Solar Eclipse Accounts Payable. Release 8.7.2

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© 2011 Epicor Software Corporation. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws. Epicor and the Epicor logo are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Epicor Software Corporation in the United States and other countries. Epicor Eclipse is a trademark and/or service mark of Epicor Software Corporation. All other trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective owners and should be treated as such.

Epicor ® Eclipse™ 8.7.2 Online Help System

This online help system, as well as the software described in it, is provided under license and may be used only in accordance with the terms of the license. The content provided is for informational use only and is subject to change without notice. Epicor Software Corporation assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may be included in this documentation.

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Accounts Payable Overview

Use Accounts Payable to enter and track amounts owed to vendors and customers, as well as track other charges incurred by companies you deal with. When you send a purchase order to a vendor, that vendor sends an invoice to you to account for each item you ordered. You then use that invoice to match what you ordered to what was received. You can reconcile the purchase order and resolve any discrepancy that may occur, such as not receiving all the items you ordered.

The Accounts Payable system reduces confusion and miscommunication within your company. When problems do occur, you spend less time fixing them because the payables system allows you to virtually recreate the point in time when the problem developed.

Use the procedures in the following areas to manage your accounts payables: • A/P Entry

• A/P Inquiry • A/P Ledger

• A/P Preview Queue • Recurring A/P Entry • Print Checks

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Setup Requirements for Accounts Payables

Following are the control maintenance records and authorization keys used for Accounts Payable, along with additional setup requirements.

Control Maintenance Records

Set the following control maintenance records: ACCT AP Entry

• A/P Entry Sort By

• Allow Posting To Over/Short On Zero Dollar Payables • Auto Prompt For G/L Account Detail Notes

• Default To Quick Mode If # Of Unbilled Transactions Is Greater Than • Disable A/P Auto-Reenter Feature

• Disable User Branch Authorization In A/P Entry • Disable Vendor Branch Authorization In A/P Entry

• Display Customers/Vendors Who Are Inactive At A Branch • Display P/O Internal Notes In A/P Entry

• Display Short Description For G/L Accounts In A/P Entry

• Do Not Display Payables Entered Via EDI In The AP Preview Queue • Enable Auto Display Of A/P Expense Distribution

• Force A/P Entry Branch To Match Reconciled P/O Branch • Include Freight In Discount Amount Calculation

• Limit Bank Selection By Branch

• Limit P/O List In A/P Entry By A/P Branch • Pass Along Freight To Direct Sales Orders • P/O Variance Resolution Reasons

• Print Status On Direct When Payable Approved • Prompt For Image In A/P Entry

• Require Batch ID In A/P Entry

• Set All New A/P Entries To Not Approved • Vendor Maintenance Authorization Levels ACCT AP (Accounts Payable) General

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• Allow Editing Of Paid Payables In A/P Entry • Always Post A/P Discount To A/P Branch

• Auto Approve Payable For P/O Receiver within Over/Short Parameters • Auto Check Reconciliation Administrator User ID

• Auto Check Reconciliation Import Formats

• Disable Vendor Branch Authorization In A/P Entry

• Disable Reconciliation of Duplicate BOL Numbers In A/P Entry • Do Not Display Payables Entered Via EDI In The A/P Preview Queue • Do Not Take Discount If Pay Date Is Past Discount Date

• Minimum Check Disbursement Amount • Require Direct Invoices Upon Reconciliation

• Respect Auth Br For A/R/A/P Inq/Ledger, Aging Rpts & Cash Receipts • Use Prenumbered Checks

• Valid Payable Invoice Statuses EFT Transmission

• Minimum Check Disbursement Amount • Valid ACH Formats

• Valid Pull Codes Other Areas

• Direct COGS Always Vendor Price • User Defined Vendor Notes

• Valid Vendor Types • Vendor Freight Terms

Authorization Keys

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• AP.PARTIAL.OK • AP.PREVIEW.PRINT.CHECK • AP.PREVIEW.QUEUE.EDIT • AP.SIGNATURE.PRINT • CD.REUSE.CHECK.NO • CD.VOID.EFT • INVALID.VEN.TYPES • PHANTOM.THREAD.COUNT • POE.EDIT.PAID.MATRL • POE.POST.DEDUCT • VALID.VEN.TYPES • VENDOR.MAINT To make inactive vendors active:

• CUST.BR.AUTH.ONETIME • CUST.BR.AUTH.OVRD • VEN.BR.AUTH.ONETIME • VEN.BR.AUTH.OVRD

Vendor Maintenance

In addition to setting up your company's vendors, use Vendor Maintenance to define the parameters for the following fields that relate to accounts payables. For more information, see Vendor Maintenance.

• Pay-To and Ship-From • Vendor Type

• Over/Short Percentage and Over/Short Dollars • Default Pay Terms

• Freight

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A/P Entry Overview

Use the A/P Entry program to manage all of your payables. You can handle all types of checks from this program, including the posting of miscellaneous manual check disbursements. You can also make all edits or corrections to a payable from A/P Entry, as long as the original posting date falls within the open period for payables entry on the Change G/L Closing Date program.

Use the following procedures to enter and manage your payables: • Entering and Editing Payables

• Reconciling P/Os To Invoices • Posting Payables

• Changing Posting Dates for Unapproved Payables • Redating Closed Directs

• Posting Manual Checks

• Deducting Amounts From Invoices • Splitting Payments

For information on the A/P Entry window, see one of the following: • A/P Entry Window Field Descriptions

• A/P Entry Window Posting Tabs

For information on procedures related to A/P Entry, see one of the following: • Lot Item Order Shipment Reconciliation Overview

• Viewing A/P Activity

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Entering and Editing Payables

Use the A/P Entry window to view and modify payable entries. You can edit a payable as long as the original transaction date is not earlier than the G/L closing date for Payables.

