Managing Invoices and Payments

When to Issue Sales Invoices

Sales Invoices are created in different ways for physical inventory versus for services performed. The point in order processing when Sales Invoices can be created follows these rules:

• For physical items in the Order Status of "Packed" --

Invoice using the [Financials] > [Receivables] > "Invoices" section for physical inventory items that have been packed for shipment, as discussed in the next section.

• For services items that have been performed or which are due for payment (and Marked as Performed) --

Use the [CRM/SFA] > [Orders] Tab > [Mark as Perfomred] button and follow the User Guide Invoicing_for_Services_Performed

Using Product Sales Invoices

To work with Sales Invoices, navigate from the Main Navigation (splash) screen as follows:

Click: [Financials] Icon > [Receivables] Tab, the "Receivables" home page opens.  
Then use the appropriate links on this page.

• Create Sales Invoice -- Use the following link to create Sales Invoices for physical inventory orders, Create Sales Invoice Screen.

• Find a Sales Invoice -- Find Sales Invoices Screen

• Manage Sales Invoices -- Use the following screen, which can be opened using the [Find Sales Invoices] link, View Invoice Screen.

Using Invoices for Services

Follow the instruction on this page, Invoicing_for_Services_Performed.

Payments

These "Payments" functions are used to receive payments from your Customers who have purchased your products and services, and who have not already paid for them. The following kinds of methods are provided for receiving payment information into the Financials Module.

• Manual Entry of Payments from Customers
  • Receive a Payment Screen
  • Find Payment Screen

• Cash Drawers -- Receiving Customer's Cash Payments via an Employee Cash Drawer
  • Manage Cash Drawer Screen

• Receiving COD Payments via a Carrier's COD Statement
  • Receive COD Statement Screen
    • COD Statement

• Bank Lockbox Service -- Receiving Customer's Check Payments via a Bank Lockbox Service
  • About Lockbox Services
    • Manage Lockbox Batches
    • Lockbox Batch Details

Invoice Status

Invoices have two status fields, one for controlling its ledger posting, and one for tracking its processing status in your organization. The main status field could go from pending to ready, which causes it to be posted, and then he could be paid or written off. The processing status is an auxiliary status field that is currently used to track whether an invoice has been printed, and it can be used to store additional information such as whether the invoice has been sent, acknowledged, and etc. The processing status has no effect on ledger posting.

Invoice Adjustments

In opentaps 1.4 and later versions, you can also add adjustments to invoices. You can configure your own invoice adjustments and set up their own GL accounts, but opentaps comes preconfigured with three types: write off, cash discount, and early payment discount. The adjustment could be associated with an invoice or with a payment and invoice combination. When the invoice is posted, the adjustment will also be posted to the ledger. If the invoice has already been posted, then when the adjustment is made, it will be posted immediately.

Our convention is that an adjustment with a negative value reduces the open amount of the invoice. For example, if you want to give your customer a cash discount of $10 on an invoice, you should create an adjustment of -$10.

Note that invoice adjustments are not considered part of an invoice total. Instead, they behave like payments on the invoice and are used for discounts such as early payment bonuses and fees such as late payment penalties. A positive adjustment counts towards paying the invoice, a negative adjustment increases the amount owed. If after the adjustment is applied, the invoice outstanding amount minus the adjustments and all the payments become zero, then the invoice will be set to paid.

Finally, please note the following about write-offs:

1. If the invoice status is set to write-off, then an adjustment of the type of write-off is recorded for the invoice for its outstanding amounts.
2. If an adjustment of the type write-off is added to the invoice, then the invoice could still be set to paid if the combination of the write-off and adjustment equals the amount of the invoice. In this case, the invoice will be set to paid with associated write-off adjustments.

Therefore, how do you record the writing off of an invoice would depend on whether you want the invoice to be classified as a write off or as paid. For example, if you are willing to write a small amount of the invoice off, you can add it as an adjustment of the type write off. If however you are writing off most of the invoice, then you should change its status, so that it will be recorded as written off.

Paying the Invoices of a Sub Account

In opentaps 1.4 and later versions, you can receive payments from a parent account against the invoices of a child or subaccount. You need to set up the parent account ID of a child or subaccount when you are creating or editing the account in CRM, and then from the receive payment screen, you can select show child account invoices to show the list of invoices from the child account. This will only show the invoices off the immediate child accounts of the parent account and will not recursively iterate to find the child accounts of child accounts.

When you later mark your payment as confirmed, the system will automatically create accounting transactions to balance the accounts receivable of the parent and child accounts.