Credit Control Administrators Guide DOCUMENTATION. Phone: Fax:

Credit Control Administrators Guide DOCUMENTATION Phone: 01981 590410 Fax: 01981 590411 E-mail: information@praceng.com

CHANGE HISTORY ORIGINAL DOCUMENT AUTHOR: MICHELLE HARRIS DATE: OCT 2013 AUTHOR DATE CHANGE MICHELLE HARRIS SEPTEMBER 2014 UPDATE TO V9 Chapter: Change History 2

CONTENTS Change History... 2 Overview... 5 Processing Receipts and Collection Management... 6 Deposits... 6 Entering Deposits... 6 Deposit Reports... 9 Unallocated Entries... 9 Misallocation of Receipts... 9 Retainers... 10 Recurring Receipts... 10 The Direct Debit Mandate... 10 Creating the Recurring Receipt... 11 Posting the Recurring Receipt... 13 Creating DD Batches... 14 Client DRS Data Entry... 15 Journal... 15 Cheque Payment... 16 Adjustment... 16 RD cheque... 17 Statements, Credit Letters and Interest... 18 Statements... 18 Generating Statements... 18 Reviewing Statements... 18 Statement Portfolio... 19 Printing Statements... 19 Interest... 20 Generating Interest... 20 Reviewing Interest... 21 Interest Portfolio... 21 Posting Interest... 21 Examples of Interest calculations... 22 Credit Letters... 23 Creating Credit Letters Layouts... 23 Generating the Credit Letters... 24 Reviewing Credit Letters... 24 Printing the Credit Letters... 24 Credit Control Management Tools... 25 Client Events... 25 Chapter: Change History 3

Creating New Event Types, Class and Actions... 26 Creating new event types... 26 Creating linked event classes... 27 Creating linked event actions... 27 The Credit Control Portfolio... 27 DRS Provisions... 27 DRS Collection Page... 28 WIP and DRS Provisions Portfolio... 28 Chapter: Change History 4

OVERVIEW This document is aimed at Practice Engine administrators who will be using the various Credit Control features within Practice Engine V9. Credit Control is an important aspect for any organisation. Practice Engine has various features that can aid the credit control process. They can either be used in isolation or together to provide useful ways of chasing clients and recording information. More comprehensive Credit Control procedures can be employed using the Advanced Credit Control module. This guide provides information on the standard credit control features. Chapter: Overview 5

PROCESSING RECEIPTS AND COLLECTION MANAGEMENT Much of the day to day role of the Credit Controller will be in processing receipts and allocating against DRS balances. This section will cover the standard methods of entering this information onto Practice Engine as well as looking at facilities such as Recurring Entries that can be used to minimise manual input. DEPOSITS The Deposits page can be found from the Entry menu. It allows for the processing and posting of all deposits. All deposits require a bank and period to be selected. When entering Deposits the following should be noted: If you post a transaction with the August period open and its date is in July, then it s an August transaction. If you post a transaction with the August period open and its date is in August, then it s an August transaction. If you post a transaction with the August period open and its date is in September, then it s a September transaction. Deposits should not be made for closed periods, but deposits can be processed for future periods. ENTERING DEPOSITS Select the Bank for which the deposit is to be entered. Select the Period into which the deposit is to be posted. Any deposits that have already been created in the period will be displayed. Click onto an existing deposit to view or edit it. Click onto the New button to create a new deposit. This screen will allow the header details for the deposit to be entered. A reference must be entered before the header can be created. If the multi currency option within Practice Engine is being used then there is also a choice of the currency that this deposit will be using. Once all of the details have been entered click onto OK to create the deposit header. Click onto the New button to create a new deposit entry or click onto an existing entry to edit or view it. Enter the details for the deposit. Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 6

