Payment details (customer account)

Find this screen

Open: Sales Ledger > Sales Accounts > New Customer

Open: Sales Ledger > Sales Accounts > Amend Customer

Use the Payment tab to set the customer's account type, settlement discount, and payment terms.

Payment terms

Account Type

Use the Account type to decide how transactions are stored for this customer account. You can use the account type to balance your need for a detailed breakdown of transactions with your need to save disk space.

The default account type is Open item.
You can change a customer account from one type to another. If you change a Balance forward account to Open item, you will only be able to view details for transactions entered after you made the change.

Open Item

For open item accounts, transactions remain visible on the account until they are archived or removed.

Auto Allocation

With Automatic Allocation accounts any credit notes, payments or receipts are allocated to invoices when the relevant Account Maintenance option is run in the Sage 200 desktop. The oldest outstanding invoices are allocated first. Queried invoices are not allocated.

Any debits or credits that are not allocated are carried over into the new period. If the transaction values do match exactly, the transactions are part-allocated.

Balance forward

With Balance Forward accounts, individual transactions are removed and replaced with a brought forward balance for each accounting period. The brought forward balance is created, when the relevant Account Maintenance option is run in the Sage 200 desktop.

Each period's total balance is carried forward as a single balance figure and so the number of balances carried forward depends on the number of accounting periods that you have.

When transactions such as payments are posted for a previous period, they are allocated by period number, so the appropriate balance is amended. Queried transactions are kept on the account.

The advantage of this type of accounting is its economical use of disk space.

Note: Balance forward accounts cannot be used for foreign currency accounts.

Settlement discounts with balance forward accounts

We recommend that you don't use Balance Forward for accounts where you offer a settlement discount. This is because the discount details are lost when individual transactions are replaced with the brought forward balance.

Settlement discount

The settlement discount details you set here will be applied automatically when you enter an invoice, order or credit note for this customer.

When you create a new account, these will default to what you've set in the Customer Defaults and Settings, but you can change them for each customer.

Enter the Settlement discount percentage you offer the customer.
Enter the number of days that the customer has to pay in to qualify for the discount, in if paid within.

Settlement discounts and VAT

In the UK, VAT on an invoice is only discounted when it is paid within the settlement discount period.

On each invoice, VAT is calculated by default on the full invoice value. If the invoice is paid within the settlement discount period, a VAT adjustment is required, to account for the discounted VAT.
In Ireland, VAT is calculated on the full value of the invoice regardless of any settlement discount.

Payment terms

Payment terms are used to calculate the Due Date for an invoice.

When you create a new account, these will default to what you've set in the Customer Defaults and Settings, but you can change them for each customer.

Enter the number of days for the Payment terms (if applicable).
Set when the due date is calculated from.

Due date calculations are only made for invoice transactions. Credit notes always retain the same due date as the entered transaction date.

Document date

Invoices are due the specified number of days after the invoice date.

For example, if the Payment terms is set to 15 days and you enter an invoice with an invoice date of 03/10/2020, the due date for the invoice will be 18/10/2020.

Start of month

Invoices are due the specified number of days after the start of the month in which an invoice is dated.

For example, if the Payment terms is set to 30 days and you enter an invoice with an invoice date of 03/10/2020, the due date for the invoice will be 31/10/2020.

End of month

Invoices are due the specified number of days after the end of the month in which the invoice was dated.

For example, if the Payment terms is set to 15 days and you enter an invoice with an invoice date of 03/10/2020, the due date for the invoice will be 15/11/2020.

Calendar monthly

Invoices are due on the same day the following month.

For example, if you enter an invoice with an invoice date of 03/10/2020, the due date will be 03/11/2020.