Using the Accounts Receivable Console
The Accounts Receivable Console window is the accounts receivable "control center." It is designed to assist the accounts receivable employees to focus their work on accounts receivable and collection activities as well as give employees quick access to accounts receivable functionality.
At the highest level, the Accounts Receivable Console is divided into three primary views: Accounts, Tasks, and Stats.
You use the Accounts view to access the accounts receivable summary header, customer list, customer transaction list (e.g., invoices), customer tasks, customer notes, invoice tasks, and most accounts receivable functionality. Because users can access the most functionality from the Account Summary for --- [Customer] --- tab, the Accounts view is the most common place for users to spend time in the console.
You use the Tasks view to create tasks you need to perform to accomplish payment and collection activities. In Tasks view, you can see the top 10 invoices that will be past due in ten days or less.
You use the Stats view to view a graph of the Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) statistic. This statistic helps accounting managers determine the average length of time to collect on invoices.
Getting to the AR ConsoleGetting to the AR Console
Click [Receivables] on the e-automate toolbar to open the Accounts Receivable Console window. The Accounts Receivable Console can be left open while you work on other activities.
Note: You can also access the Accounts Receivable Console by clicking the Accounting menu and selecting Accounts receivable > Accounts receivable console.
Using the ToolbarUsing the Toolbar
Use the toolbar to perform activities for selected customers, payment, etc. The toolbar also allows you to navigate from one view in the AR console to another, for example moving from Accounts view to Tasks view and back to accounts view. To begin most activities related to a specific customer on the list the user first selects the customer. Most activities you perform in the AR console apply to the selected customer. When you select a customer in the Customer region, e-automate automatically selects the first invoice in the Account Summary for --- Customer region.
You use the buttons on the Accounts Receivable Console toolbar to do the following:
View: Use to view a Customer record, invoice, or payment. To use this button, do the following:
Verify the [Accounts] button is selected; if it is not, click the [Accounts] button on the toolbar.
Use the [Find] button to locate account information to display.
Do any of the following:
To view a Customer record, do the following:
In the Customer region, which appears immediately below the [Find] button, select a customer for whom to view a Customer record.
Right-click the toolbar [View] button, and select View customer from the right-click menu. The system displays the Customer record for the selected customer.
Note: Once you have selected View customer from the [View] button's right-click menu, the system will display the Customer record for the customer you select in the Customer region each time you click the [View] button until you select a different right-click menu option for the [View] button.
To view a customer invoice, do the following:
In the Customer region, which appears immediately below the [Find] button, select a customer for whom to view account summary information.
Verify the Account summary for --- [Customer Name] --- tab is forward. If it is not, click it to bring it forward.
Select an invoice from the list.
Note: The Type column indicates which items listed in the summary are invoices.
Right-click the toolbar [View] button, and select View invoice from the right-click menu. The system displays a copy of the invoice identical to the invoice you sent to the customer.
Note: Once you have selected View invoice from the [View] button's right-click menu, the system will display the customer invoice for the invoice you select on the Account summary for --- [Customer Name] --- tab each time you click the [View] button until you select a different right-click menu option for the [View] button.
To view a customer payment, do the following:
In the Customer region, which appears immediately below the [Find] button, select a customer for whom to view account summary information.
Verify the Account summary for --- [Customer Name] --- tab is forward. If it is not, click it to bring it forward.
Select a payment from the list.
Note: The Type column indicates which items listed in the summary are payments.
Right-click the toolbar [View] button, and select View payment from the right-click menu. The system displays the Cash Receipts Journal showing the payment information.
Note: Once you have selected View payment from the [View] button's right-click menu, the system will display the Cash Receipts Journal showing the payment information for the customer payment you select on the Account Summary for --- Customer tab each time you click the [View] button until you select a different right-click menu option for the [View] button.
Payment: Use to record a customer payment, to apply a customer payment, or to re-apply or unapply a customer payment.
Write-off: Use to create a credit memo to an expense account for customer invoices you determined are un-collectable. In order to write off debt in the Accounts Receivable Console, if must be configured by your system administrator and you must have the correct security rights in e-automate.
