How to maintain Customers/Prospects? And How to maintain Customer Defaults?

How to maintain Customers/Prospects?

Maintaining Customers/Prospects

From my previous post you can see that we have completed How to set up a company and its charts of accounts. Now we are going to learn how to establish subsidiary ledgers for Accounts Receivable.  First of all clicks on “Maintain Customers/Prospects...” as shown below as a window to enter, change, and store information about the buyer of our company. You can also record the information about companies and people that can be our buyer in near future they are called “prospects”.

When we click on “Customers/prospects...” the following picture will appears.

The above window shows tow main fields. These tow fields are Header Fields and Tabs

Now we are going to start our discus about Header:

As you can see from above picture that Header is a field which includes:

•   Customer ID:
•  Lookup button and left, Right arrows:
•  Name:
•  Prospect and Inactive:

1: Customer ID: Here you can enter up to 20 Number in one ID that you want to give for a new customer  and usually ID in numbers in this field is preferable

2: Lookup Button: this button is used to see existing customer

 Back and Next: These button is useful for searching existing customers.

3: Name: In this field you can write the name of your customer up 39 spaces.

Prospect: As prospect means this customer can be a regular customer if he purchase product of your company. So if you checked this box  then it will remind you in dealing those person

Inactive: If you plan to eliminate this customer when you close your financial year, then select this check box. If you select inactive check box this will remind you when you going to deal with that person. 

                            General tab

Here you can enter the basic information about  the customer of your company or business such as address (up to 9 address you can add up), Telephone and fax numbers, Sale Tax No., and Beginning Balance, This window is already selected when you open "maintain Cusomer/prospectes.." window as above shows.

                       
                            Sales Defaults tab

here you can ad information about the following sections:
Sales Rep: Here you can enter name of Sale Representative and this can be changed.

G/L Sales Account: This relate to the chart of account we already established, this is most important part in which we have to select account for customer

Note: if there is no ID no. that we entre the blue light will blink there..


Open P.O. #: Here you can enter Purchase Order Number that you give to your customer.


Ship Via: This relate to foreigner users for send goods to another address

Resale #: If this customer purchases items for resale, enter the resale number here.


Pricing Level: You can choose from various pricing levels in percentage for sale purpose


Terms: Here you can Enter Terms that you company wants to impose on customer sale conditions.


Form Options: 

  1: Delivery method: this option is usful for printing of form or sending E-mail to customer it includes to radio button "Paper Form" and "E-mail"
                    Paper form: This option will be useful when you want to print form for sending to the customer:
                   E-Mail: This option can be used when company wants to send E-mail to the customer when forms are printed.

   2:CC Sales Rep: This is a check box option which enable software to send automatically an e-mail to the default customer when you send a form to customer. 
                 
                     Terms And Credit:

Use standard Terms and Credit: This is a check box which enable company to set credit limities and conditions and intrest charges etc of customer related. We not discuss it in this section we will discuss it we creats customer defualts, so we discus it on later.

                     Payment Defaults tab

In this section you can add information of company's customer related to the payment of credit sale.
Cardholder's Name: Here you can add name of customer that written on his/her Credit Card.


Address: Here you can add information about the customer’s billing address.

City,State,Zip: this is also usful for know where customer live.

Credit Card Number: Here company entre credit card number of it's Customer.

Expiration Date: here you add information about the expiration of credit card of customer.

Receipt Setting: there is a check box for default method of receipt, if you select this option software use default method of last receipt from customer.

Payment Method: Here company can select Payment Method for Receipt cash from it's customer that method is established by the company in other section of this software.

 Cash Account lists. Here you can select Cash account from General Leger that we created in Maintain chart of account for company's customer payment.

                         Custom Fields tab

There you can add information for your customer and this is only for view.

Note: This information area can be changed any time.

                                   History tab

From maintenance of customer/Prospects  select the "history" tab that displays the history of the selected customer. Enter a new customer, you can enter the information in this tab, once your customer recorded, this tab is for display purposes only when ever you want to see.


Customer Since: Here you can enter the date of that time, when you make transaction of sale with your customer


Last Invoice Date: Here you enter the date when you sent invoice to your customer


Last Invoice Amt: Here you have to enter the price of your product that you written in your invoice that you sent to your customer.


