Changes in Accounts Payable 5.4

Sage 300 ERP

Changes in Accounts Payable 5.4

Accounts Payable version 5.4 introduced a number of exciting changes and new features!

Click the name of an Accounts Payable form or the type of change, below,  to see a summary description of the changes.

Account Sets

Accounts Payable lets you:

  • Change an account set that is assigned to a vendor.
  • Specify a separate rounding account (rather than the realized gain/loss accounts) to track differences that arise from rounding in multicurrency transactions.

Adjustment Entry

  • Automatically calculate taxes on adjustments.
  • Also, if you add a new detail to an original  document in Adjustment Entry, automatically use the same Discountable status in the retainage document as used by  the distribution code in the adjustment detail. (If you don't use a distribution code in a "new" detail, the retainage detail is discountable by default.)

Aged Cash Requirements Report

You can now sort the report by optional field, if you use optional fields.

Aged Payables Report

You can choose whether to include prepayments when you print the Aged Payables report.

You can now sort the report by optional field, if you use optional fields.

Both source and functional amounts are now available for custom reports in the APAGED table.

Check Printing

You can print the General Ledger account numbers on the advice portion of miscellaneous payment checks/advices.

Checking Data Integrity

When checking data integrity for Accounts Payable, you can now limit the type of data (groups of tables) to check, to fit the time you have available.

Control Payments

  • You can select regular invoices and interest invoices separately when processing a range of documents using the Control Payments form. Previously, there was only one option for both types of invoices.
  • You can set a maximum payment amount for a document that will limit the amount of a check you create for the document using the Create Payment Batch form. The limit does not apply when you enter a payment manually.

Create Payment Batch

Create Payment Batch uses the vendor's default payment code (or the system default if the vendor does not have a default code) for any payment entries created. Checks are produced only for vendors that use a Check type payment code.

Delete Inactive Records

You can now clear inactive recurring payables using the Delete Inactive Records form.

Distribution Sets

  • You can select a Fixed Amount distribution method for distribution sets.
  • You can use negative percents and percents greater than 100 percent when the distribution method is Fixed Percent.

E-Mail Messages / Letters/Labels

You can now send letters to vendors by e-mail.

  • You use the new E-mail Messages form to create standard messages to send with e-mailed letters. You can print a list of these standard messages using the new E-mail Messages report form.

You can use variables in the message. The program will then insert information from your company data when it produces the e-mail messages.

  • On the Letters/Labels form, when you send letters to vendors, select Vendor as the delivery method, and then select the code for the e mail message you want to send with the letter. The program sends e-mailed letters to vendors for which E-mail or Contact’s E-mail is specified as the delivery method in the vendor record.

G/L Integration

You no longer specify G/L Integration options on the Options form.

You use the G/L Integration form, available in the Setup folder, to select options to:

  • Automatically post General Ledger batches when you create them in Accounts Payable.
  • Specify additional Accounts Payable data to include with transactions you send to General Ledger.

You can specify information for the journal entry description, detail description, detail reference, and detail comment for each type of transaction.

Note: After activation, you should review the default settings, and make any changes you require.

Invoice Entry

Since version 5.4, Invoice Entry provides the following features:

  • Several users can add entries to the same batch at the same time.
  • You can use the new Quick Mode setting in Invoice Entry to copy many of the fields from the previous transaction or detail to a new transaction or detail, so you don't have to re-enter them. You can choose which fields to copy to new entries and new details.
  • You can report taxes on retainage amounts when you post an original invoice or when specified by a tax authority. Accounts Payable respects the option specified for each tax authority.

This feature meets the reporting requirements for GST and VAT, for which tax is reported separately on the amount payable on the original invoice, and then on the amount of the retainage when the retainage is due.

  • You can specify a tax reporting currency, and automatically calculate taxes in source currency, functional currency, and the tax reporting currency. (This feature is required in some jurisdictions, such as Singapore.)

Optional Fields

  • Optional fields now appear in Finders.
  • You can make an optional field a required field, without requiring a default value.

Options

  • All G/L Integration Options have been moved to the new G/L Integration form (available in the A/P Setup folder). For more information, see the section on the G/L Integration form earlier in this notice, or see the Accounts Payable help.
  • You can specify a payment code to be used as the default for vendors for which no default payment code is specified in the vendor record.
  • You can select a new option to post G/L batches automatically when you create them.
  • You can select a new option on the Transactions tab to prevent changes to remit-to location information on the Payment Entry form. Previously, you could enter a remit-to location for a vendor, then change the remit-to name and address in Payment Entry.
  • A new Report Tax option lets you specify when to calculate and report tax on retainage. (In previous versions, tax on retainage was calculated when you posted the original invoice.)
  • You can use the new Check For Duplicate Checks option on the Transactions tab to specify whether to display a warning or an error message, or no message, when you attempt to process a check that uses the same number as an existing check for the same bank.

Overdue Payables Report

You can now sort the report by an optional field, if you use optional fields.

Payment Batches

You cannot set a payment batch Ready To Post if there are unprinted checks in the batch.

Payment Codes

The new A/P Payment Codes form lets you define payment codes for various payment types (credit card, cash, or check) that you can use in Payment Entry.

