Manual payments
In LMS, we have tools to help your employees log payments with ease, accuracy, and efficiency. LoanPro separates payments into two tasks: logging a payment on an account, and actually processing the money movement. Payments are logged in LMS, and if it's a bank card or e-check payment, LMS then tells our PCI-compliant software Secure Payments to move money from the borrower's account into yours. This is often done with the help of integrated payment processors.
There are several methods for logging payments in LMS, each with its own strengths. These methods include individual payments, AutoPays, imports, Customer Portal, and API. This article will explain how to use individual payments to log a payment for both an installment loan and a line of credit.
Logging a payment for a loan
To log a payment, open a loan and navigate to Servicing > Payments. You should see a blue 'Log Payment' button. Clicking the button will allow you to choose 'Log Payment' or 'Log Recovery Payment.' Recovery payments are made on accounts that have been charged off. For general payments, click ‘Log Payment’.
Payment information
After selecting 'Log Payment,' your screen will show the ‘Payment Information’ page. On this page you have the option to adjust the following fields:
| Field | Description |
| Type of payment | This option will dictate the waterfall application of a payment. Typically, payments apply to fees first, then interest, and finally principal. The specific waterfall application for the payment type you choose will appear under this selection box. To customize your list of payment types, navigate to Settings > Loan > Payment > Types. |
| Amount |
This is the amount of the payment. You can either manually enter an amount or select a dynamic option from the dropdown menu.
|
| Payment method | This allows you to select the method that will be used to make the payment. You can customize the list of payment methods in Settings > Loan > Payments > Methods. |
| Date | This is the date the payment will be applied on. However, for the interest application ‘Between Periods’, the payment date may vary. If the payment was made on time or early, it will apply on the day the payment was due. If the payment was made late, it will apply on the date entered in this field. There is also an icon for a dropdown menu with quick access to frequently used dates. |
| Info | This field lets you enter information to help you remember specifics about the payment. Companies often use this to log check or money order numbers. This field defaults to show today’s date and the method used for the payment. |
| Advanced settings |
The advanced settings section will let you decide how a payment will apply extra funds if there are any. Most of the time, this will autofill with company default values. The advanced options vary depending on the Interest Application setting on the loan, which can be set to ‘Between Periods’ or ‘Between Transactions’.
If the interest application on the loan is set to ‘Between Periods’, you have three options:
If the interest application is set to ‘Between Transactions’, you can choose one of these two options:
|
Payment profile
The 'Payment Profile Information' is where you choose how this payment will be made (e.g., cash, card, bank account). If the payment was made with cash, via check, or other methods that do not need to be processed, you do not need to select a payment profile. If this payment needs to be processed, ensure your Secure Payments account is properly configured. If you don’t have credentials entered for any payment integrations in your company account, you will receive a warning on this page stating that you need to enter those credentials to enter payment data here.
You will see a list of payment profiles associated with your customer. Either check the box for an existing payment method, or click 'Add a Profile' to create a new payment profile for this customer. Once you select a payment profile, you can also choose the processor and convenience fee.
The convenience fee options will default to the settings in Loan Settings > Settings. You can choose to enter a flat fee, enter a fee percentage (a percentage of the payment you are logging), or decide between the greater or lesser of a flat fee or a percentage. You can also choose to waive a convenience fee.
When you're done here, click 'Next'. If the loan is linked to another loan in the system, you will be taken to the Split Payments section of logging a payment. If you do not have linked loans configured for split payments, you will be taken to the 'Preview & Confirm' section.
Split payments
When logging a payment, you may elect to split the payment between related loans. If your loan is linked to allow split payments, an additional tab will appear in the walkthrough to log a payment. In this tab, you can specify how much of the payment should apply to this loan and how much should apply to the linked loan(s).
On the ‘Split Payments’ tab, you'll see a list of loans, including the loan you're logging the payment on and all the loans linked to it. You can enter any amount to go towards each loan, and a running tally will display beneath.
