HansaWorld - Integrated ERP and CRM

Introduction to the Receipt Register

As important as the invoicing itself is the filing of incoming payments in the Receipts register. It is by keeping the Invoice and Receipts registers up to date that you can operate an efficient debt-chasing system.

Entering a Receipt

In the Sales Ledger module, click the [Receipts] button in the Master Control panel. The 'Receipts: Browse' window is opened, showing Receipts already entered.

Receipts are numbered consecutively. In the list, the Receipt Number is followed by a check mark if the Receipt is approved, by the Date, any Reference and the total amount of the Receipt.

To enter a new Receipt, click [New] in the Button Bar or use the Ctrl-N (Windows and Linux) or ⌘-N (Macintosh) keyboard shortcut. Alternatively, highlight a Receipt similar to the one you want to enter and click [Duplicate] on the Button Bar.

The 'Receipt: New' window is opened, empty if you clicked [New] or containing a duplicate of the highlighted Receipt.

The principle for entering a Receipt is that you know at least:

How much has actually been received; and
any extra fees charged by the bank.

First a run-through of the fields.

Ser. No.: Paste Special Select from another Number Series; The number of the Receipt: FirstOffice will enter the next unused number from the number sequence specified in the Number Series Defaults setting or from the first record in the Number Series - Receipts setting. You may change this number, but not to one that has already been used.
Trans. Date: Paste Special Choose date; The Transaction Date for the Receipt: the date when the Receipt is posted to your Nominal Ledger.
Reference: You can use this field if you need to identify the Receipt by any means other than the Receipt Number (e.g. a bank reference in the case of credit transfers or BACS payments).; The Reference is shown in the 'Receipts: Browse' window, allowing you to search for a Receipt with a particular Reference. This Reference will be copied to the Reference field of any Nominal Ledger Transaction generated from this Receipt.
Pay Mode: Paste Special Payment Modes setting, Sales/Purchase Ledger; The Payment Mode is the method of payment (e.g. cheque, credit card or cash). It determines the Nominal Ledger Account that will be debited by the Receipt.; On a single Receipt it is possible to enter payments from different Customers against different Invoices. It is also possible to enter payments across Payment Modes: specifying a Payment Mode for any of the individual payments in the grid will override that entered here.
Comment: Default taken from Payment Mode
The text for the Payment Mode. This text may be changed.

Use the grid area that takes up most of the screen to list the Invoices being paid by this Receipt. A single Receipt can be allocated to several Invoices, and/or feature payments in different Payment Modes. The Payment Mode reflects not only the payment method (i.e. cheque, cash or credit card) but also the Bank Account debited. So, all payments received in a single day can be entered using a single Receipt record, irrespective of Payment Mode. It is recommended that, to facilitate reconciliation with the bank's statement of account, you should use one Receipt record to represent the monies paid into the bank on a single paying-in slip.

Each record in the Receipt register results in one Nominal Ledger Transaction, with bank or other institution as debit Account (taken from the Payment Mode).

You can also bring Invoices into a Receipt by opening the 'Invoices: Browse' window, selecting a range of Invoices by clicking while holding down the Shift key, and then dragging them to the Invoice No field in the first empty Receipt row. You can also copy a list of Invoice Numbers in a spreadsheet or word processor and paste them in the Invoice No field in the first empty row.

