Prepayment Application Settings and Open Prepayment Screen for AX2012 & D365FO
Posted on: September 13, 2018 | By: Jarrod Kraemer | Microsoft Dynamics AX/365
Authored by: Dave Occhionero
There are several ways a prepayment can be created and processed in AX 2012/D365. I have seen customers create a process for prepayments through an AP invoice journal, an invoice register, and the native prepayment functionality on purchase orders. Each method pertains to different business scenarios, and the method is dictated by which modules are implemented. If a client is not using purchase orders, there is no reason to set the native PO functionality up. However, if a client is using purchase orders, the prepayment functionality satisfies most requirements. There were some challenges with it in 2012 especially around traceability, but D365 has taken a step to improve usability.
The steps to create a prepayment in AX 2012 and D365 are basically the same:
1. A user creates a prepayment invoice to the vendor.
2. A user pays the prepayment invoice, and the prepayment lives on the vendor.
3. The user will then invoice the purchase order the prepayment is designated for and apply the prepayment. This is where D365’s enhancement comes into play. When this step occurred in AX 2012, a user could easily forget to apply the prepayment on the PO invoice and post the invoice for the full amount. When this happened, an Infolog displayed, and essentially stated that a prepayment existed, but was not applied. This would then direct the user to go to the vendor record and apply the prepayment to the correct transaction. In D365 there is now a configuration in Accounts Payable parameters that will allow you to automatically post the existing prepayment. This will save users clicks, and it will prevent the issue of users forgetting to apply the prepayment. The other option of notification allows the prepayment to work similarly to AX 2012 except the message displays at PO invoice creation rather than posting.
There is also new form in D365 that shows users any unapplied prepayments, and which corresponding purchase order they tie to. In AX 2012 the only area to see prepayments was on existing purchase orders or navigating to the Vendor record> Invoice tab> Apply or reverse prepayment (Second screen shot). The process was clunky, and it was extremely hard to trace existing prepayments. The open prepayment screen in D365 is now a one stop shop for all prepayment information.
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