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Brokerage Programs are used to accrue brokerage expenses to the general ledger as well as make entries to a subsidiary payable ledger. When a transaction that contains a brokerage program is posted, a journal entry is created to Debit the Brokerage Expense account and Credit the Brokerage Payable account. The Credit is added to the Brokerage Settlement tables. Then, at a later date, someone users can review the brokerage payables and approve them for payment via the Process Settlements page in the Sales Programs module. When a brokerage payment settlement is approved processed one of two things happens: 1) an AP Invoice is created so a check can be cut on the next check run in NorthScope and the transaction is send to the Host system or 2) an AR Credit Memo is created that can offset an AR balance due.a negative AR Sales transaction is created in NorthScope and the transaction is send to the Host system. 

Prerequisites

Required Prerequisites

  • Program Class Setup
    • To assign to the Sales Program for categorical purposes.
  • Item Set Setup
    • Item Sets contain groups of items that are part of the Brokerage Program.
  • Customer Address Setup
    • Brokerage Programs are assigned to one or more customer addresses.
  • UOM Setup
    • To assign the UOM for any brokerage rate set to a calculation of $/UOM.
  • Account Setup
    • If the Brokerage Programs accounting rules are set to Use Item Debit Accounts, Use Item Credit Accounts, or Specify Both Accounts, a GL Account must be manually select to determine the debit and/or credit account for the accounting of the Brokerage Accrual, thus requiring that these accounts be setup.
  • Default Vendor Checkbook ID  
    • To assign the checkbook for the settlement transaction batch. 
  •  Payment Terms Setup
    • To assign payment terms to the settlement transactions.
    •  Payment terms are primarily retrieved from the vendor record and secondarily from the Sales Order Preference 'Default Payment Terms'. 

Optional Prerequisites

  • Set the ‘Enable Real Time Transaction Integration’ Sales Order preference to ‘Yes’
  • Set the ‘Summarize AP Documents by Vendor’ Sales Programs preference
    • Setting this preference to ‘Yes’ will summarize all settlements in a batch by Broker and send a single AP Invoice to the host system as opposed to sending individual AP Invoices for each Sales Transaction.
  • Set the ‘Summarize AR Documents by Customer’ Sales Programs preference
    • Setting this preference to ‘Yes’ will summarize all settlements in a batch to send a single AR Credit Memo to the host system per Customer as opposed to sending an AR Credit Memo for each settlement transaction for the same customer.
  • Customer or Vendor Setup
    • If the Settle To method is ‘AR Credit Memo’, a customer must be selected for the AR Credit Memo to be created for, thus requiring the customer is setup. However, if the Settle To method is ‘AP Invoice – Paid In Full Orders’ or ‘AP Invoice – All Orders’, a vendor must be selected for the AP Invoice to be created, thus requiring the vendor is setup.

Understanding the Data Flow

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  • Customer or Vendor Setup
    • If the Settle To method is ‘AR Credit Memo’, a customer must be selected for the AR Credit Memo to be created for, thus requiring the customer is setup. However, if the Settle To method is ‘AP Invoice – Paid In Full Orders’ or ‘AP Invoice – All Orders’, a vendor must be selected for the AP Invoice to be created, thus requiring the vendor is setup.
  • Settlement Write off Code(s)
    • To enter codes to Settlement Write offs.
  • Default Transaction Classes Sales Program Preference
    • To determine the AP and AR settlement classes for settlement transactions.
  • Integration Setup
    • Setting the Host system integration for SO Invoice and Settlements to immediate or timed.

Optional Prerequisites

  • Address Set Setup
    • If the sales program is assigned by address sets, then the address set setup is required. 

  • Realized Gain Account and Realized Loss Account configuration in the Company Currencies list view.

    • Only applies to multi-currency transactions.

