How AutoLockbox Identifies Customers for a Receipt
AutoLockbox uses several methods to determine the customer for receipts that you import into Receivables. Depending upon your transmission format and how you set up your system, AutoLockbox can validate your customer data based on the following attributes or, if no match is found, mark the receipt Unidentified.
You can use the QuickCash, Receipts, or the Applications window to assign customers to unidentified receipts.
Customer Number
If you provide a customer number for receipts that you import through AutoLockbox, Receivables automatically applies each receipt to that customer's account when you submit Post QuickCash.
MICR Numbers
The MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) number that appears on each receipt relates your customer to a bank. Lockbox only uses MICR numbers to associate a customer with a receipt if both of the following are true:
- the customer number is not included in the transmission format
- the MICR number is passed
An MICR number consists of two segments. The first segment is the Transit Routing number; this identifies the bank from which your customer draws their check. The second segment identifies your customer's account at that bank. You define this information in the Banks and Bank Accounts windows.
When a receipt is imported with a new MICR number, Receivables stores this number for future reference (if the customer can be determined using another method).
AutoAssociate
If the customer cannot be identified from either the MICR number or the customer number (for example, if the transmission does not include this information), you can use AutoAssociate to determine the customer using matching numbers. A matching number can be a transaction number, consolidated billing invoice number, sales order number, purchase order number or another, custom defined number. Your customer's remittance advice in the bank file must include matching numbers for Receivables to identify the customer using this method.
To use AutoAssociate:
- Check the AutoAssociate check box when defining your Lockbox (Lockboxes window)
- Ensure that all invoices to which any single receipt will be applied belong to the same customer
- Ensure that the matching numbers within your transmission are unique.
If the MICR number or customer number is not included in this transmission and AutoAssociate is set to No, Lockbox imports the receipt as Unidentified. You can use the Receipts or Applications window to assign customers to unidentified receipts.
The Lockbox Validation program will identify a customer for a receipt using the matching number only if all of the invoice numbers listed to be paid by this receipt are associated with the same customer. If a unique customer cannot be determined, the receipt will be imported as 'Unidentified'. You can use the validation section of the Lockbox Processing Report to examine invoices that Lockbox could not apply to because the customer could not be uniquely identified.
Following are examples of three separate Lockbox transmissions that include duplicate invoice numbers. Assume that in each transmission, AutoAssociate is set to Yes, the remitting customer is Customer ABC, and the receipt information includes the invoice number but not the customer name:
| Receipt Info.
| Invoice # - Cust.
| Identify Cust?
| Apply Receipt?
|
| Invoice 101
| 101 - Customer ABC
102 - Customer ABC
| Yes
| Yes
|
| Invoice 101
| 101 - Customer ABC
101 - Customer ABC
| Yes
| No
|
| Invoice 101
| 101 - Customer ABC
101 - Customer XYZ (related to Cust. ABC)
| Yes
| Yes
|
| Invoice 101
| 101 - Customer ABC
101 - Customer XYZ
| No
| No
|
In the second example, Lockbox is able to identify the receipt because the invoices belong to the same customer. However, since the invoices have the same number, Lockbox cannot determine to which invoice to apply the receipt, so the receipt is left 'Unapplied'.
In the third example, Customer XYZ is related to Customer ABC and there are two invoices with the same invoice number. In this case, Lockbox will apply the receipt to the invoice that belongs to the remitting customer, in this case Customer ABC.
Note: If these customers were not related, but you set Allow Payment of Unrelated Invoices to Yes in the Submit Lockbox Processing window, the results would be the same.
In the last example, two invoices with the same number exist for two different customers. Since the invoices do not belong to the same customer, Lockbox cannot determine how to apply the receipt, so the receipt remains 'Unidentified'.
Suggestion: If you have duplicate invoice numbers for different customers within Receivables, set AutoAssociate to No when you submit Lockbox. Lockbox will then use the customer name instead of the invoice number to determine to which transaction to apply the receipt.
Associate Reciepts with Billing Locations
Receivables also lets you track receipts for each of your customer's billing locations. To use this feature, you must include a billing location in your transmission format and ensure that the system option Require Billing Location for Receipts is set to Yes. You can also require billing locations for specific lockboxes to prevent unidentified receipts from being processed by Post QuickCash. The setting of this option for a specific lockbox overrides the value at the system level.
You can import receipts without billing locations into Receivables regardless of how you set the Require Billing Location for Receipts option for your Lockbox. If this option is No for your Lockbox, AutoLockbox will import and validate receipts that do not have a billing location. If the Require Billing Location for Receipts system option is set to Yes, you must enter the customer's billing location for these receipts before submitting Post QuickCash. See: Lockboxes.
See also: Receipts Without Sites Report.
See Also
How AutoLockbox Applies Receipts
Commonly Asked Questions
