Instructions for Chapter officers submitting an annual assessment and for authorized administrators reviewing filings and recording payments.
1. Submit a Chapter assessment
Open the MEHHGC Annual Assessment Portal. The form uses the existing MEHHGC Chapter directory so each filing is associated with the correct constituent Chapter.
Choose the Chapter and assessment year. Check the Chapter name and number before continuing.
Enter the submitting officer’s information. Provide first and last name, email, phone number, the Excellent High Priest’s name, and your role in the Chapter. Use the email address where you can receive the payment receipt.
Enter the annual return counts. The form calculates additions, gross membership, deductions, current membership, and current paying membership for review.
Complete the annual return details. Verify the Chapter directory, enter assembly and officer information, and list required membership changes. More detail is below.
Select assessment items and quantities. The form lists products approved for MEHHGC. Each product uses its Stripe default price; if more than one price exists for a product, only the default appears.
Review and submit. Confirm the Chapter, year, items, and total. The filing is saved before checkout, so you can return to the same filing if payment is interrupted.
Annual return details and directory verification
Select Send verification code to verify the Chapter’s directory record. The code is sent to an eligible current officer email already on file; the form does not ask for or display that email. If no eligible email is available, contact MEHHGC staff.
After verification, select the members for the ensuing year’s officer slate and enter each officer’s name, mailing address, phone, and email. Also provide the Chapter’s mailing address, regular assembly schedule, time, and location.
Enter a name and date for every membership event counted on the return, such as members exalted, reinstated, admitted by demit, dropped, demitted, suspended, expelled, or deceased. For dropped members, identify NPD or voluntary.
Past Excellent High Priests and Grand Assembly delegates are optional. You may list up to 11 past High Priests and 3 delegates; enter the authorized Chapter office or title for each delegate.
Only select deceased or NPD changes that are confirmed. Those selected directory changes are applied to the shared Chapter record after payment is verified.
Avoid duplicate filings. If a filing already exists for the selected Chapter and year, use its saved payment flow or contact MEHHGC staff instead of submitting a second filing.
2. Understand the Manual Fee Breakdown
When an authorized administrator records a manual payment, the form lists the approved MEHHGC assessment products and calculates each line from the quantity entered and that product’s Stripe default price.
Part of the breakdown
How it is calculated
Each assessment product
Approved default unit price × quantity entered
Assessment subtotal
Add the line totals for the selected products
Offline payment total
Assessment subtotal; no online processing charge is added
Stripe invoice total
Assessment subtotal plus 2.9% of the subtotal, rounded to cents, and $0.31
Only active, approved products and each product’s default active one-time price are used. If a product has multiple prices, the form uses its default price. The administrator can review the selected products, quantities, unit prices, and calculated total before saving.
Payment type matters. A check, money order, cash, or bank transfer records the amount received. Choosing a Stripe invoice creates an invoice for the calculated amount; it does not mark the filing as paid.
3. Pay online and check status
Online payments continue through Stripe’s hosted Checkout page. OPUS does not ask you to send card details to Chapter or MEHHGC staff.
The online total includes the assessment items plus a processing charge of 2.9% of the assessment subtotal, rounded to cents, plus $0.31. For example, a $100 assessment has a $3.21 charge and a $103.21 Checkout total.
Stripe Checkout displays the Chapter name and number and the Excellent High Priest’s name in its payment note. Confirm those details before paying.
Use the payment methods offered on the Stripe Checkout page. Follow its instructions and return to the assessment page when finished.
A payment is marked paid only after Stripe confirms it. If the status says Processing, wait for confirmation and refresh the status; do not submit another filing.
After confirmation, the filing shows its payment status and the receipt is sent to the email address entered on the form.
If you close Checkout before paying, return to the saved filing and resume payment. If the filing or return link is unavailable, contact MEHHGC staff with the reference number if you have it.
Status
What it means
Pending
The filing is saved, but payment has not yet been confirmed.