You can print a listing of the codes using the new Payment Codes report.

Payment Entry

  • Third-party applications can use the new drilldown capability added to Payment Entry.
  • Accounts Payable warns you when you enter a payment for a document that is on hold.
  • Accounts Payable now warns you when you enter a vendor number if the vendor's currency does not match the bank currency for the batch.
  • Receive a warning or an error message, or no message, when you process duplicate check numbers for the same bank.

Whether you receive a message or a warning depends on your selection for the Check For Duplicate Checks option on the A/P Options form.

  • You can enter and post a prepayment without specifying the document number to which the prepayment will be applied.
  • Payment Entry uses new payment codes that are available in version 5.4. (You set up the payment codes using the Payment Codes form.)

If you select a cash-type payment code, you can enter a G/L account number or let Accounts Payable credit the bank account used for the batch.

  • You can use the new reference field to store additional payment information such as EFT txn numbers. You can use up to 60 characters for the reference.
  • You can take a discount for a document without applying an amount to the document.
  • The vendor payment code appears as the default payment code for an entry, unless no payment code is specified in the vendor record. For vendors that do not have a default payment code, the default payment code from the A/P Options for appears.

Enhanced Miscellaneous Payments

You can now enter an invoice and distribute a payment at the same time using a miscellaneous payment. (This feature is called “cash invoicing” in some programs.) Accounts Payable automatically calculates taxes on miscellaneous payments, and updates the Tax Tracking report.

When you enter a miscellaneous payment for an existing vendor, note that Accounts Payable:

  • Generates an invoice when you post the payment. Therefore, you must enter an invoice number. You can view the invoice and payment documents on the vendor activity form.
  • Uses the payment code from the vendor record as the default. You can change the code.
  • Calculates taxes and updates the Tax Tracking report when you post the payment. The tax group used in the vendor record appears as the default, but you can change it.

If you use Project and Job Costing, you can specify job-related information in the distribution.

You can enter a 1099/CPRS code and amount (if you selected the option for Accounts Payable and the vendor).

You can enter a negative amount and a discount account to record a discount.

You cannot record retainage or use detail optional fields with miscellaneous payments.

Payment Selection Codes

You can specify additional vendor criteria for payment selection codes that you use to generate payment batches. You can select vendors by vendor optional field or by the vendor’s default payment code.

This change affects only vendors that use a check-type default payment code.

Project and Job Costing

Accounts Payable updates Project and Job Costing with tax amounts related to unprocessed retainage. The amounts now appear as committed costs in Project and Job Costing.

Recurring Payables

  • Accounts Payable automatically calculates and displays tax amounts for a recurring payable when you select the option to calculate taxes (on the Tax Totals tab).
  • You can now import changes to existing recurring payables. The program replaces the existing recurring payable details with the imported information.
  • You can now enter a 250-character comment for each recurring payable detail (distribution).

Remit-To Locations

Accounts Payable prevents you from deleting or setting inactive remit-to locations for which unposted documents exist.

Terms

You can now import changes to terms codes. The program replaces the existing terms code details with the imported information.

Transaction Batches

  • You can now print batch listing reports directly from all transaction entry forms. (To print a batch listing, click the Print Batch Listing Report option on the File menu.)
  • A new Batch Information form lets you view and edit additional information for the batch. Some information, such as the batch type and batch are no longer displayed on the transaction entry forms.

To view batch information for any type of batch, on the transaction entry form, click the Zoom button beside the Batch Number field.

  • You can now add entries to an invoice batch or a payment batch at the same time other users are adding entries to the batch.

Posting Batches

You can now post payment batches using the Post Batches form. Previously, you could post only invoice and adjustment batches using the Post Batches form.

Vendors and Vendor Groups

  • You can change an account set that is assigned to a vendor.
  • You can specify a payment code for a vendor to be used as the default payment code in Payment Entry. If you do not assign a default payment code, the payment code specified on the A/P Options form is used as the default when you create payments for the vendor.
  • You can now view year-to-date statistics for a vendor or a vendor group.
  • You can easily view and enter vendor comments in a listing, in date order. You can use up to 2,500 characters for comments.
  • Accounts Payable now prevents you from deleting or setting inactive vendors for which unposted documents exist.

Vendor Activity

The Vendor Activity form now lets you:

  • View payments in date order or check number order using the Vendor Activity form.
  • View a document's terms code on the Transactions tab of the Vendor Activity form.
  • Specify a starting value for transactions you want to view on the Vendor Activity form.
  • Save as defaults the transaction-viewing settings that you use most often (for example, Order By).
  • Specify a starting value for transactions that you want to list on the Vendor Activity form that corresponds to the current display order. In previous versions, you could specify only a starting document number, even if you were listing transactions by due date.

1099 Electronic Filing

Accounts Payable automatically prints a 1099 summary report that lists the contents of the generated file when you file 1099s electronically. You can keep the report with your records.

1099/CPRS Amounts

  • If you print 1099-MISC forms to submit to the IRS, you can print a summary that contains the information you need to complete Form 1096 (required when filing 1099-MISC forms).
  • Support has been added for the 2005 1099-MISC form (new codes 15A and 15B).