Enter a New Customer

You must create customer records before entering an order or creating an invoice. Learn which user options allow you to customize this entry form.

1. Select the appropriate customer category under Receivables > Entry Forms (see an explanation of customer categories below).
2. Click "Insert" to open a new record.
3. Add contact information in the header form.
   • In the "Ship-to" or "Sold-to" field with a red flag, enter a unique customer code. This code can contain up to five characters, including letters, numbers, and special characters. Or, you may have CompuPlants generate the customer code by setting the admin option "cuautosequence" to "1".
4. Enter required information:
   
   a. Within the Pricing tab, "Terms" refers to the payment terms established in Setup > Receivables > Payment Terms.
   b. Also within the Pricing tab, "Style" refers to the invoice styles created in Setup > Receivables > Customer Price Styles.
   c. Under the GL Accounts tab, select the appropriate AR Account.
   
5. (Optional) Add more information under the various tabs.
6. Click "Save."

Customer Categories

Single Sold-To

Customers with a single billing and shipping address fall under this category, which is assigned the code "SS".

The shipping address (a.k.a. "ship-to") may be different from the billing address (a.k.a. "sold-to"). If the two addresses are different, uncheck the box labeled "Same as Ship-To" when filling in the Sold-To fields.

Sold-To or Bill-To

Customers with more than one shipping address, but a single billing address, fall under this category. Enter the customer's billing address ("sold-to") in the entry form. The internal code is "SO." Enter individual shipping addresses under "Ship-To Stores."

Ship-To Stores

Use this category to enter individual locations for customers with multiple shipping addresses. The internal code is "SH." Note that the ship-to customer inherits several traits from the sold-to customer, particularly those under the Pricing tab (payment terms, discount type, discount percent, etc.). These values cannot vary from sold-to customer to ship-to customer.

Edit Customer Information

1. Query the customer record.
2. Update information as needed.
3. Click "Save."

Quick-Change Customer Master

If you would like to update the same type of information for several customers at once, such as pricing terms, pricing style, or purchase order requirement, use the Customer Master Quick-Change grid to do so. You cannot add or delete customers from this grid.

Delete Customer Record

In the customer detail window, click "Delete." A confirmation window will appear. The keyboard shortcut, Control-D, will delete a customer record without asking you to confirm. In both cases, the customer record is cached.

In order to prevent accidental deletions, you may want to grant only certain users the permission to delete records. Do this in Administration > User Setup > Permissions.

Credit Watch Tools

CompuPlants supports active credit monitoring with tools that flag customers with faulty (or potentially faulty) credit and provides live, up-to-date credit info in order entry, allowing you to quickly assess a customer's financial standing before placing an order. The Credit Info tab displays one of three icons. A green check mark indicates the customer is in good standing. When the customer breaches a credit barrier, however, a yellow caution sign or red stop sign appears, depending on your settings.

These settings are available for sold-to customers only (SS, SO). Access them under the Credit tab in the customer file.

Place a stop:

• At the order stage, a red stop sign appears and the customer name and credit balance appear in red text. The user cannot save a new order for this customer.
• At the truck stage, the customer's orders appear in red on the order grid and cannot be transferred to a truck.

Warn the user:

• A yellow caution sign appears; the user may still save a new order or add the order to a truck.
• The customer name and credit balance appear in yellow text.

Ignore:

• A green check mark appears next to each parameter you set to "ignore."
• If the user has exceeded the credit limit, then the Credit Info tab in order entry shows no open order balance or outstanding balance and sets the credit balance equal to the credit limit.
• Typically used for PIA / COD customers.

Credit Parameters

Credit Leeways

In Setup > Receivables > you may determine leeways for each credit parameter above. Click here for more information.

Credit Watch Tips:

Enter an Invoice

As a convenience, the application automatically creates an invoice after you post an order or a truck to receivables, assigning it the same number as the order. You may, however, manually enter an invoice by following the instructions below. Note that if you are transferring customers from your previous accounting system, you must create an initial invoice to account for their beginning balance.

1. Go to Receivables > Begin Balances/Invoices.
2. Click "Insert."
3. (Optional) Enter a custom invoice number. This would be useful for demarcating special invoices, such as those for a suspense account.
4. Fill in required information: date, customer, pricing terms and pricing type.
5. (Optional) Fill in desired information:
   • Enter a Ship-To store if this is different from the Sold-to.
   • "Terms Discount" and "Discount Account" automatically carry over from the customer file. The application calculates the "Discount Amount" based on the payment terms and invoice amount. The "Disc. Date" displays the date by which the customer must pay in order to earn the discount described by the payment terms. You may override this date.
6. Click "Save." The "Original Amount" becomes $0.
7. Click "Detail" then "Insert."
8. Add A/R products and amounts:
   
   a. Enter a "Quantity." The application multiplies this number by the "Price" to calculate the "Amount."
   b. Select an A/R Product.
   c. Enter a dollar value for "Price."
   d. (Optional) Add any other desired information.
   e. Click "Save."
   f. Repeat Step 8 for any other AR Products you wish to add to the invoice.

Edit an Invoice

1. Query an invoice record in Begin Balances/Invoices.
2. Double-click on the invoice, then make changes.
3. Click "Save."

The Quick-Change Sales Type Invoices Grid allows you to change the Due Date and Sales Type for multiple invoices at once.

Delete an Invoice

You must delete detail records and other records associated with invoice, such as a cash receipt, before deleting an invoice.

Edit Posted Invoice & Re-post

Should you need to edit products, quantities, and/or prices on an invoice after posting it, you must do so in Receivables > Edit Posted Invoices & Prepaid Receipts. This grid displays each product on an invoice on a separate row. Make the necessary adjustments and save changes. Next, go to Repost Invoice (menu item #2) to execute the post.

Enter Credit Memo

Use a credit memo to record and apply customer credit for a variety of reasons. Before entering a credit memo, you must create reason codes in Setup > Receivables > Credit Reason Codes. Credit memos are also used to issue refunds, trade assets, and clear discounts.

1. Click "Insert."
2. Fill in date, customer, pricing terms and pricing type, along with other desired information.
   
3. (Optional) Enter an invoice number to be able to apply the credit to a specific invoice. Or, leave this field blank if you'd like to apply the credit at a later time.
4. Click "Save." The balance displayed is $0.
5. Click "Detail" then "Insert."
6. On the detail page, set a quantity. The application multiplies this number by the Price and displays the total in the Amount field.
7. Select the A/R Product code associated with the credit. For credits resulting from product defects or employee error, you would typically select "plants." However, credit memos can also be used to record refunds, asset trades, and/or clear customer discounts.
8. Enter a price, credit reason, and any other desired information.
9. Click "Save."

Apply Credit Memo to Invoice

If you have selected an invoice to offset (step 3, above), click "Post Offset" on the credit memo header and the credit will be applied to the invoice. A message will appear at the bottom of the screen indicating if the post was successful or if an error occurred.

Alternatively, you may apply the credit from the Invoices tab on the customer payment form (see apply customer payments). The credit will appear on the invoice grid. Double-click the credit record first to increase the Remaining balance before allocating a customer payment.

Edit Credit Memo

1. Query the record from Invoices, Credit Memos, and Order Holds > Credit Memos.
2. Double-click on the desired credit memo and adjust information as necessary.
3. Click "Save."

Quick-Change Order Credit Holds

Easily access customers' credit status from this quick-change grid.

Delete a Credit Memo

1. Query the record from Invoices, Credit Memos, and Order Holds > Credit Memos.
2. Click on the desired Credit memo to highlight it, then click "Delete."

Line Item Credit

To grant a customer credit for a specific product, enter the invoice number on the credit memo header form ("Offset Against Invoice"). Enter the quantity, product price, and plant product number on the detail page, then post the offset. When calculating commissions, the application matches the product number on the credit memo to a product number on the order and subtracts the total from the commissionable amount.

Enter Customer Payment

CompuPlants offers two methods of recording payments received from customers: Customer Payments and Cash Receipts. Customer Payments offers a time-saving feature: it lists outstanding invoices and unused credit so that you can more easily apply funds to the appropriate invoices. However, if you're entering multiple payments in a short period of time with invoice numbers on hand, you might prefer to enter cash receipts.

1. Go to Receivables > Payments, Receipts and Prepaids.
2. Click "Insert."
3. Enter required payment details: Date, Customer ID, How Pay, and the GL account ("Bank").
4. (Optional) Enter additional information.
   • "Bank ID" can be found in the upper right-hand corner of the check.
   • For the security of your customers, include only the last four digits of credit card numbers.
5. Click "Save."
   • The application displays the customer's aging details at the bottom of the invoice header form. You may opt to hide this information with the admin option "custdisableaging" (set value to "1"). When loading data for customers with hundreds or thousands of invoices on record, this can slow down the system. This setting applies to all customers; if you disable this feature, you may easily access the same information in the Aged Receivables reports.
6. Apply payment to an invoice:
   You may do this immediately after saving the payment, or at a later time. With the payment record highlighted, click "Detail" (or double-click the payment record). the top of the screen displays Receipt no., Customer, Amount, and Remaining. Below, you have three ways to apply payments.
   A. The Invoices tab allows you to apply the entire payment at once:
   
   1. Select the invoice that the payment will post to: double-click the payment record; or, highlight it, then click "Pay Invoice." The "Remaining" field decreases by the amount applied.
   2. (Optional) If the entire balance was not allocated, repeat steps a and b to apply payments to additional invoices.
   
   B. The Payment Details tab allows you to split a payment among multiple invoices or to apply a partial amount on account. This is useful when a customer overpays.
   
   1. Click "Insert."
   2. Select the appropriate journal account and invoice number.
   3. Enter an amount to apply to the invoice.
   4. Click "Save."
   5. (Optional) Repeat the above steps to apply additional amounts to other invoices.
   
   C. The Apply on Account tab displays all the "on account" invoices with a $0 balance.
   
   1. Double-click an invoice to apply the payment to it.
7. Return to the payment header by clicking "Back."
8. Click Verify to catch any accounting errors. If no error occurs, the "Verify" icon changes to "Verified" and the application logs a cash receipt. If an error occurs, a message will appear at the bottom of the screen indicating such.
   • If the customer's payment terms allow a discount, and the payment is made _after the period of time described by the terms, a dialog window will appear asking if you still wish to apply the discount. If so, learn how to clear customer discounts here.
   • You may wish to activate the admin option, "paymentverifyinvcust". Set this option to "1" to compare the payment customer to the invoice customer when verifying the payment. If they do not match, an error will display.
   • You cannot delete a payment after verifying it.
9. (Optional) Run the Invoices with References report to review payments, credits, and balances.

Edit Payment

If you have already verified a payment, you must un-verify in order to edit it. Some fields on the payment header form cannot be modified, such as Receipt No., Date, and Customer.

On the payment detail page, use the Payment Details tab to edit the amount applied to an invoice. Or, to remove a payment from an invoice altogether, delete the record from the bottom portion of the payment detail page.

Delete Payment

Should you wish to delete a customer payment, you first un-verify it then delete the details associated with it. Lastly, delete the payment by clicking the Delete icon on the order header form.

Enter a Cash Receipt

Quickly enter cash receipts when you have the invoice numbers on hand.

1. Go to Receivables > Payments, Receipts and Prepaids > Cash Receipts.
2. Click "Insert."
3. Enter required information: Date, How Pay, and Amount.
4. (Optional) Add any desired information.
5. Click "Save."
6. Select "Detail" then "Insert." On the detail page, the application will make you aware of any "Discount Available."
7. Apply the cash receipt to an invoice:
   
   a. Choose a "Ledger" account.
   b. Enter an invoice number in the "GL Account/Invoice" field.
   c. Enter an amount to apply to the invoice. This may be a full or partial amount.
   d. (Optional) Enter any additional information.
   e. Click "Save."
   f. Repeat step 7 to apply a partial amount to another invoice.
8. Return to the cash receipt header form by clicking "Back."
9. Click Verify to catch any accounting errors. If no error occurs, the "Verify" icon changes to "Verified" and the application logs a cash receipt. If an error occurs, a message will appear at the bottom of the screen indicating such.
   • You cannot edit or delete a cash receipt after verifying it.
   • You may wish to activate the admin option, "paymentverifyinvcust". Set this option to "1" to compare the receipt customer to the invoice customer when verifying the receipt. If they do not match, an error will display.
10. (Optional) Run the Invoices with References report to review receipts, credits, and balances.

Learn how to process variations to payments and receipts, such as a refund, trade of assets, or clearing customer discounts, here.

Edit Cash Receipt

If you have already verified a receipt, you must un-verify in order to edit it. Some fields on the receipt header form cannot be modified, such as Receipt No. and Customer.

On the receipt detail page, you may edit the amount applied to an invoice. Or, to remove a receipt from an invoice altogether, delete the record from the bottom portion of the detail page.

Delete Cash Receipt

Should you wish to delete a cash receipt, you must first un-verify it then delete the details associated with it. Lastly, delete the payment by clicking the Delete icon on the order header form.

Preference: Order Paid in Full

CompuPlants offers another time-saving feature that eliminates the need to enter cash receipts for walk-in trade. In the "How Pay" setup (see Setup > Receivables), select "Full Pay Invoice when Posting Orders" for cash and/or charge payments made on delivery. In addition to creating an invoice, the application will also log a cash receipt when you post the order.

Enter a Bank Deposit

Recording bank deposits can facilitate bank reconciliation when necessary. They do not, however, post to financials.

Record bank deposits in Receivables > Payments & Receipts > Bank Deposits:

1. Click "Insert."
2. Enter the deposit date and correct bank account.
3. If the payments have already cleared, you may enter that date. Or, return at a later time to do so.
   * If setting the same cleared date for multiple deposits at once, highlight all deposits then use the "Set Date" shortcut.
4. Click "Save." A list of eligible cash receipts appears on the Payments to Add grid.
5. On the Payments to Add grid, double-click each receipt to transfer it to the Deposit Details grid. Or, single-click the receipt(s) and click the left arrow.
   
   * As cash receipts become deposit details, the deposit amount reflects the sum of all details.
6. If necessary, remove a payment from the details grid by double-clicking it or highlighting and clicking the right arrow.

Edit / Delete a Bank Deposit

Add/remove receipts as needed until the deposit is made. After the deposit clears, you may return to it and enter the date cleared. Use the "Set Date" icon as a shortcut to apply the same cleared date to multiple deposits.

If you need to delete a deposit, you must first remove the receipts associated with it.

Special Cases

Post Pre-paid Order Receipts

Post a prepaid order receipt when customers pay for an order in advance, either in full or in part. Enter the shipping order, post the receipt, then post the order.

1. Go to Receivables > Payments, Receipts, and Pre-paids > Post Pre-paid Order Receipt.
2. Fill in all required fields: Order No., Post Date, Amount, *How Pay, and Pay Type.
   * The Bank field defaults to your GL cash account.
3. (Optional) Enter additional information.
4. Click "Execute."
5. Make note of the cash receipt number the system created, then call up the cash receipt and verify the payment.
6. (Optional) For informational purposes, you may wish to log pre-payment details in order entry under the Payments tab.
7. Post the order (or truck) when you are ready to do so. See Post Order to Receivables or Post Truck to Receivables for instructions.