Last Payment Date: here you can enter the date when you receive amount from your debtor ( Credit sale based Customer).


Last Payment Amt: Here you enter the last amount you get from your debtor.


Last Statement Date: Here you can enter the last statement or letter you sent to your customer.

               How to maintain Customer defaults?

Maintaining Customer Defaults:

To maintain Customer defaults simply just got to “maintain” and select “Default Information” and then click on “customer...”  as I mentioned in the following picture

                                                  

When we click “customers…” the following picture will open to maintain customer defaults.

                                   

In the above picture the software will ask you the information about default customer. There are main 5 tabs in this section which are following

1: Payment Terms

2: Account Aging

3: Custom Fields

4: Finance Charges

5: Pay Methods

Payment Terms:

                                   

Here there are Three Main Subheads

(i)Standard Terms And Default Terms

(ii) GL Link Accounts

(i) Standard Terms And Default Terms

Standard Terms; it includes the following

                C.O.D: it means Cash on due Date Company can use this option when the sale on cash basis the effect of this option is that you not need to fill Default Terms such as Net due in, discount in, and Discount% except credit limit

                Prepaid: If your customer paid you in advance this option can be used

                Due in Number of Days: in this section you give the number of days to your customer for payment due date.

                Due on day of next month: in this section if you chose this option it means all transactions due on next month on specific date.

Payment on end of month: if you chose this option it means all transactions due on end of the month

Note: if you chose the (i), (ii) or (iii) option you have to give addition information of default terms and conditions.

Net due in: here you can give any no. of days for payment due

Discount in: here you can give percentage for sale discount purpose. It means when your customer pay all the dues before time you have to give discount according to percentage.

Credit Limit: here you can add credit limit for a customer if he exceed that amount than he will receive a warning for payment.

(ii) GL Link Accounts:

                It includes GL Sale Account and Discount GL Account

                GL Sale Account: it means General ledger sale account that you made in chart of accounts.

                Discount GL Account: it means general ledger of discount account for customer.

2: Account Aging Tab.

                                           

This is the second tab of customer defaults As 1^st circle shows. The main purpose of aging is that to maintain provision for bad debts, In this section of customer defaults you have to maintain aging  for customer which means if a customer not pay up-to 30 day he will be charged accordingly and if he not pay payment due above 3o day than what rate will be charge or going to become bad debts. Here is the main tow headings (i)Age Invoice by: and (ii)Aging Categories

                (i)Age Invoice by: this relate to what method software use for aging following are tow methods

                                (a)Invoice Date: if you chose this option it means the aging will be maintain accordingly invoice date in which transaction had made.

                                (b)Due Date: if you chose this option it means the aging will be maintain accordingly due date that you maintain in payment term tab.

                (ii) Aging Categories: here there are four columns in which you give aging to your customer for default or interest charges or for just warning.

                #of Days: here you can enter grace days after the due date.

                Column Heading: here you can enter number of days for bad debts provision.

3: Custom Field:

                       

This section if for additional information of customer and these information can be changed at any time.

4: Finance Charges:

                        

                                            This is most important field and should be prepaid very carefully this field relate to the charges as penalty imposed on default customer. It means if a customer no pay up-to due date the interest charges will be imposed on his. In this section there are 3 main check box that will effect the whole transaction related to finance.

1^st check box: Charge finance charges;

   It includes the following terms:

            On invoices: here you can give grace days to pay due amount before charging interest on customer.

            Day over due, up-to: here you can enter amount for interest charging. Which means after the due date and over days that you give on invoices the interest will be charge on amount that you written in this section.

            Annual interest Rate: here you can enter rate of interest that annually charged.

            On Balance above That: Here again you can add more percentage on interest charged amount. It means when you charged interest on annual interest rate and a customer could not pay then interest will be charged on the actual amount plus previous interest charged and than then interest charge on current amount.

            Minimum Finance Charges: Here you can enter amount that minimum charged on after due date.

2nd Check Box: Charges interest on finance charges;

                        It includes Finance charge GL Account: here you can enter account you maintain in chart of account for receiving interest from default customers. You can use look-up button to see accounts(small circle area).

3rd Check Box: Print Finance Charge warning message as;
               Here you can check this box to warn your customer for late charges or overdue payments and you can also use this option for thanks to your customer.