9.3. Creditors Maintenance

9.3.1. View Creditors Details

This is the option that you will use most often once all your creditors are entered into the system. It enables you to view the chosen creditor without editing their record.

Note : You can only view creditors that have already been entered into Equity.

When this option is selected a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter the creditor you wish to view.

9.3.2. Edit Creditor Details

This option is used to enter any changes to an established creditor.

When this option is selected a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter the creditor you wish to edit. You can either type in a valid creditor code, or press [F2] to pop-up a list of creditors. The creditor's record will then be displayed for you to edit.

Note : You cannot edit creditor transactions or history. If you need to adjust the creditor's balance use a creditor journal, refer to Creditor Journal Entry of this section of the manual.

When you have finished editing the creditor record press [Ctrl][Enter] to save. If you don't wish to save the changes you have made press [Ctrl][Esc] or [Alt][F4] if you are running under Microsoft Windows.

You can then either enter another creditor to edit or press [Esc] to return to the Maintain Creditors Menu.

Note : If you want to change a Balance Forward creditor to Open Item or visa-versa please read page 13.13 in the Trouble-shooting chapter and if in and doubt ring your dealer BEFORE attempting the change. There are various conditions that must be met and your dealer will be able to help you.

9.3.3. Add New Creditor

When you first start using Equity you will need to enter all your creditor details using this option, along with any new creditors as your business expands.

This option allows you to enter details about the creditor, but not any creditor balances. Creditor opening balances (money outstanding when you are initially setting up your system) need to be entered using a creditor journal - refer to Creditor Journal Entry in this section.

When this option is selected a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter a creditor code.

Note : Pressing [Esc] will return you directly to the Maintain Creditors Menu.

The creditor code is usually an abbreviated form of the creditors name. Any combination of letters and numbers can be entered, but we do advise against using spaces in codes as they become hard to remember. The code can be up to 10 characters long, but it is in your own interest to keep it as short as possible.

When you have entered a code press [Enter]. An empty creditors record will be displayed.

Note : If, when you entered a code, the computer beeped and stayed on the select screen, the code has already been used to identify another creditor. Type in a different code.

You newly defined creditor code will be automatically entered by Equity and the cursor will be on the `Account No.' field, ready for you to start entering information. Use the [Enter] and [Esc] keys to move through the record.

The creditor's record can contain as much or as little information as you require. There are only a few fields that are required and these are marked with an asterisk in the following field descriptions. If you don't wish to enter information in a certain field just press [Enter] to bypass it.

*Code This is the creditor's code. You will use this code to reference this creditor for reports, transactions and maintenance.

Account No. This is your account number with the creditor and can usually be found on their invoices to you.

Type

This is a multi-choice field that allows you to select whether you wish this creditor to be Open Item or Balance Forward. There are fundamental differences between these two types and you have to make the decision now as it is difficult to change once your system is up and running. You may choose to have some creditors one type and some the other.

Open Item - Open Item creditors are a bit more work but give you greater control. All invoices and journals are kept on file until they can be `allocated' against a payment. You can view outstanding transactions no matter what their age which means if you have any inquires you will have the information at your fingertips instead of having to revert to the filing cabinet. As payments are made you will be asked to allocate to which invoice the payment is for. Equity allows for part-payment of invoices as well as full payment. Creditor statements will list all outstanding invoices and journals individually.

Balance Forward - With Balance Forward creditors only current invoices and journals can be viewed as Equity will only save monthly totals rather than each individual transaction. A Brought Forward total will be printed at the top of creditor statements and if you have an inquiry about this brought forward total you will need to have a look at your filed invoices. If you have mostly 7 or 14 day accounts with your creditors then this may be an ideal option as you will rarely have much of a bought forward total and payments to creditors will be quicker to enter as you will not need to allocate them.

As mentioned earlier, once established it is hard to change from one type to another. To make it easier to choose ask yourself the following questions.

Do you usually pay your creditors on time?

Do you always pay whole invoices?

Do you have mostly 7 and 14 day accounts?

Do you rarely need to make account inquiries?

If your answers are all `Yes' then Balance Forward is for you. If you have answer one or more questions `No' Open Item will save you time in the long run.

*Name This is the creditor's name and will appear on all invoices, statements and reports. It can be up to 35 characters long.

Street Equity allows you to enter up to 2 lines of street address. Each line can be up to 35 characters long.

Suburb & Postcode Equity comes equipped with a post-code look-up facility, so you only need enter the first few letters of the suburb and then press [F2] to pop-up a list of suburbs and postcodes. Pick the correct suburb from this list and the correct state and postcode will be entered automatically. You can, of course, manually enter the suburb if required.