Understanding the Data Flow

A Brokerage Sales Program will automatically be applied on any eligible Sales Order transaction, as determined by the program’s assigned Item Set(s), Customer Address(es), and date range, and will calculate automatically based on the program’s calculation method and rate for the applicable item set(s). When the Brokerage Sales Program is applied to a Sales Order transaction, it will not display as a line item on the invoice but it will create a separate journal entry with distributions for the brokerage determined by the Accounting Rules selection made on the Brokerage. The brokerage’s journal entry will be created when the corresponding invoice is saved as ready to post. In addition, the brokerage amount will create a settlement in the Sales Programs Settlement list view, to be settled in a separate step, most likely at a later date.

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  • Seq: This field defaults to the next number in the sequence and is not immediately editable. However, once the Item Sets tab is saved, each Item Set can be dragged and dropped into the correct order of hierarchy.
  • Item Set: Select the Item Set to assign to the brokerage. Duplicate Item Sets are not allowed to be assigned to the same sales program. This field will display a drop-down menu of all Item Sets assigned a ‘type’ of ‘Sales Programs’ or ‘All Modules’. This field is required.
    • To setup Item Sets, go to Inventory>Item Sets and click new. Enter the Item Set name and description and select the item set’s ‘Type’. By default, all new Item Sets include all items. To limit the items included in the item set, apply as many filters as necessary to include only the items meeting the filtered criteria. Filters can be placed on the following item values: Item Type, Item Class, Attribute Class, UOM Schedule and all Item Attribute Values. Items can be manually included and excluded if necessary. Saving the item set record updates the Items tab displaying the items assigned to the item set record. When a new item is added to NorthScope that fits the filtered criteria of an Item Set, that item is automatically added to the Item Set and therefore assigned to any sales program the Item Set is assigned to. 
  • Calculation Method: Select the method by which the brokerage will be calculated. This field displays a drop-down menu of calculation methods including the following:
    • $/UOM: Calculates the brokerage based on the rate assigned to the item set for the brokerage and the UOM assigned to the item set for the brokerage. This calculation is the rate times the quantity (of the Brokerage UOM) that exists on the invoice for all items belonging to the item set. If this calculation method is selected, the UOM field is required.
    • % Gross $’s: Calculates the brokerage based on the percentage rate assigned to the item set for brokerage and the total dollars of all items on the item set. This calculation is the percentage rate times the sum dollar amount of all items belonging to the item set on the invoice.
    • % Net $’s: Calculates the brokerage based on the percentage rate assigned to the item set for brokerage and the total dollars of all items on the item set. This calculation is the sum dollar amount of all items belonging to the item set on the invoice less the charges from all other sales programs times the percentage rate.
    • % off Total Invoice $’s: Calculates the brokerage based on the percentage rate assigned to the item set for the brokerage and the invoice’s total amount. This calculation is the percentage rate times the total invoice dollar amount, including items not belonging to the assigned item set(s).
  • Rate: Enter the rate by Rate: Enter the rate by which to calculate the brokerage. If the Calculation Method is set to $/UOM, the rate being entered must be a dollar amount to be charged/discounted per 1 unit of the selected UOM. If the Calculation Method is set to anything other than $/UOM, the rate being entered is a percentage to be charged/discounted. Note: The rate must be positive.
  • UOM: Select the unit of measure by which to calculate the brokerage. If the Calculation Method is set to $/UOM, the UOM field is required and will determine the unit by which the rate is charged/discounted. If the Calculation Method is set to anything other than $/UOM, the UOM field is disabled and will display %.
  • # Items: This field is never editable by the user and will automatically update once the Item Set is saved to display the number of items on the item set, which are now assigned to the Sales Program.

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The Customers tab will display all customer addresses with a check box, allowing the user to select the address(es) to assign to the brokerageprogram. Each column within the list is filterable, allowing the user to easily narrow down the addresses that display to select the appropriate address(es) addresses to assign.

Once finding an address to assign to the brokerage, select the checkbox that corresponds to the address and click the save grid toolbar icon. This will sort the selected address(es) to the top of the list to easily identify the address(es) currently assigned to the brokerage.

