Terms say when an invoice or bill must be paid, and whether paying early earns a discount: Net 30, Due on receipt, 2% 10 Net 30. You choose a term on an invoice or a bill (or on a customer's or vendor's record, as their default), and SeroBooks works out the due date from it. A term with a discount lets you take the vendor's early-payment discount in Pay Bills, and offers your customer's in Receive Payments.
Opening the Terms List
- Lists ▸ Customer & Vendor Profile Lists ▸ Terms List.
- Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Bills ▸ Terms List.
From the menu it opens over the Home Page, and Esc takes you back to the Home Page. From Preferences it opens on top of Preferences, and Esc goes back there. It needs permission for the Customer Centre.
The window works like every small list; see Lists in SeroBooks. Its columns are Name and Terms (the term in words, for example 2% 10 Net 30 or Due on day 15 of the month).
A new company starts with Due on receipt, Net 15, Net 30, Net 60, 1% 10 Net 30, 2% 10 Net 30 and Consignment.
Add a term, step by step
- Choose New Terms.
- Type the Terms Name, as it should appear on forms (for example "Net 45").
- Choose Standard or Date Driven and fill in the fields below.
- Choose OK.
The fields
Standard
Due a number of days after the invoice or bill date.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Net due in … days | Days from the document date to the due date. 0 means due on receipt. |
| Discount … % | The early-payment discount, if any. |
| if paid within … days | How many days the discount lasts. It must be within the net days. |
Date Driven
Due on a set day of the month.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Net due before day | The day of the month the payment is due (1–31). |
| Next month if issued within … days of due | A document dated this close to the due day is due the following month instead. |
| Discount … % | The early-payment discount, if any. |
| if paid before day | The day of the month the discount runs to. |
Terms is inactive hides the term from pickers.
Where terms are used
- On Enter Bills and Create Invoices: the Terms tile or field. The Payment terms dialog lists your terms under TERMS LIST; choosing one fills in the number of days. Typing a number of days by hand instead gives a due date but no discount.
- On customer and vendor records: Payment terms has a list icon, Choose from the Terms list.
- On Enter Bill for Received Items and Create Batch Invoices.
- In Pay Bills: a bill raised on a term with a discount offers Take $… off while the payment date is within the discount period. The suggested discount is the percentage of the bill's total, never more than it still owes.
Messages you may see
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Enter a name. | Type the terms name. |
| The discount percentage has to be between 0 and 100. | Correct the percentage. |
| Net due has to be between 0 and 999 days. | Correct the days. |
| The discount has to be taken within the net due days. | Make the discount days no more than the net days. |
| The net due day has to be between 1 and 31. | Correct the day. |
| The discount day has to be between 1 and 31. | Correct the day. |
| "…" is already on this list. | Use another name. |
Tips
- Keep the term names as your vendors and customers write them ("2% 10 Net 30"), so they match the paperwork.
- Changing a term's days does not change bills and invoices already saved; they keep their due dates.