Contacts

Income sources are the people or organisations you receive payments from, suppliers are the people or organisations you make payments to, and customers are people or organisations you sell to. You can only create or edit account records for the current school year.

To find and view contacts

1. From the Records menu choose Contacts.

The Account records window is displayed, with the Contacts tab selected. Under Contacts entries, the available records are listed.

2. To find the contact you want, either:

• • Scroll through the list.
  • In the Quick search box, enter all or part of the contact Code or Full name or Type, and click Find .
    If you enter at least two characters, RM Finance will auto-search after a second or two.
  • For a more precise search including Sort Key, Status (Active/Inactive), Post Code or Phone, click Advanced.  
    Enter the search criteria you want to use and click  Search.
    (In a multiple search you can remove individual criteria by clicking the 'X' button, and reset the search by clicking Clear.)

3. Click on the account you want, to select it.
Information for this record is displayed in the right panes, under Definition and Details.

4. To see the underlying information, click the report icon.

To set default values for contact records

For efficient data entry and consistency, you can specify the default Type and Sort Key values for any new account records that you create in the future. (You will be able to overwrite the defaults if they don't apply to a particular new record.)

1. On the Contacts tab of the Income Sources / Suppliers window, click Defaults.

The Account Defaults window is displayed.

2. Add or edit any default values you want to apply:

• • For Type, you can choose Income Source, Supplier or Customer.
  • You can also enter a default Sort Key for new accounts.

3. Click Save (or Cancel).

You can use Defaults to change these values at any time.

To create a contact record

1. On the contacts tab of the contacts window, click Add in the right-hand column. 
    In the right-hand area under Definition, the fields to complete are shown in green type.

2. Enter the account information in the Definition fields:

• • The Account code is mandatory. Enter a code for this account.
  • Choose the appropriate Type(s) for this record (Income Source, Supplier or Customer). 
    A default value may have been applied for this.
  • Enter a Sort Key for this record (optional).
    A default value may have been applied for this.
  • Choose the Status of this account – Active or Inactive.
  • On the General sub-tab, enter the contact details and VAT information for this account, and an optional Reference.

3. For supplier and customer records only:

• • Tick the Payment methods boxes that apply (Cheque, BACS - which activates a BACS sub-tab or Direct Debit which behaves in the same way as 'none').
  • Select the required Communication method (Email, Print or None) and enter an Email and Remittance email if required. The remittance email will be reflected in BACS/Payments remittance report and in the email option when emailing the remittance.
  • S16 option (normally No).
  • If applicable, use  to select an Alternative payee.
    You will be offered the option to add an alternative payee on the fly, by clicking Create new code  (see also Alternative payees).

4. For supplier and customer records only, if the BACS Payment method option has been enabled, click the BACS sub-tab and enter the Bank account name, Account number and Sort code for this supplier or customer, and an optional Reference.

5. The Bank Account name is the name of the supplier's or customer's bank account you are sending to e.g. TTS Ltd (as opposed to the name of the bank e.g. Barclays). This will be part of the BACs file.

6. Click Save (or Cancel).

• • If Supplier is selected, enter the supplier terms for the contact, this will be reflected in Supplier bills; BACS and Payments.

Note: The Reference on the General tab is for internal notes for you, the Reference on the BACs tab is for the BACs file and will be seen by the supplier.

To edit a contact

1. On the contacts tab of the contacts window, select the required account and click Edit.
2. The editable fields are shown in green type.
3. Make any changes you require to the Definition fields for this record, including the General sub-tab and, for supplier records, the BACS sub-tab if enabled.
4. Click Save (or Cancel).

Once the record has been used in a transaction, you cannot edit its account code.

To delete a contact

1. On the contacts tab of the contacts window, select the required account.
2. Click Delete and then Yes to confirm.

You cannot delete records that have been used in the current year.