Use the A/P Entry window to enter information about money that you owe to vendors or other third parties. Payables let you keep track of how much you owe, to whom you owe it, when money is due, and other information to help you keep up with your payment. In addition you can create reminder notes to give you additional information when dealing with specific vendors.

If you are creating a payable for a customer refund or other one-time payment, see Printing Customer Refund Checks or Making One-Time Payments.

To enter or edit a payable:

1. From the A/P menu, select A/P Entry to display the A/P Entry window.

2. At the A/P Entry prompt, complete the fields, as necessary to populate the A/P Entry window. Field Description

Post Date The system populates this field with the current date on which to post the payables to the general ledger. You can change this date by entering any date within the open payables period.

If you want your aging reports to show true aging from the vendor's invoice date, enter that date in this field.

A/P Branch Enter the branch paying the invoice. This branch does not have to correspond to the branch that received the goods.

Batch ID Enter the batch ID number to which this payable belongs if your company enters payables in batches and you want to run reports by batch. The batch ID is available as a selector on a variety of payables reports. (Optional)

Vendor Enter the vendor from whom the invoice was received. If you do not remember the complete vendor's name, type one of the following to display a list you can select from:

• All or part of the vendor's name.

• The vendor's system-assigned ID number, preceded by a period.

• The vendor's P/O number. If you enter a P/O number and an internal note is associated with the order, and the Display P/O Internal Notes In A/P

Entrycontrol maintenance record is set to Yes, the note displays when you enter

the P/O number.

Note: You need to set Display Customers/Vendors Who Are Inactive At A Branchcontrol maintenance record and several authorization keys to have access

to inactive vendors.

3. At the second A/P Entry prompt select New, Search or Open Invoices and press Enter. • New - The system populates the fields on the window and you can enter a new invoice. The

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Remit-To The vendor to whom payment must be sent. The system automatically populates this field after you enter the ship-from vendor.

To edit remit-to vendor address information, from the Inquiries menu, select Additional Address Information. At the A/P Entry prompt, enter R and click OK.

Ship-From The vendor from whom the products on the invoice were shipped. To edit remit-to vendor address information, from the Inquiries menu, select Additional Address Information. At the A/P Entry prompt, enter S and click OK.

Branch The branch information for the vendor.

Post Date The date on which you want the payable posted to the general ledger. The system populates this field in with the current date, but you can enter any date within the open payables period.

Payment Terms The ship-from vendor's payment terms, as designated in the Terms

Code field on the Vendor Maintenance window for this vendor. The

system populates this field when you enter a vendor. For more information, see Terms Maintenance Overview.

Note: The description of the payment term displays in the Status Bar at

the bottom of the window.

Approved Indicates whether or not the invoice is approved for payment. • The value remains No until the amount in the Difference field is

zero.

• This value must be Yes in order to generate a check to pay the invoice. If you override the No and change it to a Yes, an asterisk (*) appears to indicate this.

Note: To change the print status on a direct payable that is approved,

update the Print Status On Direct When Payable Approved control maintenance record.

Payable ID The unique ID number that starts with a Y assigned to this payable by the system. The system assigns a Payable ID, a number that starts with a Y, to the transaction, located in the lower left corner of the window. If the line item is a lot items that is on hold, the system displays the word Hold instead of the generation number.

Currency The currency that the vendor works in.

• Search - The system displays the A/P Entry Search prompt. In the Enter Invoice # field, enter all or part of the invoice that you want to work on and press Enter. The system populates the fields on the window. For more information about searching, see Searching for Invoices in A/P Entry in the Navigating Solar Eclipse documentation.

• Open Invoices - The system displays the Select an Invoice prompt. Select the invoice you want to work on and press Enter.

When opening an entry, if you select an order that you already have open on your

computer, the system notifies you: "You are already editing entry: <order number>. Press OK to continue." After clicking OK, the system brings the order to the front.

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• If the vendor has reconcilable purchase orders on file, the system displays all received and direct purchase order amounts that have not already been reconciled to invoices in the Purchase Order view. This is the default view.

• If the vendor does not have reconcilable P/Os on file, use the General Ledgers tab to display the General Ledgers view.

4. In the Invoice Date field, enter the date on the invoice received from the vendor. More The system populates the Due Date field and the Pay Date, based on the information in the Invoice Date field and the payment terms, as reflected in the Payment Terms field, assigned to the Ship-From vendor.

Note: The information in the Due Date and the Pay Date fields are identical and are the dates necessary to obtain a discount, if one is applicable. If you do change information in either the Payment Date or the Discount Amount field, an asterisk (*) displays to the right of the new entry. You can change the Due Date, but the asterisk does not display. You can change the Pay Date for a payable in either an open or closed accounting period when the window is in view-only mode, but only when the payable has not already been paid and the payable has a single pay date.

5. Complete the following optional fields, if necessary:

• In the Batch ID field, enter the batch ID number to which this payable belongs if your company enters payables in batches and you want to run reports by batch. The batch ID is available as a selector on a variety of payables reports. (Optional)

• In the Payment Terms field, the system populates this field with the payment terms associated with this vendor. Select a different payment term, if necessary.

This field is not case sensitive. If you enter #ab123 and #AB123 already exists, the system treats it as a duplicate invoice.

6. In the Invoice # field, enter the identifying number on the invoice received from the vendor. 7. Complete the amount fields information, as needed.

Amount Field Description

Invoice Amount Enter the total amount due on the invoice received from the vendor. The total amount should include any freight or tax amounts, and it should be the total amount before any discounts.

Use the P/O Variance Queue to handle invoices that do not match their corresponding purchase orders. You can view the source of the discrepancy and reconcile it, as needed.

If the Enable Auto Display Of A/P Expense Distributioncontrol maintenance record is set to Yes, and there is an expense distribution code defined for the vendor, when you enter the invoice amount, the system displays the Expense Distribution window which contains a list of all expense distribution codes set up in Vendor Maintenance. Select one of the following:

• One of the expense codes to apply the payable to the designated G/L accounts according to the percentages defined in the plan.

