Customer defaults and settings

Find this screen

Open: Settings > Customers and Suppliers > Customer Defaults and Settings

Select Amend to edit any of these settings.

Options

Enable card processing

Select Enable card processing if you subscribe to Opayo and want to take card payments from customers directly into Sage 200.

Once you have selected Enable card processing, you can use Online Card Receipt (in the Sage 200 desktop) to record receipts from customers.

Note: You cannot select Enable card processing unless a merchant account has been set up in Merchant Settings (in the Sage 200 desktop).

Note: Changing this setting: Selecting Enable card processing enables card payments from Opayo. If you then disable Enable card processing, you'll no longer be able to enter online card receipts. If you've taken an online card receipt and then disable this setting, you cannot reverse or refund the online transaction.

Default allocation date (customers)

You can choose the default allocation date recorded for customer transactions.

Use payment/receipt date: The allocation date for the transaction is set to the same date that you enter for the receipt or payment.

For example, if you enter a receipt dated 5 November, then allocate the receipt on 12 November, the allocation date for the transaction will be 5 November.
Use system date: The allocation date for the transaction is set to the date when you record the allocation in Sage 200.

For example, if you enter a receipt dated 5 November, then allocate the receipt on 12 November, the allocation date for the transaction will be 12 November.

Customer defaults

You can enter default settings for your customer accounts and sales transactions.

Defaults entered for the customer settings are passed on to each new customer account. Defaults entered on customer accounts are passed on to transactions.

Setting defaults here can save you time when you create accounts and also helps to prevent errors.

The following table shows how information is passed from settings to accounts, and from accounts to transactions.

How default settings are applied to accounts and transactions
Customer settings	Customer account	Transaction
Default VAT code	Default VAT code	VAT code
Settlement Discount	Settlement Discount	Settlement Discount
Payment Terms	Payment Terms	Due Date (Payment Terms)
Terms Agreed	Terms Agreed
	Default Nominal Account	Nominal Account

Note:

Changing your default settings:

Any changes you make to these defaults are only used when you create a new account. Existing accounts and transactions are not affected.
If you want to apply the changes to your existing accounts, you'll need to update each account separately.

Customer settlement discount values

If you offer your customers similar settlement discounts, entering the details here can save you time when creating new customer accounts. Settlement discounts also affect how VAT is calculated on invoices and credit notes.

The discount details that you enter here are applied to new customers accounts by default, which are then applied to transactions. You can change these on your individual customer accounts as you set them up, and also change them when entering individual transactions.

Early settlement days: Enter the default number of days (up to 999) an invoice must be paid in to qualify for the discount.
Discount %: Enter the default discount percentage you offer your customers.

Note: If you don't want to set default settlement discount details, leave these options blank.

Other Customer Defaults

Waiting period for recovery of VAT on bad debts

If a customer doesn't pay you for goods and services on which you have charged and paid VAT, you can get the VAT back from HMRC by claiming bad debt relief.

To reclaim the VAT, the debt must be older than the waiting period specified by the HMRC, which was 6 months as of February 2019.

Specify the Waiting period for recovery of VAT on bad debts as the number of months (periods) for which you want to store sales transactions before you consider processing them as bad debts.

If you want to use this, check the HMRC guidelines for details of the statutory waiting period for VAT relief. See HMRC: VAT Returns (opens in a new tab).

Default VAT code

This helps you to make sure that the correct VAT rate is used when entering transactions.

Select a Default VAT code that will be used when you create new customer accounts. The VAT rate on the customer's account will also be passed on to their transactions.

If most of your customers are going to use standard VAT rate, just leave the standard VAT rate selected. But if the majority of your customers are going to use a different VAT rate, you can select an alternative VAT rate.

Each time you create a new customer account, it will default to this code. But you can still change this VAT rate for individual customer accounts, and also when entering transactions.

Default terms agreed

Enable Default terms agreed to automatically set new customer accounts as having agreed terms (Terms Agreed will be selected by default). You can still change this on individual accounts if you need to.
Disable Default terms agreed if you want to choose when each individual customer account has agreed terms.

If the Terms Agreed box isn't selected for a customer account, you'll see a Terms have not been agreed prompt when entering transactions.

Ageing

These Ageing settings help you manage your outstanding customer debt.

