Accounting FAQ

Agreements

Why don’t I see the digital option in my renewal agreement?

ARC was updated to allow print renewals without reissuing digital agreements. Since digital deals are now connected to the account, not the agreement, you don’t need to cancel or reissue the digital portion when renewing a print contract.

What is considered a billable ad?

An ad is billable if:

It’s a brand-new design
Additional edits are requested after the initial proof
The design takes more than 15 minutes
The layout has changed
The ad is resized (e.g., half page → full page)

Each publisher receives a set number of complimentary design credits per month, based on their tier. Read more here: Managing Design Service Credits and Fees

Why isn’t the $50 digital fee included in the Ads List total?

Digital deals are separate from print ads and creative in ARC. Clients are billed separately for digital (if applicable), and those charges don’t appear on client invoices. Digital deals also don’t count toward the print agreement’s TCV. Publishers receive 20% of revenue from digital deals.

Contract Cancellations

My client is closing their business—how do I cancel their contract?

To cancel without fees, Accounting requires proof of business closure, such as:

Articles of dissolution
Public announcement (e.g., social media post)

My advertiser sold their business, the new owner does not want to keep the agreement.

If a new business owner claims that their purchase agreement supersedes that and chooses to ignore the contract, then the publishers can continue to run the ad for 90 days, and after 90 days of non-payment, they can cancel the ad, and we can assign the debt to them. They can then pursue the new business owner for the funds. As long as there is a trail of repeated attempts to communicate with the new business owner and show they were aware of the previous agreement, there is a strong case that they will have to pay. Of course, different states may have different protections around business assignments, but overall, our agreement clearly shows that the contract stays in place if the business is sold. As long as we have made the new business owner aware, they can't claim ignorance.

Per the terms and conditions of our contract, the first section outlines that any successors of ours or the clients must still abide by the terms of the original contract:

Acceptance. By signing below and by advertising with Lifestyle Publications, LLC, its successors and assigns (City Lifestyle), Advertiser, its successors and assigns, and including its buying agencies or services (Advertiser) agrees without limitation or qualification to be bound by, and to comply with these Terms and Conditions.

Read more here: Contract Takeover / Business Buyout

Does a cancellation request expire?

Yes. A cancellation request expires after one week if not accepted/paid. Work with your sales team to determine next steps.

Can you send me a previous, unsigned cancellation invoice?

No. Once a cancellation request expires, the fees are no longer stored or available in ARC.

The client says they submitted a cancellation, but ads are still showing in ARC—why?

If a cancellation is complete, ARC will show a note at the bottom of the agreement. Both the client and publisher should have received a confirmation email with the subject line: "Your ad agreement has been canceled." You can also check the account history for this confirmation.

Commissions

I am a new publisher. When will I receive my first commission check?

Commission payments begin the month of your first issue. If delayed, submit a support ticket.

I changed banks. How do I update my commission payment info?

Download the Direct Payment Authorization Form for Publishers.
Send the completed form to: accounting@citylifestyle.com

Where can I see my commissions?

You can view your Commission Report in ARC:

Go to the Reporting tab
Select Commission Report

Why isn’t my client’s payment showing up on my commission report?

If there is an open invoice, the payment is applied immediately.
If no invoice exists yet, the payment will not reflect in commissions until ARC generates one.

Why is there a 7% rate card fee on my commissions report?

If the auto-payment percentage for a magazine drops below 70%, Lifestyle collects commissions at the rate card rate—this is a 7% fee.

This is outlined in Section 4(c) and Exhibit C of the Franchise Agreement. Note: The 70% threshold applies to each magazine, not by publisher.

Payments

My client wants to pay directly from their bank account—can I do it for them?

No. For legal reasons, publishers cannot process payments on behalf of clients. Clients can:

Use their bank account or credit card via the Customer Portal
Mail a manual check to:

Lifestyle Publications

514 W 26th Street

Kansas City, MO 64108

My client wants to pay in advance for several months.

Clients can:

Go to the Payments tab in the Customer Portal.
Click Enter Payment.
Select the contract.
Enter the payment amount.
Choose the method and click Enter Payment.

Advance payments are stored as Deferred Revenue and automatically applied to future invoices.

If you would like to create a manual invoice to include the specific amount of insertions, you can use the Invoice Template here.

How do I change the invoice date?

ARC does not allow date changes on automatic invoices. To control timing:

Create a manual invoice using the invoice template
Use this format:
Invoice Number = (YearMonth)-(8-digit agreement #)
Example: 202412-00114078

Can my client split their payment between multiple cards?

Yes. In the Customer Portal:

Go to the Invoices tab.
Select the invoice.
Click Pay.
Enter the partial amount and pay with Card #1.
Click Pay again and use Card #2 for the remainder.

Has my check arrived? Where do I send it?

Make checks payable to:

Lifestyle Publications

514 W 26th Street

Kansas City, MO 64108

We check and apply mailed checks daily. If it's not in the system, we haven’t received it.

Why hasn’t my ACH payment posted?

For ACH payments to be applied:

Clients must send remittance details to: accounting@citylifestyle.com
Include the invoice number for accurate application

We encourage setting up automatic payments via credit card or e-check, as this allows for payments to be applied immediately and automatically in ARC. Read more here: How to Update a Payment Method for a Client

Why did my client’s new/updated payment method get declined?

When a new payment method is added, ARC runs a $0 test transaction. A decline usually means:

Incorrect payment info
Fraud flag from the client’s bank
Incorrect billing address in ARC

Have the client double-check the info or contact their bank. Read more here: How to Update a Payment Method for a Client

How do I know if a client’s payment was declined?

Currently, there is no automated alert system for declined payments. What to do:

Automatic payments are attempted up to 3 times

If unpaid 5 business days after the processing date, submit a support ticket for the card details