Step 2: Entering a transaction with the Brokerage

Every  Sales Order line item is evaluated against every active brokerage program to determine what programs apply. For a Brokerage program to apply each of the following must be true:

  • The Order date must be within the Brokerage Program date range.
  • The Order Item must be included on one or more of the Item Sets assigned to the Brokerage Program.
  • The Customer Address must be assigned to the Brokerage Program

For each Brokerage Program where all of these are true, the brokerage will automatically be applied to the transaction and calculated accordingly.

To view the program’s effect(s) on the transaction, click the transaction’s Program Details header toolbar icon and open the Accruals tab.

This tab will display all information regarding the effect(s) of the Brokerage on the transaction, per item affected, with the following details:

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To assign addresses to a program, check the check box displayed before the Customer ID and click Mass Update.  This opens the mass update dialog, where addresses can be assigned. Set ‘Assign Addresses’ to ‘Yes’ and click Apply. Also the start date can be assigned on the mass update dialog, but this is not required. Multiple addresses can be assigned to the program simultaneously. To remove addresses from the program, check the check box and click Mass Update toolbar icon. Set ‘Remove Addresses’ to ‘No’ and click Apply. When an address is assigned to a program, the On Program column displays Yes. Addresses assigned to the program are displayed on top of the list view.

Step 2: Entering a transaction with the Brokerage

Every  Sales Order line item is evaluated against every active brokerage program to determine what programs apply. For a Brokerage program to apply each of the following must be true:

  • The Order date must be within the Brokerage Program date range.

  • The Order date must be the Start Date or later if a Start Date is assigned to the address. 

  • The Order Item must be included on one or more of the Item Sets assigned to the Brokerage Program.
  • The Customer Address must be assigned to the Brokerage Program

For each Brokerage Program where all of these are true, the brokerage will automatically be applied to the transaction and calculated accordingly.

To view the program’s effect(s) on the transaction, click the transaction’s Program Details header toolbar icon and open the Accruals tab.

This tab will display all information regarding the effect(s) of the Brokerage on the transaction, per item affected, with the following details:

  • GL Account: Displays the GL account that is used to create the journal entry. The Sales Program’s Accounting Rules field determines the GL Account.   
  • Gross $: Displays the item’s total gross dollar amount.  
  • Item Set: Displays the name of the Item Set assigned to the program to which the corresponding transaction item belongs to.
  • Item: Description: Displays the item and item description of the transaction item affected by the program.
  • Method: Displays the calculation method of the program.
  • Net $: Displays the item’s total net dollar amount.  
  • Program Amt.: Displays the amount of the program as calculated for the corresponding line item.
  • Program Group: Displays the Sales Program type, ID and Description. Note: This column is not in the system view. 
  • Program ID: Displays the Program ID of the Sales Program. Note: This column is not in the system view.
  • Program Name: Displays the name of the Sales Program. Note: This column is not in the system view..
  • Program Type: Displays the type of the Sales Program. Note: This column is not in the system view.
  • Rate: This field displays the sales program rate as defined on the sales program record. This field is editable and the Program Amount is re-calculated after clicking Save. Note: Updating the rate on this window impacts only this transaction and it does not update the Sales Program record.
  • Unit UOM: Identifies the unit UOM of the item that is affected by the sales program.  
  • Units: Displays the total number of units ordered of the item that is affected by the sales program.
  • UOM: Displays the UOM upon which the program was calculated.
  • Weight: Displays total weight of the item that is affected by the sales program.
  • Wt. UOM: Identifies the weight UOM of the item that is affected by the sales program.  

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Once the invoice is saved as Ready to Post , the invoice will be sent to the and the integration setup for SO Invoice is set to immediate or timed, the invoice will be sent to the host system, so long as the ‘Enable Real Time Transaction Integration’ Sales Order preference is set to ‘Yes’, the Brokerage’s journal entry will be sent to the host system, and a settlement record will be added to the Sales Programs Settlement page for the transaction.

Step 4: Settling Brokerage transactions

Filtering Settlements

To process a brokerage settlementSettlement, navigate to Sales Programs> the Sales Programs module in NorthScope and select Broker Balances. This list view displays the current balances of Settle To Name entities.