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Freight Amount Enter the freight amount on the invoice received from the vendor.

To include the freight charges in the calculation of the discount amount, set the Include Freight In Discount Calculation For Payablescontrol maintenance record to Yes.

Note: If you enter a freight amount for a vendor whose Freight Allowed

field in Vendor Maintenance is set to Yes, the system displays the following message: "Warning! This vendor is freight allowed."

Tax Amount Enter the tax amount on the invoice received from the vendor if you want to track the tax you are charged. Otherwise, entering the tax is not necessary.

Deduction Amount Enter an amount to be deducted from the invoice. (Optional)

If you enter an amount on the Variance Resolution window, the system populates this field with that amount.

Discount Amount The system populates this field with the discount allowed if payment is made by the due date. You can enter another amount, if needed. If you do enter another amount, the system places an asterisk (*) to the right of the amount indicating that the amount was manually entered.

This discount is based on the payment terms assigned to the ship-from vendor, the invoice date, and the invoice amount less freight and tax. Based on the setting of the Do No Take Discount If Pay Date Is Past Discount

Datecontrol maintenance record, this discount amount is removed from this

field only after the check prints.

Payment Amount The amount for which the system cuts the check to the vendor. The system calculates the value for this field by subtracting the amount in the Discount

Amount and Deduction Amount fields from the amount in the Invoice Amount field.

The system populates the Totals area based on the invoice amount you enter.

Field Indicates

Received Amount the amount based on the amount listed on the invoice. As you enter

transactions, these amounts show a running total of purchase orders and G/L accounts to which you have assigned the payable, and the amount that you still need to assign.

P/O Received G/L Received Difference

Approved Yes or No as to whether an invoice is approved for payment. The field

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Field Indicates

Difference the Received Amount minus the P/O Received amount minus the G/L

Received amount. Keep inmind the following:

• If the amount in the Difference Amount field is within the acceptable variance defined in the A/P Over/Short parameters for this vendor, then this field displays an * (asterisk). If you open the same payable, the * (asterisk) does not display.

• If the invoice amount is edited and the amount falls within the A/P Over/Short parameters, the * (asterisk) displays.

Note: You can enter a zero-balance payable in this field and reconcile it to

two off-setting P/Os. Exit the window, the system prompts you to confirm your action.

Important: Make sure that the transactions listed on an earlier entry reflect their status as of the payment date and not the current date. The entries should reflect this status so that the postings made on the original entry appear in context. Some of these transactions, however, may have had postings made to them since that date. The system does not indicate such entries on the display. If you need to modify an original posting, make an A/P Inquiry to check the current status of the transactions in question.

8. Save your changes and exit the window.

If you are creating a payable for direct order invoices associated with a job created in Eclipse Job Management and the Receiving URL field is set in the Job Management Administrator Settings control maintenance record, the Job Management application displays when you close the A/P Entry window. Enter the receiving information for the order within Job Management. If you are creating a payable for an invoice not associated with a job, after you have entered the information for a payable invoice, you should reconcile your received purchase orders to any open invoices. For more information, see Reconciling P/Os to an Invoice.

More Options when Entering Payables

The A/P Entry window also offers the following options to handle payables.

To... Select this menu option...

display the Purchase Order Entry window for the purchase order on which the cursor is positioned in view-only mode.

For more information, see Purchase Orders Overview.

Edit > View P/O

display the Purchase Order Entry window for the purchase order on which the cursor is positioned in edit mode if the posting date for the purchase order is not in a closed accounting period.

For more information, see Editing Purchase Orders.

Edit > Edit P/O

cancel an existing payable. The system prompts you to confirm the deletion, and then prompts you to enter a Reason for the Change.

File > Cancel

display the Change Log Viewing window, which displays a history of all activity related to the payable currently displayed.

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enter a new payable, search for a payable, or view open invoices for the same vendor for which you created a payable

File > Next Item

The system displays a box asking you to select what you want to do in A/P entry. The selections apply to the same vendor you had open when you created the original payable. display the A/P Notes window, which lets you enter notes relevant to this

entry.

This information displays on the General Ledger report when you use the Detail option. For more information, see Running the General Ledger Report.

Edit > Notes

display the A/P Advice Notation window, which lets you enter comments to be printed on the remittance advice section of the check.

Edit > Advice

display the Auto Suggest window Edit > Auto Suggest

display the Expense Distribution window, which lists valid expense distribution plans defined for this vendor. For more information, see Vendor Maintenance Overview.

G/L > Expense Distribution

display the Manual Check Posting window, where you can enter the information about the check. This information is used to create a disbursement record in A/P Ledger.

G/L Manual Check

display the A/P Inquiry window.

For more information, see A/P Inquiry Overview.

Inquiries > A/P Inquiry

display the A/P Ledger window.

For more information, see A/P Ledger Overview.

Inquiries > A/P Ledger

display the Inventory History Ledger window. For more information, see Inventory History Ledger.

Inquiries > Vendor Inventory History

display a list of User Defined Vendor Notes topics, from which you can select one to enter or view a note for this vendor.

For more information, see Vendor Maintenance Overview.

Inquiries > Vendor Notes

display the Vendor Activity Log Tracker Viewing window for the ship-from vendor.

For more information, see Call Tracking Overview.

File > View Vendor Notes

display the Call Tracking Entry window with the ship-from vendor's name filled in.

For more information, see Call Tracking Overview.

Inquiries > Enter Vendor Activity

display the EDI 810 Invoice Review Queue, which gives you access to the EDI data that was used to create this payable. This menu option is only active if the current payable was created through EDI.

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Reconciling Purchase Orders to Invoices

After you enter all your payable invoices, use the A/P Entry window to reconcile the invoices to purchase orders. Reconciling your invoices to your purchase orders gives you the opportunity to compare the information, most specifically the amount payable, between the orders and the invoices, before approving the invoice for payment. Typically, you use the default view in this window to reconcile purchase orders.

