Fees (receivables) in IPS / Hansen 8 are a well-designed component of the product. They offer amazing flexibility by allowing configurators to define many things such as different Fee Types, Fee Type Versions, and Budget Numbers / Accounting Codes. Out of the box, they come with several options for calculations, including flat fees, rate tables, and value and amount formula-driven calculations.
In this post we are going to help you understand how to define a Fee Type, when and how you might use Fee Type Versions, and then we’ll walk through an example of when you might use a formula to calculate a Fee.
Defining Fee Types
Determining how many different Fee Types you need can require a bit of thought. Here are some things to consider:
Formulas / Calculations
A maximum of one value and one quantity formula per Fee Type is the best way to go. While it is only possible to assign one formula for each of these attributes, it is possible for that formula to branch into several logical directions, and this is not advised. Defining a single Fee Type that can be calculated multiple ways typically adds unnecessary complexity. If you have two Fees for the same process that are calculated differently based on whether it is a commercial or residential project for example, consider splitting them into two Fee Types.
Timing
Fees that are charged to applicants at different times during the permitting process should be considered two different Fee Types. As an example, if your organization accepts an application fee early in the process and an additional fee when all details are known later in the process, it probably makes sense for that to be two Fee Types.
Budget Numbers
Hansen / IPS supports direct Fee Type to Budget Number mappings to assist in keeping your organizational / departmental accounting straightforward. If you use many budget numbers you should consider creating a Fee Type for each budget number. In the other direction, it is possible to have multiple Fee Types that map to the same budget number.
Scheduled Fee Amount Escalation
Sometimes organizations implement a scheduled fee amount escalation, where a fee amount increases on an annual (or other periodic) basis. In this scenario there is no need to create different fee types. IPS provides functionality to configure Fee Type Versions with rolling effective dates, allowing you to configure this periodic increase in advance and not have to worry about it each year / period.
Fee Type Versions
Fee Type Versions are useful when you have a fee that changes value on a periodic (typically annual) basis. A simple example might be the cost of an application fee increasing 5% per year, every year, on January 1. Rather than having to revisit the fee value every year at midnight on January 1, you can configure a different Fee Type Version with an updated value that has an effective date of January 1 of each consecutive year. Then the system will automatically begin using the new Fee Type Version at the appropriate time.
You can also configure which date field the system should use when determining the correct version. As an example, if you wanted to charge someone based on the date they started their application rather than the date their application was processed, this would be a simple date property configuration on the Fee, and the system will automatically select the correct Fee Type Version based on its effective date.
Fee Calculation Formulas
Formulas can be used to calculate quantity, value, or both in Infor Public Sector / Hansen. A quantity formula is used when you need to tell the system how many times to charge a specific fee value. For example, let’s say you have a building permit and you charge $50 for each exterior door that is being installed on the building. After reading about how to set up your detail pages and grids, perhaps you added a grid to your application for the applicant to list their exterior doors. If so, your quantity formula would be used to count the number of records in the grid. Then when the fee amount is calculated, the result is “# doors from grid x $50.”
Value formulas are used when the per-item charge is variable, unlike in the previous example when the value was a flat $50 per door. An example of this could be if you have a tiered fee structure based on the total project square footage – your formula would look at the Square Footage value and assign the appropriate value to the fee based on the table below:
- 0-2000 sqft = $1000
- 2001-10000 sqft = $2500
- 10001+ = $5000
Taking that example a step further, you could have a scenario where both the Quantity and the Value are calculated through formulas. Let’s say you wanted to charge a rate per square foot based on the table below:
- 0-2000 sqft = $1.00/sqft
- 2001-10000 sqft = $1.50/sqft
- 10001+ = $2.00/sqft
In this scenario your Value formula would look at the project square footage to determine whether the value is $2.00, $1.50, or $1.00, and your quantity formula would set the Quantity = project square footage. The system would then take care of calculating the Amount as Quantity x Value.
Add-On Conditions
You can also conditionally add fees to applications in Infor Public Sector / Hansen. This is useful when a fee should be applied only when a specific condition is met. For example, you might want to charge $100 to expedite an application process. A solution for this could include a question on the application asking whether it is being expedited or not, and then an Add-On Condition formula would look at the answer to that question to determine whether the fee should be added or not.
Summary
We hope you found this overview of fee definitions and configurations helpful. This is not a full representation of all of the tools you have available, but it does represent some of those that are most commonly used. Because of the ability to use formulas to calculate both Quantities and Values, Infor Public Sector / Hansen can accomplish any fee calculation you can throw at it. Be sure to check out our full Introduction to Infor Public Sector / Hansen Configurations article for more tips, and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us. We are always happy to help!
Where to Now?
Read our Introduction to Infor Public Sector / Hansen CDR Configurations
