ACP - Accounts Payable Setup (SU)

Accounts Payable Setup Overview

'Accounts Payable Setup' is where system defaults and templates for Accounts Payable are entered. These defaults are required to be set up before records can be entered in other screens. These screens display the following tabs in a multiple tab layout: 'Parameters', 'EP Setups', 'Types', 'Hold Payments', 'Tax Codes' and 'Bank Accounts'.

Click on the required tab to access fields and enter or view data.

Be sure you are fully conversant with these setups prior to saving when first setting up your school data. It is recommended that the System Administrator play a part in setting up these details as they affect your daily operations.

Important!

Be aware that ALL records attached to these fields will be affected if changes are made to an existing setup. It is not a good idea to make a change to these parameters unless you are 100% sure of the outcome.

The program will operate in a viewing only mode until you select the 'Edit' button.

You are unable to 'Delete' any of the fields in the following tabs if they are currently in use by a Parent record: Parent UD, Addresses, Occupation, School Sections, Parent Types and Parent Note Categories.

Parameters Tab

This tab displays system-wide parameters that will be the foundations used throughout Accounts Payable. The General Ledger interface is also set up from this screen.

Fields that require detailed information:

Cash Payments Journal Code	This is the Journal Code for the posting all payments made in Accounts Payable to the General Ledger module. Use the lookup window to search for a valid Journal Code.
Purchases Journal Code	The Journal Code for the posting all purchases made in Accounts Payable to the General Ledger module. Use the lookup window to search for a valid Journal Code.
Usual Bank Account	The General Ledger account number of the default (or usual) bank account to be used for receiving cash. This may be changed as you move between one bank account and another. This will be overridden by the customer type account where applicable. Important! Only accounts that have been set up in program Finance > General Ledger > Setup Information > General Ledger Setup on the 'Bank Accounts' tab, will be available to select.
AP Control Account	This is the General Ledger Control Account for Accounts Payable. This account may be named Trade Creditors, or something similar.
Tax Account	The General Ledger Control Account for GST Incurred on Expenditure.
Integrate to GL	A mandatory field. Select 'Yes' or 'No' from the drop-down menu to indicate that the Accounts Payable system is integrated with the General Ledger system. This controls posting, history maintenance, etc. Important! It is imperative that this parameter be set up correctly and maintained consistently.
Use Hold Payments Processing	A mandatory field. Select 'Yes' or 'No' to indicate if invoices require separate approval prior to their payment. If set to 'Yes', unapproved vouchers will not post to General Ledger and cheque payments cannot be applied. By setting this field to 'No', invoices will not require approval prior to their payment and processing.
Last Cheque Printing	This is a system maintained field displaying the date on which cheques were last printed through 'Auto Payments'.
Last Post Period Activity	This is a system maintained field displaying the date on which the Accounts Payable transactions were last posted to General Ledger.
Last Account Aging	This is a system maintained field displaying the date on which 'Account Aging' was last run.
Next Invoice Document Number	This is a system maintained field displaying a unique document number for the next invoice to be raised in Accounts Payable.
Next Credit document Number	This is a system maintained field displaying a unique document number for the next credit to be raised in Accounts Payable.
Name	Use this field to store the name of the person who is the main contact for this module at your school.
Email	This field will print on the payment remittance advice generated through program Finance > Accounts Payable > Payment Cycle > Print Remittance Advices. If this field is left blank then the remittance advices will use the email address field in Finance > General Ledger > Setup Information > Company Information. Therefore you would only use this field where you want a different email address to print on remittance advices to the main school email address.
Phone	This field will print on the payment remittance advice generated through program Finance > Accounts Payable > Payment Cycle > Print Remittance Advices. If this field is left blank then the remittance advices will use the phone number field in Finance > General Ledger > Setup Information > Company Information. Therefore you would only use this field where you want a different phone number to print on remittance advices to the main school email address.
Fax	Use this field to store the fax number for your school.
Website/URL	This field will print on the payment remittance advice generated through program Finance > Accounts Payable > Payment Cycle > Print Remittance Advices. If this field is left blank then the remittance advices will not print a website address.

EP Setups Tab

Electronic Payments functionality in TASS.web provides the ability to pay creditor accounts electronically by creating a standard bank file. This electronic payment facility is incorporated into the existing AP payment cycle and as such is an alternative to producing printed cheques.

The supplier record contains a flag to indicate the payment method to be used within the AP payment cycle. This is set up and maintained using program Finance > Accounts Payable > Supplier Information > Suppliers.

The payment process for EPs is:

1. The payment calculator program Finance > Accounts Payable > Payment Cycle > Payment Calculator can be run for both payment methods (Cheque and EP) together or separately by payment method.