Note: After you reconcile a purchase order, you cannot add a freight vendor or bill of lading.

If the vendor for a purchase order is changed through purchase order entry while you have the reconciled payable open in A/P Entry, you cannot save your payable updates.

You cannot reconcile a purchase order for an incomplete shipment.

You can use the A/P Entry window in one of the following modes. To switch between the modes, select Quick Mode from the Options menu.

• Default Mode - Displays all transactions based on the information entered into the A/P Entry window.

• Quick Mode - Displays transactions based on the parameters set in the Default To Quick Mode If # Of Unbilled Transactions Is Great control maintenance record.

If you use Eclipse Job Management, enter the receiving information for the invoices for jobs within the Job Management application.

To reconcile a purchase order to an invoice:

1. From the A/P menu, select A/P Entry to display the A/P Entry window. 2. At the A/P Entry prompt, complete the fields for the payable and click OK:

Field Description

Post Date The system populates this field with the current date on which to post the payables to the general ledger. You can change this date by entering any date within the open payables period.

If you want your aging reports to show true aging from the vendor's invoice date, enter that date in this field.

A/P Branch Enter the branch paying the invoice. This branch does not have to correspond to the branch that received the goods.

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Vendor Enter the vendor from whom the invoice was received. If you do not

remember the complete vendor's name, type one of the following to display a list you can select from:

• All or part of the vendor's name.

• The vendor's system-assigned ID number, preceded by a period.

• The vendor's P/O number. If you enter a P/O number and an internal note is associated with the order, and the Display P/O Internal Notes In A/P

Entry control maintenance record is set to Yes, the note displays when you

enter the P/O number.

If you have an order with multiple generations, the system displays a list of vendors from which you can select both active and inactive vendors.

Note: You need to set Display Customers/Vendors Who Are Inactive At A Branch control maintenance record and several authorization keys to have

access to inactive vendors.

3. At the prompt, select Open Invoices.

4. In the Invoice Date field, enter the date on the invoice received from the vendor.

The system reconciles the invoice to the purchase order only after you enter an invoice date. In the upper portion of the A/P Entry window, the system displays all the information related to the invoice that you want to reconcile. In the lower portion of the window, click the Purchase Orders tab to display all the open purchase orders for the vendor that you have selected, with the corresponding information:

Column Description

Br The branch associated with the vendor.

P/O # The open purchase order number associated with the vendor. If the purchase order is part of a rebate, the system displays a dollar sign:

Applied _{If selected, indicates that money has been applied to an invoice.} Rec Date The date the purchase order was received.

Frt Indicates whether or not the vendor is freight allowed. • Y - Indicates that the vendor pays the freight. • N - Indicates that the vendor bills for freight.

Freight The freight amount on the purchase order. If this purchase order was shipped by a freight vendor such as UPS and the freight charges are on the freight vendor's bill of lading, then *BOL* displays in this field.

Note: In A/P Entry, based on the freight setting for a vendor, if a user enters a

freight amount on a purchase order for a vendor and this field is flagged, the system displays a warning message. Freight terms for vendors are set up in the Vendor

Freight Terms control maintenance record. For more information, see Defining

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P/O Total The total amount due on the purchase order.

5. Select the check box in the Applied column for purchase order you want to reconcile. Note: If numerous purchase orders exist, you can locate a specific order at any time by

typing all or part of the order number at the current cursor position in the P/O # field. The system places the cursor at the order and selects it for reconciliation.

If there is a rebate on the purchase order, the system displays a dollar sign icon next to the P/O number. If the variance for the purchase order is within acceptable limits, the system displays an asterisk and a message: *Within Over/Short Variance. To see the window, click here.

Note: The over/short variance may display on any purchase order whether or not it has a rebate.

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Managing Variances Using the Purchase Variance Queue

When physically matching your vendor invoices to purchase orders, you may find there are discrepancies or variances in what you have received to what you originally ordered, as well as the cost of the items you ordered versus what you were invoiced. Use the Purchase Order Variance Queue to review purchase orders that do not match the received invoice. The system does not remove the purchase order from the P/O Variance Queue until Accounts Payable has the system cut a check to that vendor for the purchase order.

For example, you may have received more or fewer items than you ordered. From A/P Entry, drill into the purchase order and identify which items have been received. When you enter the variance using the Vendor Qty, Vendor UOM, and Vendor Extended Cost fields and the information does not match the original purchase order, the system adds that purchase order to the Purchase Order Variance Queue. From the queue, either purchasing or warehouse users resolve the issue. After resolution, the system removes that purchase order from the queue.

Note: To display summary information for this queue at all times, add a P/O Variance widget to your Solar Eclipse main window.

To manage a purchase order variance:

1. From the Purchase > Queues menu, select P/O Variance to display the Purchase Order Variance Queue.

2. In the Branch/Territory/All field, enter the branch, branches, or territories for which to display the purchase orders that have variances and press Enter.

3. Populate the header fields to limit the queue display results.

Writer Enter a purchase order writer's name to limit the queue to only orders entered by that user.

Pay-On Date (On or Before)

Enter a date to limit the queue by the pay-on date. The system includes all orders up to and including the pay-on date selected.

Directs Select whether to include Direct orders in the queue.

Lot Billed Select whether to include lot-billed items in the queue.

EDI Invoices Select whether to include EDI 810s with variances in the queue. The system only creates variance records for EDI 810 invoices if the PO Variances For EDI 810 Invoices control maintenance record is set to Yes.

Variance Type Select how you want to filter the queue for the type of discrepancies or variations you need to review.

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double-clicking a line item launches the associated purchase order.