Field Item Date: Method: Card: Cheque No: Deposit: Account: Base: Client Receipt: Code: This will default to the current date. Select the method by which the deposit has been paid. The options that are available are: Cheque Cash Direct Debit Standing Order Debit / Credit Card If Debit / Credit Card has been selected this option will become available. Select the type of card that was used to make the payment. If Cheque has been selected as the payment method, enter the cheque number. Enter the amount of the Deposit. This figure will be generated by the system based on the currency that the account is in. This figure will be generated by the system based on the currency that the account is in. Select the type of Deposit that this is. Options available are Sundry Cash, Client Receipt and Retainer. Enter the code of the client the deposit is from or click onto the Binoculars icon to search for the client. Once a client has been selected the client s name and a list of outstanding debtors transactions will be displayed. Note: Sundry Cash can t be posted against a client. Click onto OK to save this entry or New to create another entry. The deposit entry will be displayed with a red cross next to it. This indicates that the entry is still unposted. Right click onto the entry and the options of Edit, Post or Delete will be available. Select Post to allocate this entry and post it to the Debtors ledger of the client. A confirmation message will be displayed. Click on Yes to post the line or No to leave the line unposted. The Allocate Receipt screen gives the option to: Leave Unallocated Allocate Entry Create an RFP Receipt Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 7

LEAVE UNALLOCATED Selecting this option will post the receipt but will not allocate it against any debtor s transaction. It can be allocated at a later stage. ALLOCATE ENTRY This option will allow the receipt to be allocated against the debtors transaction. If this option is selected a dialog will be displayed providing option to allocate the entry. Select the entry the receipt is to be allocated against or click on the Auto button to let the system auto allocate the receipt. This is done on an oldest entry basis. Click on the Confirm button to allocate and post the entry. A confirmation box will be displayed. Click on OK to confirm the allocation or Cancel to return to the Allocate Entry screen. CREATE AN RFP RECEIPT Use this option if to create an RFP VAT Receipt. Field Name: Date: Address: Details: The Clients name will be displayed here. Amend it as is necessary. The date that will be used on the RFP. The address is the current address as it appears in the Contact details for the Client. Use the [ ] icon to select a different connected address or amend as necessary. Enter any narrative that is to appear on the RFP receipt. Total Value: Line Info: The total value of the RFP Receipt. The total Gross value of any lines on the RFP Receipt must match this Total Value amount. This shows how the Total Value amount has been reached. Multiple lines can be used and each line can be edited using the Edit option on the right hand side of the line. Click onto OK to post the RFP or Cancel to abandon the RFP Receipt. If OK is selected then a copy of the RFP Receipt will be displayed in a new window. It can then be printed from here. RFP receipts can subsequently be printed from the DRS Transactions page of the client. Once an entry has been posted the red cross will change to a green tick and editing of the entry will no longer be available. Once all entries have been entered into the deposit click onto either Print to print a list of all entries within the deposit or Close to close the deposit. If Close is selected then a confirmation box will be Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 8

displayed. Click onto Yes to complete the deposit or No to leave the deposit editable and return to the Process Deposits screen. The deposit will now show as COMPLETE or ACTIVE on the Process Deposits screen. DEPOSIT REPORTS Reports are provided within the Deposits pages to allow reconciliation of transactions entered onto the system. These are accessed through: The Detailed button this report will display all deposits for the period with a list of transactions entered onto them. Edit Analysis context option this report will display all transactions on a single deposit. The Print button within the deposit this will display a report similar to a bank paying slip with all transactions on the deposit listed. UNALLOCATED ENTRIES Deposits can be left as unallocated until such time that there are DRS entries that they can be allocated against. The allocation of these entries can be completed by either the Unallocated Entries page or by accessing the receipt on the client s DRS Transactions page. The Unallocated Entries page lists all receipts that have been posted but not yet allocated. Right click on the entry that requires allocation and select Allocate. A confirmation box will appear. Select Yes to allocate the entry or No to leave the entry as unallocated. If Yes was selected the Allocate Entry page will be displayed and the entry can be allocated as described in the Deposits section earlier. MISALLOCATION OF RECEIPTS Receipts are sometimes allocated to the wrong transaction or in some cases the wrong client. Practice Engine deals with these situations very easily. Receipts can be transferred, unallocated or reallocated depending on their status. For receipts that have been posted to the wrong client the Transfer option is available. This option will allow the selection of the new client that the receipt should be transferred to and provide a reason for this action. For receipts that have been allocated against the wrong fee then the Unallocate option is available. This places the receipt back to a status where it can then be allocated against the correct fee. The option to Re-allocate a receipt is for use when a partial amount of the receipt requires transferring to another client. Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 9

