How do I add/remove a contract?

Defendants

A contract is a formal agreement to fulfill an obligation, such as paying an unpaid balance. Use the Contracts tab to add, edit, remove, or view the contracts that are set up for the current defendant.

Can I add more than one contract to a case?

Only one contract may be set up for each case. You can change the total amount, terms, and conditions at any time.

Adding a contract

Use a contract when a defendant does not pay their court fines and costs on the court date. Set up a contract payment schedule to track the payment of court fines and costs.

Do this...

1. Open Connect Court Management > Cases > Setup Contracts.

2. Look up a case number. Press Enter.

3. Fill in the options on the form. Use the sections in this help topic to fill in each field. The fields are listed in alphabetical order.

4. Click the Save button .

The contract is saved.

Changing a contract

Use Edit mode to make changes to the contract payment properties. You can increase the contract payment amount and recalculate the contract payment schedule.

Do this...

1. Open Connect Court Management > Cases > Setup Contracts.

2. Look up a case number. Press Enter.

3. Use the grid on the Contracts tab to select a contract. The selected contract is highlighted.

4. Click the Down button to display the menu with additional options.

5. Select Modify Sequence from the menu.

6. Now, you can edit the sequence properties.

The updated contract is saved.

Changing a delinquent payment date

When an individual with a contract payment is unable to make a payment before the contract payment due date, you can change the expected due date to extend the expected payment due date. Adjusting the due date for the current payment due will not affect the due date for future payment due dates.

Do this...

1. Open Connect Court Management > Cases > Setup Contracts.

2. Look up a case number. Press Enter.

3. Click the Existing Contract tab.

4. When the Edit Contract Detail form displays, click on the Delinquent Date field, then enter the new delinquent date.

5. Click OK.

The delinquent payment date is updated.

Deleting a contract

Do not delete a contract payment that has transactions linked to it. If you need to delete a contract payment that is linked to a transaction, please contact Customer Service for assistance.

Do this...

1. Open Connect Court Management > Cases > Setup Contracts.

2. Look up a case number. Press Enter.

3. Use the grid on the Contracts tab to select a contract. The selected contract is highlighted.

4. Click the Down button to display the menu with additional options.

4. Select Delete Sequence from the menu.

The contract is deleted.

Entering contract payments

Use Cases > Enter Payments to receive contract payments.

Setting up contract defaults

Use Options (F12) to set up the program's default properties. These properties give you a way to change how information is displayed and choose the default settings. You can change the

Payment option
Number of payments
Payment amount
Frequency
Grace days
Overpayments

How do I change the default field value?

1. Click Options (F12).

2. Click the Contracts tab.

3. Use the field listed under Setup Contract Defaults to enter the default value or selection.

Options

Amount

Use amount to enter the contract amount.

Cases

A case is an abbreviated term that refers to a cause for action, lawsuit, or the right to sue. The Cases field will display the cases that belong to the defendant.

What do you want to do?

I want to select a case number. Uses the Cases field to select a case number. The selected case number is highlighted.
I do not see the case number. Use the Connect Court Management > Cases > Setup New Cases.

Contract date

The contract date is the date the system will use to record the transaction.

Contract fee

A contract fee is a charge billed for servicing the contract.

Create a transaction when a contract is set up

When you set up a new contract, you can save the contract as a transaction associated with a code.

Do this...

1. Click Options (F12).

2. Click the Contracts tab.

3. Do you want to save and create a transaction?

Yes, save and create a transaction. Click to select Create a Transaction When a Contract Is Set Up. Then, enter the code and description to assign to the transaction. Continue to the next step.
No, save without creating a transaction. Click Options (F12). Click the Contracts tab. Click to deselect Create a Transaction When a Contract Is Set Up. You're done.

4. Where do you want to create the transaction?

Record the transaction on the Dispositions tab. Click to select the Place the Transaction on the Dispositions Tab.
Record the transaction on the Payments tab. Click to select the Place the Transaction on the Payments Tab.
Record the transaction the Dispositions tab AND Payments tab. Click to select both checkboxes.

