Best Practice for handling missed pledge installment

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Bianca Gonzalez
Bianca Gonzalez ✭
Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary
in Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT®: General Discussion

Hello folks. I have a question about the best way to handle a missed installment payment. I had two cards decline on a batch of pledges (all which are paid with an installment schedule) that is processed monthly. We were not able to have these paid by the time the next month came around. I processed this month's batch as normal and their cards successfully went through. I applied it to this month's installment, leaving the previous month's installment still needing to be paid.

Rather than charging the donor's card for the previous month, our team has decided to extend their installment schedule by one month to make up for the missed payment. How would you go about adjusting the installment schedule to set this up? I tested a few ways (removing the 11/1 installment and adding the extra month, for example. This did not feel right.) but want to make sure I am doing so in the cleanest manner possible and appreciate your insights. Thank you!

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  • Jennifer Briganti 2
    Jennifer Briganti 2 ✭
    Second Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Reply

    @Bianca Gonzalez I would do an adjustment and adjust the pledge schedule. When you go through the wizard as part of this process, it will apply all payments received to the new schedule you desire.

  • Kim Berry 4
    Kim Berry 4 ✭
    Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary

    @Bianca Gonzalez you're lucky the card didn't get charged twice (or did it and you just removed the extra payment before processing the batch?). Typically whenever I see a failed payment in my monthly pledge payment batch, I do something very similar to what you do. I don't delete the missed payment, I change the amount due to $0.00 and then tack on the extra month at the end.

    Are you reaching out to the donor to let them know that the payment failed and why? I would keep an eye on things or keep a running list because often one missed payment leads to two or three and at some point you may need to have a conversation about whether or not to write off the remainder of the pledge.

  • Dariel Dixon 2
    Dariel Dixon 2 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Seventh Anniversary Facilitator 4 Name Dropper Photogenic

    It's imperative to contact the donor in these cases @Bianca Gonzalez. You should never make a change to the donor schedule without consent or permission. I would just contact the donor and explain the situation. Most people realize that things like this can happen, and try to find a resolution that is amicable for all parties.

  • Bianca Gonzalez
    Bianca Gonzalez ✭
    Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary

    @Kim Berry
    Hi Kim, adjusting to 0 and tacking on an additional payment at the end is exactly what I thought to do. We have been in contact with the donor and they are aware of the failed payment. On this month's run, both cards went through without issue. I will of course communicate with them to receive approval for an extension of one month. Thank you for your insight!

  • Bianca Gonzalez
    Bianca Gonzalez ✭
    Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary

    @Kim Berry
    I also removed the payment from the batch so they would not be charged twice.

  • Bianca Gonzalez
    Bianca Gonzalez ✭
    Facilitator 1 Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary

    @Dariel Dixon Thank you for your response, Dariel. We are in contact with the donor and they are aware of the failed payment. I do agree we need to reach out to get their consent to extend the pledge by one month. This conversation has been very helpful!

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