RETAINERS Retainers are deposits held for a client. The client can be pay up front for work and the retainer(s) can then be applied at a later date once a fee has been raised. Until the retainer has been applied it will not have any impact on the DRS balance of the client. Retainers are created in the same way as a client receipt. Open the Process Deposits page from the Client menu. Create a new deposit entry. Enter the Item Date, Method and Deposit in the normal manner. Select Retainer from the option list next to Client Code. Select the Client and click onto OK to return to the Deposit Entry page and then post the line. The amount has now been recorded against the Clients retainers and can be viewed from the DRS Transaction > Retainers tab. The retainer can be applied in full or for a partial amount at any time by selecting Apply Retainer from the context menu. Once the retainer has been applied the DRS will reflect the new position. RECURRING RECEIPTS Many clients are now looking to pay their fees using Direct Debits or Standing Orders. The Recurring Receipts feature is designed to assist in this process. Recurring receipts revolve around three core processes: The Direct Debit Mandate (if using direct debits). The creation of the recurring receipt. Posting of the recurring receipts. THE DIRECT DEBIT MANDATE The DD mandate facilitates the use of Recurring Receipts against a client. The mandate is one part of the recurring receipt process and provides the system with the relevant information for the collection of the receipt. Please note that only one direct debit mandate can be attached to a client. The DD Mandate page can be found on the Client Menu. On the DD Mandate page it is possible to set the following details: Field Account Name: Sort Code: Account No: Start Date: End Date: Name of the account that the DD will be processed from. Sort code of the bank holding the account. Bank account number that the DD will be processed from. The date that that the DD mandate will start from. The date that the DD mandate will end. Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 10

Status: Tran Code: Collection: Default Delay: Notes: This will dictate the behaviour of whether the payment can be collected by DD or not. The options that are available are: New Registered Suspended Active Cancel (1 more payment) Cancel Cancelled The Tran Code is used when direct debit batches are exported for BACS purposes. The codes used here correlate to codes required by the BACS routine. Options are: New Active Cancel This indicates how the mandate will be collected. This option sets the default delay when collecting the DD. Options available are: Collect same month Collect next month Collect 2 months later Enter any notes against this DD mandate. Direct Debits cannot be created as recurring receipts unless the DD Mandate has already been completed. CREATING THE RECURRING RECEIPT Recurring receipts are created against each client requiring a recurring receipt. Any client can have as many Direct Debits or Standing orders as required. The recurring receipts are created from the Recurring Receipts page which can be found on the Client menu. The first step in creating the recurring receipt is to select to either create a new DD or SO. CREATING NEW DIRECT DEBITS There are two tabs available for a direct debit the Details tab that holds all of the information required to process the direct debit and the History tab which details the transactional history of the direct debit. Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 11

DETAILS TAB This page allows the collection details to be set for the Direct Debit including: Field Batch: Bank: Frequency: Paid on: Value Type: Allocation: Next Due: Amount: Status: Notes: This indicates whether the DD is part of a batch that will be collected, or whether it will be collected on an individual basis. Which bank account this receipt is to be deposited to on the system. The frequency that the DD will run. The options that are available are: Monthly Quarterly Half Yearly Yearly The day of the month that the DD is due to be collected on. There are two options available here: Fixed indicates that a fixed amount will be collected each time Variable indicates that the amount will be variable. The option to either allow the system to allocate the DD automatically or to manually allocate the DD. Indicates when the next collection is due to take place. The amount to be collected by this Direct Debit. This indicates whether the DD is Active or Suspended, and informs the system of whether the DD should be collected. Additional information regarding the Direct Debit can be placed here. Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 12

HISTORY TAB This area of the Direct Debit allows the transactional history of the Direct Debit to be viewed. CREATING NEW STANDING ORDERS A new standing order is created in the same way as a Direct Debit. Standing Orders do not have the options of Batch or Value Type. EDITING DD AND SO Once a client has a DD or SO attached, it is possible to edit these entries from the Recurring Receipts page. Select the entry to edit and right click. This will then give the options of Add DD, Add SO, Edit or Delete. Select Edit from the available options. This will open the Direct Debit / Standing Order details where any amendments that are necessary can be made. POSTING THE RECURRING RECEIPT Clicking onto the DD/SO button on the main Deposits page will display a list of all Direct Debits and Standing Orders including batches that are available for the selected bank account. Right clicking on an entry will give the options of Drafting the entry, Posting the entry or Deferring the entry/ batch. DRAFT This is used when the details require editing within a DD batch or on an individual DD e.g. to defer a particular entry within the batch or amend a DD amount. If Draft is selected the entry will then show a status of either Drafted or Drafted (Missing Entries). If the status is Drafted (Missing Entries), right click the entry and select Edit. Any entry that is showing as a Manual Entry must be edited before the DD batch can be posted. Right click on the entry and either enter the missing details or defer the entry to the next month. Once the entry has been edited its status will update to reflect this. Close the Draft DD/SO Batch Details page and to return to the main DD/SO page for the bank. The DD batch will now have a status of Drafted and can now be posted. Note: Any drafted DD or batch can be reset by selecting Reset on the context menu. Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 13

