This topic provides several examples of how you can maximize the benefits of the Customer Activity Console.
Column definitions are provided in Customer Activity Console.
How can I quickly identify what payments were applied to a specific invoice? The invoice number and customer name are the only things I know. The invoice number is 6640 for customer Granite Associates.
Answer
Enter the invoice number 6640 as the filter in the Apply to Doc Num column, with the ‘=’ Boolean command.
Press F5. Notice that the console returns all the applied payments associated with this invoice.
The red box in the Document Type column highlights the invoice number you were looking for.
The blue box in the Payment Amount column shows the Applied Payments associated with the invoice.
The red box in the Invoice Amount column confirms the original invoice amount.
The orange box in the Applied Amount column shows how much of the payment was applied against this invoice.
The green box in the Open Doc Balance column indicates the invoice still has $843.75 left to be paid.
TIP: Some of the amount columns display totals at the bottom of the screen. The totals that appear in these columns are always based on the detail in the grid. In other words, when using the totals to answer questions, please be aware of any filters set, as filters affect what data is displayed.
Filters typically result in a subset of data being displayed. For example, if you want to see a customer’s open balance and you’ve filtered to only show Doc Type = Invoice, the total will be accurate for answering the question, "How much business has customer ABC done with us to date?". However, it would not be accurate for answering the question, "What is the customer’s current open balance?", because any adjustments or payments would not be displayed in the grid.
Another way to see how much business a customer has done with you to date would be to filter on only a customer ID. The total of the Invoice Amount column will display the amount for invoices sent to the customer. However, this query will not include adjustments, so any credit memo or debit memo against the account will not be included.
TIP: To look up the current balance for a single customer, the total of the Open Doc Balance column will represent the customer’s current balance when the filters are set as Customer ID = <customer ID> and Open Doc Balance > 0.00. Only documents with a balance will display in this query.
To see all the history for the customer, remove the Open Doc Balance > 0.00 filter. The total of the Open Doc Balance column will remain the same and this time all the history for that customer will display in the grid.
TIP: If you create a query with the filter Open Doc Balance > 0.00, the Total Open Doc Balance amount at the bottom of the screen will match the total open balance on the AR Aging report when it is run for everything. This represents the total Receivables balance.
How can I locate a specific check when the only information I have is the customer name, amount, and fiscal period it was received? The check was received from customer GRANITE in the amount of $150.00 in July 2019.
Answer
Enter GRANITE as the filter in the Customer ID column and 2019-07 for the Year-Period column. The default Boolean commands are ‘Starts With’. Another option would be to change the Boolean commands to ‘=’.
Press F5. Notice that the console returns all the documents for customer GRANITE for fiscal period 07 of 2019. In this scenario, there is one invoice and seven applied payments (checks). Now you can locate the check for $150.00 (highlighted in red).
TIP: Only posted documents will be returned in the console.
How can I find the current balance for a specific customer? I know the customer ID and customer name.
Answer
Enter GRANITE as the filter in the Customer ID column. The default Boolean command is ‘Starts With’. If you have multiple customer IDs that start with the same characters, change the Boolean command to ‘=’.
Press F5. Notice that the console returns all history for customer GRANITE. The total of the Open Doc Balance column displays the customer’s current balance.
TIP: If the total open doc balance does not look correct, verify that the only filter entered is Customer ID or Customer Name.
TIP: The customer’s open balance on this console is at the bottom of the Open Doc Balance column.
How can I see all the checks/payments for a customer? Can I see what payments have been applied versus those that are available to apply?
Answer
Enter GRANITE as the filter for the Customer ID column and Invoices as the filter for the Document Type column. The default Boolean command for Customer ID is ‘Starts With’. If you have multiple customer IDs that start with the same characters, change the Boolean command to ‘=’. Change the Boolean command on Document Type to ‘Does Not Equal’, so everything except Invoices is displayed.
Press F5. Notice that the console returns all the payments and adjustments for customer GRANITE. The Document Type column displays whether the document is applied or unapplied.
TIP: Payments that are voided will display with Document Type = Void Payments.
TIP: Unapplied payments will have an amount in the Open Doc Balance column.
How can I see payment activity for a specific customer by period?
Answer
Click on the Advanced tab in the lower left corner of the screen and enter a similar filter. Substitute GRANITE with your customer’s ID and substitute 2019-06 with the fiscal period you wish to filter on. Notice that the output is grouped by Year-Period and then Customer ID.
TIP: If multiple customers shared the same customer class, you could change the filter from Customer ID = <enter filter> to Customer Class = <enter filter>.