AP-B  Enter Vouchers

Purpose of Program

All vendor invoices that do not pertain to purchase orders made in the Purchase Orders module are entered as vouchers in this program.  You can also record vendor credits or enter reversing vouchers with credit memos, and you can enter manual checks, which update the check register in addition to the AP accounts.  The items entered through this program include but are not limited to the following charges:

Rent

Lease payments

Phone bills

Repair bills

Normally, inventory items are processed through PO-A  Enter Purchase Orders and the associated invoice entered at AP-C  Enter Purchase Order Invoices.

Multi-Currency Processing

If you have multiple currency processing enabled in IM-A  International Configuration, you can enter a voucher in a foreign currency.

When doing so, make all your entries in source currency.  During processing the debit side of the transaction will be converted to base currency at the current rate maintained in IM-C  Enter Currency Exchange Rates.  The credit side of the transaction will post in source currency to this currency's AP Control account.

Auto-Tax Distribution

If you have multi-currency processing enabled, you can apply sales taxes to AP vouchers.  To do so, you must have the Track PO taxes using tax groups? prompt set to Y in SD-C  Purchase Orders Defaults.

When entering a voucher, you will be asked if you wish to use the Auto-Tax Distribution feature.  If you answer yes, the program will calculate the tax amount for you and will make the entry to your default Sales Tax Payable account (converted into base currency) in the Distribution area of the screen.

You are then asked if the sales tax is already included in the voucher amount.  If no, the program will credit the AP account by the full amount of the voucher and will make an additional credit for the sales tax amount to Sales Tax Payable.  If yes, the program will reduce the amount of the AP credit by the amount of the tax such that the credit for AP and credit for Sales Tax Payable equal the voucher amount.

Even though the sales tax liability is posted in base currency, for purposes of paying the tax, the amount owed to the tax authority is stored in the sales tax transfer file in source currency.  At the time you transfer the sales tax for payment via AR-L  Transfer Sales Taxes, you can specify whether you wish to pay it in source currency or base currency.

Field Explanations

VOUCHER ENTRY FIELDS

Vend Code (Required)

The vendor code.  This is a 10 character alphanumeric field.

Name

The vendor name, filled in automatically from the vendor file.

Inv Num (Required)

The invoice/voucher number on the bill you received from the vendor.  This is a 20 character alphanumeric field.

Voucher Date

The vendor invoice date.  This will be the aging date within the AP file.    The default entry is the current date.  You will get a warning message if you enter a date not in the current calendar year.

Type (Required)

You will be able to choose the following types from a pop-up window.

A - AP Voucher

B - Credit Memo

C - Manual Check

D - Beg Balance

E - Beg Bal Credit

F - Template

GL Post Date

The date that will be used for posting to the General Ledger.  The default is the current date.  There are times, especially at month end, where it is desirable to post the invoice to a different month than the date of the invoice, which can happen when bills arrive late from vendors.  In such cases the GL posting date can be different than the vendor invoice date.  When AP-I  Print Aging is run, the age of the invoice is based on the Invoice Date but whether or not it is included on the aging as of a certain date is based on the GL Post date.  You will not be able to post to a closed period or enter a date prior to the invoice date and you will get a warning message if you enter a date not in the current calendar year.

Desc

An identifying description of the bill.  This will print on posting reports and on the vendor's check.  This is a 25 character alphanumeric field.

Terms (Required)

The payment terms allowed by the vendor.  Terms codes are displayed in a pop-up window, with the highlighted selection being the default terms type for this vendor from AP-A  Enter Vendors.

Total Amt (Required)

The total amount of the transaction.  This is a 12 digit numeric field with two decimal digits.

Currency

If you have Multi-Currency processing enabled in IM-A  International Configuration, you can specify a currency in this field.  You can then enter the voucher amounts in source currency.  This field will default to the vendor currency specified in AP-A  Enter Vendors.

Schedule Date

The date the invoice is scheduled to be paid, if you wish to enter something different than the due date per terms.