Type The type of variance the system recognizes:

• Quantity - There is a difference between what you received on the purchase order and what the vendor included on the invoice. • Cost - There is a difference between the cost on the original

purchase order and what the vendor included on the invoice. • Both - The purchase order has both a quantity and a cost

discrepancy between the received material and the invoice from the vendor.

Rec Br The receiving branch as displayed on the purchase order.

Vendor The vendor from which the items were sent to your warehouse.

PO # The system-assigned purchase order number assigned when the purchase order was created. If the purchase order number does not contain a generation number, the purchase order is still open and has not been received.

Payable # The number of the payable to which the purchase order is tied. Double-click the field to open the purchase order for editing.

Inv Amt Total amount listed as outstanding on the invoice.

Var Amt Amount of difference between the purchase order and the invoice.

Date Recd The date the items were received in the warehouse.

Pyble/Pay -On Dt

The date payment for the invoice is due to the vendor along with the number of days past due, such as 07/16/2009 (10 Days Ago!). Invoices overdue display in red.

Tot Vars The number of discrepancies between the purchase order and the variance.

Days in Q Total number of days the purchase order has been in the queue.

Inv Image* (View Only) If the system has an invoice image, this column displays an indicator . Click the indicator to view the image.

If the invoice was generated from an EDI 810, this column displays an EDI indicator . Click the indicator to view the EDI invoice.

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Status (View Only) Indicates the status of the variance resolution. The system does not remove the purchase order from the P/O Variance Queue until Accounts Payable has the system cut a check to that vendor for the purchase order.

• - Resolved

• - Purchase order requires action from accounts payable. • (Blank) - Variance outstanding and needs to be addressed. The

variance may be within acceptable limits based on your system requirements, but a payable or invoice may still need addressing. If an invoice displays as resolved after opening the variance

resolution window, but there is no resolved check mark in the Status column, the payable may not have been sent.

* To view these images you need the Eclipse Document Imaging companion product. See your Inside Salesperson for more information.

You can reorder the columns as is most useful and the system saves your setup for the next time you launch the queue.

5. Double-click the purchase order to open it in Purchase Order Entry. Note: A warning displays if the purchase order has already been resolved.

6. To add variance details to the purchase order, from the Inquiries menu, select Variance Details and complete the fields to add information for your Accounts Payable person to make the correct decision about creating payables. For example, you indicate that a discount was not made on the invoice that you were anticipating on the purchase order.

Total Variance Amount (View Only) Displays the entire invoice variance.

PO Variance Amount (View Only) Displays the variance difference between the currently displayed purchase order and the invoice received from the vendor.

Additional line(s) on PO, but not on invoice.

Select if the item(s) received is listed on the purchase order, but not on the invoice.

Additional line(s) on invoice, but not on PO.

Select if the item(s) received is on the invoice, but not listed on the purchase order.

Item(s) received are different from both PO and invoice.

Select if you received an item that is not on your invoice or on the purchase order.

Other Variance (freight, handling, etc.)

This is a free form field. List any other variance information that needs to be kept with the purchase order. For example, if the variance is a mismatch in the freight or tax amounts. Indicate what the variance is so the AP person can follow up and approve the payable when ready.

Note: If the purchase order has been resolved, this selection is not available. 7. Resolve the variances.

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About Widgets for the Queue

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Resolving Invoice Variances from the Purchase Order

Variance Queue

The system finds variances either in cost or in quantity when receiving an order. After finding a variance on a purchase order using the Purchase Order Variance Queue, you can drill into the purchase order and resolve the variance. You indicate what kind of discrepancy you have determined the variance to be and mark the purchase order as resolved and approved for processing. The payable can then be sent to the vendor in the right amount to cover the expense.

The system keeps a log to track your resolutions so you can recall them later, if needed. Note: To display summary information for this queue at all times, add a P/O Variance

widget to your Solar Eclipse main window. To resolve an invoice variance:

1. From the Purchase > Queues menu, select P/O Variance to display the Purchase Order Variance Queue.

2. Populate the header fields to review the columns and locate the order you want to resolve. 3. From the Order menu, select Resolve Variance to display the Resolve Variance window.

The Variance Details area displays the parts of the invoices that are not resolved to purchase orders:

Variance Amount due to

Cost (View Only) The system displays the cost variance in

dollar amounts.

Variance Amount due to

Quantity (View Only) The system displays the quantity

variance in dollar amounts.

Total Variance (View Only) The system displays the total amount in dollars the purchase order varies from the received vendor invoice.

Deduct Amount (View Only) The amount the system deducts to account for the resolution. This amount adjusts based on the purchase orders you select.

Total Other P/O Gens (View Only) The total amount in the table of any other P/O generations that you want to include as part of the variance resolution. For example, if you had created a credit and rebill to fix a cost or quantity issue you would include those P/O generations.

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4. In the Deduct / Reason area, select Deduct Cost Deduction and/or Deduct Quantity Deduction based on the types of variances you are resolving and select a reason for each to apply to the resolution. The solutions are pre-defined in the P/O Variance Resolution Reasons control maintenance record.

Note: If a purchase order has been automatically resolved, the system displays "Auto Resolve" in the Cost Deduction field.

If a variance is within acceptable limits, based on the A/P Over/Short Maximum Parameters control maintenance record, the system marks the variance resolved.

5. In the Specify other P/O Generations that apply to this Vendor Invoice area, select the purchase orders you want to apply to the invoice to resolve the variance. If a invoice is reconciled to another payable that has already been paid, that payable does not display.

6. In the Notes area, populate the corresponding notes, as needed.

Note Description

Resolution Notes

Enter any notes that need to be kept with the payable information. For example, if you received a discount from your vendor, but it was not applied to your invoice, list that quote number in the resolution notes to keep the information with the payable.

If a payable has unresolved P/O variances reconciled to it and the approval flag is set to yes, the system marks the variances as resolved and adds notes to this Resolution Notes field. In addition, the system marks the information in the change log of the payable.

