Introduction to Receipts in Books by HansaWorld

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

Before working with Receipts, you should also look at the following settings and registers:

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Entering a Receipt

Open the Receipt register by ensuring you are in the Receivables module and clicking 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 Comment and the total value of the Receipt.

To enter a new Receipt, click [New] in the Button Bar or use the ⌘-N (Mac OS X) or Ctrl-N (Windows) keyboard shortcut. Alternatively, select 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. In the case of the duplicate, the Transaction Date of the new Receipt will be the current date, not the date of the duplicated Receipt. Complete the Receipt record as described below, then save it using the [Save] button and close the window by clicking the close box. Then, close the browse window using the close box again.

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

  1. How much has actually been received; and

  2. any extra fees charged by the bank.

First a run-through of the fields.
No.
Paste Special    Select from another Number Series
The Receipt Number of a new Receipt is provided automatically by Books by HansaWorld. The default is the first unused number in the first valid number sequence in the Number Series - Receipts setting. You may change this number, but not to one that has already been used.

If you have not defined any number sequences in the Number Series - Receipts setting, the Receipt Number sequence will start at 1 and continue consecutively. If you want the sequence to start from another number, change the Receipt Number of a Receipt before saving it: Books by HansaWorld will then continue the sequence from there.

If you are working in a multi-user environment, the Receipt Number is assigned when you first save the Receipt.

Trans. Date
Paste Special    Choose date
This date will be used as the Transaction Date in the General Ledger Transaction that will result from the Receipt.

Payment Mode
Paste Special    Payment Modes setting, Receivables/Payables modules
The Payment Mode is the method of payment (e.g. check, credit card or cash). It determines the General Ledger Account that will be debited by the Receipt.
You can enter payments from different Customers against different Invoices in a single Receipt. However, you cannot enter payments with different Payment Modes.
The first record listed in the Payment Modes setting will be offered as a default.

Comment
Default taken from    Payment Mode
This text is taken from the Payment Modes setting and will be copied to the Text field in the header of the General Ledger Transaction that will result from the Receipt. You can change it if necessary.
Use the grid area that takes up most of the screen to list the Invoices being paid by the Receipt. You can receive payment against several Invoices in a single Receipt record, but all payments on a single Receipt must use the same Payment Mode. The Payment Mode reflects not only the payment method (i.e. check, cash or credit card) but also determines the Bank or Cash Account that will be debited with the value of those payments. So, you can record every payment received in a single day and paid into a particular Bank or Cash Account using a single Receipt record.

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

To add a row to a Receipt, click in any field in the first blank row and enter appropriate text. To remove a row, click on the row number on the left of the row and press the Backspace key. To insert a row, click on the row number where the insertion is to be made and press Return.

You can bring several Invoices into a Receipt at once by opening the 'Invoices: Browse' or 'Paste Special' windows, selecting a range of Invoices by clicking while holding down the Shift key, and then dragging them to the Inv. 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 Inv. No. field in the first empty row.

The grid is divided into two horizontal flips. When you click on a flip tab (marked A and B), the two or three right-hand columns of the grid are replaced.

Flip A
Inv. No.
Paste Special    Open, approved Invoices, Invoice register
The number of the Invoice being paid. When you enter an Invoice Number, the Open Invoice Value (the amount outstanding) will be shown in the Open Inv. Val field, and this figure will also be brought in to the Received Value field as a default.

If the Invoice qualifies for an early settlement discount, a discount row will be added to the Receipt automatically, together with a suggested discount amount. This will be calculated using the formula specified in the relevant Payment Term record. If you want to add an ad hoc settlement discount, use the 'New Settlement Discount' function on the Operations menu.

Note that when you use 'Paste Special', only unpaid Invoices will appear in the selection list. However, if you have saved a Receipt without approving it (i.e. the Receipt is a Draft), the Invoice(s) in that Receipt will be treated as unpaid and thus will continue to be included in the 'Paste Special' list. It is therefore recommended that you do not leave Receipts as unapproved for too long, to minimize the risk of quoting Invoices in Receipts more than once.

A Receipt that is a payment made without reference to a specific Invoice (e.g. a deposit paid by the Customer before you have issued them with an Invoice) is known as an "On Account Receipt". Leave this field blank when entering an On Account Receipt, and specify the Customer as usual in the field to the right. The Customer must be one where you are using the On Account option on the 'Terms' card of their Contact record. Please refer to the On Account Receipts page for details.