Flip A

Inv. No.: Paste Special Open, approved Invoices, Invoice register; The number of the Invoice being paid. When you enter an Invoice Number, if the Invoice qualifies for an early settlement discount, a discount row will be inserted automatically, together with a suggested discount amount. This is calculated using the formula specified for the appropriate Payment Terms record.; Note that when you use 'Paste Special', only unpaid Invoices will appear in the selection list. However, Invoices against which an unapproved Receipt has been entered are treated as unpaid and thus will be listed. Sorting the 'Paste Special' selection by Customer will allow you quickly to find the Invoice that is being paid.; If you do not know which Invoices are being paid by a particular Receipt, leave this field blank and enter the Customer Number in the next field instead. After you have entered the value of the payment in the Received Value field, use the 'Distribute Receipt' function on the Operations menu to allocate the Receipt to the Customer's oldest outstanding Invoices.; If the Receipt is a Prepayment or On Account Receipt from a Customer with an account (marked using the On Account box on the 'Company' card of the Customer screen) for which an Invoice has not yet been raised, leave this field blank and enter a Prepayment Number on flip C instead. This is fully described on the On Account Receipts and Prepayments page.
Cust. No.: Paste Special Customers in Customer register; Default taken from Invoice or Sales Order; Entered by FirstOffice when you enter an Invoice Number (or when you enter a Prepayment Number that is also an Order Number on flip C). In the case of account Customers, type in the Customer Number and use the 'Distribute Receipt' function on the Operations menu to select the Invoices being paid.
Pay Date: The date when the payment was made. If you are not using the Allow Trans. Date Changing option in the Transaction Settings setting in the Nominal Ledger, this date must be the same as the Transaction Date (in the header) and cannot be changed independently.
Bank Amount: Default taken from Received Value; The amount paid in to your Bank Account. Usually, this will be the same as the Received Value (below). Do not use this field to subtract bank fees from the amount paid: the Bank Fee field on flip E is provided for this purpose.
Received Val: Default taken from Outstanding amount on Invoice or Sales Order total; The amount received against the Invoice. You can change the default figure in the event of partial payments or overpayments.; When you enter a Prepayment Number that is also an Order Number on flip C, the Order total will appear here.

Flip B

Open Inv. Value: The outstanding amount of the Invoice being paid. This field cannot be changed.
Invoice Val: The amount received.

Flip C

P. Mode: Paste Special Payment Modes setting, Sales/Purchase Ledger; Enter a Payment Mode, if different from the Payment Mode entered in the header. This allows different payments on the same Receipt to be debited to different Bank Accounts.
Cheque No.: Record the number of the cheque used for the payment here.
Prepay. No.: Paste Special Sales Order register; If the payment is a Prepayment (i.e. one where it is not possible to specify an Invoice Number on flip A), you should enter a Prepayment Number here. This can be a number of your own generation, the number allocated to the prepayment by the Customer or, preferably, the number of the Sales Order against which the deposit has been received. If you want to ensure that only Sales Order Numbers can be used, switch on the Use Sales Order No for Prepayments option in the Down Payments setting in the Sales Support module. If you use a Sales Order number, the Customer on flip A will be changed to that of the Order, and the Bank Amount and Received Value will be changed to the Order total.; When you raise an Invoice to be set against the Prepayment, you can connect the two using the 'Connect to Prepayment' function on the Operations menu of the Invoice screen. This is fully described on the On Account Receipts and Prepayments page. If a deposit or prepayment exists without a Prepayment Number, it will not be made available to that function and connecting it to an Invoice will be more difficult. Prepayments that do not have a Prepayment Number will not be shown in the Prepayment History report.; You can immediately raise an Invoice to be set against the Prepayment, using the 'Create Down Payment' Operations menu function.

Flip D

Text: FirstOffice will enter the Customer's Name, as entered in the Customer register. You may change this if you wish.
V-Cd, VAT Val: These fields are only used if you are using the Post Receipt VAT and/or Post Prepayment VAT options on the 'Debtors' card of the Account Usage S/L setting. Users of the Cash VAT scheme in the UK will need to use both options, users resident in the Baltic States may only need to use the Post Prepayment VAT option, and users in Poland may only need to use the Post Receipt VAT option.; If you are using the Post Receipt VAT option, your output VAT liability is calculated from your Receipts, not from your Invoices. In this case, the VAT Code and VAT Value will be brought in to these fields automatically when you enter an Invoice Number on flip A (the VAT Code comes from the first row of the Invoice). When you approve and save the Receipt, the VAT amount will be moved from the temporary VAT Output Account to the final one (the O/P Account), as specified in the VAT Codes setting in the Nominal Ledger.; The Post Receipt VAT option also adds a VAT element to On Account Receipts. Once again, the O/P Account for the VAT Code is credited and the Output Account for the VAT Code is debited with the VAT amount.; Take care with these fields when entering On Account Receipts. As On Account Receipts do not have an Invoice Number or a Prepayment Number, you must enter a VAT Code manually if you are using the Cash VAT scheme (i.e. if you are using the Post Receipt VAT option). The VAT Value will then be calculated from the Received Value. The Nominal Ledger Transaction resulting from the Receipt will not have a VAT element if the VAT Code or VAT Value is blank.; If you are using the Post Prepayment VAT option, when you enter and approve a Prepayment Receipt with a VAT element, the O/P Account for the VAT Code will be credited and the Prepayment VAT Account specified on the $MAILLIN(FOP0201SETTINGS_Account_Usage_SL_Exchange_Rate_Card,'Exchange Rate') card of the Account Usage S/L setting will be debited.; In the case of Prepayments whose Prepayment Number is not an Order Number, the Domestic VAT Code from the Customer or from the 'VAT' card of the Account Usage S/L setting will be placed here as a default when you enter the Prepayment Number. The VAT Value will then be calculated from the Received Value. If the Prepayment Number is an Order Number, the VAT Code and VAT Value will be brought in automatically from the Order (the VAT Code comes from the first row of the Order).; In all cases, if a particular VAT Code does not have an O/P Account, the VAT (C/A) Account from the 'Debtors' card of the Account Usage S/L setting will be used instead.