   

   One school of thought is to run EPs and Cheques as separate payment runs. The author finds this easier to manage as you can run EPs right through to producing the email remittances then start a new payment run for cheques. The software will handle combined or separate payment runs. The choice is yours.

2. Finance > Accounts Payable > Payment Cycle > Approve EPs can then be used as the first approval stage. This will allow for the secure separation of duties between staff responsible for processing and those responsible for checking and authorising the actual payments. The date and the user ID of the 'Approver' are recorded in the database. It would be envisaged that appropriate security would be set by sites for this program to restrict access to authorised staff only (Eg: Authorised cheque signatories or equivalent).
3. Finance > Accounts Payable > Payment Cycle > Auto Payments is then used to generate the EP bank file for the total of 'approved' invoices. The supplier's ledger and cashbook will also be updated at this time.
4. Finance > Accounts Payable > Payment Cycle > Email EP Remittances is used to create emails containing remittance details for the suppliers.

Types Tab

Use this tab to define various supplier types. These 'Types' can be used as filters in various reports and selection screens.

You can also have different general ledger accounts payable control and tax (GST Incurred on Expenditure control account) for different supplier 'Types'.

To set up a new 'Supplier Type' click on the 'New Type' button.

Use the 'View' or 'Edit' buttons to access existing 'Supplier Types'.

Fields that require further explanation
Code	Type in a unique alphanumeric code (maximum 3 characters) to represent the 'Vendor Type'. Examples are: COM    Computer Equipment. ELE       Electrical Authority. STA       Stationery.
Description	A brief description of the 'Supplier Type', up to 20 characters in length, which will be used in reports and throughout the system. (Examples as above.)
AP Control Account	This will default to the 'AP Control Account' set up on the Parameters Tab. If you want all supplier invoices that are entered for suppliers of this 'Type' posting to a different General Ledger AP Control override the default with the appropriate GL account. Use the 'General Ledger Lookup Window' to search up the appropriate code. Important! Unless you have compelling reasons to have multiple AP control accounts this is not recommended.
Tax Account	This will default to the 'Tax Account' setup on the Parameters Tab. If you want all supplier invoices entered for suppliers of this 'Type' posting to a different General Ledger GST Tax clearing account override the default with the appropriate GL account. Use the 'General Ledger Lookup Window' to search up the appropriate code.

With the mandatory fields completed, you will then have two choices: 'Cancel' or 'Save'.

Cancel button	Aborts the entry and return focus to the previous screen. Any unsaved data entry will be lost.
Save button	Saves the new 'Supplier Type' to the list. In Edit mode the 'Save' button becomes an 'Update' button.

The 'Action' column can display 3 action links — 'View', 'Edit' and 'Delete'. The 'View' and 'Edit' links will open the 'Supplier Type' screen in the mode requested with existing details displayed. The security permissions assigned to the user will determine if all these links are available.

To delete a 'Supplier Type' click on the corresponding 'Delete' action. A warning message saying 'Are you sure you want to delete this Supplier Type?' will display. Choose 'Yes' if you are sure or 'No' if not. You will not be able to delete the 'Supplier Type' if it is in use. The message 'Supplier Type is in use – Unable to delete' will display.

Terms Tab

On this screen, you can enter and maintain the 'Payment Terms' that are assigned by suppliers. The 'Term Codes' define the length of time before payment is due on invoices.

The supplier invoice entry will apply the 'Term Code' to the current date to automatically calculate the payment due date for the invoice.

There is also an option in the 'Payment Calculator' to filter on all invoices for a particular 'Term Code' to determine which invoices to suggest for payment, e.g. all 7-day invoices.

When setting up a new 'Supplier' in Finance > Accounts Payable > Supplier Information > Suppliers one of the standard 'Term Codes' used most frequently by that supplier should be nominated. That 'Term Code' will 'default' during invoice entry but can be overridden if necessary.

To set up a new 'Term Code' click on the 'New Term Code' button. Use the 'View' or 'Edit' buttons to access existing tax codes.

The mandatory fields will change depending on the 'Payment Term Method' entered.

Fields that require further explanation
Code	A mandatory field. Type in a unique alphanumeric code (maximum 3 characters) to represent the 'Payment Terms'. Examples could be: 21S      21 Days from Statement. COD    Payment Due on Delivery. 7          Payment Due within 7 Days. 30        Payment Due in 30 Days.
Description	A mandatory field. A brief description of the 'Payment Terms', up to 30 characters in length, which will be used in invoices, purchases and credits. (Examples as above.)
Payment Term Method	A mandatory field. The following method codes and descriptions are allowable entries: D          Number of Days to Pay. T          Date of next Month to Pay. 1          Last Sunday of next month. 2          Last Monday of next month. 3          Last Tuesday of next month. 4          Last Wednesday of next month. 5          Last Thursday of next month. 6          Last Friday of next month. 7          Last Saturday of next month. The 'Number of Days to Pay' field is dependent upon the 'Payment Term Method' D and will only be editable if this code is selected. The 'Date of Next Month to Pay' field is dependent upon the 'Payment Term Method' T and will only be editable if this code is selected.

