New settings and documentation

In the new Banana Accounting Plus version, in the Accounts table, new columns have been added in order to allow you to enter more information about your customers and, new features automatically resume the data in the Invoicing. Moreover, you will find a new and in-depth documentation to work in a very professional way:

• Set up customer accounts on a cash method
• Set up customer accounts on a accrual method
• Automatic invoice closing

We advise you to immediately switch to Banana Accounting Plus and take advantage of the many new features.

Introduction

The following explains how to set up separate accounts for each customer and a group for customers, so that you can have a list of separate invoices per customer.

In case you only have a few invoices and don't want to keep a detail per customer, you can also have just one account to record all customer invoices.
The list of invoices will then be for all customers and not for individual customers.

Setting up the Clients' register

At the end of the Chart of accounts, add:

• A * section (header)  (see Sections)
• A 01 section for the Clients (see Sections)
• The Clients' accounts that are needed (see Adding a new account). The account numbering can be freely chosen (see Accounts)
   

• The total Clients will be totalized in the summary groupe 110A of the Gr column.
• The same code or number used for the Gr (110A), must be used in the Assets Group column, in the row corresponding to the Total Customers of the Balance Sheet.
  The groups' numbering can be freely chosen (see Groups).
   

Managing the Customers' register with the Cost centers

In case you don't want customers to be visible on the Balance Sheet (for example, for transactions with VAT on cash received), customer accounts can be created by using the Cost centers (CC3).

Setting up the clients/suppliers register with cost centers

For all Swiss users who manage the VAT on cash received, this setup is the best to manage the VAT.
It is possible to manage the customers/suppliers register as cost centers (see also the Cost and Profit Centers page):

• we advise you to use the CC3 cost centers (the one where the accounts are preceeded by a semi-colon ";")
• the cost center balances for customers and suppliers will not appear in the Balance Sheet.
   

Transactions

More information is available at the page Clients and Suppliers with VAT on Cash received.

Without register

The customers accounts and groups can be entered as normal accounts into the Assets section.

Activating the Address columns (optional)

It is possible to add some specific columns in the Chart of accounts, to insert the address and other customers data:

• Choose the Add new functionalities command from the Tools menu
• Choose the Add addresses columns in the Accounts table command
  (If you don't see this option in the list, it means that this function has already been activated).

The program adds in the Accounts table:

• An Address view where the added columns are visible.
• The columns that allow to insert the address data and other information.
  • To display one or more of these columns, use the Columns setup command from the Data menu, also in the other views.
  • To create other views with only certain columns, use the Views setup command (Data menu).

Select the Accounts table, Address view and add the desired information to the customers' accounts.

Setting up the Customers' parameters

• Select the Account2 - Customers - Settings command
• Please indicate in "Group or account", the group of the Chart of accounts in which the different customers' accounts are grouped.
• For an explanation of the different options, go to Customers and Suppliers settings.
   

This dialogue is identical for both customers and suppliers functions.
The following explains the functions related to customers, but they also apply to suppliers.
As long as you have not indicated the customer or supplier group, the customer menu choices are disabled.

Group or account

Select the generic group or account that contains the Customers or Suppliers list. The group or the account needs to be already present in the Accounts table. See Setting up the Customers' register and Setting up the Suppliers' register.

Due date invoices (in days)

The program uses the following order of priority to calculate the invoice deadline:

• The due date if you entered it into the transaction row.
   If there is more than one date for the same invoice number, the most recent one.
• If the number of days is indicated in the PaymentTermInDays column of the Accounts' table, the date of the transaction increased by the number of days.
• The date of the transaction is increased by the days indicated in the settings dialogue.

Include transactions from previous (..) years (in years)

•  If 0, the program will not display invoices from the previous year, but only the opening balances of the customer account.
•  If 1, the program will also include the invoices of the previous year in the customer card.
•  If 2 or more, the program will also include invoices from the years before in the customer card.

Link to the invoice document

You can insert a link to an invoice file (pdf, doc or other). When the link is being opened, the program substitutes the value <DocInvoice>  with the invoice number present in the row.  

The link can contain:

• The XML name <DocInvoice> or the name of another column contained between <>. 
  If you use the  "<DocInvoice>.pdf" command and you are on the row with invoice number 100, the program tries to open the "100.pdf" file. You can also precede the filename with the name of a directory.
• You can use any file name extension. This extension must, however, be included in the list of file extensions considered safe (Tools- Program options-Advanced).
• It is also possibile to indicate a path preceding the field name that contains the name of the document that has to be opened.
  With the link "c:\temp\<DocInvoice>.pdf" and the invoice number 100, the program proceeds to open the file c:\temp\100.pdf.
  The name of the directory is relative to the directory where the file is located.

