Vendor Credit Memos is where you run a G/L Export that summarizes the dollar value for products that you have returned to vendors. This is where you will check what you have returned (per your data in [i] Merchant) against the vendor credit memos.
To access the Vendor Credit Memos program:
From the [i] Merchant Desktop Main Menu, select Modules-Accounting Exports-Vendor Credit Memos. This will open the Find Vendor Credit Memo Export Batch screen. This is the jumping-off point to running your Vendor Credit Memos export. You can find an existing batch to export, or you can create a new batch. More often than not, you will create a new batch to export.
A G/L export batch for a Vendor Credit Memo is essentially a listing of all products assigned to a credit memo from the vendor you returned them to. What this program does is enables you to select a credit memo number and then compare your values as tabulated in [i] Merchant against the vendor's credit amount on their actual credit memo slip.
How do you create a new G/L batch? It's easy.
At the Find Vendor Credit Memo Export Batch screen, click on the New toolbar icon at the top of the screen. This opens the Manage Credit Memo Batch window, where you will create the new batch.
In the "Batch Date" field, choose the date you want to use as the credit memo date for the batch. In other words, if you want to run the batch for an invoice on 7/17/07, choose that date. The "Batch Date" field will default to yesterday's date, but you can change it to whichever date you want. Either key in the desired date or click on the down arrow at the right of the field and select the date that way.
To the right of the "Batch Date" field, you will see a grayed-out field: "Batch Status." This is informational and cannot be changed. It lets you know whether the batch you are currently working on is editable, verified, or already exported.
Once you have chosen a date in the "Batch Date" field, click on the "Enter vendor credit memos" button at the left side of the Manage Credit Memo Batch window. This opens the Credit Memo Properties window. Within this window, you will select the return number you want to validate against the credit memo slip of the vendor.
The top of the screen is the "Vendor Credit Memo" section. Let's go through the fields one by one. . .
In the Vendor field, select the vendor you received the credit memo from.
In the Vendor credit memo number field, key in the credit memo number that is listed on the vendor's credit memo slip.
The Credit Memo Date field defaults to the date you selected in the "Batch Date" field back on the Manage Credit Memo Batch screen. You can change it as needed, either by keying in the desired date or by selecting it via the down arrow at the right.
In the Credit Amount $ field, key in the amount the vendor is crediting you for the products on this credit memo. This amount is the dollar amount found on the vendor's credit memo slip.
The Store field will default to the store you are in. If you need to change it for some reason, however, you can.
The Accounts Payable G/L Code field is grayed out. It is strictly informational. This is the G/L Code you assigned to Accounts Payable under the Accounting Integration tab in Tools-Options. If you did not fill that field in in Tools-Options, you will not be able to validate (and then export) the batch here
The Status and Credit Memo ID fields are system-generated and not alterable.
Beneath the "Vendor Credit Memo" portion of the screen is the "Return Number for which credit is being given" section of the screen. This is the section that deals with the Return itself, as recorded in [i] Merchant. You are essentially comparing the information from this Return against the information on the vendor credit memo slip.
In the Return Number field, select the Return number of the Return you are comparing to the credit memo.
In the Final/Partial Credit field, click on the down arrow at the right and select either "Final" or "Partial." If the dollar amount on the credit slip equals the dollar amount on the Return, you would select "Final." If, however, the dollar amount on the credit slip is less than that on your Return, you may still have money coming for this Return. If this is the case, you would select "Partial." Whichever you select--"Final" or "Partial" will impact the "Status" field in Returns once the batch is exported.
The Return Date field fills in automatically with the Return Date as entered on the Return. This field is grayed out. It cannot be altered; it is strictly informational.
The View Vendor Return button will take you to the properties page of the Return itself. Once there, you can make any changes necessary or simply review the information on the Return.