Customer
Paste Special    Customers in Contact register
Default taken from    Invoice
The Customer Number will be placed here automatically when you enter an Invoice Number.

In the case of an On Account Receipt, choose a Customer using 'Paste Special'.

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, this date must be the same as the Transaction Date (in the header) and cannot be changed independently.

Text
The Customer's Name will appear here when you enter the Invoice or Customer Number. You can change this text if necessary.

Open Inv. Val.
The outstanding amount of the Invoice being paid. This value cannot be changed.

Received Val
Default taken from    Open Invoice Value
The amount paid. You can change the default figure in the event of partial payments or overpayments.
Flip B
Tax Code, Tax Value
These fields are only used if you are using the Post Receipt Tax option in the Account Usage A/R setting.

If you are using the Post Receipt Tax option, your Sales Tax liability will be calculated from your Receipts, not from your Invoices. In this case, the Tax Code and Tax Value will be brought in to these fields automatically when you enter an Invoice Number on flip A (the Tax Code comes from the first row of the Invoice). When you approve and save the Receipt, the Tax Value will be moved from the temporary Tax Account (Output Account) to the final one (the O/P Account), as specified in the Tax Codes setting in the General Ledger.

The Post Receipt Tax option also adds a Sales Tax element to On Account Receipts. Again, the O/P Account for the Tax Code will be credited and the Output Account for the Tax Code will be debited with the Tax Value.

Take care with these fields when entering On Account Receipts. As On Account Receipts do not have an Invoice Number, you must enter a Tax Code manually if you are using the Post Receipt Tax option. The Tax Value will then be calculated from the Received Value. The General Ledger Transaction resulting from the Receipt will not have a Tax element if the Tax Code or Tax Value is blank.
Footer
OK
You can approve a Receipt by checking this box. When you click [Save] to save the Receipt, the Bank or Cash Account specified for the Payment Mode will be debited and the Debtor Control Account of the Invoice(s) being paid will be credited. No further modifications to the Receipt will be possible.

In multi-user systems, you can use Access Groups to control who can approve Receipts. To do this, deny access to the 'OKing Receipts' Action.

If you would like a warning to appear every time you save a Receipt that you have not approved, please refer to the Global Warnings on UnOKed Records setting in the System module.

References in these web pages to approved Receipts are to Receipts whose OK box has been checked (i.e. an approved Receipt is one that is no longer a Draft).

Deposited
The sum of the Received Values: the total for this Receipt.
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Checking and Approving Receipts

Before approving a Receipt, first check to ensure it contains no mistakes. When you are sure it is correct, you can approve it in one of two ways:
  1. Click the OK check box with the Receipt on screen and then save it by clicking [Save].

  2. Select a Receipt by clicking on it in the 'Receipts: Browse' window, and select 'OK' from 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.
Approving a Receipt causes it to be entered into your Accounts Receivable and allocates the payments it contains to the relevant Invoices. If so defined in the Sub Systems setting in the General Ledger, a Transaction will be generated automatically, registering the Receipt in the General Ledger. This Transaction will be assigned a journal number that is the same as the Receipt Number, and is described on the General Ledger Transactions from Receipts' page

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After approving a Receipt, you cannot change it.

In multi-user systems, you can use Access Groups to control who can approve Receipts. To do this, deny access to the 'OKing Receipts' Action.

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General Ledger Transactions from Receipts

When you approve and save a Receipt, a General Ledger Transaction will be generated automatically if you have so determined in the Sub Systems setting in the General Ledger. An example is illustrated below:

The Debtor Control Account for the Invoice being paid will be transferred to the Receipt. For details about how this is chosen, please refer to the General Ledger Transactions from Invoices page.

If the Receipt is an On Account Receipt, the On Account A/C specified in the Account Usage A/R setting will be credited instead of the Debtor Account.

The Bank or Cash Account posting will be determined by the Payment Mode that you specify in the Receipt. This will refer to a record in the Payment Modes setting, available in the Receivables and Payables modules. You should list in this setting the various payment methods that you and your Customers use, such as check, cash, credit card. You can attach a different Account to each payment method, allowing you to receive payments into different bank and cash accounts.

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

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Operations Menu

The Operations menus for Receipts are shown above. On the left is 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 that you need. On the right is the Operations menu for the 'Receipt: New' and 'Receipt: Inspect' windows.

