The Ledger : invoices

The Ledger Lowdown: Invoice Errors....No Problem

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:57:00 GMT

What do you do if you realize an invoice has the incorrect amount or distribution? Don't worry; you can fix it even if it's posted. The way you correct the issue depends on whether the invoice is posted, unposted, paid, or unpaid. Here are the steps broken out by scenario:

The invoice is unpaid and not yet posted:

In Records, Invoices, open the invoice record.
Select the Invoice tab and verify the status is Pending. If the status is Approved, change it to Pending and click Save.
Make the appropriate changes and save the invoice.

The invoice is unpaid and posted:
1. In Records, Invoices, open the invoice record.
2. Select the Invoice tab and verify the status is Pending. If the status is Approved, change it to Pending and click Save.
3. Select Invoice, New Adjustment from the menu bar.
4. Enter the adjustment date, new transaction amount (this can be the same), adjustment post date, reason, and any applicable notes.
5. Select the GL Distribution tab and update the distribution, if appropriate.
6. Click OK and then save and close the invoice.
Note: The next time you post, four adjusting transactions are created: two reversing the original entries and two posting the adjusted entries.
The invoice is paid and not yet posted:

Void and purge the check.
In Records, Invoices, open the invoice record.
Select the Invoice tab and verify the status is Pending. If the status is Approved, change it to Pending and click Save.
Make the appropriate changes and save the invoice.
Print the check to blank paper using the same check number.

The invoice is paid and posted:

Void and purge the check.
Note: If you do not void the check, only the invoice distribution will be updated. This will result in the check distribution being different than the invoice.
In Records, Invoices, open the invoice record.
Select Invoice, New Adjustment from the menu bar.
Enter the adjustment date, new transaction amount (this can be the same), adjustment post date, reason, and any applicable notes.
Select the GL Distribution tab and update the distribution, if appropriate.
Click OK and then save and close the invoice.
Print the check using the same check number to blank paper.

Note: The next time you post, four adjusting transactions are created: two reversing the original entries and two posting the adjusted entries.

Talk to you soon!

Do I Have to Enter the Information Again?

Lisa Lookadoo — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:17:00 GMT

Are you sick and tired of the double work creating invoices for purchase orders? Instead of receipting the Purchase Order and then entering all of the information again on the invoice, you can create the invoice from the purchase order itself even if the purchase order is closed.

There are two choices when doing this:

Create the invoice for the total purchase order amount by selecting Purchase Order, Create Invoice for all Receipts from the menu bar of the Purchase Order.
Create an invoice for the each receipt by opening the Receipts tab on the Purchase Order and highlight the receipt line you want to invoice. Then, right click on the highlighted line and select Create Invoice. This creates an invoice for the one selected receipt.

Want to save more time? Set the system to prompt you to create the invoice when receipting POs. Simply select Tools, Options from the Accounts Payable menu bar. Then select the Records tab, highlight Receipt, mark the Prompt to create invoice for uninvoiced items checkbox. Click Apply and then OK. Now you’re ready to invoice the easy way.

Happy Invoicing!

The Ledger Lowdown: Get the Discounts You Deserve

Jennifer Maroney — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:22:00 GMT

When you purchase an item using credit or on account, you enter into a contract and agree to pay off the balance by a specific date, which is usually set by the vendor. Sometimes you even get a discount if you pay the balance early. I'm sure you're asking yourself, "What does this have to do with FE?" More than you may know. You can set terms for AP invoices so you get the discounts you deserve and on AR invoices so your customers get the discounts they deserve. These terms are not just used for discounts; they also specify how long a customer can wait to pay an invoice.

The first step is to create the terms in Configuration. This process is the same for AP and AR with one exception: in AP you define the discount you receive from vendors and in AR you define the discounts you offer to your clients.

Now that you have all of your terms created, it's time to add them to records. I recommend defining the terms on the vendor or client record so they default on new invoices. This not only saves time, but ensures each invoice is discounted accurately. On a vendor record, select the default terms on the Vendor tab. On client records, define the default terms on the Defaults tab. That's it! All that is left is to do is collect yo' money and save yo' money .

Talk to you soon!

The Ledger Lowdown: Enter Invoices Fast!er

Jennifer Maroney — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:11:00 GMT

A few weeks ago, I posted about Fast! on The Book Bag blog (Student Billing). An AP customer asked if this same functionality was available in Accounts Payable, so I thought it would be a good topic to cover here.

The answer to her question is YES ! AP has its own version of Fast! that allows you to add massive amounts of invoices using a customized datasheet, instead of opening each record individually. When you process the datasheet, Fast! automatically creates the group of new records. This means you can get through your endless stacks of invoices quicker and have time to do other things .

Check out the Fast! post on The Book Bag for the steps. The main difference in the process is step one; instead of clicking SB stuff, click New AP Invoice.

For more information about AP Fast!, take a look at the Fast! Guide.

Happy data entry. Talk to you soon!

