MBS Systems .Point of Sale . Student Financial Aid
Processing Student Financial Aid
Student financial aid (SFA) is a dynamic tender that varies in taxability
status, impacts purchase eligibility of merchandise, and can impose limits on
the timing in which it may be used by students. Most of the data that is
captured during the transaction is needed for compliance reporting back to the
granting entity. In our SFA Automated Processing System-fully integrated into
our point-of-sale (POS) platform-MBS has delivered a solution that enforces
compliance at the point of sale and seamlessly delivers the information back to
the school's financial aid administration office.
The benefits of this system
include:
.
Faster and more efficient handling of SFA
transactions resulting in improved customer service to students
.
Detailed account balance information provided to students
at the end of the transaction
.
Real-time updating of student accounts to control
overspending of grant funds
.
Compliance management on purchases
.
Detailed point-of-sale data capture to streamline billing
and reporting processes of the financial aid office
A Sophisticated System Able to Handle Every Type of SFA
There are many types of student financial aid that a bookstore will encounter
at the point of sale. Most SFA falls into one of three categories: federal,
state, and local/third party sponsorships. However, there are many variations
of grant types, including Pell, Vocational Rehabilitation, ROTC, and Employer
Grants. While each of these kinds of financial aid has their own particular
stipulations regarding effective dates, taxability, merchandise allowed to be
purchased, and reporting/billing, the MBS SFA Automated Processing Solution is
sophisticated enough to handle them all. Getting Started with a New Approach to SFA Processing
Historically, systems have been designed to manage the SFA process as a
generalized, consolidated accounts receivable transaction. MBS recognized the
need to manage the SFA transaction at a more specific level, and we designed
our SFA Automated Processing Solution accordingly.
The MBS design allows each bookstore to configure their system for the types of
grants that will be accepted by their individual operation. The effort involved
in this initial setup and maintenance is minimal. The setup for each grant type
includes assigned transaction priority, taxability status, purchase
restrictions by merchandise type, and a billing flag that applies the charge to
the sponsor's accounts receivable balance. The transaction priority and billing
flag are features unique to the MBS system.
With the aid types set up, your bookstore can receive individual student
records that include all of the SFA grants available for use. Three methods are
available to build this student account database: manual data entry, batch file
download, or real-time updates. Once the student account database is loaded,
the bookstore is ready to process SFA transactions. From here, cashiers need
only select the SFA tender key on the POS system and enter the student's
account or ID number to trigger automated processing. Simplified Split-Tender Purchase Transactions
Many times in the SFA purchase transaction, a split-tender process is
necessary. It is important that a POS system easily split the transaction
across SFA grants as well as other tender types when there are insufficient
funds or the transaction includes merchandise that cannot be purchased with
grant monies. The MBS SFA Automated Processing Solution handles this scenario
easily and automatically at the point of sale without additional cashier
involvement. By doing so, stores do not need to provide specialized cashier
training to handle SFA transactions. Additionally, stores do not need to
conduct SFA transactions at special POS checkout lanes or with "SFA
knowledgeable" cashiers, because all registers on the system can handle these
types of transactions. Just think about how much time you'll save during rush,
not to mention how you'll reduce cashier and customer confusion and
frustration!
Automated Controls for Eliminating Overspending
As more grants have become available, the ability to prevent overspending has
emerged as a critical bookstore function. With MBS, the SFA transaction details
are posted to the student's account and respective individual grant balances on
a real-time basis. This speed and accuracy provides the bookstore with a
control system to manage the overspending of grant funds by students who make
multiple purchases during the same day. Making the Returns Process Simple and Efficient Processing returns for items originally purchased with student financial
aid doesn't have to be a hassle. With MBS's SFA Automated Processing Solution,
the transaction is processed as a standard return, and the SFA funds used in
the original transaction are automatically posted back into the student's
account and appropriate grant type balance. This update of the account and fund
balance occurs on a real-time basis so there's no delay if the student wishes
to make an immediate purchase.
Compliance Reporting and Billing
Upon expiration of a grant, the bookstore must generate the compliance reports
for the Financial Aid office. It is critical to include the supporting detail
in the reporting process to ensure that reconciliation with the granting entity
is timely and creates an accurate audit trail of compliance. Through a
networked interface to the Financial Aid office, the information that is
required in these reports can be transferred electronically, thus eliminating
the volumes of compliance paperwork that have historically been par for the SFA
course.
Grant reconciliation that is managed by the bookstore must be handled in a
similar manner as above. The key difference is that the system must be capable
of posting transaction details to the granting entity's account in an Accounts
Receivable (A/R) system. By automating this capability, the MBS SFA Automated
Processing Solution allows the bookstore to consolidate the data into a single
invoice for the granting entity. Once the invoice is generated and issued, the
A/R balance will be carried as an aged receivable until payment is received.
If you're ready to get started, or you'd like more information about Student Financial Aid, contact your MBS
Systems Territory Manager or call 800-325-4138.
