Setting up a Settlement Offer

This article describes the steps involved in setting up a Settlement Offer in the Forth CRM. 

1. Log in to the Forth CRM and click on the Contacts tab. Select the contact you are setting up a settlement offer for, and click Settlements on the navigation bar from the Client Dashboard.

OR, you can start a new settlement from the Settlements Tab (see below).

You will then need to select a client you wish to set up a settlement for.  Enter the client's name in the field beneath "Select a Client To Begin". See below.

Once your client is selected, choose the debt associated with that client for which you are working on a new settlement offer, by clicking the right-facing arrow at the far right of the debt listing (see below).

Once you select a particular debt to settle, this will take you to the New Settlement page.

In the middle left of the page (just above the Client Info section) are four images that may prove helpful to you (see below).

They are shortcuts to other portions of the CRM. From left to right, they are:

• Go to Client Dashboard
• Go to Enrollment Details
• Go to Creditors
• View Monthly Summary

2. Next, in the middle of the page, enter some basic information for the settlement.

• OFFER AMOUNT: The amount you are offering to settle the debt for.
• OFFER PERCENTAGE: The percentage of the total debt that your offer constitutes.
• OFFER MADE BY: This designates which party has submitted the settlement offer (i.e., creditor or negotiator).
• NEGOTIATOR: Select the representative negotiating the settlement.
• VALID UNTIL DATE: The expiration date for this offer. It will need to be accepted or declined by this date.
• OFFER STATUS: This dropdown menu, available at the top right of the page, sets the status of the offer. Start the offer "In-Review". Setting the offer status to "Accepted" or "Declined" will close the settlement offer and transition it to the next steps.

3. Next, set up Settlement Payments by going to the "Offer Terms" section, and ensure a payment amount is listed in the "Offer Amount" field (see example below). The "Offer %" field should automatically fill based on the dollar amount you list in the "Offer Amount" field.

You will next go to the "Offer Made By" dropdown menu and select if the offer is being made by a "Negotiator" or a "Creditor" (see below).

You will then go to the "Payment Schedule" segment of the page, and enter the Start Date and number of Payments.

NOTE: In the "# of Payments" field, you may enter "0", but you will not be able to select "0" using the arrow keys.

Click the "Check Terms" button to confirm.

Once you've entered the Start Date and number of Payments you will see them in detail below.

**NOTE: Ignore any error messages for the moment, we will set up the performance fees after the settlement payments have been set.

You can now see all individual payments are displayed for you to edit if needed. You can change individual amounts, dates, processing gateway, and transaction type.

You can change all transaction gateways (Processor) and type (Method) at once with the drop-down menus at the top of each of those columns.

4. Next, set up the Earned Performance Fee. To start, enter an amount in the Minimum Fee field (this indicates the minimum fee amount the system will schedule for a single transaction) as well as the Minimum Balance field (which prevents you from liquidating the entire client balance).

Once you enter a Minimum Fee amount and an amount in the Maintain Min Balance field, the Performance Fee Schedule segment will look similar to the image below.

**NOTE: The Ending Balance is displayed in green to the right of each transaction row. This will help predict if the balance will be sufficient throughout the payments. It factors in other transactions that may affect the balance (debits, credits, scheduled earned performance fees, or other settlement payments). This projection assumes all scheduled transactions occur as scheduled.
 

5. Once you've completed setting up the Payment Terms and the Fee Schedule, scroll down to the Amortization Schedule to see the new transactions, which show in bold. You can see in the example below the Disbursement Fee in blue (fee charged to the client by Forth for sending a physical check to the creditor), the Settlement Payment in orange, and the Earned Performance Fee in red. Make note of the estimated Client Balance (far right column) available so you can track the possible effects of the payment. 

At this point, you can go back to make adjustments to the Payments and Fees.

NOTE: Editing a settlement will delete future open transactions and you will need to re-save the settlement.

6. You may need to return to the offer to make adjustments as the settlement is negotiated with the creditor. Before clicking to accept the offer and moving to the next step, confirm that the information shown under the "Payment Information " tab is correct (see examples below).

IMPORTANT: Make sure all information provided here is accurate. Any errors can cause the settlement payment to be returned, which will delay your earned performance fees.

• COMP TEMPLATE: Choose the "Comp Template" that is used to split up the Earned Performance Fees. This will default to the compensation template currently saved with the contact.
• FEE MEMO: Enter any relevant information regarding the Earned Performance Fees.
• PAYEE: Select the Creditor Payee for this debt.
• PAYABLE TO: This information will be populated on the physical check that is sent to the creditor for the payment. Make sure to enter it exactly as the creditor specifies.
• Mail to Company, Address 1 and 2, City, State, Zipcode, and Phone Number: Identifying information for the Creditor
• CREDITOR REFERENCE #: Make sure to get a reference number from the creditor. Usually, this is an account number or reference number for the settlement. You must provide this to "Accept" the settlement. This will be included in the memo of the check to identify the account.
• YOUR REFERENCE #: If there is a need to provide a secondary reference number, enter that number here.
• SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Add notes specific to the settlement.

Finally, make sure to provide the Client ID to the creditor. This is needed by Forth when releasing and/or reconciling payments later. 

8. Once the offer is accepted, return to the settlement offer and adjust the Offer Status to "Accepted" via the dropdown menu at the top right of the page (if needed it can also be marked "Declined"). 

Once finished, save the offer by clicking the "Save Offer" button at the top right of the page.

Now that you have "Accepted" the Settlement, you will be taken to the Settlements Tab automatically. If you return to the settlement, you will see payment details like what is displayed below. If you need to make edits, click the "edit this settlement" hyperlink in the top right of the page (see below).

On the Enrollment Details page (Click "Enrollments" on the navigation bar of the client dashboard), in this example, you will find that Settlement Payments (Blue), Disbursement Fees (Gray), and ACH Client Debit (Green) are listed in the payment schedule.

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