POST Right click on the DD/ SO or batch to be posted and select Post from the context menu. Any posted DD/ SO will show as a complete deposit on the main deposit page. Note: A DD batch MUST be drafted before it can be posted. DEFER This option is used when certain DD or SO have not been met and need to be deferred until the next payment due date. EXPORTING DD BATCHES Once a DD batch has been drafted it can be exported to a csv file with the relevant details for importing into a BACS system. Select Export from the context menu and save the csv file to an appropriate location. POSTING DD LINKED TO FEES If a fee has been set to be collected by Direct Debit there will be a zero amount DD within the DD/SO entries page. When this is drafted the fee amount(s) will be calculated and inserted into the amount for the direct debit. The direct debit can then be posted as described above. CREATING DD BATCHES Direct Debit batches are a way of grouping together Direct Debits to make them easier to manage and post. Direct debits are added to a batch by editing the direct debit through the Recurring Receipts page of the Client menu. Direct Debit batches are created from the Data Maintenance section of the Admin menu. The initial DD batch page shows all DD batches that have already been created and also allows for the creation of new batches. Existing batches can be modified from the right click context menu. New batches can be created either by using the Add button or by selecting Add from the context menu. The following details for the batch need to be completed: Field Bank: Frequency: Paid On: Next Post: Select the bank that the DD batch will be posted to. The frequency that the batch will be generated. The options here are Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly and Yearly. The day of the month that the batch will be paid on. The next posting date of the batch. Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 14

: The name/ description of the batch. CLIENT DRS DATA ENTRY The Client Data Entry section of the Client menu contains various features that can be used to manage DRS transactions, including DRS Journals, Cheque Payments to Clients, DRS adjustments and RD Cheques. This section details each of these features and what they are used for. JOURNAL DRS Journals are used to make adjustments of a DRS amount from one client to another. They create a single transaction entry for the amount to be adjusted. They DO NOT move DRS history. A common use of DRS Journals is to move the DRS balance to a new client code when clients have been merged. The page has various fields as described below: Field Date: Current DRS: Amount: Adjusted DRS: Comment: Client: Current DRS: Amount: Adjusted DRS: Ref: The transaction date which the journal will be posted with. Informs you of the current DRS total for the selected client. This is the amount that the DRS value is to be adjusted by. To reduce the DRS value enter a negative adjustment. This will indicate what the Client DRS figure will be after the journal has been posted. Enter any notes into this area to indicate why the journal was created. Enter the client code to transfer journal entry to or click onto the Binoculars icon, to search for a client. This shows the current DRS total for the client that the entry is to be transferred to. This shows the amount to be transferred to this client. This will indicate the DRS amount for the receiving client after the journal has been posted. Enter the reference number/ code for this adjustment. Once all of the information has been entered click onto OK to post the journal and make the adjustment. A confirmation dialog will be displayed. Click onto OK to complete the transaction or Cancel to return to the DRS Journal screen. Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 15

CHEQUE PAYMENT Cheque payments are used to record that a reimbursement to the client is required. They are used when a client has overpaid their account. The Cheque page can be found on the Client menu. The top section of the screen shows outstanding DRS transactions for the client that is selected. The lower section of the screen allows you to input the various details for the cheque payment. Field Bank: Item Date: Payee: Amount in Words: Balance: Cheque No: Amount: Select the bank from which the cheque payment will be made. Enter the date which will appear on this transaction. Enter the payee for the cheque. This will be generated by the system once the amount has been entered. This shows the current DRS balance for the client. Enter the cheque number to be used. Enter the amount for the cheque. Once all of the information has been entered click onto OK to confirm the cheque payment. A dialog window will then be displayed. Click onto OK to complete the cheque payment or Cancel to return to the Cheque Payment screen. The cheque payment transaction can be allocated against in the DRS transaction for the client. ADJUSTMENT Debtors Adjustments can be used for a number of reasons to adjust the balance of the DRS total for a client including DRS write offs and discounts. The top section of the screen shows outstanding DRS transactions for the client that is selected. Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 16