Flip E

Bank Fee: Enter any fee charged by the bank for this payment. Bank fees will be debited to the Bank Fee Account specified on the 'Debtors' card of the Account Usage S/L setting and credited to the Bank Account specified in the Payment Mode.; Note that this field allows you to specify a Bank Fee for each row (or for a single particular row) on the Receipt, remembering that each row can have a different Payment Mode and therefore a different debit (Bank) account. If you want to record a single Bank Fee for the entire Payment, use the 'New Fee' function on the Operations menu.

Footer

OK: You can approve a Receipt by clicking this check box. When you click [Save] to save the Receipt, the Bank Account specified for the Payment Mode will be debited and the Debtor Control Account of the Invoice being paid will be credited. No further modifications to the Receipt will be possible.; You can use Access Groups to control who can approve Receipts. To do this, deny access to the 'OKing Receipts' Action.; References in these web pages to approved Receipts are to Receipts whose OK check box has been switched on.
Deposited: The sum of the Bank Amounts: the total for this Receipt.

Checking and Approving Receipts

Before you approve a Receipt, you should check it to ensure that no mistakes have been made in entering it to FirstOffice.

Once you have checked it, there are two ways to approve a Receipt:

Click the OK check box with the Receipt on screen and then save it by clicking [Save].
Select a Receipt by clicking on it in the 'Receipts: Browse' window, and select 'OK' on the Operations menu. By holding down the Shift key you can highlight a batch of Receipts to approve at a single stroke using this method.

The approval causes the Receipt to be inserted into your Sales Ledger. Except when expressly instructed otherwise, only approved Receipts are shown in reports. Just as with Invoices, if so defined in the Sub Systems setting in the Nominal Ledger, a Nominal Ledger Transaction is generated and passed to the Nominal Ledger when the Receipt is approved.

!	After approving a Receipt, it cannot be altered.

You can use Access Groups to control who can approve Receipts. To do this, deny access to the 'OKing Receipts' Action.

Nominal Ledger Transactions from Receipts

When a Receipt is approved and saved, a Nominal Ledger Transaction will be generated automatically if you have so determined in the Sub Systems setting in the Nominal Ledger. Please click here for full details of this Transaction.

Once the Transaction has been generated, you can look at it straight away using the 'Open NL Transaction' function on the Operations menu.

Operations Menu

The Operations menus for Receipts are shown above. The first illustration shows the Operations menu for the 'Receipts: Browse' window: highlight one or more Receipts (hold down the Shift key while clicking) in the list before selecting the function. The second illustration shows the Operations menu for the 'Receipt: New' and 'Receipt: Inspect' windows.

Operations Menu - OK

This command is available on the Operations menu only from the 'Receipts: Browse' window. It allows you to approve a Receipt and is therefore the equivalent of checking the OK box in a Receipt record. You can also select several Receipts (hold down the Shift key to select a range of Receipts in the list) and approve them all at once. Remember that, if so defined in the Sub Systems setting in the Nominal Ledger, this action causes Nominal Ledger Transactions to be created for each Receipt in the selection and that therefore once it has been carried out you will no longer be able to modify those Receipts.

