Payment schedule & discount
Configuration
Application configuration
Access : Application config → Apps management → Accounting, configure
Activate the following functions:
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Manage financial discount: this option allows you to manage discounts.
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Allow multi invoice terms: if you wish to manage multiple due dates (e.g. multiple invoice due dates), activate this option.
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Save your changes.
If these options are not activated, it will be impossible to use the associated functions, which are presented in this documentation.
Configuration by company
Access : Application config → Apps management → Accounting, configure → On the configuration page, click on the company file.
Access : Application config → Company / User → Company
Several financial accounts must be added so that the accounting entries (moves) can be generated correctly.
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Discount Accounts: in the Accounting tab, scroll down to the bottom of the page (to Discount Accounts). Here, enter the discount accounts. These accounts will be used to post to the discount account on purchase or sale.
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Holdback: in the Accounting tab, scroll down to the bottom of the page (to Holdback) and enter the Holdback. This account will play the role of the classic account and it will charge to a holdback account instead of a classic customer account.
Make sure that the journals associated with the payment methods are compatible with the selected accounts, otherwise you will be blocked when the payment is recorded.
Payment terms
On the accounting configuration page for a company, in the Accounting tab, you will find the payment conditions. The default payment condition will apply when a new customer is created.
The payment condition determines how long it will take for the billed party to pay the invoice. In other words, it determines the due date(s) of the invoice.
Once you have filled in this information, you can go to the payment conditions and discount settings.
You can configure the payment condition in the Payment condition menu (access: Accounting → Configuration → Payment → Payment conditions).
The payment condition is made up of the “Name”, “Code”, “Free” and “Payment condition lines” fields.
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Name: enter the name of the payment condition. For example, 25 days.
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Code: enter a code for the payment condition.
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Free: if this box is unchecked, then the due date cannot be changed manually before the invoice is split.
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Payment condition lines: here you define the payment due date(s) associated with this condition. Click + to add a new payment condition line. A pop-up window will appear, where you can enter additional information.
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Payment period: number of days or months that will be applied starting from the invoice breakdown (ventilation) date.
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Period type: select between days or months.
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Type: method used to calculate the due date (see Payment terms - Calculation methods).
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Payment percentage: due date amount.
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Holdback: tick the box if you want this due date to be treated as a holdback (see dedicated section).
- Save the changes you have made.
Payment conditions - Calculation methods
When you are creating a payment condition line, you will select a type. The type is the method used to calculate the due date.
Here are several calculation methods with examples:
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Net: breakdown date + No. of (days/months). Example: Invoice dated 15/01/2024 with 20 days net: due date 04/02/2024.
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End of month + n days/month: take the end of the month of the breakdown date (invoice issued), then add the number of days/month. Example: Invoice dated 15/01/2024 with end of month + 20 days: due date 20/02/2024.
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N days / month + end of month: add the number of days / month, then take the last day of the month obtained. Example: Invoice dated 15/01/2024 with 20 days + end of month: due date 29/02/2024.
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N days/month + end of month at: as above, except that instead of taking the last day of the month, choose the day of the month that suits you. Example: Invoice dated 15/01/2024 with 20 days + end of month on 25: Due on 25/02/2024.
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Holdback: activating the holdback will result in a difference in the accounts generated when the invoice is split. The guarantee will go into a different financial account and will be paid separately.
Payment conditions - Customer file
Access : Application config → Apps management → Accounting, configure → on the configuration page, click on the company file
Access : Application config → Company / User → Company
Access : Sales → Customers or Purchases → Suppliers
The payment condition is filled in by default in the application configuration by company in the accounting module in the Accounting tab, then repeated on each customer record in the Invoicing/Payment tab, and finally repeated on each invoice. It can be modified at each of these stages.
Financial discount: on a customer/supplier record, in the Invoicing/Payment tab, you can also enter the discount. This discount can be modified on an invoice.
Payment terms - Holdback
The holdback is a part of the invoice paid at a later date. It may correspond to waiting for verification, or a final balance paid following validation of acceptance of a service. In accounting terms, the holdback debits a dedicated account instead of the traditional third-party account when the invoice is broken down. For example, in our generic chart of accounts, we use account 411700 instead of account 411100 for customers. The holdback is paid like a traditional due date.
Financial discount
A financial discount is not a condition of payment. A financial discount is used to grant the recipient of an invoice a rebate for early payment. For example, a 2% discount for payment within 10 days of the invoice due date.
Discounts are configured in the Discounts menu (Access: Accounting → Configuration → Financial → Financial discounts).
Once they have been configured, they need to be entered in the customer file if a discount has been systematically negotiated with a third party. This is done in the Billing/Payment tab of the customer master record. In the case of an occasional discount, you can fill it in directly in the Discount tab of the invoice.
Financial discount - Configuration
The financial discount configuration :
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Label: name given to the discount.
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Discount base: determines whether the discount rate will be applied to the invoice before or after tax.
