Master Fees

Overview

ShowGrounds is making a significant change to how the software will manage and track fees. Several years ago we introduced the concept of Master Fees which were needed to be able to support certain new features we had. Using Master Fees has been an optional since then but with this change all fees that are sold/used at a show will have exist as a Master Fee. This change is necessary for us to be able to create better reporting and to lay the ground work for other features we want to add to the software.

Once the new version of the software goes into place (which is planned for January 10th, 2022), the software will behave differently in reviewing or setting up fees depending on whether you are looking at an old show (a show that completed prior to 1/10/2022) and one that is running after this date.

Note: For previous shows we will allow the creation and editing of fees the same as in the past in order to avoid any balance discrepancies.

Any master fees that were in the Show Company’s database previously, can be found in the Master Fees list. Once the new version is installed a data conversion process will run that will create Master Fees for all other fees that were not previously associated with a Master Fee. During this process we may inadvertently create duplicate Master Fees, if fees were not consistently named from show to show for instance.

The article below describes how to use the new Master Fee features as well as how it is tied in with the Show Company’s show fees. Please contact support@showgroundsonline.com with any questions about these changes.

Data Conversion

During the data conversion process all fees that exist for all shows will be associated with a master fee by the end of the process. We try to create a unique set of master fees but we know that this upgrade will create duplicates as well. As a way to address this we will be making only recently used Master fees active, the others will all be inactive. You will be able to merge duplicate master fees (see directions for this below), but this doesn’t have to be done immediately.

Merging Records

In order to improve reporting, duplicate master fees will have to be merged. This is done in a similar way to merging records in other modules in the system. While it is important to do this it does not have to be done immediately.

To merge fees, users must select the fees they wish to merge, and then subset them (Ctrl & U keys)

Once the user has their subset, they then go to the quick actions wheel and select “Merge Records”.

*Note, one of the records must be highlighted for this action to work.

This box will then appear confirming the user wishes to Merge the selected records.

Once the user clicks “OK” the records will be merged and only the initial highlighted record will remain.

If your merge operation will result in more than one Show Fee records being linked to the same master fee record, you will get this error message. You will have to merge fewer records to determine which Master Fee record is the cause.

Locating the Master Fees module

The Master Fees module is most likely NOT on your pallet. To locate the Master Fees module, go to “File” in the top left corner of your screen and click once. Once the dropdown appears, select “Open Area”. You may also edit your user preferences to add “Master Fees” module to the Palette (click here to learn how to edit your palette)

Once the user has selected Open Area, this dialog box will appear.

Scroll to the bottom of the list and locate “Master Fees”, once that is selected, click OK. The module will open to the list view which shows all Master Fees the Show Company has setup.

Using the New Master Fee system

The way to think of this change in handling fees is as follows. Moving forward Master Fees represent the fees that you may or may not include in any particular show, this acts as the “Master” list of fees, where you then are determining if a show uses or does not use that fee. When a fee is included in a show you still have the option of changing price for instance but many of the settings for the fee are now exclusively controlled in the Master Fee record itself.

Selecting Fees for Your Show

For the most part all your Master Fee records should exist. The process of setting up fees for a particular show will be done slightly differently than in the past. There are 3 options for adding fees to your show

Option 1 – Importing Fees

When setting up a show and importing from a previous show you are still able to import fees. This will create the fees for the just as before.

Option 2 – Adding/Removing Fees from the Show Record

We have made it much easier to add and remove fees for a show from within the show record itself. Simply open the show and go to the fees tab. If you wish to remove a fee from your show you may select that fee and click the “-” button to remove it

If you need to have a fee in your show that is not currently listed you may click the “+” to add fees from your list of master fees. Please note the list presented will only include those fees which are not already a part of the show.

Click to add a check mark to each fee you wish to add and click the “Add” button when done. The fees will be added to your show.

Option 3 – Adding fees through the “Show Fees” module.

You can still add fees this way but note this will be the slowest way to do this. The primary difference in adding a fee in the Show Fees module is that you MUST select a Master Fee as the first step to creating the fee.

If you need to make changes to the price of a fee for only the current show you may double click the fee to edit the price. NOTE – This will not change the default price for this fee in general, only for the current show. If you wish to change the default price generally for a fee you’ll do so by editing the Master Fee record.

Creating a new Master Fee

If you have a new fee that needs to be added (one you’ve never used before), the first step will be to create the Master Fee record. Once you’ve created the Master Fee you can then include the fee in current or upcoming shows as described above.

To create a new Master Fee, Select “Add” from the top taskbar.

This will bring the user to this general tab landing page.

From here, the user will need to input the following information. The Fee name, a description of the fee, the abbreviation that they wish to be used for the fee, and the Feed Delivery email if the fee is a Feed item that will be delivered at the show by the Show Company

The Category dropdown will show the following list and the user can select the desired category for the Master Fee they are creating.

Once the user has chosen the appropriate category for their fee, they can continue filling in the remaining information needed for the Master Fee.

The default price is filled in to be the default pricing for the Fee.
Users can select the tax rate if it is a taxable fee from the dropdown list.
The default quantity can be filled in and will be the default quantity for the Fee.
The default web quantity is the default quantity associated with the Fee and will be automatically applied to the web entry.
The default show inventory cap can be set if the show has a select number of that item available (stalls, trailer parking, tack stalls etc)
The cost can be filled in to reflect the show companies cost for the item

For a Master Fee to show online for the Supply Ordering Commerce, the checkbox for “available for web ordering” must be selected for the item to appear in the supply list.

Once an item has been marked as available for Web Ordering the web listing for that product will be editable. You can edit this web listing for the shopping cart by clicking “Edit Web Listing”. This will take you directly to the administration of the settings for the product and allow you to add a full description, images etc.

