If local laws allow, you can charge requesters for the cost of fulfilling their requests. The Payments Module allows you to accept payments in NextRequest. NextRequest does not store your credit card information.
Important Note:
In order to invoice requesters and process payments through NextRequest you must purchase the NextRequest Payments module. If you are interested in the Payments module, please contact Support.
Itemized Invoicing: Line Item Charges, Fees, and Discounts
Line Item: A per-unit cost. When adding line items to Invoices, users also input the quantity to determine the total cost.
Fee: A charge for a specific service or activity. There are three Fee types:
Fixed: A specific amount.
Percentage: A fee or discount based on a percentage of the subtotal.
The subtotal is the sum of Line Item costs.
Custom: A variable amount, entered manually when added to an Invoice.
Discount: A deduction from the cost, set up as Fixed, Percentage, or Custom.
Discounts only apply to the subtotal, which is the sum of Line Item costs.
Add and Edit Invoice Line Item Charges, Fees, and Discounts
Who can use this feature?
Administrators
Add New Line Items
Select the Settings drop-down menu and click Invoice charges:
Select the Line Items tab and click Create new item to create a new Line Item:
Enter the Name, Cost per unit, and optional Description, then click Save Line Item:
The new line item will show in the list:
Add New Fees and Discounts
Note:
If you add a negative number it will act as a discount fee. This feature should not be used to pass on payment processing fees you incur. To pass processing fees, please contact your processor.
Select the Settings drop-down menu and click Invoice charges:
Select the Fees and Discounts tab and click Create new fee/discount:
Choose a fee Type and enter the Name and Cost per unit, along with an optional Description
Setting up a Fixed Fee for an item will need a name, cost per unit, and an optional description of the item:
Setting up a Percentage Fee will include a name, a percentage rate for the item, and an optional description:
Note:
This will add a fee or discount based on a percentage of the subtotal. Negative numbers will add a percentage-based discount to the subtotal.
Setting up a Custom Fee will allow you to manually input the amount during invoice creation on each request. This setup will require a name and an optional description:
Notes:
Setting up a Custom Fee is necessary to allow for easily adding varying charge amounts. We recommend adding a placeholder custom fee called "Fee" or "Records Request Fee" or "Custom Fee" that can be used for specific charge amounts not accounted for in Line Items or Fixed/Percentage Fees.
Additionally, Custom Fees are not included in the invoice subtotal, which means Percentage Fees cannot be applied to them. This also allows agencies to use Custom Fees for charges that should be entered as pre-tax amounts before any applicable taxes or percentage-based fees are calculated.
Click Save Fee/Discount:
Invoice Formatting
Admin users can configure the information that shows on their PDF Invoices in Portal Settings.
Select the Settings drop-down menu and click Portal Settings:
Click Invoice Formatting in the left navigation menu:
Fill out the fields and click Save:
Street Address (Line 1)
Street Address (Line 2)
City Address
State Address
Postal Code
Phone Number
Email
Additional Information
Save button
View a sample of how this information will look in the Invoice PDF once configured:
Note:
Your organization’s name is taken from the Basic Information page found on Portal Settings, Basic Information).
Invoice Requesters for the Cost of a Request
Once an invoice has been sent to a requester, they have the option to pay the invoice by credit card in NextRequest or coordinate with you to pay using another method. Only one invoice can be active on a request at a time.
Select the All Requests tab on the portal's dashboard:
Select the request that you want to receive payments for:
Click the Add Invoice tool (dollar sign icon) above the request's description:
(Optional) Select an Invoice Template from the drop-down menu:
Note:
Learn how to create Invoice Templates.
Enter the Message Contents in the text field:
Note:
The message will be visible to the requester and staff.
Enter the Line Item or Fee by clicking Add item:
Select the item Type
If you choose Line Item, you will be able to update the quantity selected:
If you select Fee or Discount, you can select from your created items to add as a one-time fee to the request. If you need to add a custom number, you will be able to select your Custom Field and input any amount:
Click the Send Invoice button:
Sending an invoice also creates a timeline entry on the Request record. Staff and Requesters can download the invoice as a PDF.
Staff view example:
Requester view example (includes a link to Pay Invoice on payments-enabled accounts):
Adding Staff Hours to Invoices
Important Notes:
Staff time cannot be edited once the Invoice is sent.
To add Staff Time charges to Invoices, first check the Staff cost information setting under your privacy settings by going to Admin Dropdown, then selecting Portal Settings, and selecting Privacy:
Once staff hours are added to a request, only Admin or Department Admin users will be able to edit that time. View the User Roles article for more information.
When creating an Invoice, you have the option to include or exclude your tracked Staff Time and associated costs on the invoice.
To include your time/costs on the invoice, first ensure you've set up your hourly rate in your settings.
To exclude your time on the invoice, simply check the box labeled "exclude time from invoice" when adding your staff time to the request
Staff time that is excluded from the invoice is listed with text indicating that it's not on the invoice
Instructions
To add staff time to a request, select the clock icon in the toolbar:
Log the Staff user associated with the work and link them to the appropriate Department (optional). This ensures accurate reporting by attributing time to both the individual and their Department:
Once you add the Staff time, it will populate on the Timeline and in the Staff Time box within the request.
You will select the Add Invoice icon in the toolbar to charge for the Staff Time on the request:
The Staff Time will automatically populate on the invoice:
To charge for only Staff Time, you will include an invoice template, and then you can send the invoice to the requester.
To add other charges, select Add item and add any additional Line Items, Fees, or Discounts:
Click Send Invoice to send the Invoice to the Requester:
Delete an Invoice
Select the All Requests tab in the upper-left corner of the portal's dashboard:
Select the request that has the invoice you wish to delete:
Locate the request's Invoices section and click the Delete Invoice icon (trashcan) next to the invoice:
Click the Delete button on the pop-up message that says You are about to delete an invoice. This action cannot be undone. Do you want to continue?:
Mark an Invoice as Paid Offline
Requesters can pay an invoice directly in NextRequest, however sometimes they may use another method to pay offline. In that case, you can manually mark an invoice as paid.
Select the All Requests tab in the upper-left corner of the portal's dashboard:
Select the request:
Locate the request's Invoices section and click the Pay Invoice icon (dollar sign icon) next to the invoice:
Click the Save button on the pop-up message that says You are about to mark this invoice as paid. Do you want to continue?:
