A/R Options Screen

Enter the name of the contact.

Enter the phone number of the contact.

Enter the fax number of the contact.

The Document Type column lists the types of documents to which you can assign the next document number.

Accounts Receivable lets you set separate document number lengths for invoices, credit notes, debit notes, interest invoices, and recurring charge invoices, prepayments, unapplied cash, adjustment, and receipt transactions to be assigned automatically by Accounts Receivable.

Use this column to restrict the length of these document numbers to a maximum of 22 characters, including prefixes.

This column on the Numbering tab displays the number that Accounts Receivable will assign to the next invoice, credit note, debit note, interest invoice, recurring charge invoice, prepayment, receipt, unapplied cash, adjustment, and refund transaction.

You can enter the next number to assign to each document type.

If you assign document numbers automatically, Accounts Receivable assigns a unique number to each document you add to an invoice batch. The number is a combination of a prefix you enter to identify the transaction type, and a number that is assigned sequentially, starting with the number you specify.

You can change the next number at any time. However, you must be sure not to assign a number and prefix you have used before. You cannot post duplicate document numbers in Accounts Receivable.

If you plan to use Accounts Receivable to assign document numbers automatically and you want to continue with the document numbers in your previous receivables system, use the Prefix fields on the Numbering tab to enter the prefixes you use to assign document numbers to invoices, credit notes, and debit notes, invoices for interest and recurring charges, receipts, prepayments, unapplied cash transactions, adjustments, and refunds.

You can use up to six characters in each prefix and you must use a different prefix for each type of document. You can also use the default prefixes which appear automatically.

If you assign document numbers automatically, Accounts Receivable assigns a unique number to each invoice, credit note, debit note, interest charge and recurring charge you add to an invoice batch. The number is a combination of a prefix you enter to identify the transaction type, and a number that is assigned sequentially, starting with the number you specify (in the Next Number field).

You can change the prefixes at any time, but you must not assign a prefix that will duplicate document numbers assigned to other documents. (You cannot post two transactions with the same document number in Accounts Receivable.)

This option lets you choose whether to report period statistics by fiscal year or calendar year. The starting date for statistics depends on your choice:

• Calendar year. The starting date is January 1st.
• Fiscal year. The starting date is the first day of your fiscal year.

This option also lets you specify the period type to use in the Period Type field.

Use the Customers, National Accounts, Customer Groups, and Items screens, and the Salespersons screen to review statistics. You can also print reports of statistics.

This option lets you revise information in batches that you generate for Accounts Receivable in other Sage 300 programs, such as Order Entry or Project and Job Costing.

Note: Do not use the option if you want to ensure that external batches are posted without changes.

You can change your choice for this option at any time, using it to increase your auditing and supervisory control of external batches, and reducing the possibility of errors from accidental editing.

This option lets you revise information in batches that are imported from other programs.

Note: Do not use the option if you want to ensure that imported batches are posted without changes.

You can change your choice for this option at any time, using it to increase your auditing and supervisory control of imported batches, and reducing the possibility of errors from accidental editing.

Accounts Receivable automatically accumulates statistics from the transactions you post to customer accounts, and displays them in the Customers, National Accounts, and Customer Groups screens. You can also choose to keep item and salesperson statistics.

This option lets you enter statistics during setup and revise the statistics that Accounts Receivable keeps when you post transactions.

You may want to turn on the option while you are setting up your Accounts Receivable system, particularly if you are creating the system partway through an accounting year. You can then enter more complete receivables records by adding the statistics from your previous system.

Once your system is operating, you can turn off the option because the program automatically updates the statistics when you post invoice, adjustment, and receipt transactions.

You may also decide to use the option to edit customer group and national account statistics when you change a customer’s group or national account, or to edit a particular statistic because unusual circumstances have exaggerated the amount (such as a single invoice that remained unpaid for a long period in an otherwise satisfactory account).

This option lets you specify a default number of days to retain comments in customer records.

The number of days you enter determines the default expiration date that appears in the Customers screen when you enter comments in a customer record, but you can change the date in the customer record.

When you use the Clear History screen to clear (delete) obsolete customer comments, the screen clears only comments that reached their expiration dates on or before the clearing date you specify in Clear History.

Choose this option if you want to make sure that copies of all invoice, receipt, and adjustment batches are printed before posting. When you use the option, you cannot post batches until you print listings for them, and you must print new listings for batches you edit.

