Past Due Customer Accounts

Account Overview | Charges to Account | Payments on Account

Basic

If you are integrated with QuickBooks Desktop financial software and offer customer charge accounts, Point of Sale can let you know when a customers account is past due and block additional charges to the account. By default, the alerts and blocking of additional charges takes effect when an account is past due by 30 days. You can turn off blocking or change the past due period to 60 or 90 days in company preferences.

The past due amount and periods are based on your QuickBooks Desktop financial software settings and are received from QuickBooks Desktop during Financial Exchanges.

Setting Account Aging Preferences in QuickBooks Desktop Financial Software

There are two settings in QuickBooks that control how past due amounts are calculated and then displayed in Point of Sale: Customer Terms: The terms you associate with a customer or with customer invoices in QuickBooks determines the payment due dates. If no terms are set, the due dates for transactions are the same as the transaction (sale) dates. Accounts Receivable Aging Report Preference: Determines if past due aging is based on the payment due date or the transaction date. Edit this report preference in QuickBooks by selecting Preferences from the Edit menu. Then, on the left select Reports and Graphs. On the Company Preferences tab, make a selection in the Aging Reports area.

With the past due preference turned on and when a sale is made to a customer with a past due account, Point of Sale displays the past due alert and amount on the sales receipt and payment window. This reminds the cashier to request a payment on account or alerts them to follow other store policies, such as not giving discounts to past due customers.

If requiring employee logins, the ability to allow an additional charge under this circumstance is controlled by the logged-in employee's security rights. If not requiring logins, the cashier is alerted but can still allow the new charge.

Notes:

- If the cashier doesn't have rights to accept a new charge, the manager override option is displayed. This allows a store manager, with adequate rights, to exercise their discretion in allowing the new charge.

- The past due amount is displayed with other account information on the customer record, is available to add as a column to your customer list and on customer reports, and is included on the customer's printed receipt.

- If you take a payment on account, the past due and account balance amounts and status are immediately updated in Point of Sale and synchronized with QuickBooks Desktop with the next financial exchange.

- In a multi-store configuration, payments on customer accounts at a remote store aren't reflected at Headquarters or other stores until after the next Store Exchange.

- You can write letters to customers with past due accounts from Point of Sale. A "Past Due" letter template is included and the past due amount field is available to add to letter templates you create. Additional letter templates may be available within your QuickBooks Desktop financial software.

Related Topics

How account information is exchanged with QuickBooks Desktop