FLEXIBLE CASH POSTING: Cash posting within Financial Portrait puts the full range of customer and invoice information at the fingertips of the user. This allows immediate display of the amount due and discount available for any open invoice. This holds true even if transactions are pending for the invoice from another entry session.

SIMPLE AND COMPLEX CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS PROCESSING:Display formats can be easily tailored toward simple or complex account processing by the user. Smaller customers can be processed efficiently by allowing entry of payments from multiple customers on the same form. Large accounts can also be accurately processed in a timely manner by utilizing the automatic cash application features and the credit history displays.

AUTOMATIC DISPLAY OF OPEN INVOICES: Credit and debit invoices (items) may be displayed in invoice or due date sequence by customer or A/R point. A range of invoice numbers or due dates can be specified to limit the display. A variable number of lines per invoice feature allows entry of multiple transactions per open item with minimal key strokes.

FULL GRID ENTRY OF TRANSACTIONS: Up to ten existing invoices may be referenced for payment from the same panel. Similarly, up to ten new items can be created to record miscellaneous cash receipts, adjustments or payments not associated with an existing invoice (on-account payments). A virtually unlimited numbers of transactions can be entered for a single customer check entry.

EXCEPTION HANDLING: Entries that may be erroneous (but can be correct in some cases) result in error messages that can be overridden by the application user. Error conditions of this type include granting of too much discount, granting of a discount after the availability date and changing of the item level status (open/closed or debit/credit). In these cases, the accounting user chooses whether to change the transaction or simples acknowledges the error.

EASY APPLICATION OF MULTIPLE ADJUSTMENT TYPES DURING CASH POSTING: Any combination or number of transaction types may be utilized during cash application. In addition to payment and discount transactions, write-offs, transfers, and industry specific adjustments may be applied to one or more invoices during a single session while remaining on the same panel.

ABILITY TO PREDETERMINE THE AMOUNT TO BE APPLIED BY INVOICE: In conjunction with the automatic invoice display options, the transaction amount may be predetermined based on the amount due, the discount available, a percentage of the remaining due, or numerous other criteria. The clerk or accountant can then review and enter the appropriate exceptions to the pending transactions.

ON-LINE CREDIT STATISTICS: Credit statistics are available during cash posting and Customer Credit and Payment Terms Entry. Credit statistics include average invoice size, average payment days, discount taken and loss totals, Dun and Bradstreet credit rating code and aged amounts due as of the previous statement date, etc. The aged amounts due can be recalculated daily to include the current discount available for each customer. This allows the cash posting personnel to view the percentage of amount due that will be paid with the check in hand.

TRANSACTION MAINTENANCE PRIOR TO POSTING: Optional verification and maintenance of transactions can be performed at any time prior to posting, with all of the same editing and verification features.

PAYMENT DISCOUNT PROCESSING: To assist the accounting user in appropriate handling of discounts, discount information is tracked for each open item. This includes the discount available, discount taken and the discount remaining. Availability dates and amounts are checked by the system. Overrides may be indicated on-line in the case of exceptions. Discounts can also be calculated based on a percentage of the remaining due.

SIX MAJOR TRANSACTION TYPES: Payments, discounts, adjustments, invoices, finance charges, and miscellaneous cash receipts are available within FP/AR.

TRANSACTION TYPES DEFINED BY APPLICATION SUPERVISOR: The manager or supervisor can define industry and/or company specific transaction codes using familiar terminology. One benefit is that transaction lists are easier to comprehend. Another benefit is consistency, as the transaction code processing rules are incorporated into all applications and functions of the software. Sometimes the benefit of simplification is also realized, such as when data entry requirements are reduced. Many customers take advantage of the ability to standardize the types of adjustment frequently used. This includes such specifications as the G/L account, a default comment, whether or not the transaction must be applied to an existing invoice, and others.

AUTOMATIC PAYMENT TERMS CALCULATIONS: Standardized due date, discount date, and discount amount calculation formulas can be stored in the database under a “terms code”. Default and override terms calculations can be performed at the following levels: application, customer, transaction code and individual transaction.

SPECIAL PROCESSING FOR EACH TYPE OF DISPUTED AMOUNT: Each type of disputed item may be identified within a certain category. Each category or dispute code contains options that indicate any exception processing during cash posting and/or calculations pertaining to customer credit statistics.

USER DEFINED HISTORY SUMMARIES BY TRANSACTION TYPE, SALES REP, ETC.: Receivables transaction history (including multiple categories of sales), is available by time frame, customer, and transaction code. This summarized history may be accumulated by week in addition to being tracked according to the primary financial calendar. History records can be consolidated by transaction type and/or sales person. Another feature is the ability to consolidate one-time customers (in summarized history).

MULTIPLE CATEGORIES OF ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Companies with multiple categories of accounts receivable can be handled easily. This could include one or more A/R trade accounts (for example by customer type, product line or division), an A/R account for employees, etc. The accounting user is not affected during cash posting because the appropriate G/L account for A/R is always relieved automatically. When new items are created, the G/L account for A/R can be determined at the transaction code level, customer level, or system level.

MULTIPLE LOCATION AND PROJECT BASED ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Accounts Receivable can be segregated by project and/or location independently of the A/R trade category. Each open item is assigned a project or location code at the time of creation based on the transaction code used.

AUTOMATIC G/L INTERFACE: G/L transactions can be written automatically based on the receivables transactions posted. Each transaction code within accounts receivable determines the G/L Transaction category, the G/L accounts affected, and the level of summarization to be performed.

