This article explains how to use the Import Fees to Payments page in Aeries to import existing Fees and Fines data into the Aeries Payments system.

Users must have Mass Update permission to the Payment Transaction Summary (FTS) security area and also Read permission to the Fees and Fines (FEE) security area in order to access this page. The page is located under Aeries Payments > Functions on the navigation menu.

Note: Currently, the Import Fees to Payments process is designed to be run once when a customer has first implemented Aeries Payments. Generally, it is advisable not to have any existing Payment data prior to running this process. The process is compatible with most existing Payment data; however, it currently does not update Payment Schedules that have already been created.

The Import Fees to Payments page will display the following form:

There are no options on this page. This is an all-or-nothing process! Click the Import Fees to Payments button to start the process. The following message will display.

Once the process has started, it cannot be run again without manually updating a specific record in the SQL database. If the process has previously been run or is in progress, the following message will display if the Import Fees to Financial page is visited again.

Process Details

The Import Fees to Payments process will take every outstanding record in the Fees and Fines (FEE) table and create an equivalent transaction in the Aeries Payments system. An outstanding fee record is defined as having an Amount Charged (FEE.AM) greater than the Amount Paid (FEE.PD). Only the remaining amount will be brought into Payments. Please note that the code values in FEE.CD will be copied to FTD.CD; therefore, it is recommended that Payment Accounting Codes be aligned with existing Fees and Fines codes prior to running this process.

The process will keep each student's Payment Transaction Summary (FTS) information - Amount Billed and Remaining Balance - updated based on the newly imported fees.

If Destiny Fundraising Manager integration is enabled, the process will create and update student Payment Portal information as needed, syncing the itemized fees to Destiny Fundraising Manager and updating the total amount in the payment portal.

Note: To maintain data integrity, do NOT perform any data entry related to Payments while the process is running. If Destiny Fundraising Manager integration is enabled, the process can take a long time to run - greater than 30 minutes even for a medium-sized district. This is due to the large number of requests that must be made to the Destiny Fundraising Manager API. The process will eventually finish, and an email will be sent to the person who ran the process as well as to any email addresses that are entered on the Destiny Fundraising Manager Nightly Process Configuration page.

As noted above, the process will NOT update existing Payment Schedules, so it is important to run this process before creating any payment schedules for students.