Before accepting payments and processing refunds for your event, be sure you're familiar with all the relevant EventsAir tools and features, and your own organization's business processes. This will help you manage sensitive and important financial data simply and accurately.

Attendee invoicing - overview

Usually, attendees (or exhibitors, sponsors, or presenters) decide to purchase one or more items during the online registration process (via an interactive site). When this happens, an invoice will be automatically created and treated as "Pending". 

In many cases, payments are automatically accepted and processed  (via credit card transactions) at the same time - therefore there's no need to formally "Issue" the invoice.

But that's just one scenario. For example, you may want to set up 'pay later' options or payment schedules (a deposit now, and the remainder later). Sometimes, attendees cancel or change their mind, or one person wants to pay for another. An attendee may decide to purchase something else after their initial registration. They may need an invoice that includes their purchase order number, or may require a receipt or a summary of outstanding invoices. You may want to send a gentle reminder to people who haven't yet paid their invoices.

To help you keep track of all this, on each attendee's record (in the Attendee Panel), you'll see listed within each module (e.g. Registrations, Functions, Accommodation), the amount for each item, and any amount(s) yet to be paid.  

For example, the example below shows that $300 - the amount due for a Regular Registration - hasn't yet been paid (and is still in the Outstanding column). However, the $100 payment for a Spouse/Guest Registration has been received.

Once the Regular Registration is paid, it will show a zero balance in the far right (outstanding) column:

Issuing invoices

Invoices are automatically created and if paid online at the time of purchase, may not even need to be issued. However, if they've been generated but are still 'pending', they can be issued (sent out or given to the attendee), for example by:

• sending or automating Merge Docs with invoices attached (e.g. as a 'submit action' on a registration site).
• using the Express Actions Issue Invoices or Re-Issue Invoices
• issuing an individual invoice (as described below) and sending it by email or even using a printed copy onsite.

Issuing an invoice (manually)

1. Locate the Attendee Record that has an outstanding payment due associated with it.
2. Select the Financials Quick Action button.
3. Click on the Invoices Tab.
4. Because invoices are generated automatically as items are added to the record, you'll see a Pending invoice if you haven't already issued it.

5. Select Issue.
6. Select Email or Print and complete the necessary fields.
7. If the invoice is Emailed, you send or queue the communication and the invoice will change to Issued in the Invoice tab.
8. If the invoice is Printed, you will get a preview of the invoice where you can use the print icons in the top left corner to print the invoice. When you close the window, the invoice will change to Issued in the Invoice tab.

Adding a Purchase Order (P/O) number

Many companies require a purchase order in order to pay an invoice. Their accounts department will issue a purchase order number to the buyer once the expense has been approved. Your attendees may ask you to add their purchase number to their invoice. You can use the "Add Purchase Order" button for this purpose, then re-issue the invoice. 

Creating a Miscellaneous Charge 

On rare occasions, you may need to create an ad hoc charge "on-the-fly" for a specific circumstance, such as:

• A sponsor wants to create a special hospitality event and you create a special one-time fee
• An attendee wants to purchase an extra T-shirt for their spouse
• An attendee may ask you to provide an unusual meal option that costs an amount of money
• You may create a special fee for a student who wouldn't usually attend your event

You can do this by creating a Miscellaneous Charge. 

Go the Attendee Record and choose the Financials Quick Action button.

1. Click on the Misc. Charge tab.
2. Click on the Create New Charge button.
3. Enter the details of the Miscellaneous Charge(s)

6. Save and close.
7. You may need to Refresh the attendee record, but a new invoice will appear with the Miscellaneous Charge you created. 

Creating a Miscellaneous Invoice

Creating a Miscellaneous Invoice (under the Misc. Invoice tab in Attendee Financials) should only be done if your accounting / financial department advise this is necessary. The process is straightforward, however unlike a Miscellaneous Charge, a Miscellaneous Invoice will NOT appear under the normal invoices tab. You also need to have the correct Account Number set up in EventsAir. 

Fill in the details and either leave the Miscellaneous Invoice as Pending, or Finalize it. You can also reverse a Miscellaneous Invoice using the "Reverse" button.