Certain set-up and configuration activities must be completed before the full functionality of Accounts Receivable is available. Some setup is done using system-wide parameters; other setup activities take place within Accounts Receivable itself. The result of the setup activities is to configure data that sets up controls and inferences, as well as to define how certain processes within Accounts Receivable, such as Finance Charges and Billing, will function.
The following tasks are part of setting up Accounts Receivable:
Setting up Application Parameters - Options on this table are set once and do not vary by year, fund, department, document, or other factors.
Setting up Options and Controls - On a fiscal year basis, an entity must establish options that affect non-sufficient funds (NSF) processing, finance charge accumulation, short payment/overpayment processing. Although these controls can apply at a system-wide level, Advantage Financial provides the option of defining such controls for accounts receivables at either a centralized or decentralized level.
In addition to setting options and controls on various tables, your entity also specifies which accounts within the Chart of Accounts will be updated by particular Accounts Receivable accounting events.
Setting up Document Control - This page allows you to set general document processing rules for the documents within the system. Along with establishing the rules and options, this page allows you to establish the allowable accounting periods, effective dates, allowable document actions and the allowable reference documents for a Document Code.
Completing Billing and Collection Setup - Billing and collections setup is comprised of populating tables and setting parameters that control the information necessary to generate and process customer invoices, statements, dunning messages, and collection letters.
The Billing Profile (BPRO) table is the primary table within this group. It contains basic information about the billing cycle and billing characteristics that can be used for a customer or group of customers. A billing profile must be defined for a customer before receivables for that customer are generated so that the customer can be billed appropriately.
In addition to setting up billing profiles, billing and collections setup also involves configuring and maintaining several different tables that contain other reference information. This information includes the actual text of dunning messages and collections letters. Additionally, it includes billing rates, customer instructions that are printed on bills, and other options used for statement billing.
Setting up Customer Information - Customer information is set up in a shared table that contains information used both by Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable. Third parties can also be established for a particular customer. Support for third parties allows a bill to be generated for a third party which can be tracked to the third party for reporting purposes, but can also be associated with the responsible customer for reduction of outstanding receivables.