Sales Overview - Part 1

Entering sales invoices, quotes and orders
Printing invoices, packing slips and labels
Printing statements
Recurring templates
Finding sales
Reviewing your sales information
Changing, removing and reversing sales
See also Sales Overview - Part 2
See also Customer Payments Overview
See also Customer Credits Overview

In MYOB AccountEdge, sales are transactions that indicate that items or services were sold to a customer. There are five layouts for sales:

  • Item sales track the sale of both inventoryed and non-inventoryed items.

  • Service sales track the sale of services and other non-inventoryed goods.

  • Time billing invoices track the sale of activities in time-based increments.

  • Professional sales track the sales of services and other non-inventoryed goods, as well as the dates each individual service was sold.

  • Miscellaneous sales track sales that don’t require a printed invoice.

Click below for the step-by-step procedure:

Choose the sale you want

Status of the Sale

Sales have three different statuses: Quote, Order and Invoice.

You can enter a quote into AccountEdge to easily provide an estimate or sales quote to a customer without creating a transaction. A quote has no impact on your inventory levels and can be changed to an order or an invoice when your customer is ready to buy. It can be deleted if your customer decides not to purchase your product or service. When a quote is changed to an Order or an Invoice, the original quote will be stored in the Sales Register. If you want quotes to be removed after they’re changed, choose Preferences from the Setup menu to display the Preferences window, then click the Sales tab and mark the box labeled “Delete Quotes upon Changing to and Recording as an Order or Invoice.”

An order is a sale that you expect to occur sometime in the future. Orders aren’t actual transactions that affect your financial and inventory numbers; they merely store sales information until you’re ready to use them. Customer payments on an order, however, will create a transaction in AccountEdge. You can record an order as an invoice if the customer completes the sale or delete it if he or she decides not to buy. Orders can’t be changed to quotes once they’ve been entered into AccountEdge.


Note: If you’ve used a previous version of MYOB software

Orders behave much like pending sales, which no longer exist in AccountEdge. Just like a pending sale, an order will capture all of the information available on an invoice, yet won’t be recorded as a sales transaction. Also, an order will post any money received as a customer deposit, and the item will be committed, but not removed from inventory. Committed items aren’t exclusively saved for the order; they’re still available for sale to other customers.

An invoice is the actual recorded sale. It records a transaction in the appropriate journal and decreases any inventory on hand. Invoices can be open, closed or exist as credit memos. A recorded invoices can’t be changed into a quote or an order.

Entering sales invoices, quotes and orders

Step 1: Choose the sale you want
Step 2: Enter information about the customer
Step 3: Bill the customer for reimbursable job expenses (optional)
Step 4: Enter line items
Step 5: Complete the sale

Before you begin entering sales into AccountEdge, read the following paragraphs for some helpful information.

Choose the sale you want

First, you’ll select a status (invoice, quote or order) for your transaction. If you like, you can choose a layout for your customer’s preferred sales form using the Card File. When you enter a customer’s name in the Sales window, the default layout you designated on the customer’s card will appear automatically. You can change this layout, if you wish. See Selling Details view (customer cards) for more information.

If you’re required to charge a tax-inclusive amount on a sale, mark the Tax Inclusive check box. The total in the Amount column will include the tax you selected in the Tax column. For example, you want to record a tax-inclusive sale of $500 using the Standard rate of 12.5%. First, you’ll select the Tax Inclusive checkbox, then enter a line item for $500 and select the tax code. You’ll notice a tax-inclusive total of $500 in the Amount column and the Subtotal and Total Amount fields. The GST amount of $55.56 appears in the Tax field. Click Recap Transaction if you want to view the base price allocated to the designated account and the tax amount allocated to the tax account.

Leave the Tax Inclusive check box unmarked if you want the total amount of the sale to increase by the tax amount that is applied to line items. For example, if the amount of a line item is $500 and the Standard GST rate of 12.5% is charged on the $500, the amount of the sale is $562.50, that is, $500 for the line item + $62.50 GST.

Click below for the step-by-step procedure:

Choose the sale you want

Entering information about the customer

Regardless of the layout of the sale you’re creating, you should pay special attention to the top section of the Sales window. The information you enter here will determine a number of factors about the sale, including the customer’s terms for the sale and the identification numbers assigned to the transaction.

