Transactions

The following is a list of all the possible transactions generated to the debtors files by document in the Acumen system:

• Invoices - sales on account.

• Credit Notes - reversal of sales on account.

• Receipts - collection of payments from debtors.

• Discount - settlement discounts allowed when receipts are entered.

• Payment allocations - postings of a receipt amount against invoices, etc.

• Journals - Postings to accounts that effect some change (eg. bad debts).

• Interest - Postings to charge customers for overdue balances.

Transactions are grouped into sets. At the head of each set is the source or Reference transactions. The Reference transaction is the initial transaction to which all other transactions are posted. For example an invoice 'X' for $500 is a Reference transaction. If a credit note 'Y' is given for $50 in reference to invoice 'X' then the credit note becomes a part of the transaction set for 'X'. If a receipt 'A' for $300 with discount allowed of $15 is posted, this becomes transaction set 'A'. If $200 of the receipt is allocated against invoice 'X' then the following relationship results:

Set 'X' Transactions	Amount	Notes
Invoice 'X' (Reference)	+$500	Original transaction and set Reference
Credit Note 'Y'	-$50	Reduces the outstanding balance
Payment Allocation 'C'	-$200
	$250	Balance of invoice (yet to be paid)

Set 'A' Transactions	Amount	Notes
Receipt 'A' (Reference)	-$300	Original amount received
Discount allowed 'B'	-$15	Increases the amount to be allocated
Payment Allocation 'C'	+$200
	-$115	Balance of receipt (yet to be allocated)

The result of the transaction set approach is that transactions which are not fully paid remain intact complete with all of the relevant transactions that have been posted against them. This allows better distribution of receipts and clearer tracking of credit claims and overdue transactions.

All transactions in a set remain on file until the transaction set equates to zero and the files have been aged for the required number of months (as specified by the company settings, typically zero transaction sets are removed the first time the files are aged ie. zero months are kept). All transactions in a set must also have the same age of effect (ie. if the Invoice is 60 days old then any Credit Note, Payment, etc. must also effect the 60 days balance).

The consequences of this structure are that it is necessary to keep your accounts clean (ie. make sure all transaction sets eventually balance to zero). This problem can be largely removed by the use of the automatic allocation systems for Receipts and for Credit Note allocations.

The Customer Transaction List screen can be used to review transactions. This option provides the ability to locate a customer by code, name, area or by transaction. It can be used to show all the transactions for a customer, transaction sets without zero balances or just reference transactions (ie. the invoices and receipts but not the payments, and other allocated transactions). The transaction list shows full transaction details including the balance of the transaction set and the balance of the customer account.