Even if you do not use this option, you can print batch listings. You can also print posting journals that provide complete information about the contents of all posted batches.

Select this option if you want to include pending (unposted) Accounts Receivable transactions during credit checks to determine whether customer balances exceed their credit limits.

Select this option if you want to include pending transactions from Order Entry (for example, orders that have not been shipped, or shipments that have not been invoiced) during credit checks to determine whether customer balances exceed their credit limits.

Select this option if you want programs from other software manufacturers (third-party products) that you use with Sage 300 to include unposted transactions during credit checks.

Use this option if you want to include tax amounts in the invoice totals that are kept for each customer, national account, or customer group, and for items and salespersons (if you select the options to accumulate statistics for items and salespersons). Some tax authorities such as VAT (value-added tax) require that you include taxes in statistics.

If you do not use the option, only before-tax totals are added to statistics.

You can change your selections for the options to include taxes in totals at any time, but the change takes effect only on new transactions. Accounts Receivable cannot adjust previously existing statistics to add or subtract tax amounts, and you cannot make meaningful comparisons of statistics created before and after the change.

This option lets you keep statistics for customers, national accounts, and customer groups, including the total number of invoices, receipts, adjustments, credit notes, debit notes, discounts, interest charges, returned checks, and write-offs posted for each account.

You can change your choice for this option at any time. However, if you turn the option off, then turn it on again, statistics from transactions posted while the option was off will not be included in the totals in the account records.

This option lets you keep statistics from transactions posted for items, including the total amount and number of sales and returns, total cost of goods sold, gross margin, and quantity sold, and the date of the last sale of the item.

You can change your choice for this option at any time. However, if you turn the option off, then turn it on again, statistics from transactions posted while the option was off will not be included in the totals in the item records.

This option lets you keep statistics for individual salespersons, including the total number of invoices, receipts, credit notes, debit notes, discounts, and write-offs posted to each salesperson number.

You can change your choice for this option at any time. However, if you turn the option off, then turn it on again, statistics from transactions posted while the option was off will not be included in the totals in the salesperson records.

You can turn on the Multicurrency option for Accounts Receivable at any time. But, once you turn it on (and save your changes), you cannot turn it off.

The Multicurrency option does not appear on this tab unless it is selected for your company in the Company Profile screen in Common Services.

You can mix multicurrency and single currency applications.

Example: You can post transactions from a multicurrency Accounts Receivable system to a single-currency Sage 300 General Ledger.

This option lets you choose whether to report period statistics by fiscal year or calendar year. The starting date for statistics depends on your choice:

• Calendar year. The starting date is January 1st.
• Fiscal year. The starting date is the first day of your fiscal year.

You can also specify the period type to use:

• Weekly
• Seven Days
• Bi-Weekly
• Four Weeks
• Monthly
• Bi-Monthly
• Quarterly
• Semi-Annually
• Fiscal Period

Important! You should not change the type of year and period by which you keep statistics partway through a year, because this will cause figures to be distorted in some periods and you will have to make corrections in all records for which you keep statistics. If you need to change the type of year and period by which you keep statistics, do so only at year end.

Use the Customers, National Accounts, Customer Groups, and Items screens, and the Salespersons screen to review statistics. You can also print reports of statistics.

Select this option if you want to be able to invoice customers automatically for standard amounts that are due on a regular basis, such as monthly rent.

Then, you use the Recurring Charges setup screen to define the recurring charges you use and assign them to your customers.

You use the Create Recurring Charge Batch screen to create an invoice batch for each charge when it is due.

You can change your choice for this option at any time.

After you have defined recurring charges, the information is retained in Accounts Receivable, even if you turn off the Process Recurring Charges option, and is still available if you turn on the option again.

You set the option to use retainage accounting on the Processing tab of the A/R Options screen.

When you select the Retainage Accounting option, the Retainage tab becomes available to let you specify retainage processing options.

You can turn off the Retainage Accounting option, later, only if there are no unposted retainage batches and no outstanding retainage amounts.

Select whether retainage will be calculated on the document total before tax or after tax is included.

If you use multicurrency, specify whether to use the current exchange rate or the exchange rate used for the original document as the default for retainage documents.

Enter the percentage of the document total to withhold on invoices, credit notes, and debit notes.