To the right of the "Return Number for which credit is being given" section are four fields that fill in automatically once you have selected the Return number and entered a dollar amount in the "Credit Amount $" field. These fields compare the dollar amounts on the Return against the amount in the "Credit Amount $" field and subtract any partial credit you may have already received for this Return. Let's look at these fields, one by one. . .
The "Cost of returns $" field fills in with the credit amount listed on your [i] Merchant return.
The "-less previous Credits $" field will fill in with the partial credits you have already received (and then validated as a G/L Batch) from this vendor for the Return number you are working against. If you have not received a partial credit for this Return number, it will fill in as zero. If you have received (and validated) a partial credit for this Return number, that amount will display here.
The "-yields potential Credit $" field will fill in with the full potential credit amount you can expect to receive from the credit memo. For example, if the credit amount on the Return is $100.00, and you have already received (and validated) a credit amount of $40.00, the "-yields potential Credit $" field will be $60.00, because that is the full potential amount you can still expect to receive at this juncture.
The "Variance of Credit $ with potential" field fills in with the variance, which is the "Cost of returns $" field amount minus the combined values in the "-less previous Credits $" and "-yields potential Credit $" fields.
There are three tabs below this section of the screen. The first two deal with the accounting offsets regarding this batch. The third tab is how you approve the credit memo. Let's look at these tabs from left to right.
"Auto-create" offsets allows you to have [i] Merchant create your accounting offsets automatically. You tell the system how to do it, and then it will do it for you. Let's review.
Clicking on the "Auto-create" tab calls up the "Create Credit Memo offsets" window. Notice the two fields at the top right of the window.
The "Vendor Credit $" field fills in with the value you had keyed in in the "Credit Amount $" field back at the Credit Memo Properties screen. This is the amount the vendor is crediting you. This field cannot be altered at this screen. It is here for your information.
The "Cost of Returned Goods" field fills in with the value from the "Cost of returns$" field back at the Credit Memo Properties screen. This is the amount of credit you are owed based on the information in the Return itself. This field cannot be altered at this screen. It is here for your information.
Beneath these two fields, there is a display grid, which will list the G/L Codes that are included in the Return.
The bottom of the screen is where you tell the system what to do.
The first button on the left--"Use return cost and variance"--works in conjunction with the "Variance" section to the right of it.
Clicking on the "Use return cost and variance" button means that the G/L Codes will be accounted for based exactly on their Cost amounts, as taken from the data in the Return. So, if you have two G/L Codes represented in the Return, those two codes will display in the grid at the bottom of the Credit Memo Properties screen once you select "Use return cost and variance." The dollar amount listed in the "Offset Amount $" column for each G/L Code will represent the total Cost of each Code, as taken from the Return. If you have no variance (i.e., this was a full, final credit memo in which all dollars were accounted for), everything is all set. But what if the credit memo represents a partial shipment to you, and there is still a variance to account for? That's where the "Variance" sections comes into play.
In the Create Credit Memo offsets window, to the right of the "Use return cost and variance" button, you will see the "Variance" section. Look at the "Variance Amount $" field. This tells you the variance (the difference between the "Vendor Credit $" and "Cost of Returned Goods" fields). If the variance is zero, you have no problem. But if it's something other than zero, you need to account for it. That's what the "Variance Account" lookup field is all about.
Select the Variance Account Code (which is nothing more than a G/L Code you have created for this purpose) that will be used in the General Ledger as the code used to account for the variance. It will be a separate line item and will display in the grid at the bottom of the Credit Memo Properties screen, with the variance amount displayed in the "Offset Amount $" column.
If you would rather not use the Variance Account method, you can use the prorated method, in which the "Offset Amount $" column will fill in with a system-calculated prorated dollar amount for each G/L Code. If there is no variance, of course the "Offset Amount $" column will fill in with the full Cost amount for the G/L Codes on the Return. If there is a variance, the system will calculate a prorated dollar amount that will automatically display for each G/L Code under the "Offset Amount $" column. This prorated amount is the calculated percentage of the "Cost of returns $" amount, and is based on the variance amount. If you account for your Returns in this fashion, there will be no special "Variance" G/L Code (Variance Account Code) assigned to the variance amount.