Credit Hold: Use to put a customer on credit hold or to remove a customer from credit hold. e-automate reports credit hold status for customers in the Accounts Receivable Console, in the Customers region. When using the Credit Hold from the AR Console you cannot select other methods of hold, only Credit Hold.
Refresh: Use to update the view of the Accounts Receivable Console window. If payments, applications, credit memos, or any accounts receivable activity occurs outside the console, Refresh updates the information displayed in the console.
Print: Use to print a copy of the selected invoice, payment, etc.
Note: You can use multiple select, Shift + Click and Ctrl + Click, to select multiple invoices.
Email: Use to send an electronic HTML copy of the selected invoice(s) to an email recipient. E-mail recipients are taken from the e-automate Contacts list. The contact name must include the company you selected in the contact profile in order for you to use them as an email recipient. You can also simply type in an email address if they are not in the contact list.
Accounts: Use to show all accounts receivable transactions for a chosen customer. e-automate opens the Accounts Receivable Console window in the Accounts view by default. If you have switched to Tasks or Stats view, click [Accounts] to return to the Accounts view. The Accounts view can display all customers, all accounts receivable activity, customer tasks, invoice tasks, and customer notes.
Tasks: Use to show the Top ten current invoices that will be due in 10 days or less and a list of completed, uncompleted, and follow-up tasks. You can hide the top ten current invoices by clicking [Hide Top Ten]. You use the top ten current invoices to focus your work on collecting invoices that are due in 10 days or less.
Stats: Use to display the Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) information. DSO is a measure of your company's accounts receivable in days and the average time it takes to collect on invoices issued.
Options: Use the [Options] button and the drop-down menu to show or hide a summary of total accounts receivable for your company and/or to show or hide invoice tasks.
Close: Use to close the Accounts Receivable Console window.
Accounts ViewAccounts View
Using the Find FieldUsing the Find Field
The Find field is used to search for specific information in the Accounts Receivable Console. The Find field allows you to narrow your search and view of the accounts receivable console. You can use the Find field to look in the following areas of e-automate:
Invoice: Used to search for a specific invoice number. When selected displays an invoice lookup displaying all invoices in the e-automate database.
Note: You should use some key criteria to selectively reduce the number of invoices listed. For additional information on how selective reduction works, see the "Lookup Icon/Feature" section of the Tips and Tricks topic.
Payment/Check: Used to search for any type of customer payment. When selected you can use the lookup to select customer payments. You can search using a customer's check number as well as the e-automate payment number.
Note: You should use some key criteria to selectively reduce the number of payments listed. For additional information on how selective reduction works, see the "Lookup Icon/Feature" section of the Tips and Tricks topic.
Customers: Used to search for a single customer. When selected, displays a lookup of active customers in your e-automate database.
Note: You should use some key criteria to selectively reduce the number of customers listed.
All Customers: Used to display the list of all customers. When selected, e-automate displays all customers in the upper section of the accounts receivable console. In addition to being able to see all customers, e-automate provides a QuickSearch with multiple fields in which you can search as well as some pre-installed searches. See the drop-down menu on the Search button.
Customer ListCustomer List
When the Find field, has All customers selected, e-automate lists your customers in the upper region of the Accounts view. When you select a customer, the activities you perform in the Accounts Receivable Console relate to the selected customer. Selecting a customer displays account information for the customer selected on the Account summary for --- Customer tab.
The Customer region displays a list of all your customers. The following fields are associated with a Customer record:
Number: The number assigned to the customer in e-automate.
Name: Customer name.
Bill to number: The customer number assigned to the customer receiving invoices or being billed for the customer identified in the Customer column. It is common for location customers to bill their associated master customer.
Bill to name: The customer name assigned to the customer receiving invoices or being billed for the customer identified in the Customer column.
A/R Rep: Employee assigned to the customer as the accounts receivable representative. This employee is commonly the customer performing collection activities for the customer.
Contact: The name of the contact, if any, listed in the Accounts receivable contact field of the customer record.
Contact's job title: The job title(s) associated with the contact listed in the Contact column for the customer.
Note: If the contact has multiple job titles, this column displays a comma-separated list of all the titles. If the contact is associated with multiple customers, this column lists only the contact's job title(s) associated with this customer.
Phone: The phone number associated with the displayed contact. If no contact is displayed, it is the value in the Phone1 field of the customer record.
