Regardless of the payment method, the monthly report serves as Pakettikauppa’s bookkeeping voucher. The report shows actual charges and customer account advance holds separately. Advance holds are customer account authorization holds that are charged from the customer account upon creating deliveries. The actual charge will be made when the logistics company registers the delivery, after which we will know the total price. If advance holds have been made at the end of the month, the data on the actual charges may not be included in the report, so the monthly report only shows advance holds without a VAT breakdown for these.
Prepayments added to the customer account are recorded in the company’s bookkeeping from the voucher to the “advances paid to the account” account. Similarly, prepayments are recorded in Pakettikauppa’s “advances received” account, and they are not recorded in the company’s own balance sheet. Instead, they are customer funds we are holding. Only when the actual charge to the customer’s account is made will it be passed on to the customer as an expense and to Pakettikauppa as profit.
The Prepayments to the account section shows the prepayments that were added using a prepaid payment method. If the payment method is credit card or monthly invoicing, this section often shows the balance as negative. This is due to the customer having credit facility, and the resulting debt will be charged after the fact, either by credit card or invoice. Only actual charges are invoiced.
The Advance charges section shows the authorization holds made from the customer account before the transport company’s confirmation. Advance charges at the beginning of the period show transferred authorization holds from the previous monthly report, for which actual charges were not yet made. Advance charges at the end of the period shows authorization holds that will be transferred to the next report.
The Charges section details the actual charges that occurred during the month; the number of shipments, the price without tax, the share of VAT and the total amount.
On the breakdown page, the Prepayments section lists the sums paid to the customer account during the month, as well as the dates and payment methods. The Advance charges section specifies the shipments for which the actual charges have not yet been made. The Actual charges section shows the shipments and prices that have been confirmed by a transport company and have thus been charged. The Balance change section indicates whether the advance charge price has increased or decreased with the confirmation of the transport company. The breakdown of actual charges also shows the amount of VAT. If created deliveries have been cancelled during the month, the report will also include the section Cancelled deliveries. Thus, the breakdown shows the advance charges returned to the customer account.
Example:
Monthly report 1:
– 1 shipment during the month: €6.00 (VAT 0%) and €1.44 (share of VAT)
=> this will be recorded for you as a purchase, VAT and “advances paid” (€7.44) (credit)
Account balance: “advances paid”: -€7.44
Monthly report 2:
– 3 shipments during the month: €16.40 (VAT 0%) and €3.94 (share of VAT)
=> this will be recorded for you as a purchase, VAT and “advances paid” (€20.34) (credit)
Account balance: “advances paid”: -€27.78
Monthly report 3:
– 2 shipments during the month: €11.00 (VAT 0%) and €2.64 (share of VAT)
=> this will be recorded for you as a purchase, VAT and “advances paid” (€13.64) (credit)
Account balance: “advances paid”: -€41.42
You receive invoice 1 from Pakettikauppa:
In bookkeeping, the invoice received will be recorded as “advances paid” (debit): €54.82
Account balance: “advances paid”: €13.40
Monthly report 4:
– 2 shipments during the month: €11.00 (VAT 0%) and €2.64 (share of VAT)
=> this will be recorded for you as a purchase, VAT and “advances paid” (€13.64) (credit)
Account balance: “advances paid”: -€0.24