The lower section of the screen allows you to input the various details for the DRS adjustment. Field Balance: Date: Type: Amount: Ref: Reason: This shows the current DRS total for the client. Enter the date with which the transaction will be posted. This drop down box allows for the selection of the type of DRS adjustment that this will be. The options that are available are: Write Off Discount Bank Charges Withholding Tax Withholding VAT Adjustment Enter the amount of the adjustment in here. A positive amount will decrease the DRS figure. Enter a reference for this adjustment. Enter a reason for the adjustment. Once all of the information has been entered click onto OK to confirm the DRS Adjustment. Click onto OK to complete the Debtors Adjustment or Cancel to return to the Debtors Adjustment screen. RD CHEQUE The RD Cheque function is used for payments from clients that have not been honoured and need to be reversed. The form requires that the following information is completed: Field Date: Bank: Amount: Reason: Enter the date with which the transaction will be posted. Select the bank account that this drawer cheque relates to. Enter the amount for the drawer cheque here. This will then filter the list of possible transactions that that cheque can be allocated against. Alternatively select the transaction that the drawer cheque will be allocated against in the list in the lower section of the screen and the amount field will be filled in for you. Enter a reason for the drawer cheque. The lower section of the screen will show any transactions that the drawer cheque can be allocated against. If this section is blank then you can still raise a drawer cheque by entering the amount into the amount box and allocating it at a later date. Chapter: Processing Receipts and Collection Management 17

Once all of the information has been entered click onto OK to post the drawer cheque. Click onto OK to post the RD cheque or Cancel to return to the Refer to Drawer Cheque screen. STATEMENTS, CREDIT LETTERS AND INTEREST Credit Letters and the ability to charge Interest are an important part of the Collection Management process. They provide a reference point for both the client and the Credit Controller and facilitate communication. Statements are commonly used, but the Credit Letter and Interest facilities are less so. STATEMENTS The Statement run is a two part process the generation of the month s statements and the review and approval of the statements for printing. GENERATING STATEMENTS The generation of Statements is processed through the Admin menu of Practice Engine. Statements can be generated up to an effective date and with a minimum balance. Once generated they need to be approved. The generation routine allows the following criteria to be used in the process: Criteria Statement Date: Minimum Balance: The cut off date for transactions to be included on the Statement. This will also be the date that is displayed on the Statement itself. The minimum debtors balance that is to be used when generating the statements. Once all of the criteria have been set, the statements are generated by clicking onto the Generate button. This will create the list of statements that are ready for review. REVIEWING STATEMENTS Statements can be reviewed and approved by either a Partner/ Manager through the Statement Portfolio or by an administrator through the Generate Statements page. Click onto the Review button to access the Statement Review page. By default all statements will be selected with a green tick. Deselect the statements that are not to be approved and click onto the Approve button. A confirmation box will appear asking for confirmation that the selected statements are to be generated. Click on OK to proceed or Cancel to return to the Statement Review page. Chapter: Statements, Credit Letters and Interest 18

The Current Status will indicate the number of statements that have been reviewed and the number of statements that are to be printed. STATEMENT PORTFOLIO This displays a list of all Statements that require approval for the logged in partner or manager. By default all statements are selected for approval indicated with a. To deselect a statement for approval click onto the. This will then change to. Once all statements have been reviewed click onto the Approve button. A confirmation dialog box will be displayed. Click on OK to confirm the approval of the statements or Cancel to return to the Statement Portfolio. PRINTING STATEMENTS Once the review process has taken place the Statements can be printed. This is completed by clicking onto the Print button on the Generate Statements page. Statements can also be printed on a client by client basis through the Print tab in DRS Transactions. Statements can be printed in two formats Email or Print and Mail. The selected format for each client is set on the Client s DRS/Collection page and is shown with either an Email icon icon on the Statement Print page. or a Print Note: The Email facility is dependent upon layouts and servers being set up to do so. A Check Email button checks that the associated email address of the credit contact for each client is within the correct email domain for the client. The process will create a report of any problems. Any clients who do not have an email address populated will be excluded from the report. Click onto the Print button to proceed to the Statement Print page. It is also possible to select to print any outstanding invoices with the statements. Select from either No Invoices or With Invoices. The invoices are created as pdf documents that print behind the associated statement. Select the format to be used from the drop down selection box and click onto the Print button. If the Email option has been selected only those clients who have the email icon attached to them will be sent, and if the Print and Mail option is selected only those clients who have the print icon attached to them will be sent. If the Print and Mail option has been used it is important to close the Report Viewer window using the Close button and confirm whether they printed correctly. Once they have been confirmed as printed the status of the statements is updated and they will no longer appear on the Statement list. Chapter: Statements, Credit Letters and Interest 19

