Manual Payments

When a family pays by check, cash, or Zelle instead of through the portal, record it so the money shows up in transactions, revenue reports, and the family’s payment history.

Recording a payment

1. Go to Admin > Transactions and click Record manual payment
2. Under Family, search by name, account ID, or member number and pick the family. Click Change to pick a different one
3. Choose a Category — the same list as transaction types (Lessons, Membership Dues, Merch, Other, and so on). It drives the revenue dashboard’s category rollup
4. Choose the Method: Check, Cash, Zelle, or Other
5. Add a Note / reference such as Check #1234. The note is required when the method is Other
6. Enter one or more Line items, each with a description and a dollar amount. Use Add line item and Remove to adjust the list; the Total updates as you type
7. Click Record payment

The payment appears in the transactions list with a Manual · Check (or Cash / Zelle / Other) badge and in the family’s Billing tab.

Caution

Recording a manual payment records the money only. It does not create a lesson registration, a merch order, or a guest-pass balance — do those through the normal admin tools.

Manual dues payments

Offline dues payments are the exception: record them from the family’s Billing tab with Record offline payment, not here. That path both records the money and credits the family’s dues balance so their standing updates. See Family Billing.

Reversing a manual payment

A manual payment can be refunded from its transaction row or detail page like any other. Because no card was charged, nothing is sent to Stripe — the portal records a refund against the payment and flips its status, and the family (or a guest payer with an email on file) receives the refund email. Hand the money back yourself.