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Discount delay: number of days before the invoice due date. This number will determine the deadline before which the discount will be applied.
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Discount rate: amount of the discount in % based on the discount basis in case a payment of an invoice is made before the discount deadline.
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Legal notice: legal information that will be displayed on invoices where a discount has been granted (only valid on standard printouts offered by Axelor).
Invoice with multiple due dates
Input
Access : Invoicing → Customer invoice
To obtain a multi-deadline invoice, simply select a Payment condition with several deadlines.
Generated due dates can be found in the Terms tab of the invoice.
A button is provided to access the list of due dates in a new tab. For example, you could have 3 instalments of 40%, 40% and 15%, plus a 5% holdback.
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Select a partner.
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Payment condition: in the “Invoicing information”, find the payment condition. The payment condition is transferred from the partner file. You can select a payment term that includes several instalments (40%, 40% and 15%).
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Terms: open the Terms tab. In this tab, you will find a list of all the due dates that will be generated.
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Content: add content to the invoice. For example, a hard drive.
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If you have selected a payment term with several due dates, the due dates will be separated into several lines (40%, 40% and 15%).
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Validate / Ventilate: click on the “Validate” button to validate the invoice. You can then break down the invoice by clicking on the “Ventilate” button.
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Move: once the invoice has been ventilated, the sales/purchases accounting entry will be generated. You can find this entry in the Accounting tab. Simply click on the entry number (i.e. move number). Compared with a standard entry line, you will have an additional line: 411700 (Holdback).
In the window for an entry line, in the Terms tab, you will find the list of invoice due dates associated with this entry line.
- Enter a payment: the last step is to make the payment. The Payment pop-up window will open. The default system will suggest that you pay the first instalment. You will find two tables, “Outstanding invoice terms” and “Terms payments”. In the “Terms payments” table, you will find details of what you are going to pay with the amount indicated (the “Amount paid” field). Click on OK. When you confirm, the payment will be charged in the same way as when you make a standard unit payment.
Holdback: the holdback is visible on the sales entry, where part of the debit from the customer account has been transferred to the customer holdback account.
When a payment is recorded, the holdback line is not included in the unpaid invoice due date lines. It must be treated separately.
Once all the due dates have been paid, the system will offer to pay the holdback. The holdback will be charged to another account.
- Terms: after payment, when you return to the invoice page, in the Terms tab, you will see which line has been paid (it will be marked as paid). You will also be able to see the column with the “Amount still to pay”.
Due dates
Access : Invoicing → Payment Schedules
In the Schedules menu, you can view all due dates for all invoices combined, for monitoring or reporting purposes for example.
Payment
From a ventilated invoice, when multi-deadlines are activated, the payment registration screen will be modified. You will find :
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A table of unpaid invoice terms. Note that holdback instalments will only be displayed if all the other traditional instalments have been paid.
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A table of due dates that will be paid by the current payment. This table is updated according to the amount entered in “Amount paid”. The instalments are paid progressively, in chronological order. An instalment may be partially paid.
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Payment is complete when you click “Ok”.
Invoice with financial discount
Input
Access : Invoicing → Customer invoice
When financial discount management is activated, a “Financial discount” tab appears on the invoice. If the selected customer has a financial discount applied on their customer file, then it will be automatically included.
Otherwise, you can select it manually and modify it until the invoice is ventilated.
The cut-off date and the amount after discount are calculated in this section.
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Partner: open an invoice and enter the third party that has a default discount.
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Financial discount: after selecting a third party with a discount, the Financial discount tab will appear on the right. In this tab, you will find the discount that has been indicated on the third party file and that has been adopted by default. For example, “Discount 2% at 10 days (VAT included)”.
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Content: add content in order to apply the discount. Click on +. An “Invoice Line” pop-up window will appear. Select a product and a quantity. The system will automatically calculate the discount based on the rate and the total amount of your invoice. It will also calculate the amount remaining to be paid after discount.
The discount deadline is the date by which the customer must pay in order to benefit from the discount.
The discount deadline will be calculated following the breakdown.
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Validate/Ventilate: validate and ventilate the invoice.
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Register a payment: when you click on “Register a payment”, the system will display a Payment pop-up window.
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Apply Discount: In the Payment pop-up window, you will see the “Apply Discount” checkbox. Uncheck this box if you wish to proceed with a standard payment. Click “Ok” to apply it. The discount that has been applied will be visible on the invoice.
When the payment is recorded on the invoice, the discount is automatically applied if the payment date is the date before the discount deadline. This fact takes the form of a new “Discount” section in the payment screen.
You can manually choose not to apply the discount, even if the date condition is met.
Once payment with discount has been confirmed, the system automatically generates the discount charge to settle the invoice.
Once you have applied the discount, it will be visible on the invoice on the right, next to the total amount.
Click on the discount to view the additional information. At the bottom of the page, you can view the accounting entries. Click on the entry number to open it.
In the accounting entries, if you have applied a discount, you will find the discount lines.