How can my newspaper pay fees and refunds owed to Column?

There are a few scenarios in which a newspaper owes funds to Column:

1. If an invoice is paid directly to the newspaper, then Column needs to reclaim the processing fee.

2. If a notice is refunded to the customer after Column pays the newspaper for the notice, then Column needs to reclaim the refund amount.

By default, Column collects fees and refunds from the newspaper automatically via Stripe by deducting these amounts from the next payout to the newspaper. If the amount owed to Column exceeds the amount Column owes to the publisher, then a "negative payout" might result, meaning Column debits the publisher's bank account via Stripe Connect.

This default collection method might not work well for your newspaper if any of the following is true:

• Your bank account does not allow direct debit

• Your newspaper is not set up for payouts via Stripe

• Your accountants want to keep AR and AP in separate transactions with Column

If your newspaper needs to set up an alternative collections method to pay fees and refunds (the two types of AP you might owe to Column), then Column offers "monthly invoices" to collect these funds. Monthly invoices automatically sum up fees and refunds owed to Column for notices in a given billing period. Contact your Customer Success Manager if you want to enroll your newspaper in monthly invoices, and check out the FAQs below for more information.

You will receive your newspaper's monthly invoice on the first of every month.

Column will send monthly invoices via email to the person who manages billing and accounting for your newspaper. 

You can pay monthly invoices via card, ACH, or check. These options are detailed on the invoice PDF.

When you receive your invoice via email, you'll see a link to download a report about the invoice. (You'll also see a download link on the second page of your invoice PDF.) Click this link to download spreadsheets detailing the notices included in each line item for that billing period. One spreadsheet will show the notices for which you owed Column processing fees; the other will show notices refunded to the customer. These spreadsheets include helpful information like the customer's name and order number, the notice publication dates and ID in Column, and more. 

Each invoice includes two line items:

• Processing Fee (Out of Platform)

  • This sums up all processing fees owed for notices that were both A) paid directly to the newspaper and B) had affidavits uploaded to Column within the billing period.

• Public Notice Refund

  • This sums up the refunded amounts for all notices refunded to customers in the billing period — if Column had already paid the newspaper for the notice.

Nope! Say a notice gets canceled, and the fee was already collected via a Column invoice. Upon cancellation, Column will issue a credit for the processing fee amount. This credit will appear on your next invoice, reducing the total owed to Column in the current billing cycle — and effectively refunding you for the fee we collected for the canceled notice. These notices will appear in a spreadsheet titled processing_fee_refunds in your download.

The Column team will set you up behind the scenes. All you have to do is sit tight and wait to receive your first invoice.