Creating a Freight Accrual Sales Program

Owned by Tatum Hohl (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jul 30, 2018 by Emma Greenwood
12 min read

Overview

Freight Accruals are used to accrue freight costs in the general ledger. It is very common for prices to be quoted based on a ‘Delivered Price’ which means the price includes the cost of delivery. Without knowing the freight cost and associating it with the shipment it is not possible to get a true profit margin. Freight Accrual programs allow users to automate making estimated freight entries for each order. Since freight charges are different by Carrier as well as an address’s proximity to the warehouse, they can be assigned based on these factors. They are also assigned by ‘Address Sets’ instead of selecting the individual addresses. They also have additional accounting rules so freight can be accrued to the same Divisions/Departments as the sales.

Prerequisites

Required Prerequisites

  • Program Class Setup
    • To assign to the Sales Program for categorical purposes.
  • Item Set Setup
    • To assign to the Freight Accrual, making all items on this item set eligible for the program to be applied when sold on a Sales Order transaction that is being sold to a customer address at a site with a carrier all also assigned to the program.
  • Address Set Setup
    • To assign to the Freight Accrual, making the addresses on the assigned Address Sets eligible for the program to be applied to any items sold to them from a site with a carrier that are all also assigned to the program.
  • UOM Setup
    • To assign the UOM for any freight accrual rate set to a calculation of $/UOM.
  • Site Setup
    • To assign to the Freight Accrual, making the sites eligible for the program to be applied to any items sold from them that are also assigned to the program with a carrier that is all also assigned to the program.
  • Carrier Setup
    • To assign to the Freight Accrual, making the carriers eligible for the program to be applied to any items sold via them that are also assigned to the program from a site that is all also assigned to the program.

Optional Prerequisites

  • Account Setup
    • If the Freight Accrual’s 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 Freight Accrual, thus requiring that these accounts be setup.
  • Integration setup
    • Setting the Host system integration for SO Invoice to immediate or timed.

Understanding the Data Flow

A Freight Accrual Sales Program will automatically be applied on any eligible Sales Order transaction, as determined by the program’s assigned Item Set(s), Address Set(s), Site(s), Carrier(s), and date range, and will calculate automatically based on the program’s calculation method and rate for the applicable item set(s). When the Freight Accrual Sales Program is applied to a Sales Order transaction, it will not display as a line item on the invoice but it will create separate distributions for the accrual in the transaction’s journal entry. The accounts to which distributions are made are determined by the Accounting Rules selection made on the Freight Accrual. The distributions will be posted along with the rest of the invoice’s journal entry.

Step 1: Creating the Freight Accrual Sales Program

To create a Freight Accrual Sales Program, navigate to the Sales Programs module in NorthScope, open the Programs page, click the New toolbar icon, and select Freight Accrual.

This will open the ‘Sales Programs: New Freight Accrual’ window with the Freight Accrual ID automatically assigned based on the Sales Programs preference for ‘Next Program ID’.

Completing the Properties

When creating a new Freight Accrual Sales Program, the following base properties will display for data entry:

  • Description: Enter the description of the program. This will display in the Programs list view and will help differentiate the sales program from all other Freight Accrual programs. This field is displayed in the header section of the record. 
  • Class: Select the Program Class to assign to the Freight Accrual. This is for categorical purposes and the lookup will only include those program classes assigned a program type of ‘Freight Accrual’. This field is required.
  • From: Enter the date as of which the Freight Accrual is eligible. This field is required.
  • To: Enter the date as of which the Freight Accrual is no longer eligible.  This field is required.
  • Settle To: This field defaults to ‘Invoice’ and is not editable for Freight Accrual programs.
  • Frequency: This field defaults to ‘Invoice’ and is not editable for Freight Accrual programs.
  • Program Rate Currency: This field defaults to blank, but displays a drop-down menu of currencies configured in the system. This field is always required and cannot be edited after saving the program record. The currency determines the addresses displayed in the Addresses tab. Only customers with the corresponding currency are displayed in the Addresses tab and can be assigned to the program.
  • Assign Addresses By: This field defaults to Address and determines if the program is assigned to individual Addresses or Address sets. This field is required and cannot be edited after saving the program record. 

Once the base properties have been assigned and the program record is saved, the following properties are displayed:

  • Accounting Rules: This field is automatically updated based on the Debit/Expense Account and Credit/Accrual Account values selected. The field is never editable and displays one of the following values: 
    • Use Item Accounts: Will use the Freight Expense and Freight Accrual accounts of each individual item in the assigned Item Set(s) to account for the Freight Accrual via distributions in the invoice’s journal entry.
    • Use Item Debit Accounts: Will use the Freight Expense account of each individual item in the assigned Item Set(s) to account for the Freight Accrual’s expense and will use the selected account for the Credit/Accrual value to account for the Freight Accrual’s accrual.
    • Use Item Credit Accounts: Will use the Freight Accrual account of each individual item in the assigned Item Set(s) to account for the Freight Accrual’s accrual and will use the selected account for the Debit/Expense value to account for the Freight Accrual’s expense.
    • Specify Both Accounts: Will use the selected account for the Debit/Expense value to account for the Freight Accrual’s expense for all items and will use the selected account for the Credit/Accrual value to account for the Freight Accrual’s accrual for all items.
  • Debit/Expense Value: This field defaults to (From Item), but is always editable. The drop-down menu displays all active GL Accounts configured in the system. This field determines the debit account for the freight accrual. 
  • Credit/Accrual Value: This field defaults to (From Item), but is always editable. The drop-down menu displays all active GL Accounts configured in the system. This field determines the credit account for the freight accrual.

