Introduction
Each project has the option to maintain a general fund to be used for tests. These can be used to purchase kits for new project members, or to purchase additional tests for existing project members. To use general funds for these tests, you must place the test orders using the Bill Me Later option.
Bill Me Later
You can order new kits using the New Member Order Tool while signed into your GAP account. For existing project members who have granted you Advanced Access in their Project Preferences you may order additional testing by viewing their account and clicking the Add Ons & Upgrades button near the top right corner of their dashboard.
In either scenario, you will be taken to the shopping cart. During checkout you will see the Bill me Later check box under the Payment Method section. Any products purchased using this method will appear in the Unpaid Products tool in GAP and general funds can be applied here. The system only allows invoices to be paid in their entirety, so if you wish to make a partial payment from general funds, you will need to contact customer service.
Note: Any test(s) purchased using the Bill me Later feature will not be run in the lab or the new kit mailed out until the kit is paid in full.
Applications
Group members or administrators are able to donate to the general fund using the Donate button on the Activity Feed of the project website if you have selected this option on the Public Website tool in GAP. When a person donates, they are able to specify if their donation is to be used for a specific individual or a particular test type, or is to be used for any member.
If multiple people each wish to pay for a portion of a particular test (say, each person pitches in $5), an easy solution may be to have each person donate their portion to the general fund.
Some administrators like to encourage group members to upgrade their tests by offering to pay a partial amount for the test. The general fund is a good way to facilitate this. Often, group administrators like to use the Bulk Email Tool to advertise such promotions, particularly during sales.
The General Fund tool itself shows the amounts added to and deducted from the general fund. In order to pay for tests, you will need to do so from the Unpaid Products tool.