Documentation/ Master records and catalogues/ Payment terms and due dates
A supplier's payment method and terms
Three fields on a supplier's record decide when and how they get paid: payment method, payment terms and payment date. Set once, they stop having to be given invoice by invoice.
Database › Supplier master › edit › the payment block
On this page
Payment method
This is how they get paid. Picked from a fixed list of six:
| Method | Usual use |
|---|---|
| Cash | Small purchases, paid on the spot. |
| Card | Supplies and one-off purchases. |
| Bank transfer | The usual method between businesses. Paid on the date agreed. |
| Direct debit | The supplier takes it from the account when it falls due. Means watching the balance. |
| Cheque | Handing over a physical instrument. |
| Promissory note | A commitment to a future date, common on long terms. |
Because it is a fixed list, every record speaks the same language: you can filter and group by method without twenty different spellings of the same thing.
Payment terms
These are how many days they are paid in. Also a fixed list:
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| On receipt | Paid at once, no credit. |
| 7 days | A week. |
| 15 days | Half a month. |
| 30 days | The commonest term between businesses. |
| 45 days | In between. |
| 60 days | The general ceiling under Spanish late payment rules for commercial transactions. |
| 90 days | A long term, usual in some industries. |
| 120 days | The longest on offer. |
The application does not check whether the term you agreed complies with late payment law. It stores what you tell it: whether the term is legal is your company's decision.
Payment date
A particular date attached to the supplier, chosen from a calendar and shown in the list as a day, month and year.
The typical use is a supplier who always takes payment on the same day of the month, a subscription, rent, a maintenance contract, rather than so many days from each invoice.
How it turns into a due date
The supplier's record supplies the rule; each invoice's actual due date lives on the document:
- The supplier sets the default rule: method and term.
- Each invoice works its due date out from its own date.
- On the document's header you can correct that due date when the particular case departs from the general rule.
Changing the terms on the record affects whatever arrives afterwards. Documents already processed keep the due date they had: if they have to be put right, it is done on each document.
Seeing it in the list
The supplier list has three columns for this, payment date, method and terms, with their labels already translated. It is for auditing at a glance which suppliers are not set up.
The search box also finds things by the text you see on screen, so typing "30 days" or "Bank transfer" picks out the ones on that term.
How to set it up well
- Start with your biggest suppliers. Twenty records set up properly usually covers most of the spend.
- Set it up as you import. If you load suppliers from Excel, going over the terms in one pass afterwards is quicker than record by record.
- Use the payment date only where it applies. For the general case, so many days from the invoice, the terms are what you want, not a fixed date.
- Go back to it after renegotiating. A term that went from 30 to 60 days and never got updated throws your cash forecast out for months.
Things that come up
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The invoices have no due date | The supplier has no payment terms set. | Set them on the record. Earlier documents are corrected one by one. |
| The due date comes out different from what you expected | The document has its own due date, corrected or read off the paper. | Look at it on the document's header. |
| The term you need is not on the list | The list is fixed and stops at 120 days. | Pick the nearest and adjust the due date on each document. |
| Changing the terms did not fix the old invoices | The record governs whatever arrives afterwards. | Correct the due date on the documents concerned. |
| The payment date shows on every document | A fixed date was used where day terms belonged. | Clear the date and set the terms instead. |