A credit balance is an overpayment that occurs when a customer unknowingly sends in too much money to pay an Unpaid Balance. You can apply an open credit balance in Service Central by selecting Process customer requests, and clicking Payment.
Note: Do not create credit and debit memos using the Service Central module; perform credit and debit memos only in the AR/Cash module.
Note: Overpayments (credit balances) to Fundraising items are not recommended. Apply these overpayments to the Pre-Pay line. A message stating this appears at the bottom of the Payment Entry window.
Example of a credit balance line item
Scenario: A customer calls and places an order that is processed through the Process customer requests window. Now the customer wants to pay the Unpaid Balance. The customer has an open credit balance. When you open the Payment Entry window from the Process customer requests window, all items except the credit balance are automatically selected (checked) for payment. The Pay Amount has been generated to equal the amount of all selected line items (except Fundraising line items).
To apply a credit balance through the Process customer requests window
1. From Service Central, select Process customer requests to open the Process customer requests window.
2. Open the customer’s record and select Outstanding from the View drop-down list.
3. Click Payment to open the Payment Entry window.
4. Select the credit item by clicking the Pay checkbox. This applies the credit to all items that were automatically selected for payment.
5. Click Save.
Note: If you only select the open credit line item for payment or multiple open credit line items, when you click Save to apply the credit, a message displays informing you that you have only selected credit items for payment. Click No to select more unpaid items for payment, or click Yes to have the system apply the credit.
To apply a credit balance using Auto-apply
A customer sends a check to make a partial payment on an unpaid balance. The customer has an open credit balance. In this scenario, you would open the Payment Entry window from the Service Central menu.
When you open the customer record, no line items are selected for payment. You will enter a check number and the amount of the check. To apply the open credit, select the credit line item by checking the box in the Pay column.
The amount of the credit is added to the Unapplied Amount and the Pay Amount is not affected. If you press the Auto-apply button, the entire Unapplied Amount (including the Pay Amount and credit) is auto-applied to the Unpaid Balance in order of priority.
Note: Fundraising line items (FR) are not paid using Auto-apply.
From Manage customers, find a customer record.
1. From Service Central, select Process customer requests, and click Payment to open the Payment Entry window.
2. Click New.
3. Enter an Id and press Tab to populate the Payment Entry window, or click the lookup icon on the Id field to select an Id.
4. Enter a check number in the Check/CC field.
5. Enter the amount of the check in the Pay Amount field.
6. Select the credit line item by clicking the checkbox in the Pay column.
7. Click Auto-apply to apply the credit line item and check payment.
8. Click Save.
9. Close the window.
Note: If you reopen the Payment Entry window or the Process customer requests window with the same record, the credit does not display in either window.