Cash Receipts Procedures
In open invoice systems, such as this, each invoice is billed and paid individually. Cash
from customers may be received and processed as just described or may be sent directly
to a bank lock-box. In either case, the remittance advices (and credit memos to reflect
returns and allowances) are sent to the AR department where the clerk enters them
into the system via a terminal. Each remittance record is assigned a unique remittance
number and is added to the remittance file. Placing the remittance number and
the current date in the respective fields then closes the corresponding open invoice
record.
Features of Real-Time Processing
This system is a departure from traditional accounting. A central feature of the system
is the use of an events database. Traditional accounting records may not exist
per se. For instance, in this example the sales invoice file replaces the sales journal
and AR-SUB ledger. Total sales is the sum of all invoices for the period. Summing
the open sales invoices (those not closed by cash receipts or credit memos) provides
accounts receivable information. In theory, such a system does not even need a general
ledger because sales, sales returns, accounts receivable-control, and cost of goods
sold can all be derived from the invoices in the events database. Most organizations,
however, prefer to maintain a separate general ledger file for efficiency and as a cross
check of processing accuracy.