Researching Customer Accounts

This chapter lists common elements and discusses how to:

Maintain customer contact information.
Review customer account information.
Review additional customer account information.

Common Elements Used in This Chapter

Add a Conversation	Click to access the Conversations page and add conversations for the customer.
Display Currency	Click to access a page, where you can change the display currency and specify whether to use today’s date, the accounting date, or a date that you specify to determine the exchange rate. This button is available only if you selected the Use an AR Display Currency field for the business unit.
Level	Select N (no customer relationships are considered), C (corporate customer), P (correspondence customer), or R (remit from customer).
Messages	Click to access the Customer Messages page, where you add or view a message for the customer.
SubCust 1 (subcustomer 1) and SubCust2 (subcustomer 2)	Enter the subcustomer identifier code assigned to a customer to record history and aging information for a subset of customers. For some pages, enter the identifier code to filter search results to the subset of items or payments for the customer.
Unit	Leave blank to view information across all business units.
Update/View Conversations	Click to access the Conversations page and review existing conversations for the customer.
	Click the Balance BU (balance business units) or Balance Breakdown by BU (balance breakdown by business unit) button to access the Balance Detail by BU (balance detail by business unit) page and view the balance amounts by business unit in the business unit base currency and the display currency for the business unit. This button is available if you select the Use AR Display Currency (use accounts receivable display currency) check box for the business unit when the balance for a customer includes business units with different base currencies.
	Click the Next Customer button to view the action plan for the next customer that you selected on the Owner Action List page.
	Click the Previous Customer button to view the action plan for the previous customer that you selected on the Owner Action List page.

Maintaining Customer Contact Information

When you establish a new customer account, you enter customer contact information. Receivables users can update contact information as needed using the Contact Info component (CONTACT_INFO) on the Customers menu and on the Conversations menu under Customer Interactions.

Reviewing Customer Account Information

This section provides an overview of the Account Overview component (ITEM_OPEN_QUERY) and discusses how to:

Review customer balances.
Exclude exception and collection items from balances.
View aging information in a chart.
Review a customer's profile.
Review customer trends.
View trend information in a chart.

Understanding the Account Overview Component

The Account Overview component provides a central location to research information for each customer. The component enables you to analyze a customer's account at a high level. It shows a variety of balances, and it enables you to drill down to see what comprises the balance.

The amounts on the Account Overview - Balances page appear in the base currency for the business unit. If you select the Use an AR Display Currency field for the business unit on the Display Currency Options page, the Account Overview - Balances page also displays the amounts in the display currency for the business unit. You can override the display currency. When you drill down to view details for the balances, the amounts appear in the same currencies that they do on the Account Overview - Balances page.

The component also provides profile information for the customer.

Common Elements Used in This Section

Customer Name	Click to access the General Information component, where you view all setup information for the customer.
Item List	Click to access the Item List page, where you view a list of open items for the customer.

