For all companies that bill any kind of maintenance (e.g. in the software & IT industry), the invoice of maintenance fees is a regular challenge. This is doubly true for companies that not only sell maintenance but also purchase it from other software manufacturers.
The contract management of MARIProject for SAP Business One provides some exclusive functions for the management of maintenance invoices with the Pro Rata module.
In this way, such billing items can be created depending on article items and set for billing on an annual, half-yearly and quarterly basis.
With the latest version of MARIProject 5.2, some important enhancements on the topic of maintenance accounting have been added.
Adjustment of the maintenance period to the annual rhythm:
If a maintenance contract is concluded with approximately annual maintenance in October of a year, the customer should receive an invoice for three months (October-December) and then annual invoices starting in January.
Distribution of revenue over individual months:
The revenue from an annual maintenance invoice should be posted pro rata in each booking month.
Maintenance items on the purchasing side:
Maintenance items can now also be purchased via purchasing processes.
Accrual of maintenance costs:
If you create maintenance items, you can use the purchase order to allocate the costs to the period. MariProject can resolve the accrued costs through the incoming invoices and distribute them over the period again.
Pro rata rule:
Pro rata rules are introduced to define the distribution postings, which can be selected in the respective maintenance item. The rule defines various procedures for posting the accrual and defines the required G/L accounts.
Delimitation already when ordering maintenance
When ordering maintenance, you can enter the future costs incurred for this as a provision in financial accounting. These are then cancelled by the incoming invoice.
Safety through simulator
To ensure that the automatic bookings created via the pro rata have the desired effect, this can be checked using a simulation if necessary.
Conclusion
As in many other areas, proves MARIProject once again demonstrates how close the applications are to the very specialised needs of the industries addressed. With the extended functions for managing maintenance, MariProject can also make life much easier for several parties involved in this business: purchasing, sales, financial accounting and, of course, the appointed tax consultants!
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