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Note Description

A/P Remittance Notes

Enter any notes that need to be kept with the remittance information. For example, if you received a discount from your vendor, but it was not applied to your invoice, list that quote number in the remittance notes to keep the information with the check information to indicate the reason for the difference between invoice and check amounts.

Note: Any notes entered in this field display on the Check Remittance.

Note: If the order is a lot-billed order, the system may display the material details window for the user to check information, such as lot price, before resolving the variance. If the user selects the Material Detail Needed check box on the A/P Open Lot Item window, then the order displays in this queue.

The system displays a check mark to indicate if the resolution has been resolved adequately. 7. If resolved within allowed variances, then select one of the following:

• If you have the POE.POST.DEDUCT authorization key or the AP.ALLOWED set to Level 1, then click Create A/P Deduction to create the A/P deduction.

• If you are not authorized to create A/P deductions, click Sent to A/P Preview Queue for the accounts payable personnel to address for final approval and payment.

Important: The system does not remove the purchase order from the P/O Variance Queue until Accounts Payable has the system cut a check to that vendor for the purchase order. The system displays a check mark next to the items that have been resolved. 8. Click Save to save the information at any point during the process to save your progress. 9. Continue resolving other purchase orders or exit the queue.

More Options for the P/O Variance Resolution Window

To... Do this...

send an invoice that has been mismatched to a purchase order

Select the Incorrect P/O generation attached to

payable check box:

Click Send to A/P Preview Queue. send any unresolved variances to accounts

payable for review and resolution

Click Send to A/P Preview Queue. identify an over and short parameter account to

automatically post to

Use the G/L Automatic Posting program to enter a specific account to use.

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Posting Payables

When you have reconciled incoming invoices to existing purchase orders, you can then post payables to a G/L account. After they have been posted, you can view information on payables through the G/L Inquiry window, G/L Ledger window, A/P Inquiry window, A/P Ledger window.

To post a payable:

1. On the A/P Entry window, once you have selected the purchase orders for reconciliation, use the setting in the Approved field to determine how you want to post the payable:

• If set to Yes, you can print a check for the payable.

• From the A/P menu, select A/P Preview Queue to print multiple checks for payables. For more information, see Printing Checks Overview.

• From the A/P Entry window, from the G/L menu, select Manual Check to print a single check for a payable. For more information, see Posting Manual Checks.

• If set to No, either because the Difference Amount exceeds the A/P Over/Short Parameters control maintenance record or because the Set All New A/P Entries To Not Approved control maintenance record has been set to Yes, the system prompts you to classify the payable as one of the following:

• Unapproved - Indicates that an unreconciled difference needs to be approved.

• Disputed - Indicates that you believe the vendor's invoice to be in error and that you are awaiting a credit.

• Unreceived - Indicates that the invoice is for stock, which has yet to be received into inventory.

• A/P Over/Short - Indicates that you do not want to look for small differences and for the system to approve the payable. This option only appears if the difference amount falls within the over/short parameters.

Note: The system lets you enter a zero-balance payable and reconcile it to two off-setting P/Os. When exit the window, the system prompts you to confirm your action.

2. Use one of the following ways to post the payable:

exit the window without posting the information File > Exit

post the information and clear the window without exiting File > Next Item

post the information and refresh the window File > Save

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Changing Posting Dates for Unapproved Payables

Use the Change Posting Date for Unapproved Payables window to assign a new posting date to all selected unapproved payables. This can be useful if you want to track unapproved payables but still need to close the accounting period. Keep in mind that you can only change posting dates for payables that are still in an open accounting period.

To change posting dates:

1. Display the character-based system.

2. From the System > Custom menu, select Change Posting Date for UNAP Payables to display the Change Posting Date for Unapproved Payables screen.

3. In the Br/Tr/All field, enter the branch, territory or All to determine the areas to change posting dates.

4. In the Select Date field, enter a date for which you want unapproved payables to be updated with new posting dates.

The system selects only those invoices that have a posting date on or later than the date specified, up to the day before the date in the New Posting Date field, that are still in an open accounting period.

5. In the New Posting Date field, enter the date that you want to apply to the selected unapproved payables.

6. Use one of the following hot keys to process the change:

• Begin - Changes the current posting date for all selected unapproved payables to the new posting date. The system processes the change, closes the screen, and displays the message "AP Invoice Posted Dates Updated."

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Re-dating Closed Directs

Because you do not typically know the actual shipment date of a direct purchase order until after you receive the vendor's invoice, you sometimes need to change the shipping date on a purchase order that is already closed. After applying an invoice to an open direct purchase order, select one of the following options to display the Purchase Order Entry window.

• In the A/P Entry window, from the Edit menu, select View P/O to display the Purchase Order Entry window for the selected order in view-only mode.

If there are no split terms applied and no payment on the order, you can edit the Pay On Date while in view-only mode. This functionality lets you use this window the same way as the A/P Preview Queue. For example, you change the Pay On date when an invoice is old and in a closed period.

• In the A/P Entry window, from the Edit menu, select Edit P/O to display the Purchase Order Entry window for the selected order in edit mode

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Deducting Amounts From Invoices

Use the A/P Invoice Deductions window to specify a deduction amount and the reason for a deduction on an invoice. For example, if you had received slightly damaged goods, but decided that the material was usable, then you might discuss this with your vendor and then deduct that amount from the invoice. To deduct amounts from an invoice:

1. From the A/P menu, select A/P Entry to display the A/P Entry window. 2. Populate this window.

3. From the G/L menu, select Deductions to display the A/P Invoice Deductions window. 4. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the deduction to be subtracted from the payment

amount.

5. In the Reason field, enter a brief explanation for taking the deduction. 6. Click OK to apply the deduction and return to the A/P Entry window.

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Splitting Payments

Use split payments to spread payment of an invoice over multiple payment dates. Splitting payments can be useful if you have a large invoice and a limited budget, or if you have parts of a delivery coming in and you want to coordinate your payments with the arrival of the deliveries. You can split payments in one of the following ways:

• Split a payment into unequal payments. • Split a payment into equal payments.