Processing
Payment confirmation is still in progress.
Paid
Payment has been verified.
Partially refunded / Refunded
Stripe has confirmed a partial or full refund.
Failed / Expired
The payment attempt did not complete or the Checkout session expired. The saved filing may be eligible for another attempt.
4. Review the filing register
In OPUS, open Forms → MEHHGC Annual Assessments. The filing register gives authorized administrators a list of Chapter submissions and payment status.
Use search to find a reference, Chapter, Chapter number, officer, or email address.
Filter by assessment year or status, then select Refresh to reload the list.
The summary cards show collected funds and counts of paid, pending, and unpaid Chapters. Confirmed refunds are reflected in collected totals.
Select the underlined reference number to open the filing details, including the submitter, item breakdown, payment method, manual reference, and attachments.
Use Export CSV or Export XLSX to download records matching the current filters.
Unverified Stripe payments
For a pending, failed, or expired Stripe filing, an authorized administrator can open hosted Stripe Checkout for the Chapter or record a check or money order instead. The system checks Stripe before allowing a conversion: a confirmed or still-processing Stripe payment cannot be recorded as an offline payment. After an online payment, use Verify payment with Stripe if the register has not yet refreshed.
5. Record an offline payment
Use Record manual payment only after MEHHGC has received the payment. Select the Chapter, year, payment method, and the approved product quantities. The form calculates the item breakdown and total from the approved default prices; an online processing charge is not added to an offline payment.
For a payment already received, record check, cash, bank transfer, or money order. To request payment, select Stripe invoice; creating an invoice does not mark the filing as paid. A pending Stripe Checkout filing can be converted only to a check or money-order payment.
For a pending Stripe filing, open its details and choose Record check or money order. Any open Checkout session is closed before the offline payment is saved.
Add an optional payment reference or check/money-order memo to help staff reconcile the record.
Supporting files are optional: up to five PDF, Word, CSV, or Excel files; each can be up to 10 MB, with 20 MB total across the upload.
Administrators can edit the memo/reference on a recorded check or money-order payment. This does not change the payment amount, Chapter, or assessment year, and the edit is audit logged.
Protect financial information. Upload only documents needed to support the assessment. Attachments are not malware-scanned. Redact card numbers, security codes, and bank-account details before uploading.
6. Maintain the Chapter directory
The directory is linked to the constituent Chapters already recorded in OPUS; it is not a separate list that administrators need to rebuild.
Review each Chapter’s name, number, current Excellent High Priest, and active status.
Edit a Chapter record to correct its details. Mark a Chapter inactive if it should no longer be offered for new filings.
Inactive Chapters remain in existing filing records for historical reference.
7. Manage products shown on the form
The Stripe products tab lists approved products available to MEHHGC. The form displays only the active, approved default price for each product.
Select Hide from form to prevent new filings from choosing a product. Existing saved filings can still resume checkout.
Select Show on form to make an approved product available for new filings.
Use Up and Down to change the product order on the public form.
Product visibility and order are kept separately for the selected MEHHGC payment configuration.
The Payment settings tab is reserved for authorized administrators who manage payment availability and the organization’s selected payment configuration. Account credentials and payment-provider setup are handled separately from this guide.
8. Common questions and help
The Chapter or Excellent High Priest is missing or incorrect
Contact an authorized MEHHGC administrator to review the linked Chapter directory. Do not create a duplicate Chapter record or select another Chapter as a substitute.
The payment options are unavailable
Payment collection may be closed or the approved product list may not be available for the selected configuration. Contact MEHHGC staff; do not attempt to enter payment-provider credentials into the form.
The payment succeeded but the status is not Paid
Allow time for payment confirmation, then refresh the filing status. If it remains unresolved, provide the filing reference to MEHHGC staff so they can verify the payment. Do not pay again until staff confirms whether the first payment completed.
I need to correct a filed assessment
Contact MEHHGC staff with the filing reference. Historical filing details are retained even if a directory record is later updated.