What makes refunding a customer even more painful than the act itself is the number of tedious steps it would take to process the refund manually. Some of these steps include, posting debit memos, applying documents, creating vendors from customer information, posting miscellaneous invoices, debit/credit account validation for transfer, and processing the actual payment. Luckily, Microsoft Dynamics® GP has a built-in capability that automates the refund process and takes the user through an almost wizard-like process.
The setup for Refund Checks in Microsoft Dynamics GP is quite simple. The user just needs to navigate on the Sales page to Setup-Refund Checks:
Refunding Customers is Automated in Microsoft Dynamics GP image 1
In this window, a default suspense account is defined for use in transferring the credit from Receivables to Payables. Prefixes for the resulting transactions are also defined at this time, along with logic defaults for the creation of Vendor IDs from the Customer IDs. That is the extent of the setup piece – with these few selections the user is now ready to process a refund for a customer,
The only trick in the Refund Checks process is that the user who is logged in to Microsoft Dynamics GP needs to have security to both the Receivables operations and the Payables operations that are required in the flow of transactions that occur. In addition to accessing the base windows for Refund Checks, this also includes entering and posting Receivables transactions, applying Receivables transactions, creating Vendor IDs, entering and posting Payables transactions, and the Select Check process from selection to printing and posting.
To create a refund check, the user needs to navigate on the Sales page to Transactions-Refund Checks:
Refunding Customers is Automated in Microsoft Dynamics GP image 2
The ensuing steps to create the refund are then as follows:
- Create a Select Checks Batch ID
- Enter a Document Date for the resulting transactions
- The Refund Checks process can be done to create a refund for a specific document or customer, and it can also be used to pull in all credits for the processing of multiple refunds at once. Most typically the use is for specific document/customer refund, so the user would choose Create Refund for Specific Documents and then select the Customer
- Click on the Insert button
- A window will appear showing the available credits for refund – checkmark the appropriate credit document
- Click on the row displaying the Customer ID and Check Amount so that it is selected
- If a Vendor ID already exists for this customer, select it in the Vendor ID field
- If a Vendor ID does not yet exist for this customer, click on the Create Vendor button – a new Vendor ID will magically be created per the logic assigned in the Refund Check Setup window – Save and close the Vendor Maintenance window that appears in this step
- Once all is confirmed, click on the Process button
- Sit back and relax while Microsoft Dynamics GP creates, posts and applies all transactions needed for this process!
- The result is a Select Checks batch in Payables that is ready to be printed to a check to send to the customer
In Step 8 above, while the user is sitting back and letting GP do all of the thinking, Microsoft Dynamics GP is creating a debit memo in Receivables Management for this customer, posting the debit memo to the suspense account assigned in the Refund Check Setup window, and applying the debit memo to the credit for the customer. Microsoft Dynamics GP also is creating a miscellaneous charge in Payables Management for the related vendor, posting the charge to the same suspense account assigned in the Refund Check Setup window, creating the Select Checks Batch ID assigned in the Create Refund Check window, selecting the miscellaneous charge to be paid and saving it to the batch. All that is left for the user to do at this point is to load the printer with a check and click on the Print Check button. Microsoft Dynamics GP has made a daunting task of tedious steps filled with trepidation as to whether both sides of the transaction will actually clear out when completed, into a couple of simple steps where the only decision to be made is what to name the batch and then the pushing of a button.
Learn more about Microsoft Dynamics GP by contacting a partner like The Resource Group.
By Sheri Carney, The Resource Group
To help illustrate this, I am going to tell you what I had for lunch yesterday (I know this is of great importance). I left the office yesterday around noon, in search of a relatively quick, but quality lunch. After a couple minutes, I finally decided on Potbelly. Upon arriving at Potbelly, I braced myself for the lunch rush line ahead, figuring that I would have time to choose between their many tasty sandwiches before ordering. When I walked in the door, I was presently surprised- I saw workers buzzing around with IPads. Within seconds of entering the back of the line, I was prompted on what I would be eating that day. Potbelly uses this system to systematically have the right sandwich ready by the time that person makes it to the front of the line. There, they only need to customize its toppings, and then finally pay for it. Their proactive approach to getting my order in the system, helps them maximize their lunch rush potential- how awesome!
Clienteling is paramount in environments with high transaction volumes, where businesses would like to move people through the checkout line at a faster pace, for instance. Having your sales team equipped with tablets, phones, or other mobile interfaces allows them to deliver richer product information, browse catalogs, and availabilities, etc.