You can use Access Groups to control who can approve Receipts. To do this, deny access to the 'OKing Receipts' Action.

Operations Menu - New Cash Discount

In normal circumstances, when an Invoice is paid, a settlement discount will be calculated automatically when you enter the Receipt. This discount depends on the Payment Terms of the Invoice and the Receipt Date. The 'New Cash Discount' function is provided for more individual circumstances. After you have specified an Invoice Number, change the Received Value to the figure paid (i.e. the Invoice Total less cash discount). Press Tab or Return (but make sure the cursor is in the same row) and select this function. A new row will be created, containing the phrase "Cash Disc". As a default, the Received Value field will be set to the figure that remains outstanding on the Invoice: you can change this figure as appropriate. When the Nominal Ledger Transaction is created, the Cash Discount Account specified on the 'Debtors' card of the Account Usage S/L setting will be debited.

Operations Menu - New Write-off

You can use this function to write off an Invoice. Specify the Invoice to be written off and change the Received Value to zero. If you need to record a partial payment and wish to write off the remainder, change the Received Value to the value of the partial payment. Press Tab or Return (but make sure the cursor is in the same row) and then select this function. A new row will be created, containing the phrase "Write off". The Received Value field will be set to the remaining outstanding amount (i.e. the amount that is to be written off). This can be changed if you do not want to write off the whole of the outstanding amount. Approve and save the Receipt in the usual way. When the Nominal Ledger Transaction is created, the Write Offs Account specified on the 'Exchange Rate' card of the Account Usage S/L setting will be debited. If you need to write off several Invoices, use the 'Write off Invoices' Maintenance function.

Operations Menu - New Fee

You should use this function when you need to pay a single bank charge for the whole Receipt. If you need to register separate bank charges for each Receipt row, use the Bank Fee field on flip E.

Start by entering the Invoice number in the left-hand column. Change the Received Value to the amount less bank charges. Then select 'New Fee' from the Operations menu. A new row will be created, containing the phrase "Fee". Enter the Bank Fee in the right-hand Amount field. When the Nominal Ledger Transaction is created, the Bank Fee Account specified on the 'Debtors' card of the Account Usage S/L setting will be debited. The Received Value less the Bank Fee will be debited to the Bank Account from the Payment Mode, while the full Received Value will be credited to the Debtor Account.

Operations Menu - Distribute Receipt

In certain cases a Customer can pay a lump sum without indicating any Invoice Numbers. In this circumstance, specify the Customer Number and enter a Received Value and then select this command. FirstOffice will spread the amount over one or more Invoices as appropriate, starting with the open Invoice with the lowest Invoice Number.

Move the cursor out of the Amount field before running this function.

Operations Menu - Write-off Prepayment

Use this function when you need to write off a Prepayment. Specify the Customer on the first row of the grid. Move to flip C and specify the Prepayment to be written off in the Prepay. No field. Press Tab or Return (but make sure the cursor is in the same row) and then select this function. The open Prepayment value will be brought in as a negative figure.

When you approve and save the Receipt, the resulting Nominal Ledger Transaction will be the reverse of that created from the original Prepayment.

Operations Menu - Check Receipt Amounts

This command creates a quick report, only available by using this function. This report shows, for each row on the Receipt, the Invoice being paid, how much was paid and how much remains outstanding.

You must save the Receipt by clicking the [Save] button in the Button Bar before you can produce the report.

Operations Menu - Create Down Payment

You can raise an Invoice immediately from the Receipt screen when you receive a deposit (or 'Down Payment') against an Order.

Enter a Down Payment by the Customer, but leave the Invoice Number blank. Instead, specify a Prepayment Number on flip C. For the purpose of the 'Create Down Payment' function, this must be the Order Number of the Order against which the Down Payment has been received. Use 'Paste Special' to obtain a list of Orders from which you can choose the correct one. The Customer on flip A will be changed to that of the Order, and the Bank Amount and Received Value will be changed to the Order total. Change the Received Value to the value of the Down Payment if this is different. The Customer must be one whose On Account box on the 'Company' card has been checked.

