This section outlines how association staff can view and understand member actions within the Element AMS.

1. Invoice Creation:
   • A member (e.g., Miguel) receives an invoice for a product or service (e.g., an annual membership). The invoice is created within the Association AMS, referred to as a “sales invoice.”
2. Discounts and Adjustments:
   
   • Members may be eligible for discounts applied to the invoice. These discounts are recorded as “activities” against the invoice.
   • The system allows for adjustments to the invoice amount if needed.
3. Payment:
   
   • Members can make payments against the invoice – in ONE CLICK. The system records this payment as an “activity.” This simplifies membership renewals and increases retention. 
   • Members can easily access their member portal to view invoices,, payment methods, membership renewal, and important member content. 
   • The member might overpay, resulting in a credit. The system handles and tracks these credits and association staff can easily view these credits on reports or dashboards.

This section outlines how an association staff member can leverage Element AMS for accurate accounting, ensuring data integrity. 

1. Payment Batching and Reconciliation:
   
   • Online Payments: If the member pays online (e.g., via Stripe), the system automatically batches these payments. It identifies payments associated with specific payouts from the payment processor (Stripe) and groups them into appropriate batches.
   • Offline Payments: For offline payments, the system does not automatically create batches. Currently, association staff manually create batches when reconciling these payments. (The system has the potential for customization to automate daily batch creation for offline payments, this is on our roadmap.)
   • The system manager reconciles payments. They can add payments to existing batches.
   • The system provides a batching interface where all association staff can see all payments that need to be added to the appropriate batch.
   • Batches include a count and amount. The system allows for control counts and control amounts to be entered for verification purposes, ensuring accuracy.
   • The system manager closes the batch once reconciliation is complete. Closing the batch can be restricted to certain association staff, ensuring separation of duties.
   • Once the batch is closed, the system prevents further edits to maintain data integrity.
2. Journal Entry Creation and Posting:
   
   • After a batch is closed, the system automatically generates journal entries for all the payments, invoices, discounts, credits, and other activities within that batch.
   • The system associates invoices with the batch to ensure a complete record of all related transactions.
   • The system manager posts the journal entries after reviewing the batch.
3. Revenue Recognition:
   • The system supports different revenue recognition methods based on the type of product or service.
   • Events: Revenue is recognized on the date of the event.
   • Memberships: Revenue is recognized on a monthly basis over the term of the membership (e.g., a $1200 annual membership recognizes $100 per month).
4. Reporting:
   • The system provides various reports, including Trial balance reports
5. Voiding Transactions:
   • The system allows voiding activities like bounced checks or credit card chargebacks.
   • Voiding an activity reverses the original journal entries. It handles voiding in subsequent periods.
6. Credit Management:
   • Unapplied funds can be used to create credits.
   • The system records the credit as a liability.
   • Utilization of credits is recorded as a payment method against the original invoice.