5. How do you want to create the transaction when the contract is linked to more than one case?

I want to create a separate transaction for each case. Click to select Create a Transaction for Each Case.
I want to create a single transaction for the first case, but not the other cases. Click to select Create a Transaction for the First Case Only.

Existing contract

Use the options on the Existing Contract tab to review the contract details for contracts that have already been created and saved.

Frequency

A frequency is the number of repetitions of a process during a unit of time. For example, once each month, once each quarter, and once a year are examples of commonly used frequencies.

How do I set the default frequency?

1. Click Options (F12).

2. Click the Contracts tab.

3. Find the Frequency field and click the menu button.

Grace days

A grace period is a time past the payment due date when the penalty is waived.

Is there a grace period?

Yes, there is a grace period. Use the Grace Days to enter the number of days or months in the grace period.
No, there is no grace period. Change the Grace Days to 0 (zero)

How do I set the default grace period?

1. Click Options (F12).

2. Click the Contracts tab.

3. Use the Grace Days field to enter the number of days in the grace period.

Initial amount

An initial amount is the starting amount. The Initial Amount field displays the Amount minus the Contract Fees and Initial Payment.

Initial payment

An initial payment is the payment received at the time the contract is set up.

Number of payments

Use number of payments to enter the number of payments that the defendant will make to pay off the contract.

Overpayments

An overpayment occurs when a defendant pays more than they owe on their account.

Use Apply to Next Payment to apply the overpayment amount to the next payment due. Example: If the contract amount is $100, the payment amount is $20, the number of payments is 5, and City XYZ receives a payment amount of $30 dollars. Then the routine applies the overpayment amount of $10 ($30 - $20 = $10) to the amount due the following due date. The next contract payment due for the next billing cycle is $10.

Use Apply to Contract Balance to apply the overpayment to the ending balance; the next payment due does not change. Example: If the contract amount is $100, the payment amount is $20, the number of payments is 5, and City XYZ receives a payment amount of $30. The overpayment amount is $10 ($30 - $20 = $10). The system updates the contract balance ($100 - $20 = $80), then subtracts the overpayment amount from the contract balance ($80 - $10 = $70. The new contract balance is $70. The next contract payment due for the next billing cycle is $20.

How do I set the default method to allocate overpayments?

1. Click Options (F12).

2. Click the Contracts tab.

3. Use the Overpayments drop-down list to select an option. See the description for Apply to Next Payment and Apply to Contract Balance in this section.

Payment amount

A payment amount is compensation that is given in return for goods or services.

Payment option

A payment option lists the available choices for selecting accounts.

Use Fixed Amount to enter an exact amount to be paid for each billing. If the contract amount is $100 and the Fixed Amount is $25, then the system will divide the Contract Amount by the Fixed Amount (100 / 25 = 4). The billing calculates a bill of $25, four times.

Use Number of Payments to divide the contract amount by a whole number, for example: 1, 2, 3, 4... If the contract amount is $100 and the Number of Payments is 10, then the system will divide the Contract Amount by the Number of Payments (100 / 10 = 10). The grid displays 10 payments of $10 dollars each with the frequency specifying the payment due dates.

How do I set the default payment option?

1. Click Options (F12).

2. Click the Contracts tab.

3. How do you want to set up payments?

I want to define the payment amount. Select Fixed Amount as the Payment Option. Then, use the Payment Amount field to enter the amount to bill each period.
I want to set the number of payments. Select Number of Payments as the Payment Option. Next, enter the number of payments allowed to pay off the contract balance.

Print options

To print a contract payment schedule, click Print (CTRL+P), select Print Contract Schedule, and click OK.

Starting date

The start date is the first day of the contract period, in other words, the when the contract begins. The routine uses the start date and frequency to create the table that lists the contract payment due dates and amounts.