Editing a payment Customer Account Type

This article explains how to edit a Customer Account Type in a school payment system, including permissions required, steps to make changes, and details on account categories, verification, and enabling card payments. It emphasises the need for verification by another staff member for financial security and outlines the limitations on changing bank account details post-verification.

You can edit a Custom Account Type. Some changes need to have someone else in your school verify the changes, to ensure financial security.

Permissions

To edit the setup or verify accounts edited by others, you must have the Finance: Administer permission. If you don't have permission, you'll need to ask your admin team to give you permission using these instructions.

Changing your Customer Account Type details

To see your customer account types and edit them, go to School > Payments > Setup and go to Customer Account Types from the left-hand menu.

• You'll see a list of accounts, whether accepting card payments is switched on, the bank account for payouts, and whether this account is shown on the Parent Portal and Parent App for parents to top up the balance.
• If you have accounts that need verification, you'll see a banner notifying you of this. Payments cannot be made through the Parent Portal and Parent App until verification is completed.

To make changes:

• Click on a Customer Account Type in the list
• Click Edit on the slide-over
• Make your edits using the dropdowns and boxes
• Use Save Changes to confirm your edits

Changing the name or description

You can change the name and the description in the slide over using the Name field.

Category

The category determines how the account works in Arbor.

• Ad Hoc - To be used for everything from one-off payments to Wraparound Care.
• Meals - This should only be used for your main meals setup
• School Shop - Only to be used for Shop items, this account category means that items can be paid for at the point of sale, rather than deducted from a balance.

Please note that you cannot use accounts in setup if you have changed an old Ad hoc account category to be a School Shop type - it must be a brand new account.

Create student or staff accounts

Tick these boxes to automatically create a payment account for new students or staff when they join your school.

Show in Parent Portal

When the account is set up and verified, parents can see this account and use it to make payments on the Parent Portal and Parent App if the box next to Show in Parent Portal is ticked and Show accounts in the Parent Portal is switched on in your Parent Portal and Parent App Settings.

Accounting code

Add an accounting code to keep track of payments going to the same accounts. More on accounting codes here: Reconcile your card payments using accounting codes

Enabling card payments

In the slide over, tick Accept card payments. This will enable card payments for all Customer Accounts of this type.

Change who the account is verified by

In the slide over, select a different staff member. You will need to do this if the staff member who was initially set as having verified the account needs to be deleted.

Top Tip: The list of available staff members includes anyone with the Finance: Administer permission

Changing the bank account for payouts

After verification 

It is not possible for you to change the bank account for payouts yourself once the Customer Account Type has been verified. If you do need to change the bank account for payouts after verification, this can only be done by your Arbor Support team. If you need to change the bank account that a customer account type is paying into, you would need to add the new bank account if it is not on your site already by following these steps:

1. Go to School > Payments > Setup.
2. Click on Add bank accounts for card payments in the Initial Setup page.
3. Click the +Add button on the right side of the page, enter the bank details, and then click Add bank account for payouts.

Once you have done this, please contact Arbor Support quoting code 1030 if you are supported by Arbor, or your Support Partner, in order to have the bank account changed for you. After the change has been made, Arbor will then automatically reroute any existing payouts to the updated bank account. 

Before verification

Before a Customer Account Type has been verified, anyone with the Finance: Administer permission can change the nominated bank account for payouts.

To change the bank account:

• Click on an Account Type
• Click the orange Edit button
• Use the Bank Account for payouts drop-down to change the bank account
• Click Save Changes

If you can't select another account here, you'll need to add it: Set up more than one bank account for payouts

Verifying Customer Account Types

If you need to verify any account types on the School > Payments > Setup > [on the left-hand side] Customer Account Types page, follow these steps

• Click on the unverified Customer Account Type (marked in orange)
• Click the green Mark as verified button
• Click Mark as verified again on the pop-up

Note: You can only verify account types that someone else has marked as accepting card payments.