Accounts Receivable

[Beth Dixon]

Hello Memento forum, has anyone come up with a method for creating an Accounts Receivable process in Memento?

It would involve a Customers library, and an Income library...and here I am stumped.

For example, in an accounting software program (that I am most familiar with) one would enter an accounts receivable like this....

Select the customer, select the date for the invoice, enter the invoice number, enter a description for the charge, enter the price.  Now here is the tricky part.  The customer sends a monthly payment instead of paying the invoice in full.  In an accounting software, one would go to the customer's account, pull up the invoice, and then enter the partial payment.  At the end of the month a statement of the customer's balance owing would be sent.

So, how can I do this in Memento?  Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Beth 

[Bill Crews]

I've done a number of these over the years. As I read your message, this is what occurs to me...

It's all very straight-forward so long as inventory & product/service distribution/fulfillment are to the side.

As far as invoicing is concerned, the question to ask is whether the "invoices" are really statements, in which case things are simpler, since you're not servicing every invoice, but rather the account as a whole, with its balance.

If every invoice has to be checked off as paid, partially paid, or outstanding, you'll need an active invoicing database, where you check off every invoice individually. If the user can independently identify the invoice they're paying against, you can have a dispute about an invoice clog up the collection process, while the customer may continue to pay future invoices in full, potentially causing stress with the customer relationship. From the business standpoint, this is hard to manage & should probably not be advised.

Statements are relatively easy, usually monthly, maybe quarterly, and the payment goes against the account, not any invoice or statement, so the age of the debt can be readily calculated, & collection is relatively straightforward. If payments are applied to anything, maybe it's to the oldest charges -- otherwise, just to the account balance.

In an accounting software, one would go to the customer's account, pull up the invoice, and then enter the partial payment.  At the end of the month a statement of the customer's balance owing would be sent.

So, how can I do this in Memento?

It sounds like a customer would pay against a specific invoice. If the business doesn't already work that way, I recommend not doing it that way, but if it does, you'll have to have a process that manages collection invoice by invoice. Checking invoices as paid or not is either by testing for a zero invoice balance or by setting a Paid in full checkbox at payment entry time.

As I mentioned earlier, you'll generally have to manage disputed invoices in a collection process, rather than handling disputes at the charge level, so you'll need an Outstanding invoices report or list, rather than a simple account balance aging report or list.

From a business standpoint, if you have them paying against invoices, then there should be language on the statement that there is no payment due against the statement, but instead show the Outstanding invoices report for payments due. If a customer has the ability to pay without identifying the invoice (not recommended, but usually allowed, in my experience), there should be additional language on the statement that such payments will reduce the balances of the oldest unpaid, undisputed invoices, retiring them from the list as their balances go to zero.

As for handling disputes, that's a subsystem of its own, managed with legal representation. I won't go into that here. I've almost always succeeded in getting clients to avoid taking payments in this manner, whenever my role was management consulting rather than IT consulting.

Most of my work in this regard was in Texas, a bit of it in New York, and none of it in Canada, so I don't think I can help you much in anything legal anyway.

Let me or us know specifics, if you'd like further suggestions. We could get down to windows, cards/forms, & triggers, if you like.

[Beth Dixon]

Good morning Bill, before I retired my profession was Office manager, finance and administration.  I did the books for a fair sized company and cut my teeth in accounting on the Bedford program back in the 90's, which later became Simply Accounting, and which is now known as Sage.  I worked more than 25 years in this program.  

I thank you for your input on collections, however, I do understand all about collections and for my purposes this won't be a problem.  

I think I may have a solution.  A bit of sleep lol does wonders.

I am thinking an Acct Rec library where one selects the customer, then enters invoice data.  Then a Payment library that is linked to Acct Rec library, where one selects the invoice number and enters a payment.  

A simple JavaScript field with a script that takes the invoice total and applies payments against that total and thus provides a running balance.