If you want to enter a sale for a customer who doesn’t exist in your Card File yet, you can add a new customer record using the Easy Add feature. Then you can quickly get back to the business of creating the sale.

You can make any changes to the customer’s credit terms that affect only the transaction you’re currently entering. The credit terms that appeared automatically were set up using the Easy Setup Assistant when you set up your company, the Credit Terms window that’s opened from the Preferences window, or the Customer Terms Information section that can be found on the Selling Details tab in the Card Information window.

If you use AccountEdge’s Multicurrency feature, you can change the exchange rate using the Sales window. For additional information about the Multicurrency feature, see Multicurrency Overview.

Click below for the step-by-step procedure:

Enter information about the customer

To enter information about a new customer (using Easy-Add)

Billing the customer for reimbursable job expenses

In AccountEdge, you can bill the customer for expenses you’ve incurred during the course of a job, if you’ve set up a job for this customer. There are a number of steps you need to follow to set up your jobs before you can begin billing customers for reimburseable job expenses. See Jobs Overview for more information.

Click below for the step-by-step procedure:

To bill the customer for job expenses

Entering line items

The scrolling list in the middle of the Sales window is the main area where sales are created. In this area, you’ll enter item numbers, activity ID numbers, descriptions, account numbers and various other information that will serve as the detail for your transaction.

When you enter information in one row in the scrolling list, you enter one line item of the transaction. You can enter as many line items on a sale as you want. The actual fields that appear in the scrolling list differ, depending upon the sale layout you’re creating.

Click below for the step-by-step procedure:

Enter line items

To enter a blank line between line items

To assign a line item on a sale to more than one job

Entering line items for time billing invoices

If you’re creating an invoice for a customer for whom you have work in progress, you can create line items automatically using the Prepare Time Billing Invoice window.

Using the Prepare Time Billing Invoice window allows more flexible, detailed and accurate activity slips and time billing records. You can bill for activity slips partially or in full. You can also enter adjustments to the billing amounts on the activity slips before you include them on the invoice. When you record the invoice, your activity slips are updated automatically.

You can also enter line items on a time billing invoice manually, but no activity slip records will exist for the activities you include. Many time billing reports are based upon activity slip records, so you may want to enter line items using the Prepare Time Billing Invoice window instead. See Billing for time for more information.

Click below for the step-by-step procedure:

To enter line items on a time billing invoice automatically

To enter line items on a time billing invoice manually

Completing the sale

If you choose, AccountEdge allows you to add useful information about your sale, such as a journal entry memo or a referral source (the way your customer found out about your business). You can also record details about the customer’s payment with the Applied Payment Details window. For example, if the customer paid by check, you can enter the check number. If another customer pays by credit card, you can enter the credit card number, expiration date and other related credit card information.

If you’d like, you can use the customer’s card to set default entries for several fields in the Sales window. See Selling Details view (customer cards) and Enter payment details (customers) for more information.

You can track the progress of your employees’ sales performance by assigning their names to individual sales transactions. When you do this, each employee’s sales amounts are added together and stored on a monthly basis. You can then use this information to analyze your company’s sales on a salesperson-by-salesperson basis and to pay sales commission to your employees. See Distribute other types of wages (optional) to learn more about including commissions on employee paychecks.

The tax code that is selected for the customer on the customer card is entered automatically when the customer card is entered in the Sales window. You can change it, if you wish. Using the Selling Details view of the Item Information window, you can choose to mark automatically an item that’s included in the Items List to be taxed when you enter the item on a sale. Simply mark I Collect Sale Tax When I Sell This Item.

All parts of the sale (line items and freight charges) that you’ve marked as taxable will be taxed based on the sales tax code’s tax rate. If, after you’ve entered all your line items and freight charges, the sales tax amount that appears in the Tax field isn’t the amount you want to bill the customer, you may want to manually adjust the amount. Click the arrow next to the Tax field to open the Tax Information window; you can adjust the amount in the Tax column.

Click below for the step-by-step procedure:

Complete the sale

Choosing what to do with the sale

When you’re finished making entries in the Sales window, there are a number of tasks you can perform with the transaction. Be sure to review all the following options before you choose what you want to do.

You can select Recap Transaction from the Edit menu to see how a sale will affect your financial records before you record it. Other options include printing and recording sales and creating a recurring sale.

