Required contributions and arrears
Some organisations require every Savings Club member to pay in a set amount every month. When your organisation has required contributions switched on, the system keeps track of what each member owes month by month, and shows a member who has missed a month as in arrears.
Required contributions are switched off unless your administrator turns them on (see Savings Club settings). While they are off, none of the screens on this page show arrears.
Which goals are tracked
- Only Active goals with a Monthly contribution frequency are tracked.
- Daily and Weekly goals can still be opened, but they are never in arrears. The goal page says "Contributions not tracked (weekly goal)".
- Nothing before the First Month Tracked your administrator chose is ever counted as missed.
- A goal that starts after the month's due day starts owing from the next month.
- Once a goal is Completed or Cancelled, it stops owing.
How much is owed each month
Each month a tracked goal owes its Contribution Amount, or your organisation's Minimum Monthly Contribution if that is higher. The amount is fixed when the month opens, so a later change to the minimum only affects the months after it.
The goal page shows Required each month. When the organisation minimum is higher than the goal's own amount, it says "(organisation minimum; the goal's own amount is ...)".
When a month is in arrears
A month's contribution is due on your organisation's due day, and the member has a number of grace days after it. The day after the grace days end, whatever is still unpaid for that month is arrears. The exact due day and grace days depend on your organisation's settings.
Small shortfalls. Your organisation may allow a small shortfall, as an amount or a percentage of the month's contribution. If, once the grace days are over, the member is short by no more than that, the month counts as Paid and the difference is shown as Forgiven. Before the grace days end the month stays Due, so the member can still pay the rest.
How a contribution is applied
You record contributions exactly as before (see Contributions). The system works out what the payment settles, in this order:
- any Interest on arrears still owed, oldest month first;
- months in arrears, oldest first;
- then the current month;
- then anything left over, which depending on your organisation's settings either counts toward coming months or is added to the balance only.
Everything except the Interest on arrears is the member's savings and is added to the goal's balance. The part that pays Interest on arrears is not: the balance goes up by the amount paid less that part.
After you save, the message says how the contribution was applied, for example "Applied: ... to Interest on arrears (January 2026); ... to January 2026, ... to March 2026; ... credited ahead."
A contribution dated before the goal's first tracked month is added to the balance but does not count toward any month.
Paid ahead. When an overpayment counts toward coming months, the goal page shows it as Paid ahead (advance credit), and each new month takes its contribution from it until it runs out. It is part of the goal's balance, not extra money.
On the goal page
Open a tracked goal. The Required Contributions box shows:
- Up to date or In arrears;
- Required each month, Months in arrears, Arrears outstanding and the Oldest missed month;
- Paid ahead (advance credit), when there is any;
- Interest on arrears outstanding.
Under it, Contributions due lists each month, newest first, with the Due date, the Required amount, what was Paid, any Forgiven shortfall, what is Outstanding, the Status (Due, Paid, In arrears or Closed) and Settled by - the contribution, by date, that paid it, or "Advance credit".
Below that, Interest on arrears lists each charge, newest month first: the Month it was charged for, what it was Charged on (the amount in arrears, and under compounding any unpaid charges, with the rate and how it is charged), the Charge, what is Outstanding, and the Status: Outstanding, Paid, Waived (with who waived it, when, and why) or Taken from a payout.
Interest on arrears
If your organisation charges on arrears, at the end of each month a goal with months in arrears is charged a percentage of what is in arrears. Members and screens call it Interest on arrears. Your organisation chooses how it works (see Savings Club settings):
| How it is charged | What it means |
|---|---|
| At each month end, on the arrears | Each month end, the rate on everything in arrears. |
| ... on the arrears and unpaid charges (compounding) | The same, plus the rate on earlier Interest on arrears not yet paid. |
| Only once a month has been in arrears a full month | A missed month is first charged at the second month end after its grace days. |
For example, at 2% with 10,000 missed in January and nothing paid: the first way charges 200 at the end of January and 200 again at the end of February; the compounding way 200 then 204; the third way nothing in January and 200 at the end of February.
- A missed month stops being charged after the number of months your organisation set (6 unless changed).
- A shortfall forgiven under the small-shortfall rule is never charged.
- Months that ended before your organisation switched the charge on are never charged.
- Interest on arrears is taken first from the member's next payment, and from a payout before it is paid (see Payouts and interest).
Waive a charge
Admins, Proprietors and Branch Managers see Waive beside each outstanding charge on the goal page.
- Click Waive on the charge.
- Enter a Reason (required, up to 500 characters).
- Click Waive.
What was still owed on that charge is written off, and the waiver is recorded in the audit log with your name and the reason. A charge that is already paid, waived or taken from a payout cannot be waived.
On the goal list
Savings Club > Goals has an Arrears column: "Up to date", or the amount in arrears and how many months. Goals that are not tracked show "-".
The Contribution Arrears report
Open Reports, choose Savings Club Contribution Arrears and click Apply. See Reports.
What reaches the accounts
Missed contributions are not recorded in the accounts: a contribution that has not been paid is not money the organisation holds. Forgiven shortfalls are not recorded either. Only Interest on arrears is: it is recorded as penalty income when it is charged, against 1420 Savings Charges Receivable, and that account goes down as members pay it, as it is taken from a payout, or as it is waived.