Note: Fees are not editable on the web, only in the ShowGrounds client software. There is a button in the Master Fee that allows you to edit the fee on the web, this does not edit the Master Fee itself, only the new web portion.

*Note, your default quantity and default web quantity should be the same so Entries put in on the web and Entries done through the office have the same fees.

On the right-hand side the user can check multiple boxes that their fee is to be associated with.

*Note – if the default web quantity is filled in with a number, the checkbox on the right side for “Available for web ordering” will be greyed out as this is already a default web fee. If you wish to allow people to order multiple of the item, make sure the default web quantity is listed as zero.

Once the user has all of the necessary information filled in and all the desired checkboxes are marked, they need to make sure the fee is marked as “Active”. This checkbox can be found to the right of the fee name. Only active fees will appear in the main listing of Master Fees.

Once the Master Fee is set up as desired, be sure to save the Master Fee with the green check mark in the bottom right corner of the window.

The History tab will bring users to this landing page. All of the fee history will show under this tab. Any changes that were made and which user made them.

Creating a new Show Fee

Creating a new Show Fee is done from the Fees module, the same as it was previously.

This can be done by selecting the “Add” button on the top taskbar.

Doing that will bring users to this detail page.

From there, users will then use the dropdown list to choose which Master Fee their Show Fee will be associated with.

*Important, moving forward every Show Fee MUST be associated with a Master Fee.

If a user selects an inactive Master Fee it will automatically become active again.

Once the user has selected the Master Fee that their Show Fee will be associated with, the information tied to the Master Fee will auto populate for the Show Fee (users can change this information if needed from this page, and the Master Fee will stay the same).

Users can update the Show Description, Tax Rate, Default Quantity, Default Web Quantity and the Show Inventory Cap. They can also select if they want this Show Fee to be available for web ordering with the checkbox next to the quantity boxes. Once the Show Fee is set up as desired, be sure to save the Show Fee with the green check mark in the bottom right corner of the window. Users can also edit the Master Fee from this screen by selecting the “Edit Master Fee” button on the top of the window.

*Note, if there is already a fee record setup for the chosen show for the Master Fee the user has selected, this popup will appear and users will NOT be able to proceed with the Show Fee they setup with that Master Fee.

Deleting a Show Fee

You may remove a fee from a show from the “Fees” tab of the show record, by selecting the fee and clicking the “-” button. You may also remove a fee from a show in the way you would have previously through the “Show Fees” module, opening a particular Show Fee and clicking the Recycle button.

A dialog box will appear confirming the user wants to delete the Show Fee record. Select “Yes” and the fee is deleted.

*Note, if the Show Fee is already used in Entries for the show, the fee cannot be deleted, and this warning will appear.

Adding a Show Fee to an Entry

There has been no change to how fees are added to an entry. Below is a overview of this process but again this is the same as it has been.

Adding a Show Fee to an Entry is done from the Entries module. Start on the Entry list view

Select the Entry by double clicking it from the list and the detail screen will appear for that Entry.

Select the “Account” tab on the top. This tap will display all fees currently associated with the Entry.

Then select the “Add Fee” button.

A dialog box will appear and from there, the user can use the dropdown list to locate the fee they are adding to the Entry.

Once the user has selected the fee, and input the quantity for the fee, it will look like this. The invoice number field can be used for any internal reference number you may have (for instance if entering from a paper receipt of some kind)

Once the user has verified all information is correct, select the “Execute” button to add the fee to the entry. This box will then update confirming the Show Fee has been added to the entry.

*Note, the box will not close so users can continue to add Show Fees easily. Once complete, select the “Done” button and the box will close.

After the user has completed adding the Show Fee, it will show in the Entry’s account history.

Removing a Show Fee from an Entry

Removing a Show Fee from an Entry is easy. Under the Entry’s Account tab, select the Show Fee the user wishes to remove. Then select the “Delete Fee” button in the top right corner.

This box will appear prompting users to input the reason why the fee is being deleted.

Once the reason is entered, select the “Ok” button and the fee will be removed from the Entry and will no longer show in the Entry Account history.

Donation Option

During the entry process, Show Companies now have the option to ask if the entry wants to also make a donation on the web. To initiate this process, the user must start by creating Master Fees for where the donations are to be designated.

In the Office

The first step in this process is to create any Master Fees that you want to use as donation recipients. In the Master Fee for the charity or recipient you must have the following checked off in order for the donation option to appear correctly during the web entry process.

Name: Type in the name as you would like to appear – eg the name of the charity or organization receiving the donation
Active: This box MUST be checked for the fee to be utilized
Donation: This box MUST be checked for the fee to be processed correctly during the web entry process
Default Price: The default price for a Donation Master Fee should ALWAYS be shown as $1 in order for this process to work properly.
Tax Rate: Non Taxable should be selected to ensure the entry is not charged tax on their donation.
Default Quantity: The default quantity must ALWAYS be 1. NOTE: This does note mean that the entry will be automatically added a donation fee, the web user will have the option to opt out of submitting a donation.

On the Web

During the entry process on the web in SGL the user will be prompted with the option to add a donation, after the step where they can order supplies for the show.

The user can opt-out of a donation by selecting No, Thank you. If they elect to add a donation they will select the recipient from the list of Charities – or master fees rather – that the Show Company as created in the back end. Then they will select either one of the pre-fixed amounts or a custom amount which they can choose from the dropdown.

In the next step of the entry process where the user reviews their fees, if they have opted to donate, then this will show on their itemize list of fees for that show and the option to remove that fee is available in the case that it was added by mistake.