9.4. Transaction Entry

As you receive and pay invoices from your creditors they must be entered into Equity using this option. Any discounts you may have been given are also entered here. As you enter a creditor transaction the creditor's record and a General Ledger account are updated automatically.

Note : Don't confuse stock receipt with creditor transaction entry. Even though a creditor's invoice may be for stock, with a transaction entry we are concerned with the balance of the creditor's account and not the stock itself. For more information on Stock Receipt refer to Receive Stock from Supplier Order or Stock Receipt Entry/Report in the Stock control module.

Once you have selected this option from the menu, a creditor's code must be entered by either typing it in or by pressing [F2] to pop-up a list of creditors.

Note : If this creditor is new and hasn't been entered into the system press [Ins] from the pop-up and you can enter their details.

When you have entered a creditor's code, their Name, Address, Monthly balances and last payment amount and date will be displayed on screen.

Note : If you don't wish to proceed with the transaction, press [Esc]. You can then either enter another Creditor Code, or press [Esc] again to return to the Creditor Control Menu.

[F3] Allows you to view the creditor's transactions. If this creditor is Open Item you can select to view current transactions only, or all transactions.

Descriptions of all the fields on this screen follows :

Date The date defaults to the date entered when you started up Equity. This can be overwritten by typing in a new date.

Type This is the type of transaction you are entering. Use the right arrow key to select. If you are paying an invoice and you have cheque printing switched on, each payment will be automatically added to a cheque print file. At the end of transaction entry you can then select `Print Cheques' from the Creditor Control Menu. For more information on cheque printing refer to Cheque Setup in the Managers Module section and Cheque set-up in the Setting up section.

Amount This is the actual amount of the transaction. If you are making a payment that takes into account a discount off the creditor invoice originally entered you must enter two transactions - one for the payment amount and one for the discount amount.

Aging If this creditor is Balance Forward you will have to specify which age balance this transaction refers to. Equity will try to guess the age for you but you can overwrite by using the arrow keys. If `Auto' is selected Equity will try to match the transaction amount to a balance. If no match can be found the payment will come off the oldest balance. If you are posting either a payment or a credit note and it spans 2 or more periods select either age. You will have the opportunity to break down the transaction into the appropriate ages in the next screen.

Note : If the creditor is Open Item this field will not be displayed.

Reference You can enter up to six numbers or letters here if you wish. e.g. a cheque or invoice number.

Default G/L accounts When you enter a creditor transaction, Equity posts amounts automatically to the following default General Ledger accounts.

For Invoices Credits (increases) Creditor Control Debits (increases) default creditor's G/L account set in the creditor's record.

For Payments Credits (decreases) Cash at Bank Debits (decreases) Creditor Control

For Credit Notes Credits (decreases) default creditor's G/L account set in the creditors record. Debits (decreases) Creditor Control

For Discounts Credits (increases) Creditor Discounts Taken Debits (decreases) Creditor Control

Note : If you are confused as to why a debit increases some accounts and decreases others it is because some accounts are Credit accounts (Liability, Capital & Revenue) and some are Debit accounts (Assets & Expenses). For more information on Credit and Debit accounts refer to Debtors & Credits in the Accounting Primer.

A message will be displayed at the bottom of the screen - 'Press Enter to Accept' If you wish to change either the default G/L accounts or any payment details press [Esc] and enter the change. If you wish to totally abandon the payment press [Ctrl][Esc].

Assuming you have pressed [Enter], posting will be immediate and automatic and cannot be unposted.