Pages Used to Review Customer Account Information

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Account Overview - Balances	CUST_BALANCES_HDR	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Account Overview, Balances	View various customer balances, the most recent item and payment activity, and summarized aging information. Click links to view detailed credit data, such as the customer’s risk code or dispute status.
Display Currency Conversion	EU_DSP_CUR_CNV	Click the Display Currency link on the Balances page (and several other inquiry pages).	Change the display currency and specify whether to use today’s date, the accounting date, or a date that you specify to determine the exchange rate.
Balance Detail by BU	EU_BAL_DET_BU	Click the Balance Breakdown by BU (balance breakdown by business unit) button on the Account Overview - Balances page (and several other inquiry pages).	View balance amounts by business unit in the business unit base currency and the business unit display currency.
Customer Messages	CUST_MSG_SEC_AR	Click the Bill Messages link on the Account Overview - Balances page (and several other pages).	View messages associated with a customer. See Attaching Messages to Customers.
Item Activity From A Payment	ITEM_PAYMENT_SEC	Click the Payment link on the Account Overview - Balances page.	View items paid or created for the most recent payment.
Payment History	CUST_PROFILEB_SEC	Click the Pay History Days link on the Account Overview - Balances page.	View payment history, balance, and sales information.
Vouchers for a Vendor	CUST_VNDR_ITEM_SEC	Click the Vendor Balance link on the Account Overview - Balances page.	View a list of the customer’s vouchers or invoices and their amounts.
Draft Receivables	CUST_DRAFTS_SEC	Click the Draft Amount link on the Account Overview - Balances page.	View a list of drafts that make up the customer’s draft receivables balance.
Adjust Balance	ADJUST_BAL_SEC	Click the View Adjusted Balance button on the Account Overview - Balances page.	View an adjusted balance by excluding deduction, disputed, collection, and doubtful items.
Customer Aging Chart	CUST_AGCHRT_SEC	Click the Aging Chart link on the Account Overview - Balances page.	View a chart with the amount or count of a customer's items by aging category.
Account Overview - Profile	CUST_PROFILE_HDR	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Account Overview, Profile	View customer profile information and use links to view in-process payments and outstanding items.
In Process Payments	CUST_PEND_PAY_SEC	Click the In Process Payments link on the Account Overview - Profile page.	View a customer’s in-process payments.
Unapplied Payments	CUST_PEND_PAY_SEC	Click the Unapplied Payments link on the Account Overview - Profile page.	View a customer’s unapplied payments.
Drafts Needing Approval	CUST_DRAFTS_SEC	Click the Drafts Needing Approval link on the Account Overview - Profile page.	View drafts needing approval.
Customer Pending Items	CUST_PEND_ITEM_SEC	Click the Customer Pending Items link on the Account Overview - Profile page.	View details for pending items.
Customer Trend 1	AR_CUST_TREND1	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Account Overview, Customer Trend 1	Review a customer's historical statistics based on the history IDs that you specified on the Receivables Options - Customer Trend Options page. The page displays up to three historical statistics for history IDs that track amounts by period, for example, High Balance mount.
Customer Trend 1 Chart	CUST_TRD1CHRT_SEC	Click the Customer Trend Chart link on the Customer Trend 1 page or the Customer Trend 3 page.	View a chart with a customer's historical statistics based on the history IDs that you specified on the Receivables Options - Customer Trend Options page. The page displays up to three historical statistics for history IDs that track amounts by period, for example, High Balance Amount.
Customer Trend 2	AR_CUST_TREND2	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Account Overview, Customer Trend 2	Review a customer's historical statistics based on the history IDs that you specified on the Receivables Options - Customer Trend Options page. The page displays up to three historical statistics for history IDs that track amounts by period, for example, High Balance Amount.
Customer Trend 2 Chart	CUST_TRD1CHRT_SEC	Click the Customer Trend Chart link on the Customer Trend 2 page.	View a chart with a customer's historical statistics based on the history IDs that you specified on the Receivables Options - Customer Trend Options page. The page displays up to three historical statistics for history IDs that track amounts by period, for example, High Balance Amount.
Customer Trend 3	AR_CUST_TREND3	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Account Overview, Customer Trend 3	Review a customer's historical statistics based on the history IDs that you specified on the Receivables Options - Customer Trend Options page. The page displays up to six history statistics for history IDs that track the number of days by period, for example, Average Days Late.

Reviewing Customer Balances

Access the Account Overview - Balances page.

Enter search criteria for the customer and click Search.

Item ID	Displays the most recent item for the customer, the item date, and amount. Click to access the View/Update Item Details component (ITEM_MAINTAIN) for the item and view or change the item details.
Payment	Displays the most recent payment for the customer, the payment date, and amount. Click to view a list of items paid by the payment.
Pay History Days	Displays the weighted average number of days late for payments from the customer. Click to access the Customer Payment History page, where you view the customer's weighted average payment history (the number of days and the basis amount) period by period. This link is available only if you entered a business unit.
Credit Limit	Displays the customer’s credit limit. Click to open the Credit Profile page for the customer, where you view or enter customer credit profile information including credit limit review dates and dispute and collection status.
Corporate Credit Limit	Displays the corporate customer’s credit limit. Click the link to access the Credit Profile page for the corporate customer, where you can update the credit limit.

Reviewing Customer Balances

The information that appears on the Account Overview - Balances page depends on the balances that you select to see on the AR Account Overview Balances page in installation options. The Balance and Past Due fields always appear. If there is no currency code and the balance is 0, the Amount field is blank.