Once completing the header fields, click Save.

Then, assign the Item Set(s) eligible for the Freight Accrual.

Assigning Item Sets

To assign an item set, open the Item Sets tab within the Sales Program record and click the New grid toolbar icon.

This will open a single line item for data entry with the following fields:

  • 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 Freight Accrual. 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 program will be calculated. This field displays a drop-down menu of calculation methods including the following:
    • $/UOM: Calculates the program based on the rate assigned to the item set for the program and the UOM assigned to the item set for the program. This calculation is the rate times the quantity (of the program 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 program based on the percentage rate assigned to the item set for the program 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 program based on the percentage rate assigned to the item set for program 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 program based on the percentage rate assigned to the item set for the program 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 which to calculate the Freight Accrual. 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 program. 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.

Once entering all the Item Set fields, click the Save grid toolbar icon.

Multiple Item Sets can be assigned to a single Sales Program. To assign additional Item Sets, follow the steps above for each additional Item Set.


Assigning Addresses/Address Sets

Depending on the Sales Program property ‘Assign Address By’ the customer addresses are assigned to the program by the address sets or individual addresses.

Assigning Address Sets

Note: Applies to programs with ‘Assign Address By’ set to Address Set.

To assign an Address Set, open the Address Sets tab within the Sales Program record and click the New grid toolbar icon.

This will open a single line item for data entry will the following field(s):

  • Address Set: Select the Address Set to assign to the program. Duplicate Address Sets are not allowed to be assigned to the same sales program. This field will display a drop-down menu of all Address Sets. This field is required.
  • To setup Address Sets, go to Sales Order>Address Sets and click new. Enter the Address Set name and description. By default, all new Address Sets include all customer addresses. To limit the addresses included in the address set, apply as many filters as necessary to include only the addresses meeting the filtered criteria. Filters can be placed on the following address values: Customer, Customer Name, Address ID, City, State, and Zip. Once the desired filters have been applied to the Addresses list grid, click Save. When a new customer address is added to NorthScope that fits the filtered criteria of an Address Set, that address is automatically added to the Address Set and therefore assigned to any sales program the Address Set is assigned to.

After assigning the desired Address Set, click Save.

Multiple Address Sets can be assigned to a single Sales Program. To assign additional Address Sets, follow the steps above for each additional Address Set.

Assigning Addresses

Note: Applies to programs with ‘Assign Address By’ set to Address.

To assign a Customer Address, open the Customers tab within the Sales Program record.

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

Assigning Sites

To assign a Site, open the Sites tab within the Sales Program record.

The Sites tab will display all Sales Order Sites set to be visible to sales with a check box, allowing the user to select the site(s) to assign to the program. Each column within the list is filterable, allowing the user to easily narrow down the sites that display to select the appropriate site(s) to assign.

Once finding a site to assign to the program, select the checkbox that corresponds to the site and click the save grid toolbar icon. This will sort the selected site(s) to the top of the list to easily identify the site(s) currently assigned to the program.

Assigning Carriers

To assign a Carrier, open the Carriers tab within the Sales Program record.

The Carriers tab will display all Sales Order Carriers, allowing the user to select the carrier(s) to assign to the program. Each column within the list is filterable, allowing the user to easily narrow down the carriers that display to select the appropriate carrier(s) to assign.

Once finding a carrier to assign to the program, select the checkbox that corresponds to the carrier and click the save grid toolbar icon. This will sort the selected carrier(s) to the top of the list to easily identify the carrier(s) currently assigned to the program.

Step 2: Entering a transaction with the Freight Accrual

By default, when a Sales Order transaction is entered for a customer address that is assigned to an address set that is assigned to the program, with at least one item belonging to an item set assigned to the program, a site assigned to the program, a carrier assigned to the program, and a transaction date within the program’s date range, the Freight Accrual 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 Freight Accrual 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.  

Note: Freight Accrual information will not display in the Program Details window until a shipment has been created.

Step 3: Posting the transaction with the Freight Accrual

If a Freight Accrual exists on a Sales Order transaction, no additional work is needed for the program to be posted with the transaction. Simply follow the steps to post the transaction and the program will be posted with it. Steps for posting Sales Order transactions can be found here.

However, the program rates cannot be adjusted once the transaction is in a status of Approved or greater.

Once the invoice is saved as Ready to Post, the invoice will be sent to the host system, so long as the integration is turned on,  and the freight accrual’s distributions will be sent with the invoice.