You can also choose how the convenience fee should be charged for each loan if the payment method is a bank card or ACH transaction. The 'base loan' refers to the loan you're currently logging a payment on. The convenience fee options include five choices.
| Convenience fee option | Example |
| Charge the convenience fee on the base loan (this loan) ONLY. | This will charge the convenience fee that was entered in the “Payment Profile Information” section to the current loan only. Your base loan will have a fee, and the linked loans will have no fee. |
| Charge the convenience fee from the base loan (this loan) on EACH loan across which the payment is split. | This will charge the convenience fee that was entered in the “Payment Profile Information” section on each loan that the split payment applies to. This will result in every loan having the same fee. |
| Pull and charge the default convenience fee from EACH loan across which the payment is split. | This option will pull the default convenience fee amount from each loan that the split payment applies to and charge that amount on each respective loan. This may result in each loan being charged a different convenience fee. |
| Waive the convenience fee on the base loan (this loan) ONLY. | The base loan won't have a convenience fee, but the other loans the payment is linked to will be charged their default convenience fee. |
| Waive the convenience fee from the base loan (this loan) and EACH loan across which the payment is split. | No convenience fees are logged on any of the linked loans for this payment. |
Once you have entered the amounts as they should apply to each loan (don’t enter anything if the whole payment will apply to the current loan only), click 'Next' again. This will take you to the ‘Preview & Confirm’ screen.
Preview & confirm
The 'Preview & Confirm' page will show you how the payment will be applied. It will also provide the text for customer authorization.
To customize this text, go to Settings > Loan > Payments > Authorization Text inside your company account.
If the payment application is what you expect, click 'Process Payment' to finish logging the payment. Otherwise, go back to the Payment Information screen and modify the payment.
Logging a payment for a line of credit
Logging a payment for a line of credit is slightly different from logging a loan payment. Navigate to Line of Credit Manager > select the line of credit account > Summary. From here, you can log a payment in one of two ways: click on the blue ‘Log’ button in the upper right and select the ‘Payment’ transaction type from the dropdown, or click on the blue ‘Make a Payment’ button in the middle right of the page.
First, fill out the basic payment information: payment amount, the date the payment will be applied, and the payment type. You can type in a payment amount, or click the arrow to the right of the ‘Amount’ field to select from preset options: remaining payment amount, total balance, amount past due, or statement balance. The 'Info' field is required and can be used to record more information about the payment, such as a receipt or payment number.
If other accounts are linked to this line of credit account, you will see a ‘Split Payment’ checkbox below the ‘Payment Type’ field. If this line of credit is the parent account and you want the payment to apply to it and its linked child accounts, click the checkbox and then make a selection from the dropdown. For more information on payment splitting, check out Payment Waterfall Application.
Payment method details
Next, you'll fill out the ‘Payment Method Details’ section. Initially, you'll only see the 'Payment Method' field. Click the arrow to the right of the field to open the dropdown, which contains two sections: ‘Payment Profiles’ and ‘Offline Processing’. Under ‘Payment Profiles’, you can choose from the customer's stored payment profiles, or add a new payment profile by clicking the ‘Add Payment Profile +’ link. There are a variety of options available under ‘Offline Processing’, including cash, check, and direct deposit.
Depending on the payment method you choose, other fields may populate. If applicable, the additional drop-downs will give you the option to choose a payment processor and require you to choose an authorization type. If the payment method is cash or check, no processor information or authorization type is required.
Custom Fields
This section lists any custom fields that are applicable to your payment. Check out Custom Fields for instructions on how to configure custom fields.
Convenience Fee
Depending on the payment method you chose, you may see a Convenience Fee section. You will be required to select an option from the list. You can choose:
- Waive the fee altogether.
- Charge a flat dollar amount.
- Charge a percentage of the amount being paid
- Charge the lesser of a flat dollar amount or a percentage of the amount being paid
- Charge the greater of a flat dollar amount or a percentage of the amount being paid.
If you choose to charge a fee, after you've made your selection from the list, you will be required to enter an amount, a percentage, or both, based on your selection.
Review
Once you have entered all the required information, click the blue 'Next' button in the bottom right corner. You'll have a chance to review the payment before finishing the process. If everything is correct, click the blue 'Finish' button in the bottom right corner to finish logging the payment.
Processing payments
After clicking 'Process', LMS will handle the payment processing. LMS sends the payment request to Secure Payments, which then forwards the request and the borrower's payment profile to your processor. The processor moves funds from the borrower’s account to your bank account.
When a payment succeeds or fails, the processor will send an update back to Secure Payments and LMS. In both systems, you'll be able to review the payment in the borrower's payment history. LMS will also automatically update the loan's calculations during Daily Maintenance.
In the event that a payment fails or needs to be reversed, we recommend working with the payment processor company directly.
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