Navigation:  Key Concepts > Accounting > By the Bookkeeper >

Accounts Receivable

Previous pageReturn to chapter overviewNext page

Accounts Receivable is a deferred payment option.  Rather than requiring payment at the time of invoicing, you can choose to bill the customer later by placing the charges on a Store Account.  At a future time, usually within a month, payment will be due including applicable finance charges.

You may print AR Statements and mail them to your customer.  The statement form is of two types: Balance Forward and Transaction Forward.   As part of Accounts Receivable, you may utilize Finance Company or Third Party Billing wherein the customer makes a purchase, but another organization becomes responsible for paying the bill.

When you receive payments from customers in person or in the mail, you can selectively choose which invoices to pay off or apply payment towards the oldest invoices first.

In addition, POSitive allows your customers to earn AR Credits through the Frequent Buyer program; make payments towards AR Credits in advance of making any purchases; post refunds for returned products towards AR Credits; and utilize all or portions of accumulated store credits when making general purchases.

Important Monthly Activity  - Close AR Statements each month. Even if you do not use all of the features of Accounts Receivable nor plan to print AR Statements, it is important to close the statements at least once per month. This assures that relative databases are updated properly.  See Customer AR List)

MonthlyCloseStatements

 

THINGS TO DO

Review the function and capabilities of the Accounts Receivable feature.

 

THINGS TO UNDERSTAND

Accounts Receivable Is Not Affected By...

Your ability to take deposits on layaways and orders, sell and redeem gift certificates, accept checks and credit cards in payment, utilize coupons, and utilize discounting at the invoice level.

Accounts Receivable in POSitive lets you

put your customers on store account in advance or at the time of invoicing
establish balance forward charges if you are converting from a previous sales system
issue refunds which can only be used towards future purchases
generate Store Credit reports
generate AR aging reports
print AR statements: Balance Forward or Transaction Based
charge monthly finance charges
set customer credit limits
define customer global discounts
accept advance payment for services or goods before an invoice is created
reward your repeat customers with store credit
utilize third party or finance company billing as an alternative to store account
control employee access to AR features

 

Common Activities

How To Activate AR For A Customer  (see Accounts Receivable Setup)
How To Define Customer Payment Terms  (see Customer Terms)
How To Activate and Handle Finance Charges  (see Finance Charges)
How To Add and Edit Off-Setting AR Transactions (see AR History)
How To Take AR Payments (see AR Payment)
How To Close the AR Month (see Customer AR List)
How To Setup and Print AR Statements (see AR Statements)
How To Review A Customer's AR History (see AR History)
How To Setup and Use Third Party Billing (see Finance Company Setup)
How To Resolve AR Mistakes (see Steps For Resolving AR Problems)

 

Common Mistakes

Cannot Select "Store Account" as a Tender Type - When tendering an invoice for a customer, the option to tender on Store Account will only be visible if the customer selected has a valid address.  It is assumed that an AR Statement will be printed and hence a valid mailing address is required.  Solution: edit the customer record and enter something in the Address 1 line.
Wrong Tender Type - When tendering an invoice, the wrong tender type may have been selected   This problem is easily discovered if the cash drawer is balanced daily.  Solution: do not continue with balancing the drawer.  Go to Invoice History, void the invoice, and create a new invoice from the old and then accept the proper tender type.  (Other solutions might be available depending upon needs.  Contact your dealer or POSitive Software Support.)