Overview
This is only applies if you manage invoicing or payments within Music Monitor. If you use Music Monitor to calculate billing lines, but then export them for another system to manage the invoicing and payments, this does not apply.
Debtors are the billing contacts that are linked to the student records. If you import your student records from another system, these contacts can be imported too. If you enter your student data directly into Music Monitor, linking a new student to a debtor is part of that process.
Account balances show against the debtors they are allocated to, and if you use Music Monitor to send invoices the Debtors contact is where they will be sent.
A Debtors record also has a Status, which shows as "Active" if the debtor has at least one Active student associated with them.
Settings
In order to see and manage the Debtors file, you need to be set up to add rather than import students.
Go to Home > Settings > General Settings > Student Accounts
Set the first setting to "NECOM".
[Historical aside] This option was first built to accommodate the needs of New England Conservatorium of Music, and the option still bears that name, although it is now used by many more institutions.
How to Manage The Debtors File
Create a Debtor
To create a new Debtor record, see How to Add a Debtor.
Link a Student to a Debtor
After creating a Student record, you can link it to a Debtor record that already exists.
Edit a Debtor
To update the details of a debtor record, see How to Edit a Debtor.
Debtor Notes
You can record notes about debtors in the Notes/Other tab on the Debtor record.
*New in 2026!* From version 9.280 onward, if a record has a Note that is less than 90 days old, the label on Notes/Other tab will be coloured pink.
Merge Duplicate Debtors
Before creating a new Debtor record, it's important to check that a record doesn't already exist for that person. Improved search functionality makes that easier, but it is still possible to accidentally create a duplicate record, especially when people use a different email or phone number from last time they contacted you.
If you discover a duplicate, there is a script to easily merge two records along with all their activities and associated students. See Merge Debtors for guidance.
Special Payment Arrangements
Music Monitor can record and help you manage special payment arrangements for debtors. You can list different kinds of arrangements, record the next step in the arrangement for that Debtor, and distinguish those who have a special payment arrangement.
See Special Payment Arrangements and Finance Charges for guidance.
Debtor Balances
You can see a debtor's current account balance, as well as whether they have any overdue invoices, on the main screen that opens when you come to a Debtors record.
Find Debtor Balance
To find the debtor balance as at a given date involves detailed calculations, so that is managed by a script.
See Find Debtor Balance for guidance.
Debtor Report
The Debtor Report is a flexible report on amounts billed, amounts paid and totals for any time period and summarised by almost any field.
See Debtor Report for guidance.
Problematic Debtors
The Debtors file has a "traffic light" feature, which you can set manually to indicate a level of alert you wish to be associated with this account. See Traffic Light in Debtors for detail.