The ageing periods are used to show how old your outstanding transactions are, and are used on your aged debts reports and statements.

The payment terms are used to calculate when invoices are due to be paid.

Generally, customer debts are aged over three periods, which are typically 30, 60 and 90 days. The last aged period holds both the debts in the period and those debts that exceed that period.

Default payment terms

These default payment terms are used when you create new customer accounts. The payment terms set on an account are used to calculate the Due date of an invoice.

If you try to agree the same payment terms with most of your customers, entering a default here can save you time when creating accounts.

But you can also change the Payment Terms on individual customer accounts, and change the Due date on individual invoices.

Basis of payment terms: This determines the due date for an invoice. Once set, you can monitor payments due and optimise the credit days available.

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 Number of payment days 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 Number of payment days 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 Number of payment days 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.
Number of payment days: This is the number of days credit that a customer is allowed before payment of their invoice is due. You can enter up to 255 days.

Ageing for reports (days)

Choose the number of days for each of your ageing periods.

In the Debtors periods start after column, enter the length (in days) of each ageing period.

These ageing periods are used on statements and Aged Debtors reports (in the Sage 200 desktop).

For statements, you choose how to age your transactions in the Processing section.

Transactions are aged from the transaction date and not their due date.

Changing the ageing periods

The next time you run the Aged Debtors reports, your aged balances will show in the new periods.
Example of ageing on the Aged Debtors reports
Your ageing periods are set up as follows:
- Number of ageing periods: 3
- Debtors periods start after: 30, 60 and 90 days.
An invoice has a transaction date of 30/04/2020 and a due date of 30/05/2020.
1. Run the Aged Debtors report, and select:
  - Ageing method: By transaction date.
  - Base date for ageing: 29/05/2020.
  The invoice appears in the Current column.
2. Run the Aged Debtors report, and select:
  - Ageing method: By transaction date.
  - Base date for ageing: 30/05/2020.
  The invoice appears in the 30 day column.
In the Due date periods start after column, enter the length of each due date period (in days).

Due date periods are used on the Due Date reports and for your debtor letters (in the Sage 200 desktop).

The Due Date reports show the total amount owed by a customer, based on the number of days the transactions are past their due date.

Debtor letters are sent to your customers, based on the number of Due date periods you use. You can have a different letter for each due date period. Sage 200 sends the letter that corresponds to the Due date period that the oldest unpaid invoice falls into.

Your due date periods are automatically set to be the same as your ageing periods, but you can change them if you want to.

Transactions are listed in the relevant aged period based on the number of days they are past their due by date.
Example of ageing on the Due Date report
Your ageing periods are set up as follows:
- No of periods: 3
- Due date periods start after: 1,31, and 61 days.
The due date on a invoice is 30/04/2020.
1. Run the Due Date report, and select:
  - Base date for ageing: 01/05/2020.
  The invoice appears in the column for one day overdue.
2. Run Due date report, and select:
  - Base date for ageing: 31/05/2020.
  The invoice appears in the 31 day overdue column on the report.

Processing

Statements

Transactions to show

Use Transactions to show to choose whether to include paid transactions on your statements.

All transactions: All transactions are included on the statement, both paid and unpaid.

When you run the statement (in the Sage 200 desktop), use the Transactions to show date criteria to filter these transactions.
Outstanding transactions only: Only unpaid transactions with an outstanding balance are included on the statement.

When you run the statement (in the Sage 200 desktop), use the Transactions to show date criteria to filter these transactions.
Outstanding plus all from specified date: The statement will include both paid and unpaid transactions up to a date specified on the criteria. After this date, only unpaid transactions are included.

When you run the statement (in the Sage 200 desktop), this sets the Transactions to show date criteria to To by default.

Ageing

Use Ageing to choose how transactions are aged on your statements.

Use Transaction Date: The time elapsed from the transaction date.

For example, a transaction dated 01 June will be 30 days old on the 30 June.
Use Due Date: The time elapsed from the due date of the transaction.

For example, an invoice dated of 01 June with a due date of 30 June will be 30 days old on the 30th July.
Use Ledger Period: Taken from the period the transaction is dated in.

For example, if your ledger periods are calendar monthly, an invoice dated 29th May be in the +1 month period on the 01 June.

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