Fees are categorized in several different ways, using Fee Types, Fee Sub-Types, and Group Fees.
Fee Types are preset and cannot be edited. They generally describe what the fee is attached to. For example:
Permit Fee
Violation Fee
Inspection Fee
Fee Sub-Types are the specific fees that are applied to a permit, violation, inspection, etc. Fee Sub-Types can be set by the user. Some municipalities add their accounting codes to the Fee Sub-Types. Examples are:
Driveway Permit Fee
Application Fee
Plan Review Fee
Groups Fees are used to group similar fees together and apply predetermined fee amounts. For example, all the building permit fees could be grouped together, and a fee amount specified for each.
Fee Sub-Types and Group Fees can be used in conjunction with each other to suit any municipality's fee schedule.
Add or Edit Fee Sub-Types
A Fee Sub-Type is an individual fee with a name that describes what it covers. Each Fee Sub-Type can be applied to any permit, no matter what permit type. This allows one Sub-Type to be used across multiple permits. An example is a Sub-Type of "Driveway Opening Fee" that could be applied to a Building Permit, Zoning Permit, or a standalone Driveway Permit.
Some fees are very specific to one type of permit. Those fees are added as a Fee Sub-Type, too, but users will need to understand that those fees will only be used for one permit type.
Add or edit Fee Sub-Types from the list, accessed from Edit > Fee Sub-Types.
This opens the Fee Sub-Types window, showing a list of all Fee Sub-Types.
To open and edit an existing sub-type, double click its line in the list.
WARNING: Only make minor edits to existing Fee Sub-Types. Any edits made will be applied to all fees in the database with that Fee Sub-Type.
WARNING: Do not delete existing Fee Sub-Types. Deleting a Sub-Type will blank out that data for all fees in the database with that Fee Sub-Type. Use the Archive checkbox instead of deleting.
To create a new sub-type, click the Plus button. This opens a modal window for the Fee Sub-Type. Enter a name for the Fee Sub-Type. When finished, click Save.
This process only sets up the name of each Fee Sub-Type. Specific dollar amounts can be applied to each sub-type as part of a Group Fee, described below.
Add or Edit Group Fees
Group fees allow you to link together a specific permit type, a Fee Sub-Type, and a predetermined fee. This allows a "Driveway Opening Fee" to be linked to multiple different permits, with the potential to vary the fee amount based on the permit type.
Begin by accessing the group fee list at Edit > Fee Group Setup.
This opens the Group Fee Setup window.
To edit an existing Group Fee, double click its line in the list. To create a new Group Fee, click the Plus button. Use the dropdown list to select the Permit Type for the Group Fee. Likewise, use the dropdown list to select the Fee Sub-Type. Enter the fee amount, and when finished, click Save.
Add Fees to a Permit
To add fees to a permit, see Add Fees to a Permit, which describes the process in detail.