Job Number

If a Job Number is entered for the header, that number will be suggested for the lines but can be changed at the line item level.  If the default setting is set to "R" (Required) then the Job Number must be selected from a preset list entered at SM-P-F Enter Jobs

DISTRIBUTION FIELDS

In order to enter a balanced transaction, you will need to distribute the amount of the voucher to one or more GL accounts.  You will specify the accounts you want the balancing amounts to post to using the fields below.

GL Account-Dept

The General Ledger account(s) and department(s) you are using to balance the voucher.  You can distribute the amount of the voucher any way you wish.

Description

The description of each GL account is filled in automatically by the program and can be edited.  If it is not edited, then when advancing to the amount field, the voucher header description will automatically pull in

D/C

The debit/credit field defaults to what is necessary to balance the transaction;  you can override the default if you wish.

Amount

The distribution amount.  The total of the distribution amount must equal the voucher amount.  The program offers as a default the amount needed to balance the transaction

Job Number

If a Job Number is entered for the header, that number will be suggested for the lines but can be changed at the line item level.  If the default setting is set to "R" (Required) then the Job Number must be selected from a preset list entered at SM-P-F Enter Jobs

General Program Operation

Adding a New Voucher

The first step in entering a voucher is to enter the vendor code.  You may either enter the entire vendor code and press <Enter> or select a vendor from a lookup window by pressing the F2 key (or clicking on the Lookup button).

The vendor code you choose is placed in the Vend Code field.  To display the vendor name, press <Enter>.

If you type in a code which is not assigned to a vendor, you will be asked if you want to add the vendor to the file.  If you answer Y, an entry screen similar to that in AP-A, Enter Vendors, is displayed.  You can add a new vendor at this point.

After you have selected a vendor, type in the number of the invoice or bill you received from the vendor.

Fill in the Voucher Date.  Next enter the type of voucher.  There are five choices:

AP Voucher --  A record of an invoice you owe a vendor

Credit Memo --  A record of what a vendor owes you

Manual Check --  A record of a direct payment to a vendor with optional check printing

Beg Balance --  Only used to enter your initial aging upon system start-up to populate the open aging without making GL postings

Beg Bal Credit -- Only used on system start-up to populate the open aging without making GL postings

Template - Used to pull in predefined templates of percentage distribution to multiple GL Accounts.

If you choose AP Voucher or Credit Memo, a record will be added to the Accounts Payable file updating your Outstanding Invoice Amt or Outstanding Credits and General Ledger transactions to the specified accounts will be saved for posting via GL-O  Print/Post General Ledger Batches.  Payment on vouchers or application of credits to vouchers is performed in AP-F  Pick Vouchers/Invoices to Pay. Beg Balance and Beg Bal Credit entries are used when you are cutting over from another accounting system.  These entries post to the AP voucher and aging files, but not to the General Ledger. Templates will be saved as Voucher or Credit Memo.

Next, enter the GL Post Date.

The available terms display in a pop-up window when you reach the Terms field.  The terms type entered in the vendor record in AP-A, Enter Vendors,  is the highlighted choice, but you can choose another type if you wish.  You can add terms information to the list in SM-D  Enter Terms Table.  Under Description, enter any desired description which will print on the stub of the check to the vendor when this voucher is selected for payment.  Next, enter the amount of the invoice or bill from the vendor.

Finally, enter the Currency if applicable.

This completes the first half of the transaction.  The cursor is placed in the GL Account field for the balancing accounts to be entered.  In the case of a standard voucher, the Tot Amt entry will be posted as a credit to your default AP account.  This means that the balancing transaction must be a net debit amount.

If you have chosen to enter a credit memo, then the Tot Amt entry will be posted as a debit to your default AP account and the balancing transaction must be a net credit amount.

Distribution

The second half of the transaction is to enter the distribution amounts.  The sum of the balancing account amounts must equal the amount in the Tot Amt field before you can save the item.  In other words, the debits must equal the credits.

You can distribute the item over a maximum of 75 different GL accounts and departments.

NOTE: Do not attempt to distribute the expense to your Accounts Payable GL account.  This will result in posting both sides of the transaction to the same account.  The program always posts one side of the transaction to your default AP account as defined in AD-A, General Ledger Defaults.  Only enter the offsetting expense account(s) through this program.