"Add offsetting entry" calls up the "Enter Vendor Credit Memo Offset" window and is a useful tool if you need to manually alter the information on any of the G/L Codes displayed in the grid at the bottom of the Credit Memo Properties screen after you have "Auto-created" the offsets, or if you need to manually create a new, separate G/L Code to the batch.
There are two ways of accessing the "Enter Vendor Credit Memo Offset" window. If you want to alter the information on an already existing G/L line item displayed in the grid, simply highlight the item and double-click on it, or press Enter. The Enter Vendor Credit Memo Offset window opens.
If you have selected an existing G/L Code from the grid, the General Ledger Code field will be filled in with that G/L Code. However, you can change it here if you need.
The Store field fills in with the store you are in. You can change this as well, if needed.
The "$ Amount of offsetting entry" will fill in with the amount taken under the "Offset Amount $" column for the selected G/L Code. You can change this amount here, if you need to.
Once you are through, Save your changes and close out of the window. (Cancel out if you don't want to make any changes.) Any changes you made will immediately be apparent in the display grid at the bottom of the Credit Memo Properties screen.
If you simply click on the "Add offsetting entry" button on the Credit Memo Properties screen, without having highlighted a G/L line item in the grid, the "Enter Vendor Credit Memo Offset" window will display, but all the fields will be blank. You would go about it this way if you want to manually add a new G/L line item. To do so, simply fill in the fields, then Save the changes. Your new G/L Code line item will instantly display in the grid on the Credit Memo Properties screen.
Once you have done all the work and accounted for offsets, you are ready to approve the credit memo.
Click on the Approve credit memo tab. A dialogue box appears asking if you are ready to approve the credit memo. If you select No, you are returned to the Credit Memo Properties window. If you are indeed ready, click on Yes. If any errors occur, the system will tell you what they are, and you will need to correct them before approval can occur.
Assuming the approval went through, the system will display a quick message announcing this. You are still at the Credit Memo Properties screen, but notice the "Approve credit memo" tab has been renamed. It is now the "Revoke credit memo approval" tab. If you click on this tab, the approval will be revoked and then need to be approved again.
Once you have approved the credit memo, close out of the Credit Memo Properties screen. You are returned to the Manage Credit Memo Batch screen.
If you need to return to the Credit Memo Properties screen, simply click on the "Enter vendor credit memos" button at the left.
More likely, you are now ready to validate the batch.
Click on the Validate batch icon at the right of the screen. The system will generate a message letting you know that the batch is validated and ready for export. Notice the Validate batch icon is now renamed "Remove validation." If for whatever reason, you wish to remove validation, you can click on this button. (You can then validate it later.)
Notice that the "Created by" field has been filled in with the user's name who just validated this batch. The field to the right lists the date and time the batch was validated.
Now, finally, how do you export the batch? With the click of a button . . .
But, prior to exporting the batch, be sure which file format you plan to use. In the "Export File format" field, click on the down arrow at the right of it and choose either: .csv or Quick Books.
Once that has been done, simply click on the "Create Export file" tab. The standard Windows Save dialogue box appears, and you can rename the file and then save it to the appropriate place on your PC. Once that is done, a message displays letting you know the file has been exported successfully. Notice, too, the "Last exported by" field has been automatically filled in, along with the date and time and Version to the right of it.
You are done. You have created a Vendor Credit Memos G/L batch and exported it.
If you need to select an existing Vendor Credit Memos G/L batch, you can do that:
Back at the Find Vendor Credit Memo Export Batch window, use standard Find techniques to select the G/L batch you wish to access. When the batch appears in the grid at the bottom of the Find screen, highlight it and click on the Properties toolbar button, or simply double-click on it. This will take you to the Manage Credit Memo Batch window, from where you can do what you need.