Apply Payment to Suspense Account

When a customer overpays or makes a payment on their account with a balance of $0, these funds are moved to a suspense account. Record this type of transaction in one of two ways.

Method 1
Enter a payment On Account. Follow the steps for entering a customer payment with these special instructions:

• On the payment header form, choose On Account for "How Pay."
• On the payment detail page, click the "On Account" icon. A dialog window appears.
• For" Invoice/GL Account," select your Sales Account.
• Enter the amount of the payment.
• Click OK.
• Return to the payment header form and click "Verify." If no errors occur, the application will save an invoice with a negative balance.

Method 2
Create an invoice first, to which you assign a unique number associating it with a suspense account (if preferred), then apply a payment to it. Follow instructions for creating an invoice and entering a customer payment with these special instructions:

• (Optional) Assign the invoice a unique number, such as "SUS-0714".
• For invoice "Type," select On Account.
• Save the invoice without adding a detail page. This sets the Original Amount to $0.
• Enter a customer payment and apply it to the invoice.

Clear Suspense Account

More information to come.

Process a Refund

A refund usually results from one of two scenarios:

1. The customer overpays and would like a reimbursement. Perhaps you had applied a credit to the invoice without the customer's knowledge. He submitted a payment in full, so the invoice shows a negative balance.
2. The goods arrived in an unsatisfactory condition. The customer submitted a payment in full so the invoice shows a balance of $0, and now the customer would like a traditional refund.

Depending on the scenario, processing the refund varies slightly. In either case, make sure you or your accountant has set up your refund account in the General Ledger (see Financials > Entry Forms > General Ledger Accounts).

Refund Due to Overpayment:

1. Enter a cash receipt with an "Amount" of $0.
2. Save the cash receipt, then click "Detail."
3. Record a credit to the Sales Journal:
   
   a. Enter the invoice number in the GL Account/Invoice field.
   b. Enter a negative dollar value for the amount of the refund.
   c. (Optional) Add any other desired information.
   d. Save.
4. Record a credit to the General Ledger.
   
   a. Enter the refund account number in the GL Account/Invoice field.
   b. Enter a positive dollar value for the amount of the refund.
   c. (Optional) Add any other desired information.
   d. Save.
5. Proceed to the Payables module or your accounting software to process the refund check.

Refund Due to Unsatisfactory Goods:

1. If you have not already done so, enter a credit memo for the amount to be refunded.
   *On the detail page, select you refund account number for the "A/R Product."
   *Do not apply the credit to an invoice as the customer has requested cash back.
2. Enter a cash receipt with an "Amount" of $0.
3. Record a credit to the Sales Journal:
   
   a. Enter the credit memo number in the GL Account/Invoice field.
   b. Enter a negative dollar value for the amount of the refund.
   c. (Optional) Add any other desired information.
   d. Save.
4. Record a credit to the General Ledger.
   
   a. Enter the refund account number in the GL Account/Invoice field.
   b. Enter a positive dollar value for the amount of the refund.
   c. (Optional) Add any other desired information.
   d. Save.
5. Proceed to the Payables module or your accounting software to process the refund check.

Clear Customer Discounts

When you allow discounts after the discount date passes, those balances accumulate in the system and must be accounted for. These balances are often negligible amounts and it is common for businesses to simply clear them. Follow the instructions below to learn how.

1. Enter a separate, $0 cash receipt to credit the sales journal for each invoice with a balance.
2. Enter a single cash receipt to debit the general ledger for the sum of the balances cleared (negative dollar amount).

Enter a Trade of Assets

Before entering a trade of assets, make sure you have a trade account set up in the general ledger and an A/R product for traded assets.