Note : You can set-up in what order suburbs with the same name are listed. e.g. If the set sequence is NSW, ACT, QLD, VIC, WA, SA, TAS, NT, OS then the NSW `Springwood' will appear before the QLD `Springwood'. For more information about how to set-up the postcode sequence refer to Postcode Setup in the Managers Module.

Pcode The postcode can be either entered automatically as explained above, or manually by typing it in. You can enter up to 5 characters.

Phone(BH) This is the business phone number. This and the following phone numbers and can be up to 14 characters long and can contain numbers, brackets and dashes.

Phone(AH) This is the after hours phone number.

Fax This is the fax number.

Mobile This is the mobile phone number.

Contact This is the name of the person that you normally speak to about your account. This can be up to 25 characters long.

Category This field is 4 characters long and can be used to group your creditors.

Last Paid This is a display field only and is automatically updated when payments are made to this creditor.

Days to pay This is the normal number of days credit you have with this creditor. It is for your information only and is not taken into account when running any reports.

Discount This is the percentage discount you normally receive from this creditor. It is for your information only and is not taken into account when posting transactions.

Credit limit This is the amount of credit you have with this creditor. When you are entering Supplier Orders you will be alerted if you exceed your credit limit.

*G/L account This is the default General Ledger account for this creditor. e.g. if you usually buy stock from the creditor enter 1200 - Stock on Hand. If you usually buy stationary enter the Stationary expense account.

Note : The G/L account is NEVER the Creditor Control Account and is usually an expense account.

Purchases Month to date If you are converting from an existing accounting system and have access to the Month to Date purchases for this creditor you can enter a dollar amount in this field.

Purchases Year to date If you are converting from an existing accounting system and have access to the Year to Date purchases for this creditor you can enter a dollar amount in this field.

Purchases - Last Year If you are converting from an existing accounting system and have access to total purchases last year for this creditor you can enter a dollar amount in this field.

The following fields are display only and cannot be entered. When transactions are posted to this creditor they will reflect in these balances and can be viewed using the `View creditor' option.

Payables - Current This is the amount you owe for the current month.

Payables - 30 days The amount still owing from the previous month.

Payables - 60 days The amount still owing from the month before the previous month.

Payables - 90 days Any further outstanding balances owing that are more than two months old.

Payables - Unallocated If this creditor is Open Item and a payment has been made but has NOT been allocated against an invoice it will be displayed here. Unallocated payments do not come off any current, 30, 60 or 90 day balance within the system as Equity does not know which balance the payment pertains to until it has been allocated.

Note : Any unallocated payments will come off the 90 day balance on the creditor's statement by default. Payments should be allocated as soon as possible.

Payables - Balance B/F This is the brought forward balance from the previous month and does not change as transactions are entered.

Apart from the fields you can see, there are also other fields you can enter via the function keys.

[F7] Allows you to add notes on this creditor.

When you have finished entering the creditor details, press [Enter] to save. If you wish to change any details use the [Esc] key to back through the record and edit fields. If you want to abandon the creditor without saving anything press [Ctrl][Esc] or [Alt][F4] if running under Microsoft Windows.

You are then given the choice of entering another creditor to add, or press [Esc] to return to the Maintain Creditors Menu.

9.3.4. Delete Creditor Details

There will be times you wish to delete creditors from your list that you no longer do business with. Only creditors with nil balances can be deleted, so you may need to post a journal to clear any old balances before you can delete. For more information on posting creditor journals refer to Creditor Journal Entry in this section.

When this option is selected a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter the creditor you wish to delete. You can either type in a valid creditor code or press [F2] to pop-up a list of creditors. The creditor's record will be displayed on screen with a message in the top right corner.

If the message is "Cannot delete this Creditor" then the creditor has balances that must be cleared before they can be deleted from the system. If the message is "Press Enter to Delete " and you wish to delete the creditor's record shown, press [Enter]. If you don't wish to delete the creditor press [Esc].

You can then either enter another creditor to delete or press [Esc] again to return to the Maintain Creditors Menu.

Note : If adjustments are necessary for a creditor to be deleted, post a creditor journal just before the End of Month is done. Run an End of Month for the whole system and then you will be able to delete the creditor.

9.3.5. Change Creditor Code

Equity allows you to change creditor codes at any time. You may have made a mistake when originally entering the code, find the code is too long to remember or too short to differentiate between two creditors.

When this option is chosen a screen will be displayed that allows you to enter the creditor code you want to change and the new code you want to change it to.