Fax: The fax number associated with the displayed contact. If no contact is displayed, it is the value in Fax field of the customer record.
Terms: The terms assigned to the customer on the customer record.
Hold: The Customer’s hold status. Customers are on hold when Yes is displayed.
Active: Indicates whether the customer is active or not.
Current: The customer’s balance that is not past due.
Past Due: The customer's balance that is overdue.
Total: The customer’s total amount due, current and past due.
Unapplied: Indicates the sum of the customer’s unapplied payments, if any.
Right-click in the Customer ListRight-click in the Customer List
In the Customer region, you can select a customer and use the right-click menu to perform the following functions for the selected customer:
Create a new customer
Edit the customer
View the customer record
Enter notes associated with the customer
Place or release the a customer on credit hold
Create a new invoice (Misc. Charge, Misc. Charge Credit, Misc. Debit, or Sales invoice)
Create a new payment for the customer
Apply a payment for the customer
Create a new sales order for customer
Preview a customer statement
Print a customer statement
Email a customer statement
Refresh the Accounts Receivable Console
Account Summary for --- Customer TabAccount Summary for --- Customer Tab
In the Account Summary for --- Customer region, the Accounts Receivable Console displays the account activity for the selected customer. This region can list:
Service invoices and service credit memos
Contract invoices and contract credit memos
Miscellaneous charge invoices, misc. charge credit memos, and misc. charge debit memos
Sales invoices and sales credit memos
Customer payments/ payment reversals
Customer payment applications or reversals
The Account Summary for - Customer region also displays the date, type, number, customer number (name), description, due date, total, due amount and the number of days the invoice is past due, if any. This region can display open items only or if you uncheck the Show open items only check box at the top of the tab, this region will display all accounts receivable activity whether open or closed. This feature allows you to view applied payment information and receipts as well as other paid invoices.
On the Accounts summary --- customer tab, any line item that has accounts receivable activity associated with it is displayed with a [+] in what usually appears in the far left unlabeled column. To see specific activity for line items with activity double-click on the desired line item. E-automate displays the activity. Click [Back] to return to the list of accounts receivable activity.
Right-click on the Account Summary --- Customer TabRight-click on the Account Summary --- Customer Tab
In the Account summary --- customer tab, you can use the right-click menu to display a variety of options. The menu choices available on the right-click menu are contingent on what is selected when the user right-clicks. The following options are available for invoices or payments:
View: View the e-automate transaction associated with an invoice.
Print preview: View the printed invoice on screen.
Print: Send the selected invoice to the printer.
Email: Create a file and attach to an email to the customer.
Email with statement: Create a file of the invoice and statement and attach to an email to the customer.
Notes: Add notes to the selected invoice, credit memo, debit memo, payment or payment reversal.
General ledger: View the general ledger transactions that were posted as a result of this entry.
New invoice: Create a Miscellaneous Charge invoice, credit or debit memo.
New payment: Record a payment for the selected invoice(s).
Apply customer memos: Apply a credit memos or unapplied payments to open invoices.
Re-apply payment: Un-apply the selected payment from the originally applied invoice and either leave it unapplied or apply it to another invoice.
Void XXX invoice: Void the invoice or the payment on which you right-clicked.
Void Customer Payment XXX: Void the payment and re-open the invoice to which it was applied.
Write off as uncollectible: Create a credit memo to your bad debt expense account for the selected invoice.
Refresh: Ensure that all accounts receivable data as of the current time is displayed in the AR Console.
Customer Tasks TabCustomer Tasks Tab
You use the Customer tasks tab to enter tasks associated with the selected customer. You can also enter tasks by accessing the Customer record. To enter a simple task, do the following:
Click [Receivables] on the e-automate toolbar to open the Accounts Receivable Console window.
Note: You can also access the Accounts Receivable Console by clicking the Accounting menu, and selecting Accounts receivable > Account receivable console.
Click the Customer tasks tab to bring it forward.
Click [New] to open the New task detail window.
Complete the following fields as appropriate:
Customer: Customer associated with the task, if applicable.
Note: Depending on how you accessed the New Task Detail window, the customer may already be present.
Contact:Name of the person with whom you had contact, if any.