To approve, pay, and print only one of the multiple payments, you must use the A/P Preview Queue. For more information, see A/P Preview Queue Overview.

To split a payment into unequal payments:

1. From the A/P menu, select A/P Entry to display the A/P Entry window. 2. Populate the information for the payable.

3. From the G/L menu, select Split Payments to display the Split Payments window.

The window displays with the amount of the invoice listed in both the Pay Amount field and in the first line item, which is posted to a single pay date.

4. On the next line, enter a second date in the Pay Date column.

5. In the Pay Amount column, enter the amount of payment for that date.

The system subtracts the amount entered in the Pay Amount column for the second pay date from the amount originally listed in the Pay Amount column for the first pay date. The amounts for the Invoice Amount, Disc Amount, and Deduct Amount columns are redistributed

accordingly.

6. At the prompt, move the cursor to the Pay Date associated with the Pay Amount to reduce and press Enter.

Note: When you have more than two parts of a split payment, the system asks you to select which part of the payment you want to break down further.

The system adjusts the amounts for that Pay Date accordingly. 7. Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6 as necessary.

8. Click OK to split the payment as needed. The system splits the payment and displays Split* in the Pay Date field of the A/P Entry window.

Note: You can make changes to the Disc Amount and Deduct Amount fields of a split payment in the same way you change the Pay Amount field, if needed.

9. Save your changes and exit the window. To split a payment into equal payments:

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5. At the prompt, type the number of payments you want to make and click OK.

The system calculates and lists the amounts for each payment, invoice, discount, and deduction amounts.

6. For each line item, enter a payment date in the Pay Date column. 7. Click OK to save your changes and return to the A/P Entry window.

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Viewing A/P Activity

Use the Change Log Viewing window to display a history of all activity related to the payable currently displayed in the A/P Entry window. Because the log cannot be edited, the Change Log Viewing window provides a secure audit trail for each payable.

To view A/P activity:

1. From the A/P menu, select A/P Entry to display the A/P Entry window. 2. Populate the information for the payable.

3. From the File menu, select Change Log to display the Change Log Viewing window. The system displays the payable's history in the following fields:

User ID The ID of the user logged on to the terminal for which the log entry was made.

Date The date on which the log entry was made.

Time The time at which the log entry was made.

Port The terminal port from which the log entry was made.

Comment A brief description of the event that generated the log.

ShipDate/Inv# The generation number of the cash receipt transaction for which the log is displayed.

4. To open a selection window that displays the comments for the selected log entry, from the File menu, select Change Ship Date/Invoice #.

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Assigning Foreign Currencies

The lower left corner of the A/P Entry window contains a dollar sign ($) that represents the base currency rate of the vendor. You can assign a different currency so that you can enter a payable in a currency other than the base currency of your company.

When you enter a payable in a foreign currency, the system converts the amount to your system's base currency, using the current day's exchange rate, before storing it. The system also displays the selected currency and current day's exchange rate at the top of the screen when you assign a foreign currency. On zero dollar A/P invoices, the system applies any discrepancies to the currency exchange account at time of entry so that a balance is not left on the invoice.

Note: The foreign currency functionality has not been incorporated into Solar Eclipse as of this release. Use the character-based system to assign a foreign currency to an invoice.

To assign a currency other than your company's base currency: 1. Display the character-based system.

Note: The foreign currency functionality has not been incorporated into Solar Eclipse as of this release.

2. From the A/P menu, select, A/P Entry to display the A/P Entry screen. 3. Populate the screen.

4. Use the Currency Exchange hot key (Alt-$) to display the Currency Exchange screen. 5. In the Currency field, press F10 and select the currency you wish to assign. The system

translates all currency amounts to the Exchange Rate in effect on the transaction date. 6. Press Esc to save the currency exchange assignment.

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A/P Entry Window Field Descriptions

The following fields are on the header section of the A/P Entry window. For information about the columns in the posting area of the window, see AP Entry Window Posting Tabs.

Remit To The vendor to whom payment must be sent. The system automatically populates this field after you enter the ship-from vendor.

Ship From The vendor from whom the products on the invoice were shipped.

Post Date The date on which you want the payable posted to the general ledger. The system fills this field in with the current date, but you can enter any date within the open payables period.

Payment Terms The ship-from vendor's payment terms, as designated in the Terms

Code field on the Vendor Maintenance window for this vendor. The

system populates this field when you enter a vendor. For more information, see Terms Maintenance Overview.

A/P Branch The branch paying the amount on the invoice. This branch does not need to correspond to the branch that received the goods.

Batch ID The ID of the batch to which this payable belongs.

Payable ID The unique ID number assigned to this payable by the system.

Invoice Date The date on the invoice received from the vendor.

Invoice # The identifying number on the invoice received from the vendor. This field is not case sensitive.

Invoice Amount The total amount due on the invoice received from the vendor.

Freight Amount The freight amount on the invoice received from the vendor. For more information, see Vendor Maintenance Overview.

Tax Amount The tax amount on the invoice received from the vendor.

Due Date The date the payment is due. The system populates field based on the payment terms assigned to the Ship-To vendor. For more information, see Vendor Maintenance Overview.

Pay Date The date you are going to pay the invoice. The system populates this field based on the payment terms assigned to the Ship-To vendor. For more information, see Vendor Maintenance Overview.

Deduct Amount If you enter an amount to be deducted from the invoice, and the reason for the deduction, the system displays that amount in this field.

Discount Amount The discount allowed if payment is made by the Due Date. The system populates this field, based on the payment terms assigned to the Ship-To vendor. For more information, see Vendor Maintenance Overview.

Payment Amount The amount for which the check will be written. The system calculates the value in this field by subtracting the Discount Amount and

Deduction Amount from the Invoice Amount using the following

equation:

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Approved Indicates whether or not the invoice is approved for payment.