Select Process Settlements from the toolbar to settle Sales Program transactions. The default filters in this view are

  • Eligible To Pay: Yes
  • Settle To: AP Invoice.

The following filtering criteria can be used to narrow down the search results:

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Click the ‘Process Settlements to’ header toolbar icon. Clicking this toolbar icon expands the toolbar icon for the user to select a settlement type from Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable. Select one of the settlement types to open a blank settlement batch record view.

Enter the filtering criteria in the header section of the record:

To partially settle a transaction, use the filtering criteria on the Process Settlements view. Check the line item’s corresponding checkbox. Several line items can be selected simultaneously. Once the line item(s) have been selected, click Edit Amounts. This opens a new window, where the settlement amount can be entered. The Amount to Pay column defaults to the Open Amount. The Amount to Pay field can be edited, but the amount cannot be larger than the Open Amount. Enter a value to the Amt to Pay field. The Remaining Amt field is updated accordingly (Open Amount minus the Amount to Pay).

Confirm the amount by clicking Save and closing the editing window or simply clicking Save & Close.

On the Process Settlement view the Amount to Pay column now displays the entered amount for the line item(s) that were selected for Editing. Update the Settlement Date if required. 

Click Validate to validate the settlements. An informative message is displayed if e.g. settlement accounts are missing. Validate toolbar icon also updates the Total Settlement amount that is displayed on the upper right corner. Once Validation is completed, the Validate toolbar icon is changed to Process. Click Process to process the settlement(s). This will create the corresponding settlement document in the host system, sent in the corresponding batch, to be posted. If the brokerage is settled to an AR Credit Memo, an AR Credit Memo will be created in the host system for the Customer on the brokerage program. If the brokerage is settled to an AP Invoice, an AP Invoice will be created in the host system for the Vendor on the brokerage program.

Once the transaction has been partially settled, the Open Amount is updated accordingly (Program Amount minus previously Settled and/or Written Off amounts). This column displays how much unsettled amount the transaction has.

Be sure to post the settlement transaction’s batch in the host system for all accounting to hit the GL.

Writing Off Brokerage

To write off all or partial brokerage, use the filtering criteria on the Process Settlements view. Select one or more transactions by checking the checkbox next to the Transaction and click Edit Amounts.

The Amt Pay field defaults to the Open Amount. To enter a Write Off Amount, delete the Amt to Pay and enter a Write Off Amt.  The system will auto-calculate the Remaining Amt field to display the sum of the Open Amt minus the Amt to Pay minus the Write Off Amt.

Settlement can be partially paid and partially written off at the same time. To do this, simply enter the amount to be paid in the Amt to Pay field and the amount to be written off to the Write Off Amt field. The WriteOff GL Account defaults to the Item Brokerage Write Off account if configured. If the account is not configured on the item record, the GL Account defaults to the Sales Program Preference 'Default Account - Brokerage Write Off'. The GL account can always be changed and the account is required to record write offs. 

Once all values are entered correctly, click Save and close the Edit window or click Save & Close. The Edit window is closed and the Amount to Pay and the Remaining Amt columns are updated accordingly. Update the Settlement Date if required and Click Validate to validate the settlements. An informative message is displayed if e.g. settlement accounts are missing. Validate toolbar icon also updates the Total Settlement amount that is displayed on the upper right corner. Once Validation is complete, the Validate toolbar icon is changed to Process.

To settle the transactions, click Process. This will create the corresponding settlement document in the host system, sent in the corresponding batch, to be posted. If the brokerage is settled to an AR Credit Memo, an AR Credit Memo will be created in the host system for the Customer on the brokerage program. If the brokerage is settled to an AP Invoice, an AP Invoice will be created in the host system for the Vendor on the brokerage program. The transaction sent for the settlement will include distributions to the Brokerage Write Off account for the write off amount.