Note: This Lookup displays only those contacts associated with the identified customer.
Task type: Type of task.
Assigned to: Employee in your company responsible for the task.
Description: Description of the task.
Note: Additional customer aging information is displayed in the window to support collection efforts.
Scheduled for: Date the task begins.
Completed on:Date the task is completed. Tasks can be marked complete later.
Follow up date: Date you want to follow up on this task.
Note: When checked, e-automate creates a duplicate task for the date identified in this field.
Click [OK] to save the task.
For additional information on tasks, see the accounts receivable topic Working with AR Tasks.
Customer Notes TabCustomer Notes Tab
You use the Customer notes tab to enter notes for the selected customer. These notes are the same notes accessible by editing a customer record or by clicking on [Notes] from the customer list. Customer notes offer a primary note as well as individual time and date stamped notes.
Tasks ViewTasks View
You use the Tasks view to view all tasks in your e-automate system. You can filter tasks by using the QuickSearch available at the top of the Tasks view. From this view you can create new tasks, edits tasks, delete tasks and make tasks as complete. This view shows tasks that were entered through the customer record, tasks entered and associated with invoices, as well as tasks entered in the Account view. You determine if you want to see tasks completed today by checking the Show tasks completed today checkbox.
From Tasks view in the Accounts Receivable console you can use the quick link located above the QuickSearch controls to return you to the Accounts view for the customer selected when you click the link. The link is labeled, Click to go to the selected task’s customer in the account view.
Creating a TaskCreating a Task
Click [Receivables] on the e-automate toolbar to open the Accounts Receivable Console window.
Note: You can also access the Accounts Receivable Console by clicking the Accounting menu, and selecting Accounts receivable > Account receivable console.
On the Accounts Receivable window toolbar, click [Tasks].
Click [New] to open the window.
Complete the following fields as appropriate:
Customer: Customer associated with the task, if applicable.
Note: Depending on how you accessed the New Task Detail window, the customer may already be present.
Contact: Name of the person with whom you had contact, if any.
Note: This lookup displays only those contacts associated with the identified customer.
Task type: Type of task.
Assigned to: Employee in your company responsible for the task.
Description: Description of the task.
Note: Additional customer aging information is displayed in the window to support collection efforts.
Scheduled for: Date the task begins.
Completed on: Date the task is completed. Tasks can be marked complete later.
Follow up date: Date you want to follow up on this task.
Note: When checked, e-automate creates a duplicate task for the date identified in this field.
Click [OK] to save the task.
Editing a TaskEditing a Task
Select the task.
Click [Edit] to open the Edit Task Detail window.
Deleting a TaskDeleting a Task
Select the task.
Click [Delete] to remove the task from the database.
Stats ViewStats View
In Stats view you can view the statistic, Days Sales Outstanding (DSO). A statistic that helps accounting managers determine on average, how long it takes to collect on invoices.
DSO CalculationDSO Calculation
The Days Sales Outstanding under the Stats section in the AR Console is period driven, not date driven. It is calculated as follows:
E-automate calculates the average running balance of accounts receivable for each month in the selected periods by:
Calculating the ending AR balance for each period (Period 1= 10,000, Period 2 = 12,000, Period 3 = 14,000)
Calculating the running balance for each period ( Period 1 = 10,000 [10,000/1]; Period 2 = 11,000 [(10,000 + 12,000)/ 2]; Period 3 = 12,000 [(10,000 + 12,000 + 14,000)/3] )
E-automate calculates the average sales for each month in the selected periods by:
Calculating the total sales for each period (Period 1= 5,000, Period 2 = 6,000, Period 3 = 7,000)
Calculating the running balance for each period ( Period 1 = 5,000 [5,000/1]; Period 2 = 5,500 [(5,000 + 6,000)/ 2]; Period 3 = 6,000 [(5,000 + 6,000 + 7,000)/3] )
We calculate the DSO as follows for each period [ Average AR / ( Average Sales / 30 days ) ]
Period 1 = 60 [ 10,000 / ( 5,000 / 30 ) ]
Period 2 = 60 [ 11,000 / ( 5,500 / 30 ) ]
Period 2 = 60 [ 12,000 / ( 6,000 / 30 ) ]
Non-supported ReleaseNon-supported Release
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