To enter the distribution amounts you must do the following:

If you defined a default AP expense account code in the vendor's master record, you will be asked it you want to use it.  If Y, the default GL code will be entered into the GL Account-Dept field.  Once in the field it may be overridden.  Additional GL codes may be specified if the expense is to be distributed over multiple accounts.

If there is no default code, select a GL account code.  To display a list of GL account codes, click on the Lookup button while the cursor is in the GL Account-Dept field.  After you make your selection, the appropriate account description is displayed.

Next enter whether the balancing account amount should be posted as a debit or credit.  The default value displayed is the value required to balance the accounts.

In the Amount field, type in the amount from this account you want to use to balance the voucher amount.  The program displays a default value, which is the amount needed to balance the voucher amount.  Press <Enter> if you want to use the displayed value; if you are distributing over other accounts, override the displayed value with a smaller amount.

When you have your accounts and amounts balanced, press <Enter> in the GL Account-Dept field.

The program checks to make sure that the amounts are in balance.  When the amounts are in balance, answer Y when asked if the entries are correct, and the program will post the voucher.  Posting a voucher or credit memo adds the transaction to the AP transaction file, adds the voucher to the voucher records, updates the outstanding credit or invoice balance in the vendor file, posts the transaction to the General Ledger and the Purchases Journal.  Posting a Manual Check posts to the Cash Disbursement Journal rather than Purchases and adds an AP check to the check register and AP payment history file.

When the program is finished, the screen clears and you are returned to the Vend Code field.  You may then enter another item or return to the main menu by clicking Exit.

Changing an Existing Voucher

To change an existing voucher you first need to enter the vendor code, or select a vendor from a lookup window by clicking on the Lookup button.

The vendor code and description are then displayed.  Enter the voucher number of the transaction you want to change.  Click on the Lookup button to display a list of vouchers for this vendor.  The voucher you choose is displayed.  If a payment has been made on this voucher, you are not allowed to edit it (see Reversing a Paid Voucher below).  If no payments have been paid on this voucher, the program asks if you want to back out the voucher or edit the voucher.

If you choose to back out the voucher, the transaction is reversed and the item is deleted.

If you choose to edit the voucher, the original transaction is reversed and the original screen information is displayed.  Make any changes necessary, then save the voucher again as a new transaction.  Backing out a voucher reverses the operations described above for saving a voucher.

Reversing a Paid Voucher

A voucher that has been paid can be reversed with a Reversing voucher.  Enter a new voucher using the procedures from Adding a New Voucher, being sure to debit the accounts that were credited on the original, and vice versa.

AP VOUCHER: If the original voucher type was an AP voucher, enter a credit memo.  Next, choose AP-F, Pick Vouchers/Invoices to Pay, pick sufficient AP vouchers for payment to balance the credit memo amount, and then pick the credit memo to apply the credit.  When you print checks and the vendors are updated, the new transaction will offset the previous transaction and the net result is zero.

CREDIT MEMO:  If the original was a credit memo, enter an AP voucher.  Next, go to AP-F  Pick Vouchers/Invoices to Pay, pick the voucher for payment, then pick the credit memo to apply the credit.  When you print checks and the vendors are updated, the new transaction will offset the previous transaction and the net result is zero.

Manual Check Entry

Manual checks are commonly written for retail purchases or COD shipments.  To enter a manual check, select the manual check option when the Type window is displayed.  Complete the screen like any standard voucher.  When the distribution fields are completed, your bank accounts are displayed in a pop-up window with your default AP account highlighted.  Select the appropriate bank account.  You are then presented with a warning that says your default AP checking account has been selected and the next AP check number will be displayed as the check number to use.  You are given the opportunity to change to another checking account.  After you've affirmed the appropriate account to use, you are presented with the next available check number.  You can accept this number or override it.  It is common for your manual checks to have separate numbering sequences than standard AP checks, so be careful as to which number gets entered.  Once the check number is entered, you are prompted whether you want the program to print the check.

When processing is completed, the manual check transaction posts to the General Ledger to both the Purchases and Cash Disbursements Journals, the check register, and to the AP payment history file.