To delete a 'Payment Term' click on the corresponding 'Delete' action. A warning message saying 'Are you sure you want to delete this Payment Term?' will display. Choose 'Yes' if you are sure or 'No' if not. You will not be able to delete the 'Payment Term' if it is in use. The message 'Payment Term is in use – Unable to delete' will display.

Hold Payments Tab

This is where the user can define reasons for which payments to suppliers may be withheld.

Important!

You must set up at least one 'Hold Payments' code with a code of 'No' representing a 'Do Not Hold Payment'. If your school does not need to implement 'Hold Pay Codes' it is not necessary for you to add any codes except for 'No'.

When setting up a new supplier in Finance > Accounts Payable > Supplier Information > Suppliers a mandatory field called 'Hold Payments' will default to 'No'.

Invoices being entered in Finance > Accounts Payable > Supplier Transactions > Invoices for a supplier with a 'No Hold' status become available to the payment cycle.

The invoice can be changed to a 'Hold' status during entry or anytime before full payment. Any code other than 'No' will stop transactions for that supplier from being processed.

When setting up 'Hold Payments' the system will default to add mode in the initial setup stage. Once the 'Hold Payment' information has been established, additional 'Hold Payment Codes' and “Descriptions' can be added by clicking on the 'New' button. Examples of 'Hold Payment Codes' are:

DI — Disputed.

NO — Do Not Hold Payments.

NR — Goods or Services Not Received.

Q — Query.

Existing 'Hold Payments' can be deleted or edited by selecting the 'Hold Payment' you wish to action then click on the 'Edit Selected' or 'Delete Selected' buttons.

Only the 'Description' can be edited using the 'Edit Selected' button.

Important!

Use caution when you wish to delete any of the 'Hold Payment Codes' as they are used throughout the system.

Tax Codes Tab

Important!

It is important that you have read the section relating to the set up of tax codes in Finance > General Ledger > Setup Information > General Ledger Setup before making any changes through this program.

We recommend that tax codes are only administered centrally and most probably by using Finance > General Ledger > Setup Information > General Ledger Setup. They can be changed from this program as well, however, caution should be exercised. Therefore, it is a good idea to restrict access to this program to a 'View' only level.

If you do allow addition and editing through this program the codes that are likely to have relevance to Accounts payable are:

To set up a new tax code click on the 'New Tax Code' button. Use the 'View' or 'Edit' buttons to access existing tax codes.

For further information on Tax Codes, click here.

Bank Account Tab

On this screen, you can enter and maintain the 'Bank Account Codes' as your company may pay its bills from several different bank accounts.

To set up a new 'Bank Account' click on the 'New Bank Account' button above or below the 'Action' column on the right. The 'Tax Codes' screen opens the 'Bank Accounts' screen:

Thank 'Bank Accounts' screen opens with 6 mandatory fields.

To ensure your most frequently used bank account is defaulted throughout 'Accounts Payable', make sure that you enter it into the 'Usual Bank Account' in TASS.web program Finance > Accounts Payable > Setup Information > Accounts Payable Setup on the 'Parameters' tab.

3 more fields that require further explanation
Next Cheque Number	Enter the next cheque number for this account. This number will be used by 'Accounts Payable' to allocate a cheque number to the next payment made.
Last Statement Page No.	Enter the last statement page number prior to completion of the first bank reconciliation for this bank account. 'Cash Books' will use this to determine the next statement page number for bank reconciliations. After the initial setup, this field is non-editable.
Statement Balance	Enter the closing balance prior to completion of the first bank reconciliation for this bank account. This will be used by 'Cash Books' as the opening balance on the next statement to be reconciled. After the initial setup, this field is non-editable.

Note Cat. Tab

TASS.web provides a facility for entering and retrieving supplier notes. It is mandatory that a 'Category' is entered against each note.

Possible examples of commercial note categories could be financial information, price lists, trading terms, etc.

This tab allows the setup and maintenance of 'Supplier Note Categories'.

Highlight the appropriate line and click 'Edit Selected' to make description changes, or 'New' to add a new 'Code' and 'Note Category' description.

Each 'Note Category' requires a unique alphanumeric code up to 3 characters long and a description up to 30 characters long.

Important!

Categories cannot be deleted after they have been used, and care should be taken when changing the description, as any notes entered against the category would be affected by the change.