You can print, email or fax a sale and record it at the same time by clicking the Record button if you’ve set up your preferences properly. To do this, choose Preferences from the Setup menu to display the Preferences window, then click the Sales tab and mark the box labeled “Automatically Print/E-mail/Fax Sales When They’re Recorded.”

Click below for the step-by-step procedure:

Choose what you want to do with the sale

Keyword: memorized, repeating

Printing invoices, packing slips and labels

You can print and reprint individual sales, packing slips and shipping or mailing labels, or you can print several of these AccountEdge documents at the same time -- the choice is yours.

AccountEdge also allows you to easily choose the way you send your forms to your customers. By clicking the Send To button, you can email, fax or save forms to your hard drive.

These three types of sales documents all are printed from the Forms Selection window, so finding the documents you need to print is an easy process.

You can also customize the look of your printed sales forms, packing slips and labels. After you’ve recorded an invoice, you can print it, along with an accompanying packing slip and a shipping or mailing label, if you want. You can also choose a specific set of forms to print.

If you want to print some sales you’ve already printed, be sure the Unprinted or Unsent Sales Only selection isn’t marked in the Forms Selection window.

If you’re unable to make entries or selections in your print window, your printer driver software may not be up to date. See Choosing preference settings for reports and forms for more information.

Click below for the step-by-step procedures:

To choose the forms you want to print

To choose a form layout for your sales forms

To print and reprint your sales forms

To reprint a single sale

To email a sale or purchase

To save a sale or purchase as a PDF file that you can attach to an email

To fax a sale or purchase

Printing statements

At the end of your billing periods, you’ll probably want to print statements for customers that summarize their activity with your company. AccountEdge statements contain all the necessary information for customers to quickly review their current billing status. There are two types of statements: invoice and activity.

Invoice statements include most sales invoices. The only invoice that won’t appear on the invoice statement is an invoice that has been paid in full. Quotes and orders never appear on an invoice statement.

Activity statements include all sales invoices and orders with a customer deposit. Quotes never appear on an activity statement.

You can customize the look of your printed statements. See Customizing forms for more information.

If you’re unable to make entries or selections in your print window, your printer driver software may not be up to date. See Choosing preference settings for reports and forms for more information.

Finance charges

Finance charges are calculated when you print customer statements. Finance charges can be printed on customer statements, if you wish. However, finance charge amounts are not automatically tracked by AccountEdge; they’re merely printed on the statements. This gives you the freedom to decide how you want to deal with finance charges. When you print customer statements, the credit terms you’ve set up for the customers whose statements you’re printing will be used to calculate each customer’s finance charge amount. See Assigning credit terms to your customers for more information.

If you assign finance charges to balances that aren't paid by their due date, finance charges will be assessed beginning the day after the due date. Due dates and finance charge amounts are determined by the selections you make for each of your customers in the % Monthly Charge for Late Payment field of the Selling Details view of the Card Information window.

A finance charge amount is calculated in AccountEdge by multiplying the customer's overdue balance by 1/30th of the monthly finance charge rate for each day the balance is overdue. For example, if a customer's overdue balance is $100 and their monthly finance charge rate is 1.5%, their daily finance charge rate is .05% (1/30th of 1.5%), and their finance charge amount for each day their payment is overdue is $0.05 ($100 multiplied by .05%).

If a customer pays part of an overdue balance during the overdue period - and you use the Customer Payments window to apply the payment - the finance charge amount that's calculated will be based upon the remaining overdue balance.

Click below for the step-by-step procedures:

To choose the statements you want to print

To choose a form layout for your statements

To print your statements

To track finance charges for one of your customers

Recurring templates

If you plan to record the same sale on a regular basis, you may want to consider creating a recurring template. When you create a recurring template, the transaction information is saved in a separate “holding area” where you can retrieve the transaction as many times as you want in the future. Until you record them, recurring templates have no effect on your financial records.

Click below for the step-by-step procedures:

To save the sale as a recurring sale

To record a recurring sale

Keyword: memorized, repeating

Finding sales

After you record a sale, you might want to view the transaction sometime in the future. The Inquiry Register should be used for posted transactions only and offers a variety of search methods. All sales can be found using the Sales Register. You can find recurring templates in addition to quotes, orders and invoices. Invoices and orders with payments applied to them can be found using both the Inquiry Register and the Sales Register. Quotes, orders and recurring templates can be found using the Sales Register.

