Rents account payment processing overview

The payment processing solutions delivered within Civica Cx Housing are designed to streamline rent collection, cut operational costs and reduce processing errors. The range of payment methods available are configured and applied to rent accounts in a systematic way, along with any expected entitlements such as housing benefit and supporting people elements - meals on wheels, warden costs, etc. Each account can be linked to multiple payment methods, as required, with one being nominated as the 'primary method'. A payment card can also be requested for an account, which is automatically registered for inclusion in the next scheduled payment card generation export file. Where Direct Debit is selected as the method of payment, the standard schedule is automatically transferred to the account but can be adjusted to suit the individual case. It is also possible to add (or remove) a payment from the schedule to take account of, say, arrears repayment arrangements, a brought forward balance, etc.

As part of the rent collection process, payments are matched against the corresponding account charges and the end user is able to control the way in which payments are apportioned to the different accounts included on a single agreement. Where accounts fall into arrears, repayment arrangements can be recorded on the system and linked to a bespoke monitoring method for tracking purposes, crucially to identify where an arrangement is broken due to a missed payment. At the end user's discretion, multiple monitoring methods can also be combined into a single repayment arrangement, therefore delivering the greatest flexibility in matching valid checkpoints to the agreed payment schedule. Where a ‘main’ and ‘subsidiary’ monitoring method are selected for the same repayment arrangement, the constituent checks will be applied separately to determine whether an arrangement has been broken. As part of the initial configuration process, a repayment arrangement is recorded with a first monitoring date and also the monitoring frequency. Examples of common repayment methods are:

• Reduction of balance from start of arrangement - the expected balance for each payment period is calculated at the start and remains fixed, irrespective of any overpayments received on the account.
• Reduction of balance from previous period - the balance is recalculated at the end of each period, taking into account any overpayments received on the account.
• Clear outstanding balance in full by an agreed date - the actual balance on the account is only significant at the end of the repayment period.

Following the selection of the desired repayment method, the expected payment schedule and corresponding balance are automatically calculated. Where the actual balance is greater than the expected balance at a designated monitoring checkpoint, the arrangement is then deemed to be broken.

Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of rents account payment processing, including:

• To make a repayment arrangement for a rent account
• To add a payment method to a rent account
• To issue a new payment card to a rent account
• To add an expected payment to a rent account
• To add an additional payment to a schedule
• To add an entitlement to a rent account
• To add a payment apportion rule to a rent account
• To process expected payments as a scheduled task
• To process account charges as a scheduled task