If you changed the Received Value, move the cursor out of that field but in all cases ensure that it is in the row containing the Down Payment. Make sure too that the Received Value is greater than zero and that the Inv No field in that row is blank. Then select 'Create Down Payment' from the Operations menu. An Invoice for the Down Payment is created immediately. It is opened in a new window, entitled 'Invoice: Inspect'. This means that it has been created and saved and is being opened for amendment and approval. The text ("Deposit for" in the illustration) is taken from the Down Payments setting in the Sales Support module, while the VAT Code (and therefore the VAT calculation) and the Sales Account are taken from the Item specified in that setting.

Approve the Invoice and print it in the usual way. Then, close it using the close box. When you return to the Receipt, the Invoice Number field will have been filled in with the Number of the new Invoice, and the Prepayment Number will have been removed:

Approve the Receipt and save it in the usual way by clicking [Save]. If you did not approve the Down Payment Invoice, you will not be able to save the Receipt because you cannot receive payments against unapproved Invoices.

!	Remember to save the Receipt for the Down Payment

You can only create one Down Payment Invoice from a particular Order. Subsequent Down Payment Invoices created from an Order will be for a zero amount.

This function creates an Invoice when a deposit is received for which no Invoice exists. If you choose not to create a Down Payment Invoice straight away, please refer to the On Account Receipts and Prepayments page for details of allocating the payment to an Invoice raised later.

Operations Menu - Open NL Transaction

When you approve and save a Receipt, if so defined in the Sub Systems setting in the Nominal Ledger, a Nominal Ledger Transaction will be created. This function allows you to view that Transaction.

On selecting the function, the Transaction will be opened in a new window.

On Account Receipts and Prepayments

You can use On Account Receipts and Prepayments when you receive payments from Customers without reference to specific Invoices (usually before you have raised the Invoices). You can enter these payments to the Receipt register without specifying an Invoice Number on flip A. In the case of a Prepayment, specify a Prepayment Number on flip C instead. In the case of an On Account Receipt, leave both the Invoice Number and the Prepayment Number blank. Please click for full details of Prepayments and On Account Receipts.

On Account Receipts and Prepayments - Prepayments

You will usually use a Prepayment Receipt when a Customer has paid a deposit against a Sales Order, before you have issued an Invoice for that deposit.

For each Customer likely to pay deposits, switch on the On Account check box on the 'Company' card. Then specify a separate control or suspense Account on the 'Exchange Rate' card of the Account Usage S/L setting, using the On Account A/C field.

When you receive a Prepayment from a Customer, you should record it in the Receipt register. Leave the Invoice Number blank, and instead specify a Prepayment Number should be specified on flip C. This can be a number of your own generation, the number allocated to the pre-payment by the Customer or, preferably, the number of the Sales Order against which the deposit has been received. Using 'Paste Special" from this field will open a list of Sales Orders from which the correct one can be chosen. If you want to ensure that only Sales Order Numbers can be used, switch on the Use Sales Order No for Prepayments option in the Down Payments setting in the Sales Support module. If you use a Sales Order Number, the Customer Number on flip A will change to that from the Sales Order and the Received Value will be changed to the Order value. Change this to the value of the deposit if this is different:

The special Account for on account Customers is 806, since receiving a Prepayment creates a liability. The Nominal Ledger Transaction generated when the Receipt is approved and saved will credit the Received Value to this Account. The debit Account is taken from the Payment Mode as usual:

When you make a sale, you can raise an Invoice. When you do this, you can allocate the Prepayment to that Invoice so that it can be treated as paid.

If you used an Order Number as the Prepayment Number, it is likely that you will create the Invoice from the Order screen using the 'Create Invoice' Operations menu function. When the 'Invoice: Inspect' window is opened, you will be warned that an open Prepayment (i.e. one that has not yet been allocated to an Invoice) exists in the Customer's name. This will remind you to allocate the Prepayment to the Invoice. If you enter the Invoice directly to the Invoice register, the same warning will appear when you enter the Customer Number. In this case, add the Items sold to the grid area in the usual way.

When you are certain that the Invoice is complete, select 'Connect to Prepayment' from the Operations menu. In the first blank row of the grid area, a reference to the Prepayment is entered. Enter the Prepayment Number of the Receipt row representing the Prepayment, using 'Paste Special' if necessary to bring up a list of open (unallocated) Prepayments. This list shows open Receipt rows with a Prepayment Number and without an Invoice Number. Receipt rows that do not have a Prepayment Number or an Invoice Number will not be in this list: please refer to the 'On Account Receipts' page for details of allocating these to Invoices.