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  • Eligible To Pay: Yes or No. Yes, if the sales transaction has been paid in full by the customer. No, if the sales transaction is not paid in full by the customer. Both values can be selected simultaneously (only applies to Accounts Payable type settlement batches).
  • Invoice Year and Month: The invoice creation year and month.Closed Year and Month: The year and month when the transaction was closednumber assigned to the Sales Order transaction.
  • Invoice Date Range: The date range of the invoice creation.
  • Closed Date Range: The date range of the invoice closing.
  • Settle To: The Settle To method of the settlement (AP Invoice – All Orders, AP Invoice – Paid In Full Orders, AR Credit Memo).

Settling Brokerage in Full

Use the filtering fields to find the settlement record(s) to be fully settled. Refresh Data toolbar icon updates the grid based on the filtering criteria.

By default the Amt. to Pay field populates with the settlement's Remaining Amt. and the Settlement Date defaults to the current date. The settlement date can be updated, but the date must be within an open fiscal period. 

Click Validate to validate the settlements. An informative message is displayed if e.g. settlement accounts are missing. Validate toolbar icon also updates the Total Settlement amount that is displayed on the upper right corner. Once Validation is completed, the Validate toolbar icon is changed to Process. Click Process to process the settlement(s). This will create the corresponding settlement document(s) in the host system, within a batch, ready to be posted. Several settlements can be processed simultaneously and the batch ID of settlement transactions is the date and time of the settlement process event. If the brokerage is settled to an AR Credit Memo, an AR Credit Memo will be created in the host system for the Customer on the brokerage program. If the brokerage is settled to an AP Invoice, an AP Invoice will be created in the host system for the Vendor on the brokerage program.

Be sure to post the settlement transaction’s batch in the host system for all accounting to hit the GL.

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  • Thru: Assigns settlement transactions to the batch based on the Sales Order invoice date.
  • Paid in Full Thru: Assigns settlement transactions to the batch based on the Sales Order payment date.
  • Payee: The Settle to Name entity assigned to the Sales Program.
  • PO#: The Purchase Order number assigned to the transaction.
  • Program: Multi-select combo box to select the Sales Program. Only AP type Sales Programs are displayed in the drop-down when the creating an AP batch and only AR type Sales Programs are displayed in the drop-down when creating an AR batch. 
  • SO Customer: The customer name assigned to the Sales Order transaction.

Once the filtering criteria has been entered, click ‘Build Batch’ from the header toolbar. This updates the grid section with the settlement transactions that meet the filtering criteria. Additional settlement transactions can be added to the batch by modifying the filters in the header section and clicking ‘Append to Batch’ toolbar icon. Note: This does not remove existing settlements from the batch even if they don’t meet the filtering criteria after the criteria have been modified. Appending to batch only adds additional settlements to the batch. A settlement batch can be deleted by clicking the Delete toolbar icon.

Note: Previously created unprocessed settlement batches can be selected from the Batch ID menu. A settlement transaction can only be assigned to one batch at a time. If unable to find a settlement transaction, review existing batches. The batches are named with the user name who created the batch and a sequence number. A user can have multiple batches simultaniously. 

Updating Payment Amounts

The ‘Amount to Pay’ column of the settlements displayed in the grid section defaults to zero. Click the ‘Auto fill Amounts’ grid toolbar icon to auto update the amounts. Clicking the ‘Auto fill Amounts’ expands the toolbar with the following options:

  • Fully Pay – Filtered: Updates the ‘Amt. to Pay’ with the ‘Open Amt.’. Applies to all settlement transactions displayed in the grid section.
  • Fully Pay – Selected: Updates the ‘Amt. to Pay’ with the ‘Open Amt.’. Applies to only transactions that have been manually selected in the grid section (the checkbox next to the transaction is checked).
  • Write off – Filtered: Updates ‘Write Off Amt.’ with the ‘Open Amt.’. Applies to all settlement transactions displayed in the grid section.
  • Write off – Selected: Updates ‘Write Off Amt.’ with the ‘Open Amt.’. Applies to only transactions that have been manually selected in the grid section (the checkbox next to the transaction is checked).