This percentage appears as the default when you add new customers, but you can change the retainage (or holdback) percentage for particular customers in the customer record.

Enter the number of days from the original document date that the customer can withhold the retained amount. The program determines the default retainage due date by adding the retention period to the original document date.

The default retention period is used for new customer records, but you can specify different ones for individual customers. You can also change the retention period on invoices.

The Retainage tab displays the date that you ran Create Retainage Batch from the Reminder List.

Enter the number of days before the retainage due date that you can generate retainage documents using the Create Retainage Batch screen.

Example: If you enter 5, you can generate the retainage invoice five days before the retainage is due.

To report tax, the program posts tax amounts to a tax liability account and updates the tax tracking reports. The timing of the tax liability on retainage documents depends on the tax authority.

Some tax authorities require that you report tax on retainage when you post a retainage document; others let you report tax when you post an original document to which retainage applies.

This option lets you specify when to report tax on retainage. You can make the following selections for this option:

• At Time Of Original Document More...

  If you select this option, the program calculates and reports tax on retainage when you post an original document that includes retainage.

  You can then use the Base Retainage Amount On field to specify whether to base retainage on amounts before tax or after tax.

• As Per Tax Authority More...

  If you select this option, the program calculates tax when you post an original document, but reports the tax as required by each tax authority.

  The tax reporting requirements for each tax authority are specified by the Report Tax On Retainage Document option, in Tax Services:

  • If the tax authority specifies At Time Of Original Document or No Reporting for tax on retainage, the tax amount is calculated and the tax tracking reports are updated immediately when you post original documents.

    Note: You can select No Reporting for a tax authority only if you also use At Time Of Original Document for the Report Tax option in Accounts Receivable.

  • If the tax authority specifies At Time Of Retainage Document, the tax amount is calculated when you post the original document, but it is not reported until you post the retainage document.

  When you specify As Per Tax Authority, retainage amounts are based on amounts before tax for all tax authorities and customers.

Enter or use the Finder to select the code for the schedule you want to use to process retainage from the Reminder List.

If the schedule does not yet exist in Common Services, you can click the Zoom button beside the field, then create the schedule using the Schedules screen that opens. You can also click the Zoom button after entering a schedule code to view information about the schedule.

Select this option to use a separate numbering system to identify retainage documents that you generate using the Create Retainage Batch screen.

When you select the option, the retainage document numbering table becomes available, letting you specify the next number, length, and prefix to assign to retainage invoices, credit notes, and debit notes.

If you do not select the option, the program will assign the next invoice, credit note, or debit note number specified on the document numbering table on the Numbering tab.

Your selection for this option determines the aging category in which to place unapplied credit notes and debit notes when listing them on customer statements or in reports and inquiry screens.

You can include all unapplied credit notes and debit notes in the Current aging period, or you can place them in the aging period that corresponds to their document dates.

The option has no effect on credit notes and debit notes when they have been applied to specific document numbers. Applied amounts for these transactions are always included in the same aging periods as the documents to which they apply.

Your selection also affects the types of transactions you can select to write off using the Create Write-Off Batch screen. If you age credit notes and debit notes in the current (not due) period, you cannot select them when you are writing off overdue transactions.

Specify how to assign receipts, unapplied cash (payments), and prepayments to aging periods:

• As Current. Receipts, unapplied cash, and prepayments are included in the current aging period. The notes will not be used in calculating interest charges.
• By Date. Receipts, unapplied cash, and prepayments are included in the aging period that contains the document date.

Use the Aging fields to set the default periods into which Accounts Receivable groups outstanding transactions or balances for the Overdue Receivables and Aged Trial Balance reports, customer statements, and the Customer Inquiry screen.

You can change the lengths of the periods for an individual report or statement run when you are about to print reports or review customer activity. You can also change the default periods at any time.

Type the default messages to print on customer statements or in dunning letters.

On each statement, Accounts Receivable prints the message that is assigned to the aging period that contains the oldest outstanding balance in the customer’s account.

You can enter additional sets of messages (using the Dunning Messages screen), and select from those messages when using the Statements / Letters / Labels screen.

Select this option to allow statement printing for customers with no balance outstanding (for example, to provide your customers with records of their current account statuses).

When you select this option, and then select the Select Customers Based On Balance Type option in the Statements/Letters/Labels screen, you can choose whether to include zero-balance accounts for an individual printing run.

