This utility, found under the A/R menu, was designed to automatically write off small balances from customer accounts. Prior to using this utility, the Maximum A/R Balance to Write Off must be established for each location using the utility. This setting is found at Setup / Locations on the Preferences tab.
The Write-off Customer Balance utility easily writes off multiple customer balances simultaneously. It is recommended to set up a Pay Method to use with this utility.
A Pay Method can be set up at Accounting / Setup / A/R / Pay Methods. Select Add Row and enter a name in the Pay Method such as Bad Debt and a Short and Long Description. Double-click in the Location column and select the general ledger account to which this pay method should post. If there are multiple locations, a general ledger account must be chosen for each location. Select OK to save.
A maximum balance to write-off must be set up before using the utility. To set this up, go to Accounting / Setup / Locations and choose the Preferences tab. In the lower portion of the window, enter the Maximum AR Balance to Write Off which should reflect the highest dollar amount to write off to the G/L Account established with the Pay Method. Any A/R balance equal to or less than this number will be written off when this utility is used.
To run the utility, go to Accounting / A/R / Write-off Customer Balance. Select specific customers or accept the default of All, choose the Date to post the write-off, specify the Payment Method, and enter a Description if needed.
Select the Preview Payments option before choosing Post to display each customer whose balance will be written off along with their balance and the Invoice number(s) that hold(s) the balance. If Preview Payments is not selected, when choosing Post, the balances are written off without display each transaction first.
Payments for each customer will display. Choosing Skip will not post the payment for that customer and their balance will remain in Agvance.
When running the Payment Register found at Accounting / Reports / Accounts Receivable / A/R Status, the balance written off will be itemized with the detail payment records included on the report. However, the Location Recap, G/L Recap, and Payment Method Recap do not reflect the balance written off in the Total column. To verify this information in more detail, it is recommended to run an Account Detail report for the G/L account used when setting up the Payment Method.