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Operations Menu - OK

This command is only available on the Operations menu for 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 and saving it. 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 General Ledger, this action will cause a separate General Ledger Transaction to be created for each Receipt in the selection and therefore once it has been carried out you will no longer be able to modify those Receipts.

In multi-user systems, you can use Access Groups to control who can approve Receipts. To do this, deny access to the 'OKing Receipts' Action.

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Operations Menu - New Settlement Discount

In normal circumstances, when an Invoice is paid, a settlement discount will be calculated automatically when you enter the Invoice Number in the Receipt. This discount depends on the Payment Term of the Invoice and the Receipt Date.

If a settlement discount is not calculated automatically (e.g. the Invoice does not contain a Payment Term with a settlement discount, or the payment is too late), you can add it yourself using this 'New Settlement Discount' function. After you have specified an Invoice Number in a Receipt row, change the Received Value to the figure paid (i.e. the Invoice Total less settlement discount). Move the insertion point out of the Received Value field, but make sure it remains in the same row, and select this function. A new row will be added to the Receipt, containing the phrase "Set. Disc". As a default, the Received Value of this new row will be set to the figure that remains outstanding on the Invoice: you can change this figure as appropriate.

In both cases (automatic settlement discount, and a settlement discount added using this function), the Settlement Discount Account specified in the Account Usage A/R setting will be debited with the discount amount in the resulting General Ledger Transaction.

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Operations Menu - New Write-off

You can use this function to write off an Invoice. First, specify the Invoice to be written off in a new Receipt row 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. Move the insertion point out of the Received Value field, but make sure it remains in the same row, then select this function. A new row will be created, containing the phrase "Writeoff". The Received Value field in this new row will be set to the remaining outstanding amount (i.e. the amount that is to be written off). You can change this figure if you do not want to write off the entire outstanding amount. Approve and save the Receipt in the usual way. When the General Ledger Transaction is created, the Write Off Account specified in the Account Usage A/R setting will be debited.

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Operations Menu - New Fee

You should use this function when you need to pay a bank charge for a Receipt.

Start by entering the Invoice Number in the left-hand column. Then select 'New Fee' from the Operations menu. A new row will be created, containing the phrase "Fee" and a zero amount. Change the Received Value in this new row to the value of the bank charge. Approve and save the Receipt in the usual way. When the General Ledger Transaction is created, the Bank Fee Account specified in the Account Usage A/R setting will be debited with the value of the bank charge. 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.

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Operations Menu - Open GL Transaction

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

When you select the function, the Transaction will be opened in a new window.

In multi-user systems, you can use Access Groups to control who can open Transactions from Receipts. To do this, deny access to the 'Open Transactions from Operations Menu' Action or to the General Ledger altogether.

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On Account Receipts

You can use On Account Receipts 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 in the normal way but without specifying an Invoice Number:

In the Contact record of each Customer likely to pay deposits, switch on the On Account check box on the 'Terms' card. Then specify a separate control or suspense Account in the Account Usage A/R setting, using the On Account A/C field. The Account that you specify should be one that acknowledges that receiving a deposit creates a liability. The General Ledger Transaction generated when you approve and save an On Account Receipt will credit the Received Value to this Account. The debit Account will be taken from the Payment Mode as usual:

You can then connect the On Account Receipt to a subsequent Invoice, to remove it from your Accounts Receivable and your General Ledger. First, enter and approve the Invoice as normal and without reference to the On Account Receipt. You must then register that the Invoice 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 your Accounts Receivable 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 Periodic Customer Statement below shows how the Invoice for 696.80 has been paid by the earlier On Account Receipt of 1,000.00. The remainder of the On Account Receipt is outstanding:

In the General Ledger, the Invoice is removed from the Debtor Account, and the balance of the On Account A/C is reduced by the value of the Invoice:

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Correcting Mistakes in Receipts

Even with the tightest quality control, it is probable that you will make an occasional mistake 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.
  1. In the 'Receipts: Browse' window, highlight the Receipt containing the error.

  2. Click [Duplicate]. A new Receipt record is created, an exact copy of the Receipt with the error.

  3. Insert a minus sign in front of the Received Value, ensuring the Received Value figure itself remains unchanged.

  4. Click the OK check box and save the Receipt.

  5. Enter a new, correct, Receipt.
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