INTEREST Interest can be applied to a Clients outstanding DRS balance. The interest is calculated from the client s credit terms as set on the DRS/ Collection page within the client details. A check box on the client record allows you to control which clients this facility is used for. The process for generating and approving Interest is similar to that of Statements. Note: Interest is charged on any outstanding DRS amounts up to and including the Interest Date and is also based upon the client s credit terms as set up on the DRS/Collection page GENERATING INTEREST Interest is generated from the Data Maintenance section of the Admin menu. As with statements a minimum balance and an effective date can be applied before Interest is generated. The generation routine allows the following criteria to be used in the process: Criteria Interest Date: Interest Rate: Minimum Amount: The cut off date for transactions to be included. Transactions dated before and including this date will be taken into account for Interest to be applied to. The Interest rate to be applied to the outstanding amount. Set the minimum amount if required. This is the minimum amount of Interest to be generated against the outstanding DRS balance. Clients with DRS balances that will generate an amount of interest below the minimum will be ignored in the generation procedure. Once the criteria has been selected, click onto the Generate button to generate the interest ready for review. The DRS amount that the interest is calculated on is based on the amount that is outside of the client s credit terms as at the Interest Date less any outstanding credits. The calculation that is used is: (Outstanding DRS amount over credit terms outstanding credits) * Interest Rate * (Days in accounting period/ days in accounting year) Interest is not charged on interest items. Chapter: Statements, Credit Letters and Interest 20

REVIEWING INTEREST Once generated the Interest needs to be reviewed and once again this can be done either by the Credit Controller through the Interest pages in the Admin menu or by Partners/ Managers through the Interest portfolio. For an Administrator to review and approve the Interest, click onto the Review button on the Create and Post Interest Charges page to access the Interest Review page. By default all clients where interest is to be charged will be selected with a green tick. Deselect the clients that are not to be charged interest and click onto the Approve button. A confirmation box will appear asking for confirmation that the selected clients are to be charged. Click on OK to proceed or Cancel to return to the Interest Review page. The Current Status will indicate the number of clients that have been reviewed and the number of clients that are to be charged interest. INTEREST PORTFOLIO This portfolio will display a list of all clients where Interest is to be charged against the outstanding debtors amount. By default all clients that show on the Interest Portfolio will have a them. This portfolio is only valid for partners and managers. against POSTING INTEREST Once all interest that is to be charged to clients has been reviewed and approved, it can be posted. Click onto the Post button on the Generate Interest page to access the Interest Posting page. Click onto the Post button on this page to post the Interest charge to the selected clients. Note: Interest charged can be reversed from the context menu of the transaction on the DRS Transactions page for the client. Chapter: Statements, Credit Letters and Interest 21

EXAMPLES OF INTEREST CALCULATIONS EXAMPLE 1 Client X has credit terms of 30 days. DRS Amount = 1000 at 15 th July 2008 Interest generated on 30 th July 2008 No interest generated as DRS amount is within the credit terms. EXAMPLE 2 Client Y has credit terms of 30 days. DRS Amount = 1000 at 29 th July 2008 Interest generated on 30 th August 2008 Interest generated = 1000 * 10% * (30/365) EXAMPLE 3 Client Z has credit terms of 30 days. DRS Amount = 1500 made up from 1000 at 29 th July 2008 and 500 at 15 th August 2008. Interest generated on 30 th August 2008. Interest generated = 1000 *10%*(30/365) Chapter: Statements, Credit Letters and Interest 22

