How to Remove Finance Charges from ESC

**This article only applies to ESC Accounting or ESC with no Accounting Integration.**

The Print/Email Statements function in ESC can automatically generate finance charges to customers with outstanding balances based on the settings in System Setup and the customer record. These appear on the statements as Finance Charge with the document # of LTMMYY.

If the customer pays the outstanding invoices it is common that you may want to forgive the finance charges or late fees you had accessed. This procedure can also be used to remove finance charges that were inadvertently accessed. This is one method that can be used to easily remove these finance charges and keep your financials and customer accounts accurate. The steps below will show you how to create a method of payment that can be used to remove them from the customer’s account.

Setup

1. First we will want to check to see what general ledger account was used when the finance charge/late fee was automatically accessed. Select Company → System Setup → System Accounts tab. Note the account listed for Credit Account for Late Charges.
   
   
   
   
2. Next we will create a method of payment.
   Select Receivables → Payment Methods. Click Add New to create a new method of payment called "CrFinChg" or similar as pictured. Be sure to use the same account number that you noted in Step 1 and the type should be set to Credit.
   
   

Details to Use

Go to Receivables → Enter Payments and select the desired customer.
Select "CrFinChg" as the payment method and check the Pay field on the invoice for the late fee indicated by the invoice number of LTMMYY.

Results

The final result will be that the late fee is no longer on the customer’s account.

For ESC Accounting the financial entry is a debit to Late Charge Income and credit to Accounts Receivable.