What is Pre Pay?
The Prepay Products feature allows customers to prepay for items prior to receiving deliveries. Each customer will be able to purchase product ‘credits’ in the system and redeem them during future deliveries. Offering this option to your customers will allow you to complete a sale while delaying the delivery of items.
How do I set up Prepay?
Setting up Prepay Products is a simple process that involves two steps:
- Create a new Prepay Credit Code.
- Associate the Prepay Credit Code with a corresponding Product Charge Code.
The following section will guide you through this process.
Prepay Credit Charge Codes
You must create a Prepay Credit Code for each item that you are allowing your customers to prepay for in RMA.
Creating a Prepay Credit
Add each credit code to the system within Lists > Product Codes > Product Charge Codes. In the following example, product code ‘400’ has been created for ‘Pre-Pay Cups.’
NOTE: Do not establish any prices for this item, or enable the Handheld Product option on the Handheld tab.
On the Accounting tab, the prepay credit code must be assigned to a Liability account in the ‘G/L Account number’ field.
NOTE: If you do not have an available Liability account, you must exit this screen and create one under Lists > Account Setup > General Ledger Setup prior to continuing.
Repeat these steps for each prepay credit code required.
Assigning a Pre-Pay Credit
Navigate to an item that you will be offering for prepay, and select the Modify key. Select the ‘Pre-Pay Product’ box on the Info tab, and choose the corresponding Prepay Credit Code from the dropdown list.
Save your changes and repeat this step for each prepay item.
When a credit code is properly linked to a prepay item, information similar to the following will be displayed on the Info tab:
Prepay Customer Setup and Usage
Setting up and processing the Prepay feature for your customers can be accomplished in five easy steps:
- Establish Default Products
- Create prepay invoices
- Post transactions
- View prepay detail
- Redeem prepay items
Each item is covered in the order listed.
1. Establish Default Products
Assign each prepay product (not the Credit Code) to the customers that qualify within the Products tab of the Customer Information screen. The example account below has been assigned the ‘Plastic Cups’ prepay item created earlier in this document.
Additionally, select the ‘Pre-Pay Products’ box to the right of the Default Products area to enable the prepay option on their account.
NOTE: Prepay credits can only be sold to a customer if the prepay item is assigned to their account as a Default Product.
Repeat this step for each prepay item desired, and click Save.
2. Create Pre-Pay Invoices
When a customer would like to purchase prepay credits, an invoice must be created within the Invoices and Adjustments screen on the desktop.
Add the desired prepay credit code to the invoice, and enter the number of credits being purchased in the Qty field.
NOTE: When the prepay credit code is added to the invoice, the system will automatically use the price of the associated product code.
3. Post Transactions
In order for the prepay purchase to be reflected on the customer’s account, the invoice will need to be posted.
Navigate to Transactions > Post Transactions to post the prepay credit invoice.
4. View Prepay Detail
To view prepay credit detail on each customer’s account, navigate to Lists > Customer Information, and select the Products tab. Right-click on any of the prepay items assigned to the account to view the detail screen (example below).
5. Redeeming Pre-Pay Items
In order for a customer to redeem prepay credits, simply add the prepay item they wish to purchase to the invoice (handheld or desktop).
In the example below, the customer is redeeming three ‘Plastic Cups.’ Notice as you enter products, the Pre-Pay Credit field on the right hand side also populates with the amount of the pre-paid items available.
The customer’s posted invoice will reflect any prepay activity:
NOTE: On an Invoice Reprint, the Previous/Remaining Credits displayed will reflect the information at the time the delivery was made, not the current count.
The customer’s Prepay Detail screen is updated as each prepay transaction is posted:
Prepay Quantities Report
The Prepay Quantities Report allows you to view detailed purchased and redeemed prepay credit information per customer.
Navigate to Reports > Accounting Reports > Sales > Prepay Quantities Report.
Information that the report can provide:
- Remaining and redeemed credits.
- Liability per item.
- Customers who have gone over their prepaid quantities and owe the company.
NOTE: This issue can occur if the Post Transactions process is not completed daily.
Refer to User Guide B for a definition of each option on the report screen.
Daily Prepay Management
Managing your prepay accounts is a daily process. This section will guide you through the various adjustments that can be made throughout the system.
Removing Prepay from a Customer
To disable the prepay feature on a customer’s account, you can simply uncheck the ‘Pre-Pay Products’ option within the Products tab.
NOTE: Any previously purchased credits will remain on the account, and prepay will resume if the ‘Pre-Pay Products’ option is selected on the account again. Additionally, any Default Products with associated prepay credits cannot be removed until the credit total is reduced to ‘0.’ Refer to the Prepay Credit Adjustment section below for information on making adjustments.
Prepay Credit Adjustment
This option allows you to make prepay credits adjustments on each account. Navigate to Tools > Administration > Pre-Pay Adjustments.
Single Account
To make a manual adjustment to an account, or remove their credits entirely, enter the same account number in the From/To fields. Enter the prepay code that you will be adjusting on the account, and select the ‘Adjust Account Pre-pay Credit’ option. In the Qty field, enter the exact number of credits you would like to remain on the account (i.e., enter ‘0’ to remove all credits).
Click OK to complete the process.
Account Transfer
To transfer credits from one account to another, enter the account numbers in the From/To fields, and enter the prepay code that you will be adjusting in the Product Charge Code field. Select the ‘Adjust Account Pre-pay Credit’ option, and enter the number of credits to transfer in the Qty field.
Click OK to complete the process.
Summary
The Prepay Products feature allows you to offer your customers a simple credit program that offers them convenience, and allows your company to receive an additional revenue stream without making deliveries.