A prepayment is a payment you make to a supplier before they've issued you a bill. To handle this in AccountRight, create a debit note (supplier credit) for the prepayment amount. You can then apply the debit note to the supplier's bill, when they issue it.
Let's step you through the process.
1. Create a debit note for the prepayment
There's a few ways to create a debit note and they're all covered in our topic Supplier returns, debits, and refunds.
For prepayments, the tidiest way to create the debit note is to record a zero-dollar bill, then apply the prepayment amount against that bill.
Here's how:
Go to the Purchases command centre and click Enter Purchases. The Purchases window appears.
Select Bill as the Purchases Type (top-left corner).
Select the Supplier to whom you're making the prepayment.
Click Layout, choose Miscellaneous and click OK.
In the Description column, enter a description for your records. For example, you might enter "Prepayment for supplier ABC for XYZ goods or services".
In the Amount field, enter $0.00. Here's an example:
Click Record. The bill is recorded and automatically closed.
If a message displays about the purchase having limited information, click OK.
Go to the Purchases command centre and click Pay Bills.
Select the Supplier and select the option Include Closed Purchases.
In the Amount field, enter the prepayment amount.
Enter the prepayment amount against the zero dollar bill you recorded earlier. The Out of Balance amount should then be zero.
Make sure the Finance Charge field shows zero.
Click Record. A message appears advising that a debit memo (debit note) will be created.
Click OK. A debit note for the prepayment is created.
2. Create the supplier's bill
Create and record the supplier's bill as normal (Purchases command centre > Enter Purchases).
Here's our example:
You can now apply the debit note (prepayment) amount to this bill.
See the next task for instructions.
3. Apply the debit note to the bill
OK, you've created the debit note for the prepayment and created a bill. Now all you need to do is apply the debit note to the bill.
Here's the basics of how to do this. For more details see Settling supplier debits.
Go to the Purchases command centre and click Purchases Register. The Purchases Register window appears.
Click the Returns & Debits tab.
In the Search By field, select Supplier then choose the supplier to whom you made the prepayment.
Click to highlight their debit note and click Apply to Purchase.
The Settle Returns & Debits window appears with the supplier's open bills listed.
In the Debit Amount field, enter how much of the debit you're applying (or leave it if applying the whole amount).
In the Applied column, enter the amounts to be applied to one or more open bills. You can apply the whole debit to one or more bills, just ensure the Out of Balance amount is zero.
Also make sure the Finance Charge field is zero.
Click Record.
