach applies to all aid programs.
Managing coupons with online sign-up and payment
Database setup (optional)
Setting up your database can be useful for reporting purposes, and also to let current or prospective members share relevant information during sign-up. The settings below are provided as a suggested starting point.
To access the settings, go to Settings > Community.
We recommend creating a new Custom Fields Category. Categories help organize the information you collect and make your online forms clearer and easier to read. Learn more about categories
For example, you could create a category called "Are you a recipient of any nonprofit activity funding assistance program(s)?".
Within this category, you can create several Custom Fields:
- Your funding assistance program(s) - multiple-choice field
- List the programs your nonprofit accepts. For example: Pass'Sport; ANCV Vouchers; CAF Sport Coupon; Sport & Culture Ticket, etc.
- Other funding assistance program(s) - free-text field
- This field lets you capture information about other programs, which you can then add to the multiple-choice field.
- Total discount amount - numeric field
- This field lets you track the total value of funding assistance a member is eligible for at your nonprofit. Keep in mind that an Administrator should always review and confirm the discounts before finalizing them.
Springly cannot verify the authenticity of any funding assistance program. However, you can add extra fields to collect supporting documentation if needed.
For example, you could add a "File upload" field where registrants submit a PDF of their funding assistance documents. This also gives you a digital record of each person's assistance programs.
Altogether, you can end up with something like this:
In the settings
On an online (or offline) sign-up form
Requirements to accept online payment of the remaining balance
There are two requirements before you can send an online payment link for credit card payment:
Enable the Request for Membership feature
Not familiar with this feature? Check out this article on how Requests for Membership work.
If you want to manage funding assistance programs for Events or Product Sales, refer instead to the Managing coupons without online payment section.
Set up your E-wallet
Sending an online payment link requires an active E-wallet to receive payments. Learn more about the E-wallet.
It is not possible to use a payment provider other than the one configured in Springly, or to benefit from the platform's online payment automations with an external provider. If you prefer not to use Springly's online payment, refer to the section on managing funding assistance programs without online payment.
Setting up the Request for Membership form
No special setup needed! Everything is covered in the article on how the feature works. Just remember to include the Custom Fields you created for tracking discount coupons.
Tip: mark discount-related fields as optional rather than required, so that registrants without any discounts aren't blocked from completing the form.
Reminder: a Membership Campaign cannot be converted into a Request for Membership form.
Approving sign-ups and funding assistance programs
There are two scenarios to consider:
➡️ You have the discount information and supporting documents in digital format
You're all set — simply apply the total discount the registrant is eligible for, then approve the sign-up and send the payment link. The discount amount will appear on the receipt or invoice.
➡️ You want to verify paper supporting documents first
In this case, you'll need to wait until the registrant brings you their documents before approving them. Online payment is less relevant in this particular scenario.
That said, online payment still offers real benefits:
- No more tracking checks and their due dates;
- Offer flexible payment options with Installment payments;
- $0 in Payment Fees when you enable Tips;
- Automatic generation of book entries;
- Quick and easy — registrants can complete payment in two minutes, right in front of you or from home!
In both cases above, all you need to do is approve the sign-up and send the online payment link to collect the remaining balance 😊
Book entries will be generated automatically, including a negative entry in account 709000 – Discount. At this stage, the full amount will not yet be in Springly. You'll still need to record the payment from the third-party payer (the organization behind the funding assistance program) to your nonprofit.
Accounting tracking
About the setup
The setup described here is optional, but useful if you want your books to accurately reflect how funding assistance programs are recorded. Remember: it's not the member who pays the assistance — it's the organization behind the program.
➡️ Setting up one or more accounting accounts
If you plan to offer online payment after applying assistance discounts, it can be helpful to create one or more accounting accounts linked to funding assistance programs. This is done in Accounting > Settings > Accounts > Revenue.
We recommend a generic account 7088XX – Sign-up Funding Assistance Programs.
You can go further and create sub-accounts such as "ANCV", "Pass'Sport", etc. for more granular tracking.
➡️ Creating third-party payer accounts
This step is also optional, but it gives you more precise accounting tracking.
You can set up third-party accounts in Accounting > Settings > Third parties. This lets you accurately match revenue to the specific organizations that pay out the assistance funds. Learn more about third-party accounts
Recording a book entry for payer accounts
You'll also need to record a book entry to log the payment received from the third-party payer(s). To do this, go to Book entry > Revenue.
Here is an example of how this entry might look:
What happens in the Profit and loss
- Memberships are credited as normal, including any discounts.
- The discount account is updated automatically based on the discounts you entered.
- Payments from the third-party payer(s) offset all or part of the discount account (under the Sign-up Funding Assistance Programs account).
Reporting
Springly's built-in reporting may not fully meet your needs. However, you can export accounting documents (such as the Profit and loss) as Excel files for an overview of discounts and results related to funding assistance programs.
For a comprehensive breakdown, you can export data from your database. This requires that you've already created the relevant fields and that member profiles are up to date (see database setup).
Finally, for data tied to a specific campaign, you can export the registrant list as an Excel file for an additional level of detail on each registrant.
Managing coupons without online payment
You have two options here:
- Record a discount at sign-up
- Record coupons as payment methods at sign-up
Recording a discount at sign-up
Regardless of the form type, you can apply a discount when entering a registrant's information. In this case, the final payment amount reflects only what the registrant pays out of pocket.
After this step, you'll need to record the corresponding revenue for the payment made by the coupon-issuing organization. Refer to the Accounting tracking section of this article for details.
Recording coupons as payment methods at sign-up
You can also record coupons as payment methods at sign-up. In this case, do not record any coupon-related discounts. The coupon will be logged when the sign-up is recorded in the books.
To record multiple payment methods (for example, a Check plus Pass'Sport), click Deferred payment when recording the transaction. You can then add another payment method by clicking "Add an installment". Using the same date for both installments is fine — you just need to change the payment method for each one, as shown in the screenshot below.
The "Other checks" payment method is best suited for managing coupons. However, it requires one additional step: recording a deposit slip for these "other checks". This works the same as a standard deposit slip in the platform. Learn more about deposit slips
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