Setting Up Group Deductions

Group Deductions let you charge a fee to multiple consignor accounts at once in a single operation. Instead of opening each account and manually posting a deduction, you define the fee once, set filters to target the right accounts, preview who will be charged, and process Liberty handles the rest.

Common uses:

• Annual consignment fee. Charge all active consignors a yearly membership or participation fee.

• Monthly storage fee. Charge accounts whose items have been sitting in the store past a set time.

• Inactivity fee. Charge consignors who have not brought in new items within a defined period.

• Cleaning or handling fee. Charge a flat fee to a specific group identified by a filter code.

How it works at a high level:

1. You create a Saved Group Deduction, a named template that stores the fee amount, transaction type, and filters that define which accounts qualify.
2. When you are ready to charge accounts, you open Apply Group Deductions, load your saved template, review the preview list, and click Process.
3. The deduction posts to each qualifying account's Transactions tab and reduces their payable balance at payout time.

Note: Group Deductions are for batches of accounts. To deduct from a single account, use Activities > Accounts > Credit/Debit Account instead.

Before creating a Group Deduction, confirm the following are already in place:

• Transaction Types: the deduction requires a Transaction Type to determine how it posts (payable vs. non-payable) and which GL account it maps to. Set these up at Setup > Maintain > Transaction Types if not already done.

• Filter Codes (optional): if you want to charge only a specific subset of consignors, assign Filter Codes to those accounts first. Set up Filter Codes at Setup > Maintain > Filter Codes.

• Fee Frequencies (optional): if you want to target accounts by billing cycle, set these up at Setup > Maintain > Fee Frequencies.

A Saved Group Deduction is a reusable template. You create it once and load it each time you need to charge accounts.

From the Liberty Inventory Module menu bar, select Activities > Accounting > Apply Group Deductions.

The Apply Group Deductions dialog opens. Click the … button to the right of the Load Saved Deduction dropdown.

The Saved Group Deductions list appears. Click Add to create a new template.

The Saved Group Deduction form opens. Fill in the following fields:

• Name (1). A descriptive internal name for this template. This name appears in the Load Saved Deduction dropdown. Example: Annual Consignment Fee.

• Transaction Type (2). Select the transaction type from the dropdown. This controls whether the deduction is payable (reduces what you owe the consignor at payout) or non-payable (affects account balance only), and which GL account it maps to for QuickBooks export.

• Description (3). The text that appears in the consignor's Transactions tab when the fee is charged. Keep it clear and professional. Example: Annual consignment fee.

• Amount (4). The dollar amount to deduct. Enter a positive number — Liberty applies it as a deduction automatically.

• Filters (5). Narrow which accounts get charged. Leave all filters blank to charge every active account. See the Understanding Filters section below for a full explanation of each filter.

Click OK (6) to save the template.

Filters are the most misunderstood part of Group Deductions. Each filter narrows the pool of accounts that will be charged. You can use one filter, several, or none. Accounts must match all active filters to be included.

Note: Filters are optional. If you leave all filters blank, the deduction applies to every active account in the system. Always run Preview Deductions before clicking Process.

After saving, your template appears in the Saved Group Deductions list.

• Edit. Modify the name, amount, transaction type, description, or filters.

• Delete. Remove a template. A template that has already been used cannot be deleted: Liberty preserves it for the transaction history.

• OK. Close the list and return to the Apply Group Deductions dialog.

Go to Activities > Accounting > Apply Group Deductions. In the Load Saved Deduction dropdown, select your template. All fields automatically populate.

You can adjust any filter here without permanently changing the saved template.

Click Preview Deductions. Never skip this step.

The preview results show every account that will be charged along with the deduction amount.

• Review the list. Scroll through and verify the accounts look correct.

• Check the record count. The number at the bottom shows how many accounts will be charged. If it is much higher or lower than expected, click Back and adjust your filters.

• Print a record. Click Print to produce a paper list before processing. Strongly recommended for your records.

• Go back if needed. Click Back to return to the filter screen and make adjustments.

When the preview looks correct, click Process. Liberty posts the deduction to every account shown immediately. There is no confirmation prompt and no automatic undo.

Warning: Processing is immediate and permanent. If you process in error, you must manually credit each affected account through Activities > Accounts > Credit/Debit Account. Always verify the preview first.

After processing, each charged account shows the deduction in its Transactions tab. The entry displays the Description you entered and the deduction amount as a negative value. This reduces the consignor's payable balance, which is reflected at payout time.

The most common mistake with Group Deductions is running the same fee more than once against the same accounts. The fix is the Last Deduction filter.

For a fee charged once per year:

• Set Last Deduction to Past / 11 / Months.

• This tells Liberty: only include accounts that have NOT had a Group Deduction within the past 11 months.

• Any account charged within the last 11 months is automatically excluded from the preview.

For a fee charged once per month:

• Set Last Deduction to Past / 3 / Weeks.

Always run Preview and check the record count against your expectations before processing. If you charged 42 accounts last year and the preview shows 300, something is wrong with the filters.

This example charges a $30.00 annual fee to all active accounts while preventing any account from being charged twice in the same year.

Saved Group Deduction settings:

What happens: When you load this template and click Preview, Liberty includes only accounts that have not had a group deduction in the past 11 months. Anyone charged within the last 11 months is automatically skipped.

Recommended workflow:

1. Run in the same month each year for consistent timing.
2. Click Preview and confirm the record count looks right.
3. Click Print to save a paper copy for your records.
4. Click Process.
5. File the printed list with your year-end accounting records.

No: there is no automatic reversal. If you process in error, you must manually credit each affected account by opening the account and using Activities > Credit/Debit Account to post a positive transaction for the deduction amount. This is why the Preview step is critical.

The Transaction Type is the accounting classification. It controls whether the deduction is payable or non-payable and which GL account it maps to for QuickBooks export. The Description is the label that appears in the consignor's Transactions tab. Consignors see the Description; your bookkeeper cares about the Transaction Type.

Every active account in the system will be charged. This is rarely the intention. Always use at least the Last Deduction filter, and always run Preview before processing.

Not in a single run. Create two separate saved deductions, one for each group, with different amounts and different Filter Codes to separate them. Run each template separately.

It tracks when a Group Deduction was last processed against each account. Manual credits or debits posted directly to an account do not affect this date. Only a processed Group Deduction run updates it.

Yes: enter the same account number in both the From and Through fields of the Account # filter. However, for a single account it is faster to go directly to the account and use Activities > Credit/Debit Account.

Click the following link to move to the next article in this section:
Spell Checking for Item Descriptions

Setting Up Group Deductions Transaction Types Setting Up A Default Weight For New Items Within A Category Define Custom Field Names Define Filter Codes Setup Fee Frequencies Setting Up Account Field Layout Setting Up Expire Groups Setting Up Locations Setting Up Store Sections to Track Inventory Locations Spell Checking for Item Descriptions