If you received notification from RunSignup regarding upgrading your payment account to advanced payment then your Race is processing on either Quick Start (Direct Deposit) or Quick Start (Check) payment account type. Over the course of 2019 we will be sunsetting these processing options so all active accounts will need to be replaced with a new Advanced Payment Account at race renewal if not sooner.
In addition, due to complications associated with the new sales tax laws, we will immediately no longer support several options for Races processing under Quick Start payment accounts. The following options are removed for Races processing under Quick Start payment account:
- Automatic Transfer of funds to Refund Reserve.
- Refund Reserve funding by Credit Card within the race dashboard.
- RaceJoy can no longer be paid for using the processing fee option.
For more information on RunSignup's updates to prepare for new sales tax functionality, see here.
We encourage payment account owners to take the steps to upgrade as soon as reasonable. If not done earlier, you will be required to upgrade during the race renewal process. You can learn about some advantages of upgrading to an Advanced account here. To begin the upgrade, go to any linked Race Dashboard and select Financial -> Payment Setup (Race Wizard Step 6; Club Wizard Step 3) and then Create New Account.
In the meantime, your payment account will continue to allow you to process transactions and existing reserve funds will function as usual. If you find you need to add additional reserve funds before you are able to upgrade, please reach out to finance@runsignup.com for help.
Many of our Quick Start (Check) and (Direct Deposit) payment accounts were set up years ago when set up requirements were . In addition to the sales tax implications we are taking this step to improve compliance with credit card industry rules, verify that all of the information on your payment account is accurate and upgrade you to an Advanced payment account. Advanced payment accounts offer a number of features which are not available on the Quick Start accounts such as a 4% fee on donations, better settlement timing on Amex transactions and up to daily payments. For more information on benefits, see Payment Accounts Options here.
If your business/organization does not have a Tax ID or EIN, you can apply for one here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between Quick Start and Advanced Payment account?
A: We say this is an "upgrade" because Advanced payment account offers all the options available on Quick Start accounts and more. Here are some of the additional benefits:
- More detailed financial reporting
- Lowered processing fee for donations of 4% (4.8% on Quick Start)
- Reduced incidence of Chargebacks (Customer sees a longer descriptor on their Bank statement)
- Quicker settlement and payment of American Express transactions (Daily versus 2 to 3 days under Quick Start)
- Less delay on weekly payments (settlements through Monday instead of the previous Friday)
- Direct deposit payments made weekly by default with no minimum balance requirement. Or you can choose to release funds Monthly or on a specific date.
- Eliminates the need for separate pay outs of reserve funds by check
- Allows for the funding of the reserve from settled funds in the race account or even from another race that shares the same payment account.
Q: Is there a cost to upgrading to Advanced Payment?
A: This is absolutely free! If you are having trouble upgrading to Advanced payment, feel free to contact us!
Q: How is this related to sales tax?
A: Quick Start payment accounts operate differently than Advanced payment in terms of cash flow. When funds are deposited to a Refund Reserve from a Quick Start payment account, the funds are held on RunSignup's Bank account and cannot be returned to your payment account. This creates a sales tax responsibility issue we would prefer to avoid. On the other hand, Advanced payment accounts deposit funds to the Refund Reserve without going through RunSignup's Bank account. Instead, the funds will remain on your Advanced payment account regardless of depositing funds to the Refund Reserve. Since the cash never flows through RunSignup's Bank account, we are not liable for the sales tax incurred by those transactions. We are hoping this transition from Quick Start to Advanced payment account is a win-win situation for both us and our customers.