The Ledger Lowdown Time Saver: Add Charges and Invoices to a Group

Jennifer Maroney — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:02:00 GMT

I just replied to a forum post for a customer asking how to quickly add invoices to almost 50 clients and thought this would be a good topic to also cover here. If you have the same invoice or charge to add to a large group of clients, there is no need to manually go through each one; instead add transactions to a group.

The only hitch is that you need to create a query for the clients to add the invoice. No need to worry if it's random clients; make sure you mark the Preview clients before invoices are added checkbox on the Add Invoices to a Group screen. This will allow you to unmark the clients you do not want to add the invoice to.

Before you begin this process, here is a disclaimer that may save your life... well at least a LOT of manual data entry:

Make sure you have a valid backup of your database. This is strongly recommended because the only way to reverse a global process is to either manually correct each record or restore to a backup.

Ok, so now let's get started saving you data entry time:

In Records, create a new or open an existing charge or invoice to add to the group.
Select Transaction, Add this Invoice to a Group of Clients from the menu bar.
Note: If you created a new charge or invoice, you will need to save the record before the options will be available.

Click browse in the Add this invoice to clients in this query field.
Click Find Now and select a query, or click Add a New Query.
Mark the Preview clients before invoices are added checkbox and mark the other options as appropriate.
Click Add Invoices Now.
On the Preview Clients screen, mark or unmark the Include checkbox for each of the clients listed.
Click Add Invoices Now.

That's it; you're done in less than half the time!

I also wanted to get your opinion about the structure of these posts. Do you guys like the process stepped out, or do you prefer the quick and dirty explanation? Leave a comment and let me know.

Talk to you soon!

The Ledger Lowdown Time Saver: Recurring Invoices

Jennifer Maroney — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:15:00 GMT

We all have monthly bills to process. Regardless if your organization needs to pay the bills or charge one of your clients, you need to go through the process of manually creating the invoices in AP or AR. Depending on the number of invoices, this process could be time consuming. Instead of wasting time creating the same invoices each month, use Recurring Invoices. Recurring Invoices are templates from which you can create regular invoices quickly and easily using a schedule and set reminders to generate the invoices. Here's how to create the invoice templates in AP and AR.

Accounts Payable:
1. In Records, Recurring Invoices, click Add a New Recurring Invoice or on the Vendor record, select the Recurring tab, and click New Recurring Invoice.
2. On the Recurring Invoice tab, select a vendor and define the appropriate information.
3. On the Distribution tab, enter the appropriate account(s).
4. On the Invoice Schedule tab, select Fixed or Unlimited number of invoices. If you select fixed invoices, enter the number of invoices to generate.
5. Click Schedule and define the appropriate recurring invoice frequency.
6. Click OK and then Save and Close.

Accounts Receivable:
1. In Records, Recurring Invoices, click Add a New Recurring Invoice or on the Client record, select the Recurring tab, and click New Recurring Invoice.
2. On the Recurring Invoice tab, select a vendor and define the appropriate information.
3. On the Line Items tab, enter the appropriate line items and comments.
4. On the Invoice Schedule tab, select Fixed or Unlimited number of invoices. If you select fixed invoices, enter the number of invoices to generate.
5. Click Schedule and define the appropriate recurring invoice frequency.
6. Click OK and then Save and Close.

We all have busy schedules, so make sure you set up a reminder to generate the monthly invoices. Take a look at Knowledgebase solution BB111632 to set up your reminders and BB102464 to generate the invoices.

Happy billing. Talk to you soon!

The Ledger Lowdown: Pay What Invoice?

Jennifer Maroney — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:10:00 GMT

Most of the time paying invoices is a simple process: select the invoices to pay and click Print Now; just make sure check stock is in the printer . What do you do if an invoice is not listed for payment? You know the invoice is out there because it's on your list of invoices to pay or your boss is breathing down your neck waiting to be handed the check. Not to worry, you have The Ledger Lowdown as your secret weapon. Follow each of the steps below until the invoice is available to pay.

In Banks, verify the correct bank is selected
Click Print checks and record bank drafts, and note the date entered for the 'Invoice due date on or before' field. This date defaults to the current date.
Select the Filters tab and verify that there are no filters that would exclude the invoice(s) in question.
Open the vendor's record and verify the Status is not On Hold.
Open the invoice in question.
1. Verify the Hold payment checkbox is unmarked.
2. Verify the Payment method is Check.
3. Verify the Date due falls on or before the date chosen when paying checks.
4. Verify the invoice Status is Approved (if requiring approval before payment).
5. Change the status of the invoice from Pending to Approved.
Select the Payments/Credits tab and verify that the invoice has not already been paid, either by a printed check or a recorded manual check. Also verify that the bank account selected as the 'Payments from bank account' is the same bank from which the invoice is to be paid.
In Banks, Edit account details and select the Payments tab. Verify that the payment method checkbox on the invoice is marked Allow in the bank details.
Exit and sign out and then log back in.

Hope this helps. Talk to you soon!