Configure Payment Distribution Rules

Define rules that tell BriteCore how to distribute a payment that is less or more than the amount due.

Introduction

Distribution rules decide what BriteCore does with the amount of a payment. Billing administrators use them to accept underpayments, keep extra money as a credit, or move an amount above the payoff amount to return premium. Each rule pairs conditions with an outcome. BriteCore applies the first rule whose conditions all match the payment.

How Distribution Rules Work

Open Settings > Payments > Distribution Rules to see your rules in a single list. Each rule reads like a sentence: When all of these are true, followed by one or more conditions, and then Then, followed by the outcome.

BriteCore checks rules from top to bottom and stops at the first rule that matches. If no rule matches, BriteCore leaves the distribution for you to decide manually. If the list is empty, the feature is off and payments use the default distribution.

A condition compares one of two values:

• Amount Paid: The amount of the payment, compared with the amount due, the payoff amount, or a fixed amount that you enter.
• Policy Status: The status of the policy when the payment arrives, compared with one or more statuses that you select.

BriteCore calculates the amount due and the payoff amount across all policy terms. A rule matches only when every one of its conditions is true.

Note: This page edits the custom-payment-reactions advanced setting. Rules that you saved there appear on this page.

Before You Begin

Confirm the following before you start:

• You have access to the Payments settings. Read access lets you view the page, and write access lets you save changes.
• You know which payment situations you want to handle, such as underpayments, overpayments, or payments on unissued policies.
• You know the order in which the rules should apply, because the first match wins.

Add a Suggested Rule

Suggested rules give you common starting points. BriteCore lists only the suggestions that are not already in your rules.

1. Go to Settings > Payments > Distribution Rules.
2. Find the suggestion under Suggested rules.
3. Select Add this rule.
4. Review the new rule and adjust it if needed.
5. Select Save rules.

BriteCore places a suggested rule in its recommended position among the other suggested rules.

Add a Custom Rule

Build your own rule when no suggestion fits.

1. Go to Settings > Payments > Distribution Rules.
2. Select Add rule to add a rule that allows an underpayment when the amount paid is less than the amount due.
3. Enter a short explanation in the Describe this rule field.
4. Set the first condition under When all of these are true:
   • Select Amount Paid or Policy Status.
   • Select the comparison, such as greater than or is one of.
   • For an amount, select Amount Due, Payoff Amount, or Fixed Amount, and enter the amount if you select Fixed Amount.
   • For a status, select one or more statuses.
5. Select the Add condition plus icon to join another condition to the first with AND.
6. Select the outcome under Then.
7. Select Save rules.

BriteCore shows Payment distribution rules saved. when the save succeeds.

Choose an outcome

Each rule has one outcome. Select the one that matches how you want to handle the money.

Change the Order of Rules

Order matters because the first matching rule wins. Place narrower rules above broader ones.

1. Find the rule you want to move.
2. Select the Move up or Move down icon in the rule header.
3. Select Save rules.

Remove a Rule or a Condition

Use the icons in the rule to remove content. Select one of the following:

• The Remove rule icon in the rule header, which deletes the whole rule.
• The Remove condition icon next to a condition, which deletes only that condition.

A rule always keeps at least one condition. Select Save rules to keep your changes, or select Discard unsaved changes to undo them. BriteCore warns you if you leave the page with unsaved changes.

Important: If you remove every rule and save, the feature turns off and payments use the default distribution.

Reference

Use these tables and examples to build and troubleshoot your rules.

Condition fields and comparisons

Policy statuses

You can select any of the following statuses in a Policy Status condition.

Example rules

These four suggested rules cover the most common situations.

Messages

Common mistakes

• Placing a broad rule first: A rule such as Amount Paid is less than Amount Due matches many payments, so put it below narrower rules.
• Expecting several rules to apply: BriteCore applies only the first matching rule.
• Leaving a fixed amount blank: BriteCore does not save a rule with a blank fixed amount.
• Forgetting to save: Select Save rules before you leave the page.

See Also

• Submit a manual payment
• Identify the payoff amount
• Policy Status
• Automatic Payment Allocation for Group Billing
• Custom Payment Reactions Advanced Setting
• Payments Settings Overview