CREDIT LETTERS Credit letters are generated, reviewed and printed from the Data Maintenance section within the Admin menu. The creation of the credit letter layouts is done Categories Etc. CREATING CREDIT LETTERS LAYOUTS Collection Letters are used to generate automated letters to clients who owe money. There may be different collection letters for different timescales that the fee(s) have been outstanding. Layouts are created through Categories Etc in the Admin menu. New layouts can be created using the Add New button. In the right hand pane the following information will need to be entered: Field General Min Days: Max Days: The minimum number of days that the fee(s) is overdue before this collection letter is generated. The maximum number of days that the fee(s) is overdue for this collection letter to be generated. Follow Up Details Diarise: Event: Follow Up: Days: Indicates that an event should be created. The type of event to be created. Create a follow up message for the generated event. This is linked to the Follow Up and will create the follow up message after the specified number of days. Letter Text Single Line Header: Single Line Footer: Multi Line Header: Multi Line Footer: Statement Message: The header paragraph of a letter where only one fee is outstanding. The footer paragraph of the letter where only one fee is outstanding. The header paragraph of a letter where more than one fee is outstanding. The footer paragraph of a letter where more than one fee is outstanding. The text that should appear on the statement relating to this letter. Once the layouts have been created the Credit Letters can be generated. Chapter: Statements, Credit Letters and Interest 23

GENERATING THE CREDIT LETTERS Credit Letters are generated in a bulk routine. The options that are available when generating the credit letters are: Criteria Letter Date: Minimum Amount: The cut off date for transactions to be included on the Credit Letter. This will also be the date that is displayed on the Credit Letter itself. The minimum debtors balance that is to be used when generating the credit letters. Once all of the criteria have been set, the letters are generated by clicking onto the Generate button. This will create the list of letters that are ready for review. REVIEWING CREDIT LETTERS Credit Letters can only be reviewed through the Generate Credit Letters page. Click onto the Review button to access the Credit Letter Review page. By default all clients where a credit letter is to be sent will be selected with a green tick. This is determined by a tick box on the Client s DRS/ Collection page. Deselect the credit letters that are not to be sent and click onto the Approve button. A confirmation box will appear asking if you are happy for the selected letters to be sent. Click on OK to proceed or Cancel to return to the Credit Letter Review page. The Current Status will indicate the number of letters that have been reviewed and the number of letters that are to be sent. PRINTING THE CREDIT LETTERS Click onto the Print button to access the Print Credit Letters page. Credit Letters can be printed in two formats Email or Print and Mail. The selected format for each client is set using the Statement Delivery Format on the Client s DRS/Collection page and is shown with either an Email icon or a Print icon on the Credit Letter Print page. Select the format to be used from the drop down selection box and click onto the Print button. If the Email option has been selected only those clients who have the email icon attached to them will be sent, and if the Print and Mail option is selected only those clients who have the print icon attached to them will be sent. It is important to close the Report Viewer window using the Close button and confirm whether they printed correctly. Once they have been confirmed as printed the status of the credit letter is updated and they will no longer appear on the Credit Letter list. Chapter: Statements, Credit Letters and Interest 24

CREDIT CONTROL MANAGEMENT TOOLS This section looks at features within Practice Engine that can be used to provide additional information of the overall state of the credit control situation and record interactions with clients. CLIENT EVENTS Events can be thought of as notes, memos or actions that are to be recorded against a client. They can be allocated to staff members and marked for follow up. They are particularly useful as a credit control feature as both the credit controller and the client partner or manager can view the history of events. An Event is any instance of contact with the client that should be recorded. Each event created can be marked for follow-up by a chosen member of staff or marked as Complete. The Events page lists all Events created for the client and can be listed by Overdue, Current, Open or Complete by selecting the relevant tabs. Each tab will show grouping levels for the various event types. These groups can be expanded and collapsed using the arrows on the right hand side of the group. The events details can be viewed or edited by clicking on the FollowUp Date or by using the available right click context menu. The context menu for each has the following options also available: Option: New Event type Event: Edit Event Details: Quick Add Event: Delete Event: Complete Event: A new event can be added from the context menu with the same event type as the event that was selected. This will allow an event to be added with minimal details of the Person dealt with, the action and some notes. Allows the user to add an event of the current type with the minimum of details. Delete the selected event. This will mark the event with a status of complete. Chapter: Credit Control Management Tools 25

