Payment details (sales account)
Open: Sales Ledger > Sales Accounts > Enter New Account.
Open: Sales Ledger > Sales Accounts > Amend Account Details.
Use the Payment tab to enter or amend the settlement discount and payment terms for the customer. You also set the customer account type here.
Account Type
Use the Account types to decide how transactions are stored on individual accounts. You can use all three account types in any mix. Use the account types to balance your need for a detailed breakdown of transactions with your need to save disk space.
The default account type is open item.
For open item accounts, transactions remain visible on the account until they are archived or removed.
How transactions are archived
Transactions that are fully allocated, and that have exceeded the number of months specified to keep transactions for, are archived or removed when the relevant Account Maintenance option is run.
- If you have selected to archive your transactions in the Ledger settings, the transactions are moved to an archive file. Once archived they can be viewed on the relevant archived Transaction Enquiry screens and historical reports.
- If you have not chosen to archive your transactions, they are permanently removed from the Sage 200 database.
For example: You have chosen to keep your transactions for 3 months for all of your Accounts. You enter the Archive up to date as 30 November. All allocated transactions dated prior to 01 September are archived or deleted.
All outstanding transactions are kept, regardless of their age. Outstanding transactions are:
- Part allocated payments.
- Disputed transactions.
- Unpaid invoices.
- Part paid invoices.
With Automatic Allocation accounts any credit notes, payments or receipts are allocated to invoices when the relevant Account Maintenance option is run. 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.
Transactions that are fully allocated, and that have exceeded the number of months specified to keep transactions for can be archived or removed.
- If you have selected to archive your transactions in the Ledger settings, the transactions are moved to an archive file. Once archived they can be viewed on the archived transaction enquiry screens and historical reports.
- If you have not chosen to archive your transactions, they are permanently removed from the Sage 200 database.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Settlement discounts
These are default settings that are applied automatically every time you enter an invoice, order or credit note for this customer. These will also default to the discount entered in the Sales Ledger settings.
- Enter the Settlement discount percentage you offer the customer.
- Enter the number of days that customer has to pay in to qualify for the discount, in the if paid within box.
Settlement discounts and VAT
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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.
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In Ireland, VAT is calculated on the full value of the invoice regardless of any settlement discount.
Payment terms
This is used to calculate the Due Date for an invoice.
Enter the number of days and select the date the payment terms start from the from drop-down list.
These will default to the payment terms you entered in the Sales Ledger settings.
Due date calculations are only made for invoice transactions. Credit notes always retain the same due date as the entered transaction 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 03/10/2019, the due date for the invoice will be 18/10/2019.
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 03/10/2019, the due date for the invoice will be 31/10/2019.
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 03/10/2019, the due date for the invoice will be 15/11/2019.
Invoices are due on the same day the following month.
For example, if you enter an invoice with an invoice date of 03/10/2019, the due date will be 03/11/2019.
Invoice Payments
If you use GoCardless for Invoice Payments, you will also need to upload your customer accounts before you send invoices to your customers.
To upload a customer to Invoice Payments, move to the Payment tab, and select Synchronise customer with Invoice Payments.
You do not need to upload customers if you only use Stripe or PayPal.
Note: If a customer was not uploaded at the time that you print an invoice, the Direct Debit payment option for GoCardless will not be available for that particular invoice. Once you upload the customer to GoCardless, all subsequent invoices for that customer will include the option to pay by Direct Debit.