Entering Accounts Receivable Transactions

You can manually enter payments, credit and debit memos and adjustments, write-offs, and miscellaneous charges in the Accounts Receivable window. You can also enter details about payments such as the bank used for deposits, method of payment, and reference information.

Selections in the Accounts Receivable window determine the order and availability of subsequent boxes. For example, selecting Payment as a transaction type displays a box for selecting a bank, and all other transaction types display a box for selecting a reason.

Notes:

• If your firm uses the ePay feature, electronic payments submitted by clients are entered and distributed in Accounts Receivable automatically. You can identify these transactions by the "ePay" entry in the Payment Method field. Your staff must review and post these transactions manually.
• You can also import transaction information from a spreadsheet into accounts receivable. This feature can be useful for handling accounts receivable transactions that occur outside the normal invoice and billing process. See Importing Accounts Receivable Transactions for more information.

To enter an AR transaction, do the following: 

1. Open Dashboard, click Application Links on the navigation panel, and then select AR transactions under Accounts Receivable.
2. Enter the transaction information.

Component	Description
Entry type	Enter a type of transaction or select one from the list. Payments, credit adjustments, credit memos, write-offs, and Tax write-offs reduce the AR balance for the client. Debit adjustments or memos increase the AR balance. A miscellaneous charge is not a form of payment. It creates a new open item in the client’s account. Use it when you want to charge a client that is not the result of performing work, for example, the sale of old office equipment.
Distribution method	Select a distribution method from the list. Auto-Distribute. Automatically distributes accounts receivables according to your entries and your firm's settings. Auto-Distribute & Review. The transaction is automatically distributed. You can review and edit the distribution if necessary. Tip: As a best practice, always use the Auto-Distribute & Review option, which allows you to confirm, exclude, or edit items that have been automatically selected. Manual. Allows you to manually distribute accounts receivables. This selection changes the Save option to Distribute. None. Saves the transaction for distribution later. Note: Your firm may define a default distribution method. See Setting Up Accounts Receivable Options for the Firm for more information.
Bank/Reason	Do one of the following:  Select a bank from the list that was set up in Lists. See Managing Bank Accounts for more information. This option displays when Payment has been selected as the entry type. Select a reason from the list that has been set up in Lists. See Adding Reasons for more information. This option displays for all entry types except Payment.
Deposit/Transaction	Select a date you expect the check to be deposited with the bank. For other entry types or payment methods, select the date you want to assign the transaction.
Payment method	Select the method of payment for this transaction. This option displays only when Payment is selected as the transaction type.
Select Client	Select whether to select the client by client ID, name, or invoice number. If you selected client, enter the client ID or name for the transaction, and select the applicable client from the list. If you selected to search by invoice, enter the invoice number. If there are multiple invoices with the same invoice number, select the correct invoice from the list. Only posted invoices that are not reversed will display in the search results.
Amount	Enter the amount of the transaction. The amount must be greater than zero. If the total amount is more than the amount you distribute to invoices, the excess amount is set aside for later distribution. Likewise, if the invoice amount is more than the amount applied, the remaining invoice amount is available for later distribution. Note: Credit memos or other adjustments that reduce the balance of accounts are entered as positive numbers, and not preceded by a minus sign.
Reference	Enter a reference to help identify the transaction, for example, a check number.
Check/Reference	Enter a reference date to help identify the transaction, for example, the date a check is received, or the date on the check.
Description	Enter a description to help identify the transaction.
Current balance	Displays the cumulative accounts receivable balance for the selected client, prior to the current transaction taking place.

3. Click one of the following:
   • Click Save to save the transaction. This option displays for the Auto-Distribute or None distribution methods.
   • Click Distribute to display the Distribute Transaction window. This option displays when the distribution method is Auto-Distribute & Review or Manual.
4. Post the transaction by selecting it from the Transactions grid and clicking Actions > Post or by selecting multiple transactions and clicking Batch Actions > Post. See Posting Accounts Receivable Transactions for more information.