Setting Up Initial Balances

After you set up customer records, set up initial customer balances. If you are setting up Accounts Receivable at a time other than the beginning of your fiscal year and you want to keep detail and summary history, you must also enter sales history.

You can use the summary method, detail method, or a combination of summary and detail methods to set up initial customer balances and open invoices.

Summary Method

Although the summary method is less time-consuming than the detail method, it does not create a complete sales history record.

  1. Use the Customers function to enter any unpaid finance charges and outstanding invoice amounts for the current period and the four aging periods, as well as to enter sales and payment history.
  2. Use the Open Invoice Setup function to build an invoice for each unpaid finance charge, current amount due, and balance in an aging period.

Detail Method

The detail method is more time-consuming than the summary method; however, it does create a complete sales history record.

  1. Use the Transactions and Cash Receipts functions to enter the year-to-date accounts receivable transactions.
  2. Use the Post Transactions function on the Transaction Journals menu to post transactions to the appropriate periods.
  3. Use the Calculate Finance Charges function on the Open Invoices menu to calculate the finance charges on overdue invoices. The customer records are updated with these amounts.

Combination Method

The combination method, a blend of the summary and detail methods, is less time-consuming than the detail method, but it does not create a complete sales history.

  1. Use the Customers function to enter summary balances for transactions that are no longer outstanding for the current period and for each aging period and to enter credit and payment history.
  2. Use the Open Invoice Setup function to build an invoice for each unpaid finance charge, current amount due, and balance in an aging period.
  3. Use the Transactions and Cash Receipts functions to enter open transactions.
  4. Use the Post Transactions function on the Transaction Journals menu to post transactions to the appropriate accounts and update customer records.
  5. Use the Calculate Finance Charges function on the Open Invoices menu to calculate the finance charges on overdue invoices. The customer records are updated with these amounts.