1. Enter an invoice for the goods delivered. On the detail page, select Plant Income for "A/R Product." Add a price, along with any other additional information. Save.
2. Enter a credit memo, noting Trade for the "A/R Product" on the detail page. Enter an amount to credit the customer, along with any other additional information. Save.
3. Apply credit to the invoice. More on this.

Reports

Aged Receivables

CompuPlants offers two reporting methods that distinguish between aged receivables and past due receivables. The aged receivables reports begin aging from the invoice date and are tied to the trial balance. Past due reports, however, begin aging from the payment due date, which the program calculates based on the invoice date and customer payment terms, and are not tied to a trial balance. Both methods allow you to specify aging periods, which are typically 30, 60, and 90 days. The reports also take into account any leeways you have built in to credit monitoring.

If a customer has not paid an invoice that was dated (or posted) 36 days ago, an aged receivable report will list this amount in the 30-day column. When running a past due report on the same day, the same customer/amount would be listed in the current column (i.e. less than 30 days past the aging date).

Each of the three reports described below offers two views. "Summary" provides the customer name, terms, and amount by aging period; the "detailed" view provides the customer contact information and breaks down each balance into its respective order(s). You may opt to show a recap at the bottom of the report, which sums up total charges by AR Product Category (plants, freight, and service charges being the most common). You can also opt to show future invoices, or invoices dated after the aging date.

• Aged Receivable by Customer: groups data by customer
• Aged Receivable by Sales Rep: groups data by sales rep saved in the customer file
• Aged Receivable by Division: groups data by the aging division saved in the customer file (located under the GL Accounts tab)

Past Due List Aged

As explained in the section above, these reports use the payment due date, rather than the invoice date, as the aging date.

• Past Due List Aged: groups data by customer; the "detailed" view breaks down customer balances by order, provides the due date and number of days past due
• Past Due by Days by Customer: similar to the report above, but with the option to enter up to 9 increments of time

Other Reports

These are additional reports to support customer credit and payment monitoring. Invoices with References is particularly useful for reviewing customer payments, credits, and balances.

Calculate & Post Service Charges

Calculate service charges once a month, before printing and mailing statements.

1. Go to Service Charges > Calculate Service Charges.
2. (Optional) Enter a minimum charge, which will be used if the calculated service charge is less than the minimum.
3. (Optional) Grant customers a leeway by specifying a number of days beyond the date dictated by their payment terms.
4. Select the statement end date.
5. Determine how to assess the late charge:
   • "Use customer for late charge" assigns the interest percent from the customer file (Pricing tab), allowing you to vary late charges by customer.*
   • Manually enter a rate that applies to all customers.
6. Click "Execute". If successful, the program stores the calculations in the Edit Service Charges form.
7. (Optional) Review and/or override any service charges in the Edit Service Charges form (menu item #2).
8. (Optional) Print the service charge edit list (menu item #3).
9. Post service charges (menu item #4):
   a. (Optional) Run a trial post.
   b. When ready, check "Post Service Charge."
   c. Select a post date.
   d. Click "Execute". The application creates separate invoices in Entry Forms > Begin Balances/Invoices.
   * The program allows you to post service charges only once in a 30-day period.
   

FAQ: How does CompuPlants calculate service charges?

When computing service charges, CompuPlants conducts a thorough search for qualifying invoices. It searches all outstanding invoices, finds the invoice date and customer payment terms, and determines the due date. Then, it extends the due date by the number of days the user may have entered in the search form. It compares the adjusted date to the statement end date, then totals balances on invoices that are past due. It multiplies the balance by the late charge and logs a new invoice for each customer in Entry Forms > Begin Balances/Invoices. Any unpaid service charges from previous months are not counted against the customer.

Edit Service Charges

After calculating service charges, you may override calculations in the Edit Service Charges form.

Delete Service Charges

If necessary, you may delete all service charges posted on a particular date. Go to menu item #5, Delete Service Charges, to do so. All service charge invoices created on that day will be deleted.

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