Balance	Displays the total receivables balance and the number of items that make up the balance. Click to access the Item List page and view a list of items that make up the customer's balance.
Past Due	Displays the past due balance (all items with a due date before the current date) and the number of items. Click to access the Item List page and view a list of items that are past due.
Deductions	Displays the total balance for deductions and the number of deductions. Deductions are items that you create on the payment or draft worksheet for short payments or items that you mark as deductions on the Detail 1 page. Click the link to access the Item List page and view a list of deductions.
Disputed	Displays the disputed balance and the number of disputed items. Use the Detail 1 page to indicate that an item is in dispute. Click the link to access the Item List page and view a list of disputed items.
Doubtful	Displays the doubtful balance and the number of doubtful items. A doubtful item is an item that you transferred to a doubtful receivable account using the transfer worksheet. Click the link to access the Item List page and view a list of doubtful items.
Collections	Displays the total balance for items in collection and the number of items. Use the Detail 1 page to indicate that an item is in collection. Click the link to access the Item List page and view a list of items in collection.
Customer Deposits	Displays the total amount of deposits made by the customer for orders and the number of deposits. Click the link to access the Customer Deposits page and view a list of all deposits made by the customer, the associated sales order for each deposit, and activity associated with each deposit.
Vendor Balance	Displays the amount of the vouchers owed to the customer and the number of vouchers. Click to view a list of the customer’s vouchers or invoices and their amounts.
Draft Amount	Displays the total amount of drafts that are not complete. Click to view the actual debt for drafts that are past due, the grace amount (amount of the drafts that are not yet due), and the total amount due for approved, remitted, and dishonored drafts. The page displays a list of incomplete drafts.
High Balance YTD (high balance year-to-date)	Displays the high balance for the current fiscal year. Click the link to access the Customer History page, where you can view the customer's high balance history period by period.
Sales YTD (sales year-to-date)	Displays the year-to-date sales amount. Click the link to access the Customer History page, where you view the customer's sales history period by period.
Last Year Sales	Displays the amount of last year's sales. Click the link to access the Customer History page, where you view the customer's sales history period by period.
View Adjusted Balance	Click to access the View Adjusted Balance page and view an adjusted balance by excluding selected types of exception items and collection items.

Note. If the items in the category are in multiple currencies, the page displays **Multiple Currencies** for the category.

Reviewing Aging

The Summary Aging grid has one line for each aging category defined on the Aging page. Click the links to access the items in the selected aging category.

Click the Aging Chart link to display a chart that shows a customer's aging information. The chart contains the same data that appears in the Summary Aging grid.

Note. You must run the Aging Application Engine process (AR_AGING) to view the data in this grid.

Excluding Exception and Collection Items from Balances

Access the Adjust Balance page.

Exclude Dispute Items, Exclude Deduction Items, Exclude Doubtful Items, and Exclude Collection Items	Select the type of items to exclude from the balance.
Re-Calculate	Click to calculate the customer's balance excluding the items that you selected.
Adjusted Amount	Displays the adjusted balance in the base currency of the business unit.
Adjusted Display Amount	If you selected the Use AR Display Currency check box for the business unit, this field shows the amount in the display currency for the business unit or in the display currency that you selected for the Account Overview - Balances page on the Display Currency Conversion page.

Viewing Aging Information in a Chart

Access the Customer Aging Chart page.

Chart Selection	Select the values to display in the chart. Values are: Count: Displays the number of items in each category. Amount: Displays the amount in each category.
Chart Type	Select the type of chart to display. Values are: 2D Bar Chart, 2D Pie Chart, 3D Bar Chart, 3D Pie Chart, Line Chart, and Stacked Bar.
Draw Chart	Click to redraw a chart based on the new selection criteria.
Previous Set and Next Set	Click to scroll through multiple sets of data in the chart. If the data fits into one single set, the links are not available.

Note. You must run the Aging process to view data in the chart.

Item Information

Click an aging category in the chart to view the items that make up the category in the Items for Category grid.

Reviewing a Customer's Profile

Access the Account Overview - Profile page.

Enter search criteria for the customer and click Search.

Remit to Bank and Remit to Bank Account	Displays the bank and bank account to which you instructed the customer to send payments. The address for this bank account appears on correspondence. You assign the bank to the customer on the Correspondence Options page. If you do not assign one to the customer, you assign the default value to each business unit on the Receivables Options - General 1 page.
Terms	Displays the payment term ID assigned to the customer. The terms determine the rules for calculating item due dates and discount amounts and dates.
Collection Customer Group	Displays the code for the collection customer group to which the customer belongs. You can define collection and assessment rules for the Condition Monitor Application Engine process (AR_CNDMON) for customers in a specific collection group. You assign a customer to a collection group on the Customer Group Info (customer group information) page.
Credit Hold	If this check box is selected, the customer has been put on a credit hold. When you run the Condition Monitor process, the process searches for customers with credit holds and creates an action based on the rules that you define.