Do not choose the option if you print statements only for customers who have a balance owing or a credit balance. This choice will filter out zero-balance accounts from the ranges of criteria you specify to print statements from the Statements/Letters/Labels screen.

Select this option if you want to allow adjustments or the write-off of small amounts while entering receipt batches (rather than having to enter the adjustment transactions separately in the A/R Adjustment Entry screen).

The adjustments become part of the receipt batches to which you added them. If you want to edit an adjustment you added to a receipt batch, you edit it in the A/R Receipt Entry screens, rather than in the A/R Adjustment Entry screen.

Example: You might use this option when the amount of a check you receive to pay an invoice differs slightly from the invoice total. You can quickly write off the difference when you enter the receipt.

You can change your choice for this option at any time.

Select this option if you want to be able to edit or delete receipt batches after printing deposit slips for them. If you do not use the option, you cannot save any changes or corrections to receipt batches after you have printed their deposit slips.

Tip: To select the Ready To Post option for a batch after printing its deposit slip, post the batch through the Receipt Batch List screen.

This option lets you maintain supervisory control over existing deposit slips, turning on the option to allow authorized changes to the batches, then turning it off again to prevent changes that have not been approved.

Note: If you use Payment Processing to process credit card transactions and you do not select this option, you must process payment for credit card transactions before printing a deposit slip. (If you print a deposit slip before processing the payment, the Charge and Quick Charge buttons on the A/R Receipt Entry screen are not available and you cannot process the payment.)

You can change your choice for this option at any time.

Select this option to allow changes or deletions in invoice batches after you have printed invoices, credit notes, and debit notes for them.

Do not select this option if you always want posted invoices to match printed invoices. You can still make changes to the documents that you have not printed and you can add new documents to the batch.

Your choice for this option does not apply to batch header information. You can change the batch date or description at any time until you post the batch.

Select this option if you want to be able to edit or delete receipt batches after printing receipt confirmations for them.

If you do not select the option, you cannot save any changes or corrections to receipt batches after you have printed confirmations for receipts contained in the batch.

Note: If you use Payment Processing to process credit card transactions and you do not select this option, you must process payment for credit card transactions before printing a receipt confirmation. (If you print a receipt confirmation before processing the payment, the Charge and Quick Charge buttons on the A/R Receipt Entry screen are not available and you cannot process the payment.)

You can change your choice for this option at any time.

Select this option if you normally print deposit slips when you enter receipt batches, and want to use Accounts Receivable to print the slips.

You can then use the deposit slips to verify batch contents to the receipts or documents from which you entered the receipts, and as source documents for filling out the deposit slips you take to the bank.

If you have deposit slip screens that are acceptable to your bank and that you can use in your printer, you may also be able to use Accounts Receivable to print on the deposit slips you take to the bank.

Choosing the option does not force you to print deposit slips.

Tip: To ensure that you do print deposit slips before you post batches, select the Force Printing Of Deposit Slips option. When you choose this option, you cannot post receipt batches until you have printed their deposit slips.

You can change your choice for this option at any time.

Use this option if you want to use Accounts Receivable to print invoices, credit notes, and debit notes using laser-printed or preprinted screens.

This option does not force you to print the documents. You choose whether to print them when you enter them in the Invoice Entry screen, or using the Invoice Printing screen. Using the Invoice Printing screen, you can print the documents even after you have posted the batches that contain them.

If you do not select the option, you cannot print invoices from Accounts Receivable.

Select this option to use automatic tax calculation as the default tax calculation method for invoices.

You can change the tax calculation method for individual invoices in Invoice Entry.

If you report taxes in a currency different from your customers' currencies or your functional currency, invoices must show the tax amount in the tax reporting currency, along with the exchange rate used for the conversion.

Select this option if you want to use automatic tax calculation as the default method for calculating tax reporting amounts on invoices. You can change the calculation method for particular invoices in Invoice Entry.

Select whether to display an error, a warning, or no message when you attempt to issue a refund check that uses the same number as an existing check for the same bank.

Select this option if you want to create a new deposit slip whenever you add a new receipt batch.

Do not select the option if you plan to consolidate receipt batches on one deposit slip (for example, if several clerks enter receipt batches to which you will assign a single deposit slip each day).

Use this option to select the code for the bank account to which you most often deposit receipts. You then have to enter a bank code with receipts only when you are using a bank that is different from the default bank.