• The value remains No until the amount in the Diff Amt field is zero. • This value must be Yes in order to generate a check to pay the

invoice. If you override the No and change it to a Yes, an asterisk (*) appears to indicate this.

Received Amount - P/O Received - G/L Received = Difference

These fields, automatically populated by the system as you enter the transaction, show the following information:

• Received Amount - Displays the amount reconciled.

• P/O Received - Displays a running total of the purchase order amounts being reconciled.

• G/L Received - Displays the running total of the G/L accounts to which you are reconciling the payable.

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A/P Entry Window Posting Tabs

When you first display the A/P Entry window, the system assumes that the payable you are entering is associated with a purchase order. It displays a list of open purchase orders for the designated vendor in the posting area columns using the Purchase Orders view. If no open purchase orders exist, select the General Ledgers tab to display the fields in the General Ledgers view.

Use one of the following tabs to display the views available on this screen: • Purchase Orders

• General Ledger • Open Orders

Purchase Orders Tab

Displays received purchase orders that have not yet been paid, with freight information, from which you can select the purchase orders to apply payments to. This is the default view.

Br The branch number to be charged for the expense.

P/O # The purchase order number. Double-click the field to view the purchase order in view-only mode.

Applied Select the check box to apply the amount to the payable. For more information, see Posting Payables.

Rec Date The date that you received the purchase order.

Frt Indication of whether the vendor is freight allowed. • Y - Indicates that the vendor pays the freight. • N - Indicates that the vendor bills for freight.

Freight The freight amount on the purchase order.

If a freight vendor, such as UPS, shipped this purchase order and the freight charges are on the freight vendor's bill of lading, the system displays *BOL*.

P/O Total The total amount of the purchase order. An L after the total amount indicates that the order generation is a lot item generation; when you press the Spacebar to select it, the system displays theA/P Open Lot Item window. For more information, see Lot Item Order Shipment Reconciliation Overview.

General Ledgers Tab

Displays distribution-related columns where you can post non-inventory invoices, such as promotional or advertising charges, and expenses such as telephone, office supplies, or utilities from the designated vendor to the appropriate G/L account.

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G/L Account Enter the G/L account to which the designated amount should be applied. The system displays the first 30 characters of the Full Description of the selected G/L account in this field, unless the Display Short Description For G/L Accounts

In A/P Entry control maintenance record is set to Y.

Sub Account Enter the name of the subledger account associated with the A/P entry. You can only enter a subledger account name if this account has been set up for subledgers. For more information, see Creating Subledger Accounts.

Amount Enter the amount to post to the designated account. You can do either or both of the following:

• From the Edit menu, select Notes to display the A/P Notes window where you can enter information about the entire payable.

• From the Edit menu, select Detail Notes to display the Detail Notes window where you can enter information specific to the invoice. The information you enter in the Detail Notes window displays on the General Ledger Report when you use the Detail option. For more information, see Running the General Ledger Report.

Note: You can adjust invoice amounts, if needed, through Accounts Receivable.

Open Orders Tab

Displays all open purchase orders related to the payable account selected. Users can select open orders to mark an order as related to a specific entry and flag that order for personnel monitoring variances.

Br The branch number to be charged for the expense.

PO # The purchase order number of all open orders.

Rec Date The date that you received the purchase order.

P/O Total The total amount of the purchase order. An L after the total amount indicates that the order generation is a lot item generation; when you select it, the system displays theA/P Open Lot Item window. For more information, see Lot Item Order Shipment Reconciliation Overview.

Apply When Received

Select to indicate that the purchase order items have not been received into inventory but the purchase order has been reviewed and this invoice is connected to this order. The system then displays this purchase in the Purchase Order Variance Queue with a type of Unreceived.

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Entering Invoices Without Received Purchase Orders

If you receive an invoice for a purchase order for which you have not received the inventory, you can mark the purchase order as reviewed. The system then displays the order in the P/O Variance Queue for monitoring. When the warehouse receives the inventory, the purchase order displays in A/P Entry for addressing.

If there are purchase orders that have not been received, the system displays the P/O numbers in red text beneath the Totals area in A/P Entry. This list contains any orders that have at least one generation that is not received.

Note: You can also review unreceived purchase orders using the Show Only Un-Received Orders filter on the A/P Preview Queue.

To enter an invoice without a received P/O:

1. Display the A/P Entry window for the vendor to whom you want to enter an invoice. 2. Enter the amounts you want to create the invoice for.

3. Click the Open Orders tab to display all open purchase orders for the vendor.

4. Select the Apply When Received check box for the purchase order you want to connect to the invoice.

The system displays the purchase order in the P/O Variance Queue. The purchase order is not editable from that queue, but accounts payable personnel can monitor the order from there. When the warehouse receives the order, the system removes the purchase order from the P/O Variance Queue and the purchase order then displays under the Purchase Orders tab in A/P Entry.

Important: Using this check box does not automatically mark the purchase order as applied when inventory is received. You are marking the purchase order as reviewed and tagging it to the invoice to which it is being recorded. Accounts payable personnel must got back to A/P Entry and mark the order as applied after the warehouse marks inventory as received.

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Lot Item Order Shipment Reconciliation Overview

Use the A/P Open Lot Item window to specify vendor invoice amounts related to completing

reconciliation for a lot item. This window only displays if a lot item is on the specified order generation. The vendor invoice amount that relates to the Lot Item is entered in the A/P Billed field. You can access this window by entering the Direct P/O number in the Ship From field on the A/P Entry window. For more information on how to use this window, see Reconciling Lot Item Shipments.

If a direct shipment order includes lot items, the system invoices the customer as soon as the purchase order has been reconciled.

The system posts general ledger allocations of costs, sales, discounts, freight, and handling to each product on an order. In the case of lot item orders, the system posts only to the lot item product, not to its material detail.