Most Recent Conversations

The Most Recent Conversations scroll area displays the comments for all conversation entries for the customer.

DateTime	Displays the date and time that the conversation entry was entered.
User ID	Displays the user ID of the individual that entered the conversation entry.
Visible	Indicates whether self-service users (customers, brokers, and salespeople) can view the conversation on the Receivables self-service pages. If this field is selected the conversation entry can be viewed.
Contact ID	Displays the customer contact information with whom the user spoke, including the Telephone number and Extension for the contact.
Comments	Displays the text that was recorded for the conversation entry.

Customer ID Number

Show DB Information (show Dun and Bradstreet information)	Click to access the Dun and Bradstreet component (CUSTOMER_DB) and view the details of the Dun and Bradstreet report.
Type and ID Number	Displays the type of reporting entity, such as Dun and Bradstreet, and the ID code, such as the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number.

Customer Contacts

The Customer Contacts grid displays all contacts associated with the customer and contact information. Click a contact link to access the Contact page, where you view details for the contact.

Links to Additional Pages

Drafts Needing Approval	Click to view a list of drafts needing approval.
Unapplied Payments	Click to view unapplied payments for the customer.
In Process Payments	Click to view a list of in-process payments for the customer.
Customer Pending Items	Click to view a list of pending items for the customer.

Reviewing Customer Trends

Access either the Customer Trend 1, Customer Trend 2, or Customer Trend 3 page.

The three pages that display customer trends work the same way.

Enter search criteria for the customer.

Fiscal Year	Enter the calendar year that contains the periods for which you want to compare data.
Customer Trend Chart	Click to access either the Customer Trend 1 Chart page or the Customer Trend 2 Chart page, where you view a chart with the historical statistics.

Viewing Trend Information in a Chart

Access the Customer Trend 1 Chart page or Customer Trend 2 Chart page.

Trend

Select the history for the historical statistics that you want to view.

Chart Type

Select the type of chart for the statistics. Values are 2D Bar Chart, 2 Pie Chart, 3D Bar Chart, 3 Pie Chart, Horizontal Bar, Line Chart, and Stacked Bar.

Reviewing Additional Customer Account Information

Receivables provides several inquiry pages that enable you to review specific information for a customer, such as a list of outstanding items and their balance. These pages display amounts in the base currency for the business unit. If you selected the Use an AR Display Currency check box for the business unit on the Display Currency Options page, the pages also display the amounts in the display currency for the business unit. You can override the display currency. If the items that make up the amounts are in different currencies, the system displays the note **Multiple Currencies** instead of an amount.

This section lists common elements and discusses how to:

Review customer history.
Reviewing customer history in a chart.
Review draft information.
Review aged customer accounts.
View activities for customers.
View customers' direct journal payments.

Common Elements Used in This Section

Balance	Click to view a list of items that make up the balance on the Account Overview - Balances page.
Hi Balance (high balance)	Displays the highest balance for the customer since you last ran the Aging process.
Hi Past Due (high past due)	Displays the highest past due amount for the customer since you last ran the Aging process.
Past Due	Click to view past due items on the Item List page.

