Processing Payment Plan for Customer

This document explains how you use payment plans to collect your customer claims in different situations.

Payment plans can be used for both payers and customers.

Outcome

Up to two types of payment plans are created, either based on an existing invoice or some kind of agreement. Invoices are created based on the plans and sent to the customers.

When customer payments are received, you allocate them to the invoices created from the payment plan in 'Payment Received. Record' (ARS110) or 'Batch Payment. Update' (ARS040).

Accounts receivable and the general ledger are updated. See the corresponding instruction for detailed information.

Before you start

  • FAM function AR95 with at least one detail record must be defined in 'FAM Function. Open' (CRS405).
  • Accounting rules based on accounting event AR95 must be defined in 'Accounting Rule. Set' (CRS395). The following accounting types are used: 100 (Accounts receivable); 111/112 (VAT payable 1 or 2); 113/114 (Suspense account for VAT payable 1 or 2); 120 (Revenues); 127 (Payment plan interest); 128 (Administration fee); 129 (Fee for creating payment plan); 370 (Bank account).
  • Number series type 51, series 2, must be defined in 'Number Series. Open' (CRS165) for the invoices created from the payment plan.
  • The customer must be registered in 'Customer. Open' (CRS610).

For Payment Plans Based on Invoice

  • There must be open or only partially paid invoices in 'Accounts Receivable. Display' (ARS200).
  • Remittance status must be blank or 0. That is, if the invoice is partially paid with a check or draft that has already been remitted to the bank for collection, a payment plan cannot be created for the invoice.

Follow These Steps

  1. Enter into Agreement with Customer

    You base each payment plan on some kind of agreement with the customer:

    • You agree to split an invoice into several installments at the time of purchase
    • You agree to invoice the customer based on sales, service or rental agreements instead of existing invoices
    • When the customer cannot pay the entire invoice amount on the due date, you agree to let him or her pay the debt later through partial payments based on a payment plan.
  2. Create Payment Plan

    If you base the plan on an existing invoice, select the invoice in 'Accounts Receivable. Display' (ARS200) and start 'Payment Plan. Open' (ARS390) from the subprogram (ARS201). If you do not base the plan on an invoice, start (ARS390) directly.

    You enter the basic data for the payment plan in (ARS390) and define the individual payments in the subprogram (ARS391). You can distribute the individual payments in the plan automatically or manually over a defined period of time.

    You can print the payment plan itself in (ARS570).

  3. Create and Review Invoice Proposal

    To create the customer invoices, start by creating a payment proposal in 'Customer Invoice. Create from Payment Plan' (ARS380). When you have verified that the information in the proposal is correct, create the invoices automatically by approving it in (ARS380).

  4. Send to Customer

    Depending on the payment method selected, you send the invoices either as paper documents or electronically. When payments are received, you allocate them to the new invoice records created.