When adding a new event there options for entering the following information: Field Date: Staff: Person: Type: Class: Action: Notes: Complete: Value: Follow Up: Date: Staff: The date of the event. The staff member who performed the event. This field will default to the staff member logged in but can be changed by clicking the search icon and performing a staff search. The client s representative. The type of event. This is a category-controlled field that can be modified in the Categories Etc pages from the Admin menu. The class of event. This is a category-controlled field that can be modified in the Categories Etc pages from the Admin menu. The action performed. This is a category-controlled field that can be modified in the Categories Etc pages from the Admin menu. Any notes on the event can be entered here. This can be ticked to indicate that the Event is complete. The value of any debts being chased. This is ticked if the event is to be followed up by a member of staff. The date for follow up. The staff member to follow up. Again defaults to the staff member logged in but can be changed. This will show in the relevant staff members Staff Events section until it is ticked as Complete. At the top of the Event window are the options OK, Cancel, Delete and Roll Forward. The Roll Forward button will roll the date of the event forward by a week and insert some additional narrative to indicate that the event has been rolled forward. CREATING NEW EVENT TYPES, CLASS AND ACTIONS New event types, classes and actions are created from Categories Etc page of the Admin menu. Event types, classes and actions are categorised under the Categories menu. Events have three levels of detail. Each level needs to be linked by category code. There must be a category called Event Type with a code of EVTypes in the Category of Categories list. If there is not then this must be created before new Event Types can be created. CREATING NEW EVENT TYPES To create the Event Types category if required, select Category of Categories from the list, and click onto the Add New button in the middle section. Add a code of EVTYPES and a description of Event Types and save. New event types can then be created. Select Event Types from the category list and click onto the Add New button. Enter a code and a description for the event type and save. Chapter: Credit Control Management Tools 26

CREATING LINKED EVENT CLASSES To create Event Classes, select the event type that the event class is to be added to and click onto the Add New button in the middle section. Enter a code and a description for the event class and save. CREATING LINKED EVENT ACTIONS If Event Actions are also to be used it is necessary to create additional event action categories in the Category of Categories. Select Category of Categories and click onto the Add New button in the middle section. Enter the code of the Event Class that the event actions are to be related to. Set the description as [Text] Actions or similar. Save the new category. Select [Text] Action or whatever you called the category from the main categories list, and click onto the Add New button in the middle section. Enter a code and a description for the action and save. THE CREDIT CONTROL PORTFOLIO The Credit Control Portfolio is a tool that enables partners, managers and credit controllers to view and manage current debtors. The page displays outstanding invoices by client. It can be viewed by Partner or Manager using the selection lists at the top. Option DRS Total: DRS: Letter: Click on the DRS total for a client to display a list of the outstanding debtors that make up the total. Click on the individual DRS amount to print a copy of the fee. The date of the last letter sent to the client. (Letters are generated the Admin menu) Comments: Displays any comments entered in the comments field of the debtor collection for the DRS. Clicking onto the Comment will open the Debtor Collection page of the client for editing. It is also possible to set DRS provisions from this page. These options are also available by right clicking onto the selected line and selecting from the context menu. DRS PROVISIONS DRS Provisions are the ability to assign an amount against a fee that may or may not be written off. These provisions can then be viewed through various portfolios to give an alternative picture of the DRS position for a client. DRS Provisions can be set through the DRS Collection page which is accessed through the comments on the portfolio or through the Provisions portfolio. Chapter: Credit Control Management Tools 27

DRS COLLECTION PAGE Setting the Status to Provided For will create a provision for the whole of the fee amount, whereas setting the Status to In dispute and entering a Disputed Amount will create a provision for the disputed amount only. These provisions can then be viewed from the Provisions option in the Summary portfolio. WIP AND DRS PROVISIONS PORTFOLIO The WIP and DRS Provisions portfolio allows for provisions to be made at the Client level, the Service level or the Job level. This option is set through the Transaction Settings and needs to be set before any provisions are made. Changing this option after provisions have been made may result in data being affected. A DRS provision can be made by drilling into the partner/ manager that the client is attached to and either clicking onto the DRS Provision figure or by selecting DRS Details from the associated context menu. The page above will then allow selection of the fee that the provision is to be made against. Clicking onto the underlined Provision amount will provide a dialog for editing the provision details. By default DRS provisions are applied to individual invoices, however a System option is available to allow the provision to be applied as a bulk figure. This amount is then applied until it is fully allocated based on the oldest transactions first. Please contact Support for further information regarding this option. Chapter: Credit Control Management Tools 28