Overview AR Procedures

A single transaction is created at a given point in time, transforms from current activity to history, and, finally, is moved to a Documents Online report and is purged.

Data Entry

Data entry is a critical element of any software system. In AR, incorrect or invalid information can produce undesired effects such as incorrect amounts on billing statements or invoices, out of balance entries in the GL, etc. The AR system prevents these problems by providing an extensive validation process on every transaction at data entry time. Invalid transactions are not accepted by the system.

Transactions can be created from many sources. Regardless of the source, transactions are initially maintained in a "holding" file or database set file. This database set file is assigned an eight-character name and is initially created in the DATA group on the system; a group that contains all of the data files from AP and AR that have not yet been distributed to the appropriate ledger.

Set Proofs

After the data entry phase, database set proofs (hard copy reports of the set file) are requested, interactively, until the accuracy of the new transactions is verified. Any data validation errors detected by the set proof process will be noted on the listing and must be resolved prior to distribution.

Distribution

The next phase is the distribution phase. A unique job number is assigned to the distribution, the transactions are copied from the set file to the AR database, the appropriate GL transactions are created and distributed to the GL, and the set file is moved from the DATA group to the POSTED group. By placing the distributed set files in the POSTED group, the system is trying to eliminate the possibility of reposting the same set twice.

Review

After distribution, the transaction can be viewed with a variety of different tools (CDD reports, file listings, reports, direct update) to determine if any changes need to be made after the transaction has been distributed.