Receivables, Payables & Credit/Debit Notes
| Site: | Learn at Merupu AI |
| Course: | SamvraCore ERP |
| Book: | Receivables, Payables & Credit/Debit Notes |
| Printed by: | Guest user |
| Date: | Tuesday, 27 October 2026, 7:29 AM |
Description
Managing what customers owe the business and what the business owes vendors, with adjustments.
1. Customers and AR Invoices
Customer master
Accounts Receivable begins with the customer master (CustomersPage), where customers are recorded and managed. Customers are the counterparties that invoices are raised against and payments are received from, and they are the unit by which receivables are later aged.
AR invoices
AR Invoices (ARInvoicesPage) are customer invoices built from line items. The module supports an email-to-customer send workflow so an invoice can be issued directly to the customer, and it generates an auto journal entry so the sale posts into the General Ledger without a separate manual step. This ties sales activity straight into the accounting records.
Invoice lifecycle and terms
Invoices carry an invoice-sending workflow and support partial payment, so a customer can settle an invoice across more than one payment. Payment Terms (PaymentTermsPage) such as Net 30 or Net 60 are configurable and include early-payment-discount support, which lets an organization offer a discount for prompt settlement. A typical receivables workflow is to create the invoice with its line items, apply the appropriate payment terms, send it to the customer by email, and rely on the auto journal entry to record the receivable in the ledger. From there the invoice balance is tracked until payments fully settle it, and any unpaid balance feeds the aging report described later.
2. AR Payments and Receivables Aging
Recording receipts
AR Payments (ARPaymentsPage) record money received from customers and use an apply-to-invoice flow. Rather than a payment floating unallocated, it is applied against one or more outstanding invoices, which is what reduces the open invoice balance. Partial payment is supported, so a single invoice can be settled in stages and a single receipt can be allocated across invoices.
Aging by customer
AR Aging (ARAgingPage) reports outstanding receivables organised by customer. Aging groups unpaid balances by how long they have been outstanding, which highlights which customers owe money and how overdue each amount is. This is the primary collections tool, showing at a glance where follow-up is needed.
How the pieces connect
The receivables cycle links the customer master, the invoice, the payment and the aging view into one flow. An invoice raised against a customer creates an open balance; an AR payment applied to that invoice reduces the balance; and anything still unpaid appears on the AR Aging report under that customer. Because AR invoices also post an automatic journal entry, the receivables sub-ledger stays consistent with the General Ledger. A typical workflow is to receive a customer payment, apply it to the specific open invoices it covers, and then use AR Aging to review whatever remains outstanding and prioritise collections accordingly.
3. Vendors and AP Invoices
Vendor master
Accounts Payable mirrors the receivables structure on the purchasing side. It starts with the vendor master (VendorsPage), where suppliers are recorded and managed. Vendors are the counterparties that bills are received from and payments are made to, and they are the unit by which payables are aged.
AP invoices and bills
AP Invoices (APInvoicesPage) represent vendor bills and use an apply-to-bill flow. Bills are created with line items and run through a bill approval workflow before they are settled, which introduces a control step so that incoming vendor charges are reviewed rather than paid automatically. Partial payment is supported here as well, so a bill can be paid across more than one payment.
Procurement linkage
On the procurement side, vendor bills connect to purchasing through 3-way matching, which links purchase orders to vendor invoices and matches a PO to its invoice for reconciliation. Receiving stock against a PO can also generate journal entries such as debit Inventory and credit AP. A typical payables workflow is to record the vendor bill with its line items, route it through the approval workflow, optionally match it against the originating purchase order, and then settle it through an AP payment, with any unpaid balance tracked on the aging report.
4. AP Payments and Payables Aging
Paying vendors
AP Payments (APPaymentsPage) record payments made to vendors. As with AP invoices, payments use an apply-to-bill approach so a payment is allocated against specific vendor bills, and partial payment is supported so a bill can be settled in stages. This keeps each vendor bill balance accurate as payments are applied.
Aging by vendor
AP Aging (APAgingPage) reports outstanding payables organised by vendor. It groups unpaid bill balances by how long they have been outstanding, giving a clear picture of what the organization owes and to whom. This is the counterpart to AR Aging and drives payment prioritisation and cash planning.
The payables cycle
The payables cycle connects the vendor master, the approved bill, the payment and the aging view. A bill recorded against a vendor creates an open payable; an AP payment applied to that bill reduces it; and anything unpaid appears on AP Aging under that vendor. The bill approval workflow sits before payment as a control, and 3-way matching provides assurance that what is being paid corresponds to what was ordered and received. A typical month-end workflow is to review AP Aging to see which vendor balances are due, then record and apply AP payments against the specific bills selected for settlement.
5. Credit Notes
Purpose
Credit Notes (CreditNotesPage) are customer-side documents used for refunds and adjustments. They reduce what a customer owes, or return value to the customer, in situations where an invoice should not stand as originally issued. They are part of the Accounts Receivable side of the module.
Reasons and application
A credit note records a reason from a defined set: Return, Billing error, Price adjustment, Discount, or Other. Once raised, a credit note can be applied to invoices or issued as a refund, giving two settlement routes depending on whether the customer has an open balance to offset or should receive money back.
Status workflow and balance tracking
Credit notes follow a defined status workflow of Draft, then Approved, then either Applied or Refunded. The Draft and Approved stages provide a review gate before the credit takes effect, and the final state records whether the credit was used against invoices or paid out. The system tracks balances on each note, specifically the total, the amount applied, the amount refunded, and the amount still available. A typical workflow is to create the credit note in Draft with its reason, approve it, and then either apply the available balance to one or more open invoices or process a refund, with the balance fields updating to reflect how the credit was used.
6. Debit Notes
Purpose
Debit Notes (DebitNotesPage) are the vendor-side counterpart to credit notes and are used for returns and adjustments against suppliers. They capture situations where the organization is reducing what it owes a vendor, for example after returning goods or correcting an overstated bill. They sit within the Accounts Payable side of the module.
Reasons and application
Like credit notes, debit notes record a reason from the same defined set: Return, Billing error, Price adjustment, Discount, or Other. A debit note is applied to vendor bills, offsetting the amount owed to the vendor against the adjustment the debit note represents.
Status workflow and balance tracking
Debit notes follow a Draft, then Approved, then Applied status workflow. Because a debit note settles only against vendor bills, its terminal state is Applied rather than offering a separate refund path. The system performs balance tracking on debit notes just as it does on credit notes. A typical workflow is to raise the debit note in Draft with the appropriate reason, approve it, and then apply it against the relevant vendor bills so the payable owed to that vendor is reduced. Together, credit notes and debit notes give the receivables and payables modules a controlled, reasoned way to adjust balances after an invoice or bill has already been issued.