The ‘Amt. to Pay’ and ‘Write off Amt’ of individual settlements can also be updated by selecting the settlement transaction and clicking ‘Edit Amounts’. Click Save or Save&Close to save the changes made in the Edit Amounts window. The editing window only allows editing a single settlement transaction at a time. 

Note: When a settlement amount is written-off, the write-off reason code must be selected in the Edit Amounts window. Select the transaction and click ‘Edit Amounts’ grid toolbar icon. Select the write-off reason code and the write off GL account, if the GL account is blank. The Write off GL account defaults primarily from the item account configuration and secondarily from the Sales Program preferences but can be blank if the account is not configured for the item or in the preferences.

Validating Settlement Batches

Once the payment amounts and/or write off amounts have been entered, enter a ‘Settlement Date’ in the header section of the record and select the ‘Settle Per’ method. Settle per method ‘Broker’ groups all settlements assigned to the Settle to Entity into a single transaction. The transaction is created with multiple lines, displaying a line for each settlement. ‘Invoice’ settle per method creates individual transactions for each settlement. Once the Settlement Date and the Settle Per has been selected, click ‘Validate’ from the header toolbar. This validates the following:

  • The settlement date is entered, and the date resides within an open fiscal period
    • Fiscal period must be open to Sales when the batch type is Accounts Receivable.
    • Fiscal period must be open to Purchasing when the batch type is Accounts Payable.
  • At least one payment or a write off has been recorded in the batch.
  • Write off GL account and Write off reason code are selected when a write off is recorded in the batch.
  • The Default Transaction Class is setup in the Sales Program Preferences. 

Validating the batch also updates the ‘Total Settlement’ amount in the header section and enables the Process toolbar icon.

Note: ‘Amt. to Pay’ and ‘Write Off Amt’ can be removed from settlement transactions by selecting the transaction(s) and clicking ‘Remove Payment’ grid toolbar icon. Re-validate the batch after removing payments.

Processing Settlement Batches

Once the validation has been performed, the batch can be processed. Only transactions with payment and write off amounts are processed. Click ‘Process’ from the header toolbar. This does the following:

  • Accounts Receivable Batch
    • Creates negative AR Sales transactions in NorthScope with Ready to Post status when the settlement amount is positive (the settlement was created from a sales order or a positive price adjustment transaction). The transaction is send to the Host system when the Host system integration is turned on for AR Invoice/Return transactions. 
    • Creates a positive AR Sales transaction in NorthScope with Ready to Post status when the settlement amount is negative (the settlement was created from a return or a negative price adjustment transaction). The transaction is send to the Host system when the Host system integration is turned on for AR Invoice/Return transactions. 
  • Accounts Payable Batch
    • Creates AP Invoice transactions in NorthScope with Ready to Post status when the settlement amount is positive (the settlement was created from a sales order or a positive price adjustment transaction). The transaction is send to the Host system when the Host system integration is turned on for AP Invoice/Credit Memo transactions. 
    • Creates AP Credit Memo transactions in NorthScope with Read to Post status when the settlement amount is negative (the settlement was created from a return or a negative price adjustment transaction). The transaction is send to the Host system when the Host system integration is turned on for AP Invoice/Credit Memo transactions. 
  • Write off
    • Creates a new journal entry with Ready to Post status to record the write off and sends the journal entry to the Host system when the Host system integration is turned on for Journals. The journal entry can be reviewed from the Sales Order transaction record.
  • Removes the settlement batch from the Batch ID menu. Any settlement transactions that were assigned to batch but were not settled/written off can now be assigned to other batches.

Currency Gain/Loss

If the Sales Order transaction was created in other than the Company currency, the settlement processing verifies if the exchange rate has been changed between the original invoice date and the settlement processing date. If the rate has changed, the Settlement amount to pay is multiplied with the rate difference amount and the currency gain/loss is recorded in a new journal entry. The journal entry is created with Ready to Post status and it is send to the Host system, if the Host system integration for Journal is turned on. The Realized Gain and Loss accounts can be configured in the Company Currencies list view (Company → Company Currencies). 

Note: Be sure to post the settlement transaction batches in the Host system for all accounting to hit the GL.