Opening an invoice document

•   Place yourself in the Invoice column of the transaction row related to the invoice you want to open
•   Use the right mouse button to open the context menu
•   Choose the command Open invoice link.

Displaying the Invoice column in the Transactions table

The invoice number has to be entered in the Invoice column (DocInvoice) which, in the default settings, is not visble in the Transactions table.

In order to display the column:

• Select the Transactions table
• Data menu
• Columns setup command
• Activate the Visible option for the DocInvoice column

The Invoice columns becomes visible.

The Open Invoice link and Extract invoice rows commands, described hereunder, are linked to the Invoice column (right click on the Invoice column's cell).

Autocomplete of invoice data

When a payment is being recorded or an issued invoice is being corrected, the program proposes suggestions to complete the transaction automatically. Proceed as follows:

• Create a new transaction row and add the date
• In the Invoice column, press the F2 key; the list of open invoices will appear. If you write an invoice number or an account number, the list will be filtered based on the entered text.  
• Select the desired invoice and press Enter. The program automatically completes the transaction with the description, debit or credit account and the amount. As usual, these data can be manually modified. 
• Apart from the date, it is possible to also indicate the Customer account before pressing F2 in order to display the list of open invoices; in this case the list will be filtered based on the Customers account of the transaction row.

Note

The list displayed in the Invoice column includes both the Customers' and Suppliers' invoices. A supplier's invoice can have the same number as the invoice of another supplier, because the display criterium takes, apart from the invoice number, also the number of the Supplier's acccount into consideration.  

The Open Invoice link and Extract invoice rows commands, described hereunder, are linked to the Invoice column (right click on the Invoice column's cell).

Recording an issued invoice

Recording a payment

• Insert the transaction date
• Place yourself in the Invoice column cell and click on the F2 button. If the F2 button doesn't work, you need to activate your customers/suppliers settings, by entering your register's group (ex.: Account2 menu, Customers, Settings). A list of all open invoices will appear.
• As an alternative you can also start to enter the invoice number, the customer/supplier name or the amount, and the program will show you the list of the open invoices according to your search data.
• Select the desired invoice and press Enter.
• The program completes the Transaction with the Description column, the Credit account and the Amount.

Enter the account into which the invoice amount has been transferred

Recording a credit note

In order for the amount to be deducted from the original invoice, the same invoice number needs to be used. If the corrective document (for example, a credit note) presents a different number that needs to remain available, such a reference can be entered in another column, like Doc. Original.

Extract invoice rows and Open invoice link commands

The Extract invoice rows command displays the transactions of the selected invoice.
The command is available by clicking on the small blue arrow at the upper right corner of the cell or with the right mouse button.

The Open Invoice link command establishes the text that has been defined in the Customers' settings (Account 2 - Customers - Settings - Link to the Invoice document).

For example, if the invoices have been created with Winword and saved in the Documents folder, these files can directly be opened by setting up the command line with the text 'C:\Users\myname\Documents\<DocInvoice>.doc' . The program substitutes <DocInvoice> with the text corresponding to the column and executes the command.

In the command line, it is possible to also indicate other columns of the table by using their XML names.

If the message 'File with extension considered unsecure' appears, add the extension (for example .doc) through the command Tools - Program Options, Advanced, File extension.

Displaying the invoices issued to customers
 

This dialogue is identical for both customers and suppliers functions.
The following explains the functions related to customers, but they also apply to suppliers.

All customers (suppliers)

Displays the Customers' Balance detail of all customers that belong to the group defined in the Customers and Suppliers settings.

Only selected customer (supplier)

Displays the Customers' Balance detail of a selected customer that belongs to the group defined in the Customers and Suppliers settings.
 

Example of a Customers Balance detail  (Account2 menu - Customers command - Invoices issued to customers...)

Displaying the open invoices

Command: Account2 - Customers - Open invoices by customer

In this table, the invoices that have an open balance are being listed.

Displaying the overdue invoices

Command: Account2 - Customers - Open invoices by due date

In this table, the invoices that have an open balance are being listed, grouped by aging period.

New layouts

In the new Banana Accounting Plus version, two new highly customizable layouts have been added:

• The CH10 layout for all users in Switzerland (with or without QR invoice)
• The UNI11 layout for all users in other countries.

We advise you to switch now to Banana Accounting Plus and take advantage of the many new features.

This Functionality is currently only available with Banana Accounting 9.

For more information, please refer to the corresponding Banana 9 documentation.