Annual Associate Renewal Fee (U.S. and Canada)

Per the Market Center License Agreement, (part of the Franchise Disclosure Document), section 5.03 Other Fees and Charges, a $25 Annual Associate Fee is collected by the market center for all US and Canadian associates for establishing and maintaining affiliation with the Keller Williams System. This includes all in status A=Active, PO=Personnel, or VR=Vested Retired as of the January transmittal completed by the third business day of February.

Any Associate, including Vested/Retired, opting to not maintain their affiliation with Keller Williams will also result in loss of their status in the profit share system.

December:

From WinMORE, print list of VR status associates for the annual associate renewal fee. Send out letters to VR associates with instructions on paying the $25 annual fee along with a declination form should they choose to opt out. The Cover Letter and Letter of Declination are available attached below and at KWConnect > Resources > Leadership Hub > MCA Resources (scroll to the collection of bubbles in the middle of the page) > MC Operations). For more information on the process for agents who decline or cannot be reached, see the knowledge base article Removing Vested Associate from the Profit Share System.

Any amounts received in December must be coded to a Market Center User Defined liability account named Prepaid Renewal Fees on the Balance Sheet prior to transmitting December data. In January you will move the total amount out of the liability account to Annual Associate Renewal Fee on the Income Statement. (9-9030 for AccountEdge, 9903-0000 for Lonewolf)

If the market center no longer has contact with a (VR) associate and has tried unsuccessfully to locate the associate, follow the process for removing associates from the profit share system. We also have some tips on how to search for vested agents that are not responding to you.

Tip: Start the process of contacting VR associates early to ensure adequate time for a response; and allow the MCA time to submit all documentation to KWRI for VR removals. One of the following documents is required to remove an associate from profit share: 

• signed letter of declination - with associate name and full 7-8-digit MORE ID (one associate per page); link for the KWRI form is available in the articles; use DocuSign to secure signatures
• scan of the green delivery confirmation postcard for the certified mail item
• scan of returned certified mail envelope showing the certified mail receipt sticker and return information sticker - with associate name and full 7-8-digit MORE ID (one associate per page)
• scan of USPS online tracking report showing certified mail delivery status - include the initial certified mail receipt along with associate name and full 7-8-digit MORE ID (one associate per page)

January:
The market center will collect the annual associate renewal fee from all other associates (PO and A) either in a separate January billing or as part of the normal monthly agent billing.

Invoice Associates:

In WinMORE, click Year End and select Renewal Report to see a preliminary list of associates the market center will be charged for. (See chart at the bottom of this article for help on who will be charged)
Invoice your associates using the "Annual Associate Renewal Fee" account for all activity regarding this fee. The $5 that remains in the MC is to remain in this account and should not be moved into Other Income.

Associate Transfers to KWEN MC

In the event that an associate transfers to a Keller Williams Expansion Network Market Center, the market center that the associate recently joined will be the one to pay the renewal fee. Please note, this situation will only apply in a case of a KWEN MC.

February:

Following your January data transmittal (in February) and the posting of the Associate Renewal Detail CYYY report, you will create an invoice to KWRI to record the payment of the KWRI portion of the fees. You will use the same account you used to invoice your associates (9-9030 for AccountEdge, 9903-0000 for Lonewolf) leaving the market center portion in that account as other income.

Of the $25 per associate:

• $20 will be drafted by KWRI from your market center’s bank account in mid-February based on your associates’ status as of your January transmittal (to be completed the third business day of February).
• $5 remains with your market center and should be allocated to the “Annual Associate Renewal Fee” account.

KWRI will compile a list of associates from the market center as of the January transmittal and will draft the market center's bank account $20 for each. Detail of the associates included will be posted in late February or early March to KWConnect under: REPORTS > MARKET CENTER > ASSOCIATE RENEWAL DETAIL CYYY.

Refer to the Associate Renewal Report located on KWConnect for the official list of who your market center was billed for.

March:

If your Market Center was charged for associates and it should not have been, you may request a credit after the fees have been drafted. Please send an email to mcasupport@kw.com detailing the associates you should be credited for, including the following information:

• associate name
• associate WinMORE ID (####*####)
  

Credits:

Each market center will have the opportunity, after the fees have been drafted, to request a $20 credit for associates they believe they should not have been billed for. Do NOT request credits based on who you invoiced - refer to the KWRI official report for who you were billed for by KWRI. If you were not billed by KWRI, no credit is necessary.

Requests for credit must be sent to MCASupport@kw.com by the last business day of March by 5:00 pm CT accompanied by

• the Associate Renewal Detail 2023 report from KWConnect>Reports - highlight the associates you have been charged for but who have been requested removed from profit share with the proper documentation
• a list of all VR declinations/removals submitted between February 1 and March 31 (or last business day), and
• a screenshot of the annual fee bank draft from your bank account.

To be eligible for a credit, the associate must have been requested to be removed from the KW profit sharing system (applies to VR associates only) and the request be submitted by March 31st. Requests received AFTER March 31st will be processed, however are not eligible for credits. Click here for the process to request an associate be removed.