Use the Finder (press F5) to display the list of bank codes from which to choose. You must use one of the bank codes defined in the Bank Services screen in Common Services. You can change your choice for this option at any time.

You must select a default bank code in this field before you can create receipt batches in the A/R Receipt Entry screen.

Select this option if you want to use 1 as the default tax class for details on new summary invoices.

If you do not select this option, Accounts Receivable uses the customer tax class (from the Invoice Entry Taxes tab) as the default for new summary details.

Regardless of your selection for this option, on item invoices, Accounts Receivable uses the tax class set for the item

Select the type of invoice batch you most commonly use to appear as the default in Invoice Entry. You can choose Summary or Item.

Choose the order in which you want documents (transactions) to appear when you use Select mode to apply cash, checks, or other receipts or credit notes to customer accounts in the A/R Receipt Entry screen. (You can change the list order when you use the A/R Receipt Entry screen, if necessary.)

You can choose to list open documents by Document Number, Purchase Order Number, Due Date, Order Number, Document Date, Current Balance, or Original Doc. No. (If you use retainage accounting in Accounts Receivable, listing documents by their original document number will make it easier to apply retainage payments when you receive these amounts from customers.)

You can change your choice for this option at any time.

Select the payment method, such as cash or check, that you want to appear as the default payment type when you enter receipt or refund transactions.

Normally, you specify the type of receipt or payment you process most often, so that you have to enter the payment type only when it is different from the most common type.

When you are setting up your Accounts Receivable system, you can choose Cash, Check, or Credit Card as the default payment type. If you want to select a different default type, you must first use the Payment Codes screen to add the type.

You can change your choice for this option at any time.

Your selection for this option determines the date that appears as the default posting date on the A/R Invoice Entry screen.

The posting date is the date that a document is posted to General Ledger, and it may be different from the document date. This distinction is particularly useful if you post a document to a different year or period from the document date.

Example: Accounts Receivable uses posting dates, rather than document dates, to select open documents for revaluation, so that exchange adjustments are posted to the correct fiscal year and period.

You can select Document Date, Batch Date, or Session Date as the default posting date.

You can change the posting date for particular transactions when you enter or edit them.

Note: If you consolidate G/L transactions, the posting date for consolidated entries is the last date of the fiscal period.

Your selection for this option determines the date that appears as the default posting date on A/R receipt entry screens.

The posting date is the date that a document is posted to General Ledger, and it may be different from the document date. This distinction is particularly useful if you post a document to a different year or period from the document date.

Example: Accounts Receivable uses posting dates, rather than document dates, to select open documents for revaluation, so that exchange adjustments are posted to the correct fiscal year and period.

You can select Document Date, Batch Date, or Session Date as the default posting date.

You can change the posting date for particular transactions when you enter or edit them.

Note: If you consolidate G/L transactions, the posting date for consolidated entries is the last date of the fiscal period.

This is the type of transaction (receipt, prepayment, unapplied cash, apply document, or miscellaneous receipt) you want to appear as the default type in the A/R Receipt Entry screens when you are entering transactions.

You normally choose the type of transaction you process most often, so that you have to enter the transaction type only when it is different from the usual type.

Choose this option to make sure that you print deposit slips for receipt batches before posting them.

This option applies only to receipt batches that include deposit slips and does not affect receipt batches that are used only to apply previously posted documents to other documents.

You can change your choice for this option at any time.

Your selection for this option determines whether transactions from open (unposted) batches are included when Accounts Receivable calculates pending amounts for Receipt Entry.

You can include unposted receipts, unposted receipts and adjustments, or all transactions, or you can choose to include none of them.

If you use a price list for invoice entry, you can use this option to display the extended item cost (number of units x cost per unit) when you are adding item details in the Invoice Entry screen.

You cannot change costs in the Invoice Entry screen and you cannot print the costs on invoices.

This option lets you set the order in which to print batches of refund checks.

You can print refund checks by one of the following characteristics:

• Transaction Entry Number
• Customer Number
• Payee Name
• Payee Country
• Payee Zip/Postal Code

Use this option to display any comments you have entered in item records automatically when you are entering item details on an invoice, credit note, or debit note.

If you do not use the option, no item comments are displayed during transaction entry, but you can type a comment of up to 250 characters for each detail line you add to a document. You can also choose to include the comments on the printed documents.