Click below for the step-by-step procedures:

To find a sale

To find a recurring sale

Keyword: memorized, repeating

Reviewing your sales information

An important part of managing your business revolves around collecting your sales data and understanding its effects on your overall financial picture. AccountEdge contains a number of tools that you can use to review your sales information so you can make better decisions about your business.

  • The Sales Register allows you to view an overall picture of your sales activity. Using just one window, you can quickly and efficiently look at open and closed invoices, quotes, orders, returns and credits and recurring templates. You can even view a list of all sales, if you choose.

    You can perform several AccountEdge functions using the Sales Register, such as deleting a sale or changing the status of a sale. If one of your customers gives you a deposit, you can easily access the Customer Payments window. You can also display the Settle Returns and Credits window directly from the Sales Register if you want to apply a customer credit to a sale or offer a refund.


Note: You can still use the Inquiry Register to find invoices

You may want to use the Inquiry Register if you’re searching for a specific invoice. There are more detailed search methods available to you in the Inquiry Register than in the Sales Register. See Finding sales for more information.

Please note that quotes and orders without payments applied to them don’t appear in the Inquiry Register because they don’t affect your financial numbers. They can be found using the Sales Register or the Select From List that appears in the Sales window when you enter a customer’s name.

  • The To Do List window provides a quick way to review your transactions in AccountEdge, including outstanding receivables, recurring sales and bills with expiring discounts. If you choose, you can automatically record transactions using the To Do List.

  • The Inquiry Register window allows you to gain a detailed history of the activity related to a particular sale. In this window, you can view the sale itself, as well as any payments and other adjustments made to the transaction.

  • The Analyze Receivables window provides you with the tools to evaluate how much and how old your customers’ outstanding sales balances are. You can also use the Analyze Sales window to understand the “big picture” of your sales activity. This window will help you spot business trends and anticipate your company’s future needs.

  • The Transaction Journal window lists all your sales, as well as other transactions you’ve entered into AccountEdge.

Click below for the step-by-step procedures:

To view sales in the Sales Register

To display a list of all sales on your computer screen using the Transaction Journal

To display a list of open sales on your computer screen using the To Do List

To display a list of recurring sales on your computer screen using the To Do List

To display a list of orders on your computer screen using the To Do List

To print a list of all your sales

To print a list of your sales by status

To print a list of all your recurring sales templates

To view a sale’s history

To change a sales transaction from the Inquiry Register window

To view the amounts you’re owed

To analyze your sales activity

Changing, removing and reversing sales

In AccountEdge, sales can be easily changed, removed or reversed. Quotes and orders can be changed or removed at any time. The ability to change, remove or reverse an invoice depends on the way you set up AccountEdge. An important point to consider is if the sale in question is changeable or unchangeable. If your sale is changeable, you can make changes to a sale or remove the sale altogether from your ledger.

Unchangeable transactions work differently. By reversing an unchangeable sale, the effects of your original sale will no longer be part of your ledger; however, a record of the reversed sale, called a reversing transaction, will remain. Then, if you want, you can enter a new, correct transaction to replace the transaction you reversed. See What are changeable and unchangeable transactions? for more information.

When you remove a recurring template, the template is removed from your list of recurring templates only. Any transactions you recorded using a recurring template you remove won’t be affected.

Keyword: memorized, repeating

Changing the status of a sale

You can change the status of a sale. If you enter a quote or an order into AccountEdge, you can easily convert it to an invoice once your customer is ready to buy your product or service. A quote can be changed into an order or invoice. An order can only be converted to an invoice.

Click below for the step-by-step procedures:

To change a quote or order

To change an invoice

To change a recurring template’s name or frequency

To change a recurring template’s line items and other information

To convert a quote into an order or invoice using the Sales window

To convert an order into an invoice using the Sales window

To remove a quote

To remove an order with no payment applied to it

To remove an invoice with no payment applied to it

To remove an order with a payment applied to it

To remove a order with a deposit applied to it, and to write a refund check for the deposit amount

To remove an invoice with a payment applied to it

To remove a recurring sales template

To reverse an invoice

To credit a customer’s account for an item invoice when the customer didn’t return all the items

Keyword: customer deposit

Sales Overview - Part 1