Pages Used to Review Additional Customer Account Information

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Outstanding Customer Items	CUST_PENDING_ITEM	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Customer Pending Items, Outstanding Customer Items	View information about pending items for all maintenance, billing, overdue charge, or transfer items.
Customer Balances	CUSTOMER_BALS	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Breakdown Balances, Customer Balances	View the customer’s balance.
Customer Credit Profile	CUST_CREDIT_PROF	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Credit Profile, Customer Credit Profile	View customer balances and aging information in the currency associated with the customer’s credit limit. The system converts all open items for the customer from the base currency to the credit limit currency using the currency code and the rate type on the Credit Profile page. This information is useful when you need to manage a customer’s credit and the transactions in multiple currencies. The page also displays the customer credit limit information.
History	CUSTOMER_HISTORY	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Customer History, History	View both user-defined history and system-defined history. The system stores customer history based on the fiscal years and periods that you define on the Detail Calendar page.
History Chart	CUSTOMER_HISTCHRT	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Customer History, History Chart	View a chart with customer history information.
Customer Drafts	CUSTOMER_DRAFTS	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Customer Drafts, Customer Drafts	View customer draft balances and other draft information.
Aging	CUSTOMER_AGING	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Customer Aging, Aging	View or update aged accounts. You must run the Aging process to view information on this page.
Profile by Corporate Tree	CUST_PROF_CORPTREE	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Corporate Tree Profile, Profile by Corporate Tree	View customers in the corporate tree AR_CORPORATE_CUST, which you defined in PeopleSoft Enterprise Tree Manager. You can also define a two-level customer relationship using the General Information page and the Corporate Customer page.
Customer Payments	CUSTOMER_PAYMENTS	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Payments, Customer Payments	View customer payments at a high or low level of detail.
Customer Payment History	CUSTOMER_PROFILEB	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Payment History, Customer Payment History	View payment history, balance, and sales information.
Outstanding Customer Payments	CUST_PENDING_PAY	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Outstanding Payments, Outstanding Customer Payments	View payments received, their identification, and their status in the processing cycle. View the number of outstanding payments and the total payment amount if the items are associated with multiple business units and have different currencies.
Item Activity	ITEM_ACT_QRY	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Customer Activity, Item Activity	View customer activity for a specific customer and date range.
Direct Journal	DIRECT_JRNL_QRY	Accounts Receivable, Customer Accounts, Customer Information, Review Customer Activity, Direct Journal	View all direct journal payments for a specific customer and date range.

Reviewing Customer History

Access the History page.

The Aging process and the Receivable Update Application Engine process (ARUPDATE) update the customer history elements. If you have not run these processes recently, the history figures that you see do not reflect up-to-date activity.

History ID

Select either a system-defined or user-defined history ID. Use the percent sign (%) to group the IDs that begin or end with the same fragment. For example, enter DSO% to display both DSO30 and DSO90 history IDs.

History

Select the periods to display. Values are:

All: Displays all available periods.
Most Recent: Displays only the most recent period.

Reviewing Customer History in a Chart

Access the History Chart page.

The default search parameters for the customer history information comes from History page. Override the values as needed.

Fiscal Year	Enter the year for which you want to see the customer history. You can view history for only one year at a time.
Chart Type	Select the type of chart to display. Values are 2D Bar, 2D Pie, 3D Bar, 3D Pie, Horiz Bar (horizontal bar) Line Chart, and Stacked Bar.

Reviewing Draft Information

Access the Customer Drafts page.

Enter search criteria and sort criteria in the Draft Selection group box.

Draft Amount	Click to view the Draft Receivables page, which shows all of a customer's accepted drafts that have been posted but are not yet complete.
Risk Amount	Click to view the Draft Receivables page, which shows the customer balance total and the draft amount for the customer.

Reviewing Aged Customer Accounts

Access the Aging page.

Search Criteria

Use the search fields at the top of the page to select the details about the customer.

Aging Information

The page displays New Balance if the customer’s balance has changed since it was last aged. This indicates that you may want to rerun the Aging process.

Aged Date	Displays the system date from the beginning of the aging run. For example, if the Aging process starts at 11:58 p.m. on September 12 and ends at 12:01 a.m. on September 13, the aged date is September 12.
	Click the Update Aging button to age the customer’s items during the next run of the Aging process.

Customer Balances

The monetary amounts in the Customer Balances group box appear in either the base currency or the display currency for the business unit. To change from the base currency to the display currency, select the Use an AR Display Currency field for the business unit on the Display Currency Options page.

Customer Aging

The Customer Aging group box has one line for each aging category defined on the Aging page. Click the links to access the items in the selected aging category.

Viewing Activities for Customers

Access the Item Activity page.

The system sorts the activities in the Item Activity grid by business unit, customer ID, accounting date, and entry type.

Item ID	Click an item ID link to access the View/Update Item Details component, where you can view details about the item, including accounting entries and all activity for the item.
Entry Type	Identifies the type of activity.

Viewing Customers' Direct Journal Payments

Access the Direct Journal page.

The system sorts the direct journal payments in the list by accounting date, deposit business unit, deposit ID, and payment ID.

Payment ID

Click a payment ID to access the Directly Journalled Payments page, where you view the details for the direct journal payment, including the distribution lines.

Trend	Select the history for the historical statistics that you want to view.
Chart Type	Select the type of chart for the statistics. Values are 2D Bar Chart, 2 Pie Chart, 3D Bar Chart, 3 Pie Chart, Horizontal Bar, Line Chart, and Stacked Bar.