Select a Prepayment from the list by double-clicking. The Prepayment Number will be shown in the special Prepayment row. An amount will also be shown. This will be the whole open value of the Prepayment, or the value of the Items including VAT (i.e. the Invoice value) whichever is the lower. This figure will be credited to the Debtor Account when you approve and save the Invoice, so the Invoice will be treated as paid to that extent.

When you approve the Invoice, the consequent Nominal Ledger Transaction will combine the usual Invoice postings with those incurred by allocating a payment against the Invoice. This maintains a correct Sales Ledger for the Customer:

The status of the Invoice and of the Prepayment will now be as follows:

if the Invoice value is the same as the whole open value of the Prepayment, the Invoice is treated as paid and will not appear in the Open Invoice Customer Statement. The Prepayment is fully used up by the Invoice, so it is no longer regarded as open;
if the Invoice value is less than the whole open value of the Prepayment, the Invoice is treated as paid and will not appear in the Open Invoice Customer Statement. The Prepayment is not fully used up by the Invoice, so the remaining outstanding amount is still regarded as open; or
if the Invoice value is more than the whole open value of the Prepayment, the Invoice is treated as part-paid. The Prepayment is fully used up by the Invoice, so it is no longer regarded as open.

Note that it is important to ensure that the Invoice is complete before selecting 'Connect to Prepayment' from the Operations menu. The function calculates the amount shown in the special Prepayment row: this is the amount that will be credited to the Debtor Account and therefore the amount that goes towards paying off the Invoice. If the Invoice is incomplete when the function is selected to the extent that its total is less than the open value of the Prepayment, the Invoice total will be the amount shown in the special Prepayment row. When the remaining Items and/or Freight are added to the Invoice and it is then approved and saved, this is the figure that will be credited to the Debtor Account. So the Invoice will not be paid off to the extent that it should be, and a proportion of the Prepayment value will remain open.

If you select 'Connect to Prepayment' before the Invoice is complete (it may be that a late change is required) you can either change the amount shown in the special Prepayment row or you can delete the special Prepayment row and use 'Connect to Prepayment' once again. If you choose the former option, you will be prevented from entering an amount that is greater than the open value of the Prepayment, or greater than the Invoice total.

!	Ensure the Invoice is complete before using 'Connect to Prepayment'.

If you have used 'Connect to Prepayment' and you are unable to save the Invoice, the probable reason is that the date of the Prepayment is later than that of the Invoice. The date of the Prepayment must be the same as or earlier than that of the Invoice.

On Account Receipts and Prepayments - On Account Receipts

An On Account Receipt is one with no Invoice Number and with no Prepayment Number. It is possible to connect an On Account Receipt to a subsequent Invoice, but you cannot use the 'Connect to Pre-Payment' function. Instead, you should first enter and approve the Invoice without reference to the On Account Receipt. You must then register that it has been paid by the On Account Receipt. You can do this in a Receipt record as a two-step process:

In order to update the Sales Ledger correctly, you must enter the payment information twice as shown above: first as a normal row, and then with a negative sign as an On Account Receipt. The example illustration below shows that an On Account Receipt of 1,000 has been received, some of which has been used up by an Invoice for 164.50 and some of which has gone towards an earlier outstanding balance.

Correcting Mistakes in Receipts

Even with the tightest quality control, it is probable that the occasional mistake will be made when entering Receipts. Once you have approved a Receipt, you cannot change it, but you can correct mistakes easily using the following procedure. It is important that you follow this procedure, to ensure the Customer's payment history remains correct.

In the 'Receipts: Browse' window, highlight the Receipt containing the error.
Click [Duplicate]. A new Receipt record is created, an exact copy of the Receipt with the error.
Insert a minus sign in front of the Received Value, ensuring the Received Value figure itself remains unchanged.
Click the OK check box and save the Receipt.
Enter a new, correct, Receipt.

!

After approving a Receipt, it cannot be altered.

!

Remember to save the Receipt for the Down Payment

!

Ensure the Invoice is complete before using 'Connect to Prepayment'.