It is for my sister who sells her animals to buyers.  A purchase price is agreed upon, and the buyer then makes payments for a specific length of time.  The buyer does not take possession of the animal until invoice is fully paid.  She could use an Excel spreadsheet but all her data is in Memento so why not in Memento.  😁

She already has the following libraries:

1.  Animal Notebook - lists all her animal stock

The following libraries are all linked to the Animal Notebook library.

2. Housing - data on life stage of animal

3. Pedigree - data on parentage

4. Breeding - data on current breeding status 

5. Health - medical information and health status of animal

6. Expense Journal - track farm expenses (also linked to Profit/Loss Notebook and Accounts)

7. Income Journal - track farm sales (also linked to Profit Loss Notebook and Accounts)

8. Profit/Loss Notebook - tracks current status of finances

9. Accounts - customers, suppliers, contractors

- Beth

[Er Mo]

Hallo Beth

Du hast ja schon alles was du brauchst . Zur besseren Übersicht würte ich eine Neue Bibliothek namens " Verkäufe " erstellen . Darin Felder für / von 1. Tiernotizbuch ( Welches Tier ) 9. Konten – Kunden ( wer hat es Gekauft ) 7. Einkommensjournal ( was hat er bereitz gezahlt )  ,der Verkaufspreis , Datum . Wenn du in der  Bibliothek die Gruppirung nach Kunden / Tiernotizbuck / Einkommensjournal einrichtest müsstes du alle Zahlungen erhalten . Diese Summiert muss den Verkaufspreis ergeben .

Hello Beth
You already have everything you need. For a better overview I would create a new library called "Sales". In it fields for / from 1. Animal notebook (which animal) 9. Accounts - customers (who bought it) 7. Income journal (what he paid for), the sales price, date. If you set up the customer / animal notebook / income journal grouping in the library, you should receive all payments. This sum must result in the sales price.

[J M Ruas]

Hi, Beth, 

I think I have something like you are looking for. 

Please, take a look. I don't know if my language is a problem. 

[Beth Dixon]

Olá JM, sim! Isso é exatamente o que estou procurando. Parece que você tem uma biblioteca de clientes e uma de pagamentos. E a biblioteca de pagamentos está vinculada à conta do cliente. Ah ha! Ernst está certo ao dizer que tenho tudo de que preciso. Simplesmente não conseguia entender. Obrigado! Acho que posso fazer isso funcionar. Beth

Hallo JM, ja! Genau das suche ich. Anscheinend haben Sie eine Kundenbibliothek und eine Zahlungsbibliothek. Und die Zahlungsbibliothek ist mit dem Kundenkonto verknüpft. Ah ha! Ernst hat recht, ich habe alles, was ich brauche. Konnte es einfach nicht zusammenstellen. Vielen Dank! Ich denke, ich kann das zum Laufen bringen. Beth

Hi there JM, yes! That is exactly what I am looking for.  It looks like you have a customer library and a payments library.  And the payments library is linked to the customer account.  Ah ha!  Ernst is correct in that I have everything I need.  Just couldn't put it together.

Thanks!  I think I can get this to work.

Beth

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- Beth

[Bill Crews]

I was just referring to things I learned based on things that happened in my past; I didn't intend to be competing with you. I know you also have a strong background in this stuff. And I agree that payment & collection invoice is clearly required in this case. I just didn't know what your case was when I wrote that.

A Memento library is the same as a spreadsheet if you sync them (or connect them by export & import), taking care not to overwrite anything you want to keep. If the sheet is already doing well for her, then you could export that and create a library from that. Then sync them; it's cool to be synced.If it's not so great, then why not replace it with a new library and then sync that to a spreadsheet, if a sheet works as well or better for her than the library.

I was going to get specific on design, but Ernst & JM seem to be helping as well as I would, so good luck!

[Beth Dixon]

Thanks Bill, as always your thoughts are appreciated.  👍

- Beth