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Setting a starting balance is helpful when you are transitioning to brightwheel billing from another billing solution. This ensures that your student's account balances are accurate on day one.

Setting a starting balance for a student can be done from the student's billing profile, by adding a one-time charge. If the payer had an outstanding credit that you want to transfer over, add a new credit.

Table of Contents:


Issue a Starting Balance Charge

Adding a One-Time Charge allows you to create a one-off charge that posts to the student's account immediately. Then the student's payers will be able to pay the balance.

  1. Go the student you need to set a starting balance for

  2. Click Select an Action and choose a One-time charge

  3. Filter and select the student(s) to charge and click Add charges

  4. Add charges from your existing charge list or create a new one and click Save

  5. Click Set schedule

  6. Choose the payment Due date only future dates will be selectable along with the current day (the invoice will be posted and sent to payers immediately)

  7. [Optional] Add Dates of Service to reflect the attendance/billing dates the charge represents

  8. Click Preview & confirm

  9. [Optional] Add a message in Notes to be displayed to the student payer

  10. Review and make any needed edits and click Create invoice

Issue a Starting Balance Credit

If the student currently has an account credit that they can draw from for future charges. A standalone credit can be added to the student's account to reflect their actual credit balance.

  1. Navigate to the student’s billing profile

  2. Choose to Add a credit from the Select an Action drop-down

  3. Enter the Amount, choose a Reason from the drop-down, and you can add Notes if desired

  4. [Optional] Apply credits to unpaid/open invoices on the student account by typing an amount under Amount applied

  5. Click Save & apply to create the credit and apply to invoices if that option was selected

If a credit posts unapplied to an invoice then the credit will automatically apply to the next invoice that posts on the account assigned to the primary payer. Credits can only be assigned to the primary payer and auto-assigned to only the primary payer's due invoices. If a non-primary payer should be assigned the credit you will need to manually assign the credit to their open invoices.

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