Starting an adoption
An adoption is recorded from an approved application, by signing an adoption contract on it. Choosing the animals, the fee for each, and the contract all happen there. See Recording the adoption. When the contract is signed, one adoption is recorded for each animal it names, and each animal:- is marked adopted, with the adopter and the adoption day as its outcome;
- gets an adopter placement with the adopter, starting that day.
The fee
The fee is fixed when the adoption is recorded, and every figure on the adoption is worked out from it. What it starts from is the animal’s own Adoption fee, on its record. At intake, the fee box shows what your fee schedule suggests for the animal, with a Use it button; nothing is filled in until you press it. On the contract, each animal’s fee is one of:- the animal’s adoption fee less any discounts that apply, with each discount and the reason;
- the list fee, with no discount;
- another amount you type, such as a waived fee of 0.
The adoptions list
Across the top:
The columns:
Reversed adoptions are listed last; otherwise the newest adoption comes first. Use Columns to choose the columns you see.
Filters
- Status: In progress, Finalized, Reversed.
- Balance: Owes money, the adoptions with a balance still to pay. With this filter on, the count says how many are on the current page.
The adoption record
The top of the record shows the animal, the status, and “Adopted” with the day and the adopter. Print prints the page you are on.
Beside the tabs:
- Adoption: the animal and the adopter, each linking to their record, and View the application.
- Add a donation, or Donation once one is added. See A donation on top.
- Animal returned?, while the adoption is in progress. See Reversing an adoption.
The ledger
The Ledger tab starts with the money:Recorded is not received. A payment counts toward the balance only once somebody verifies it: confirms the money actually arrived. A check handed over, or a promise to pay, stays Recorded until then.
Payments
Every payment and refund, newest first, with its amount (a refund with a minus), method, reference, the day received, and its state:- Verify marks a recorded payment as arrived, by you, now.
- Void asks Why is this being voided? and then Void payment. The payment stays on the ledger, struck through with its reason, and stops counting. A void cannot be undone.
Record a payment
For money taken in person, by check, by bank transfer, or through any processor.
Choose Payment or Refund. A refund is recorded as a refund, never as a negative payment.
Tick I have confirmed this money arrived only when it has. Leave it unticked for a check or a promise to pay: it will show as recorded, not paid, until someone verifies it.
Press Record payment (or Record refund).
The form is there while the adoption is in progress. Once it is finalized or reversed, no new payments or refunds can be recorded, though a payment already on the ledger can still be verified or voided.
Taking payment online
Pay online sends the adopter a link to pay the balance by card. It needs your organization to have connected Stripe under Settings → Finance & adoption → Payments; see Finance settings. Press Make a payment link. The link appears once, for the balance owed at that moment: “send it however you talk to them”. Copy puts it on your clipboard. RescueConsole does not send it for you. When the adopter pays, the payment appears on the ledger straight away: method Online, processor Stripe, with Stripe’s id, and Verified, because Stripe has confirmed the money. A gift they add is recorded as a donation in Fundraising. Every link made for the adoption is listed with what became of it:
A link is refused before any money is taken if, by the time the adopter goes to pay, the adoption has been reversed, the fee has already been paid, or the balance has dropped below the link’s amount. Make a new link if the balance changed. While a link is still unpaid, the button reads Make a new link.
What the adopter sees
The link opens a page on your public site headed Adoption fee for the animal’s name, greeting the adopter by first name when it has one. It says how much is due to your organization, then:- Add a gift on top? Optional.: No thanks, which is chosen to begin with, your donation amounts (see Finance settings), or Or another amount.
- A box to add about 3% to cover card processing, if your settings give the payer that choice, or a line saying it is added, if your settings add it.
- A line for any other fee your payment settings pass on to the payer.
- A Pay button with the amount. “You will finish on Stripe’s secure page. We never see your card.”
Pay another way
For an adopter paying with an app they already have. Pay another way shows a code to scan for each payment app your organization set up under Settings → Finance & adoption → Payments (Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, Zelle), with the balance already in it, and the handle under it. Zelle has no code: it lives inside banking apps, so the card shows the address to send to. Any other way you set up has no code either; read the details out, or show the screen. With no payment apps set up, the card says where to add them.A donation on top
Add a donation records a gift the adopter gives on top of the fee. Type the amount and press Add donation. It is recorded as a donation in Fundraising, separate from the fee and never part of the balance, and the adopter is marked as a donor. One donation can be added per adoption; after that the card shows it.The contract
The Contract tab has two cards.Contract
The contract signed electronically. A contract signed on the approved application shows here, on every adoption it named. Each signature shows the contract’s name and version, the day, and who signed.- View the signed text shows the exact text that was signed. Editing the template later never changes it.
- Void asks Why is this being voided?, then Void signature. The signature stays on the record, marked voided, and is never deleted.
- Choose Which agreement?. The contracts offered for this adoption come first, under Offered for this record; the rest are under Other agreements. Choosing one says why it is offered, or what it is for.
- Press Show the contract to see it exactly as it will be signed.
- If the contract names the media release and the application did not answer it, choose Media release: Agreed: photos and stories may be shared or Declined.
- The adopter types their name in Type your full name to sign and ticks I have read the agreement above and consent to signing it electronically.
- Press Sign. A permanent copy of the exact text is kept.
Signed on paper
For a contract signed off-system: Signed on, Signed by and Version. Press Save. This records that a contract was signed, by whom and which version; it does not hold the document. Signing electronically fills these in too. Finalizing counts a contract as on file when Signed on is filled in. Voiding a signature does not clear it: clear it yourself if the adoption no longer has a signed contract.Finalizing
Finalizing closes the adoption and issues its receipt. While an adoption is in progress, the top of the record shows a checklist:- Outstanding balance of the amount still owed, or
- No signed contract on file, or
- Ready to finalize: balance settled and contract on file.
- issues the next receipt number (R-00001, R-00002 and so on, in order, for your organization);
- closes the adoption: no new payments or refunds can be recorded, and the Signed on paper details can no longer be changed;
- creates the follow-up tasks your organization has set up, on the animal’s record, dated from the adoption day, and says how many;
- starts any workflow set to start when the adopter’s adoption is finalized. See Workflows.
The receipt
Once the adoption is finalized, the Receipt tab shows the receipt number and the day, the Animal, Pet ID, Adopter and Adopted on, and the money: the List fee and each discount with its reason (when discounts were taken), the Adoption fee, any Donation, what was Paid, and any Balance due or Overpaid. Use Print to print it, or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print window. The receipt is not emailed to the adopter. Before finalizing, the tab says “A receipt number is issued when the adoption is finalized.”Reversing an adoption
When an animal comes back, reverse its adoption. Animal returned? is shown while the adoption is in progress. Press Reverse this adoption, give Returned on (today to begin with) and a Reason, which is required, and press Reverse. Reversing:- marks the adoption Reversed, with the day and reason at the top of the record;
- ends the adopter placement on the day returned;
- puts the animal back into care, on the first in-care status in your animal statuses (see Animal management), and clears its outcome;
- leaves the animal unhoused if the unit it was in has since been retired or taken out of service;
- records the return as an intake, dated the day returned, with the reason.