FIVE WAYS TO SUMMARIZE G/L TRANSACTIONS: There are five summary levels to choose from when configuring the outbound G/L interface. Based on company preferences and issues such as transaction volume, the application supervisor configures the A/R transaction codes and JE processing codes accordingly. Since the summary level can be different for each type of transaction being input, the flexibility is there to get just the right amount of detail flowing to G/L. Summary of G/L transactions can be based on the following: transaction date and G/L account, customer, check (or order) number and invoice. A full detail option is also available. The summary level for transactions posting against the subsidiary ledger control account can be specified separately.

G/L REFERENCE NUMBERS: The customer number, A/R reference number (check number, order number, credit memo number, etc.), and invoice number may optionally be included within each G/L transaction. The reference numbers provide increased audibility and analysis capabilities within the General Ledger Application.

SUMMARIZED HISTORY INQUIRY: The results of the custom tailored A/R history database can be viewed on-line by customer or transaction category. In addition to the total transaction effect for a specific period, opening and closing balances are available for display.

FOUR CUSTOMER CATEGORIES: Bill To, Sold To, Ship To, and A/R Point customer types are available. The Bill To and A/R Point categories are the ones used primarily by FP/AR. The A/R Point is available to indicate the "pay from" location or customer.

MULTIPLE CUSTOMER CONTACTS: Multiple contacts can be associated with each customer. Contact info includes name, title, override phone number, ext, alternate phone numbers, email address and more.

USER-DEFINED CUSTOMER PROPERTIES: Up to five types of user-defined customer properties can be tracked with each customer. Examples might include A/R collector code, customer type, prospect quality, primary interest area and initial credit profile. The list of valid customer properties is also user-defined, presumably set up by the application supervisor. Most of the inquiries and reports in Financial Portrait A/R provide sequencing and filtering of customers using the customer properties.

USER-DEFINED CUSTOMER SERVICE DATES: Up to eight user-defined date fields can be tracked for each customer. Examples of these types of dates include follow-up dates, service dates and anniversary dates.

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND COLLECTION NOTES: An unlimited number of customer notes can be entered for each customer. This is a good place to keep track of special customer interests, smaller preferences details, promises made by the customer for payment and records of communication between the company or a company representative and the customer.

CREDIT AND PAYMENT TERMS BY CUSTOMER OR CUSTOMER PROPERTY: Each customer must have a credit and payment terms record prior before any A/R transactions can be posted. The data in the record includes the credit limit in dollars and days, terms code and G/L A/R account. Existence of this record can ensure that the customer's credit line has been determined and assigned. Alternatively, the system can assign credit and payment terms automatically based on a customer property.

OPEN ITEM OR CUSTOMER LEVEL END OF MONTH ARCHIVAL: Two options exist for the end of month transaction archival process. Standard open item processing indicates that items with a zero balance are to be archived. A second option exists that allows all items for the customer to be archived if the total of all those items equals zero. Archiving refers to the moving of transactions from the on-line file to the transaction history file, which is not used for on-line operations. The archival option is indicated at the customer level, which allows both methods of archival to be used in the same company. A minimum number of items before archival option allows retention of at least some information for small volume customers. Also involved in the archival process is a "Minimum Number of Retention Days" parameter, which requires closed items to remain for on-line inquiry up to 9999 days.

MULTIPLE BANK PROCESSING: Multiple cash accounts from multiple banks may be used. Each batch of transactions input can be associated with any bank, and thus a cash account number, which is then utilized for all payment transactions within the batch.

CREDIT CHECKING: Credit limit days and amounts can be entered for each customer. In addition, the customer can be put on credit hold to prevent any additional activity. During posting, customers are checked against defined credit limit values, while exception reporting highlights any problem transactions. A specialized version of the Aged Trial Balance can print off only customers who are in excess of their credit limit.

TRIAL BALANCES BY CUSTOMER CLASS AND CUSTOMER ALPHA CODE: Aged Trial Balance reports can be sequenced by any of the five user-defined customer categories. Within any selected category, all customers are listed in alphabetical order.

TRIAL BALANCES BY SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Another Aged Trial Balance Option allows sequencing of the transaction detail by the primary sales representative.

SUMMARY OR DETAIL PRINT FORMAT OPTIONS: Aged Trial Balances can be printed at three levels of detail. They are totals by customer only, totals by item within customer and full transaction detail print.

UP TO FIVE USER-DEFINED AGING CATEGORIES: Up to five aging categories, with a variable number of days per category, can be defined by the user and utilized to segregate the open items on the Aged Trial Balance.

DYNAMIC FILTERING WITHIN AGED TRIAL BALANCE: Customers may be selected for printing based on customer class, customer name, credit status, and the total amount due within any particular aging category. Thus an Aged Trial Balance may be printed for only those customers exceeding their credit limits, those with over $50,000 due for 90 days or those with credit balances in prior periods.

MULTIPLE PRINT OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR STATEMENTS: Statements can be printed for all customers, as well as for a range of customers. Multiple page statements are automatically separated from single page statements. Statements can be suppressed based on the customer's total amount due. In other words, if the total amount due falls within a range specified by the user (e.g., 0 to 37 cents), the statement will not be printed.

EASE OF CUSTOMER SELECTION: The user specifies the customer to work with by entering either the customer alpha code or the customer number. If the alphabetic code (abbreviated name) is entered, the system insures that the alphabetic entry identifies only one customer. Otherwise, the search function comes up automatically. The search function also provides for filtering on any one of the user-defined customer properties.

ON-LINE CUSTOMER INQUIRY BASED ON REMAINING DUE: Customers can be selected for an inquiry display based on their previous day's remaining balance as of any time frame.