Next Generation - Enter a sales estimate

You can enter the customer account code. If you're unsure of the code, you can click the drop-down arrow and select Show More which displays several more records and offers you to search the code and name of the customer.

For more information on setting up an any currency customer, follow our article on setting up an any currency customer and setting up a currency customer.

The Type field defaults to Order type and you need to change this to be an Estimate using the drop-down or by manually typing it in the field.

The Status field automatically defaults to the status that has been set up against the your user profile in the Security options of the System module which is Security Profile driven. For information on how to change the default status set on a security profile, please refer to change the default security profile sales order header status article.

The Date always defaults to the system date, you can either enter it manually or you can select it from the date picker via the calendar icon.

The Required By field is calculated from the default five days for normal and one day for urgent estimates which is set up in the Standard Terms and can be changed.
​Note: You will have to assign the Standard Terms Template to the customer record as this feature is not available on the custom terms templates.

The Year and Period fields default to the closest year and period to the current date depending on the system settings. If you have permission to post to restricted periods or have future period posting permission, you're able to post to future periods and past years and periods depending on the start date in your system settings.

The Estimate Order Number is automatically set to start at 3000 as default same as order, but this can be changed in System Options which is Security Profile driven.

The Description field allows you to enter a brief description for easing the locating of the estimates.

The Sub Ledger field, you can manually type in the code or name if you know it, click on the drop-down arrow and select from the list, or find the record by selecting Show More. The Sub Ledger field is only displayed when you have sub ledgers enabled on your database.

If you use an any currency or currency customer, you're able to select the Home/Currency Gross option. The option defaults to Home Net.

If you use multiple due dates, you can select Multiple Due Dates check box. The Multiple Due Dates window opens once you click Save.

You can set an urgent flag on your sales estimate by ticking the Urgent checkbox. As default, the urgent days are set up in Standard Terms Template to be 1 while normal days are set to 5. You can change this on the default Standard Terms Template and then assign it to the relevant customer record or records.

If you have used the Sort Keys on the customer record, then the information is pulled through from the selected customer.

You can enter 10 alphanumeric characters in the Batch Reference field which can help you find your sales estimate in the O/S Sales Orders Enquiry.

You can enter 20 alphanumeric characters in the Customer Ref. field.

You can select the Repeat Order option to get access to new options where you can specify the recurrence, the occurrences and the days of the week you wish the sales estimates to be created for you.

The Delivery Address pulls through the default delivery address set up on the customer record. You can change this by typing in the field or removing the default value and click on the drop-down to select another delivery address.

The Invoice Address is populated with the invoice address of the customer and you can change this to select any address from the drop-down list once you have cleared the default value.

For more information on how to set up multiple addresses, please refer to our Add multiple addresses article.

You can add any notes in the Header Note box that relates to the estimate, and you can also use the date, time and user email address stamp.

You can find all the information regarding the customer in the supplier tab. You can view the Aged Debt, Account Balance, and Contact details.

Clicking the email hyperlink in the Contact Details section, opens your email application with the email populated.

The Terms tab displays the term details which are relevant to the sales estimate for the selected customer record.

The Price Key defaults to Price Key 1 for a new customer and will pull through what you set for the selected customer.

You can add a Delivery Charge value or a Delivery Charge percentage to the estimate which will only apply to this estimate.

The Delivery Method allows you to add in information up to 20 characters related to the delivery method of the estimates.

The Credit Controller pulls through from the selected customer's terms or if one isn't set up, you can select or enter one here.

The Due Days and Anticipated Days are populated from the due days and anticipated days set on the selected customer's terms or if there isn't one set up, you can enter one here.

The Credit Limit set on the customer on the Terms tab is pulled through and cannot be changed.

You can enter 20 alphanumeric characters in the Delivery Method field.

The Lead Time (days) field represents the number of days applied when calculating sales estimate required date which is pulled through from the selected supplier and cannot be changed.

The Minimum Order Value also pulls through from the terms of the selected customer and this can be amended for the estimates.

The Settlement Discount fields pull through any values set on the terms for the selected customer and you can change this manually. Changes won't update the terms held against the customer, they just apply to the current estimates.

For EU State customers, the button opens the EC Info window to enter details about the goods and their method of delivery.

The VAT Registration number pulls from the customer.

All Custom fields which are set up for your database group together. These can hold extra information about the transaction you're working with.

You can enter individual lines of your estimate here, each estimate can have multiple detail lines.

The Item Type is determined by the default settings in Sales Order Options within the System module which is Security Profile driven. The three different item types are text, stock and price.

The Analysis field populates with the default sales analysis code on a standard chart of accounts while on an advanced chart of accounts, it is populated after you have selected the categories. This determines how this line is to be analysed in both your sales and nominal ledgers.

If your customer has a default VAT code, this VAT code displays on their estimate. If you don't have a default set against the customer, then the VAT code on the analysis record is applied, and if there is not VAT assigned to the analysis, the system default VAT code will be pulled through.

Once you populate the GBP Price or one is pulled through from the stock or price record, the Net and VAT fields, the GBP Gross automatically calculates.

You can enter a line discount to the detail lines.

You can add more details for the estimate in the Detail field.

If you use the Costing module in Access Financials, you can add the project and cost centre. If you have Compulsory Costing set up, you need to enter both the project and cost centre otherwise a validation message appears when saving the estimate.

Clicking the drop-down in the Project Code/Name field, you can select the record you wish to work with, or you can access more records by selecting Show More.

If Transaction User Keys are set up on your database and are in the columns on the Details section, you can see these columns as default after the Project and Cost Centre columns. You can find more information on the Transactions user keys at the end of this article.

When Sales Ledger Accruals is set up, three columns will be displayed called:

You can add in extra detail lines by clicking + New Record or by tabbing through an existing detail line. You can organise your columns the way that best suits your needs by clicking the cog icon then selecting Configure Columns.

When your estimate entry is completed, click on Save. Your estimate is now added to the O/S Sales Orders Enquiry or the Sales Estimates screen.