Accounting, Information Technology,
and Business Solutions, 2nd Edition
By Hollander, Denna, Cherrington
Chapter 6
PowerPoint slides by:
Bruce W. MacLean,
Faculty of Management,
Dalhousie University
The Sales/Collection Business Process
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Chapter Objectives




Identify the characteristics of the traditional
sales/collection process and related IT applications.
Describe weaknesses in the traditional sales/collection
process and IT application architecture.
Develop a REAL model of the
sales/collection process.
Suggest ways to improve the
sales/collection process and
its IT application.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
The Purpose of the Sales/Collection
Process

The sales/collection
process is a series of
operating events that:




collectively serve to
attract customers,
help customers select
goods and services,
deliver the goods and
services requested, and
collect payments for the
goods and services.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill

The process should:



Minimize the amount of time
between the selection of
products and services and the
collection of cash.
Minimize the amount of cash
that is not collected from
customers for goods and
services provided.
Structure product quality and
price to balance customer
value and organization
profitability.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
An Overview of the Traditional
Sales/collection Process

In a manual sales/collection
process, paper is used




to communicate authorizations
between departments and to
external parties.
as the primary means to capture and
 Files of source documents and
store business data and
communicate information to
journals are often called
information customers
transaction files while master
as the audit trail for documenting
files include the subsidiary
the process.
ledgers, general ledger, and
to store duplicate data as data is
control accounts used by units
processed across various
within the Accounting
departments (e.g., the Sales Order
Department (e.g., accounts
Department, the Shipping
Department, the Billing
receivable, inventory control,
Department, and the Warehousing
and general ledger).
Department).
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Take Order




The customer order typically includes data about the customer,
where to ship the goods, the items the customer wants to order,
and payment terms.
The company receives the order and checks the customer files to
see if the customer is a new or existing customer.
Usually, this customer order is recopied onto a company’s own
sales order document.
A copy of the sales order may eventually be used as a sales
invoice. Having order data on a pre-numbered internal
document helps a company locate order data and avoid losing
orders. This is important, because missing documents can signal
unfilled or unauthorized transactions.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Sales Order

The Sales Order has many of  Two copies of the sales order are sent to
the Billing Department to inform them of
copies:
the sale and for use in invoicing the
 A copy of the sales order is sent to
customer after the goods are shipped.
the Credit Department for approval.
 A copy of the sales order (the copy with
 A picking slip or stock request
Credit Department approval) is filed in
document, to the Warehousing
the Sales Order Department with the
Department authorizing
customer's order document to create a
warehousing to pull the goods and
customer order activity file. The file of
move them to the shipping area.
customer orders is organized
 The packing slip is sent to the
alphabetically (for ease in locating
Shipping Department to
information by customer name).
communicate that goods are
 Finally, a copy of the sales order may be
forthcoming from the Warehousing
sent to the customer to acknowledge
Department.
acceptance of their order.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Fill Order


The Warehousing
Department cannot act
without authorization from
the Sales Order Department.
in the form of the picking
slip or stock request
document.
Warehousing personnel pick
the goods (noting any stockouts or other problems on the
picking slip) and transfer
them to the shipping area.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill


(If necessary, a back order
document is created for
stock-out items.)
A warehouse inventory
subsidiary ledger may be
updated to reflect the goods
taken out of inventory.

In a traditional accounting
system, each department may
keep its own inventory records.
These separate inventory
records are not included on
Exhibits 6-1 and 6-2.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Ship Product


The Shipping Department

compares the packing slip (from
the Sales Order Department) with
the picking slip and the goods to
be shipped.
They pack the goods and select a
carrier; they prepare a bill of
lading (that describes the
packages they accept for
shipment, the carrier, the route,
and customer information), keep a
copy in the Shipping Department,
and send a copy to the customer.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
Shipping personnel prepare a
shipping notice to
communicate that the goods
have been shipped.



The packing slip is included with
the packaged goods.
A copy of a shipping notice is
sent to the Billing Department as
notification of the need to bill the
customer.
Documents in the shipping
activity file are typically ordered
numerically to allow a
completeness check to identify
missing documents or documents
used out of order.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Bill Customer


 A copy of the sales invoice serves
Upon notification of shipment, the
as the source document for
Billing Department pulls and
recording the transaction in the
reviews the sales order from the
sales journal.
temporary file to make sure the
amount of the group of
products A
should
been
shipped.
copyhave
of the
sales
invoiceis The
senttotal
to the
sales invoices for a period of time
They alsocustomer
review the(as
shipping
notice
their bill). A copy
of the sales
is summed
to calculate a batch
to verify that
the
goods
have
been
invoice is sent to the Accountscontrol
Receivable
total.
shipped and
that the transaction
Department
to record in theaccounts
The batch control total is used to
meets thereceivable
definition of
a sale for ledger, prepare
journal voucher
subsidiary
and theapicking
accounting purposes.
document control
slip or packing slip is sent to inventory
The Billing
Department
prepares a subsidiary
 The journal
to update
the inventory
ledger.voucher document is
sales invoice by adding prices to the
sent to the General Ledger
data found on the sales order
Department for posting to the
general ledger
document.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Information Processes


The Accounts Receivable
Department uses a copy of the
sales invoice to record invoice
amounts in the customer’s
account in the accounts
receivable subsidiary ledger.
The Inventory Control
Department reduces inventory
balances in the inventory
subsidiary ledger (for companies
that use a perpetual inventory
system) and assigns the goods
sold to cost of goods sold.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill

The General Ledger
Department uses the journal
voucher to record the total
sale as a debit to Accounts
Receivable and as a credit to
Sales in the general ledger.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Receive Payment



At this point, the company
waits for the customer to
return payment.
Often the sales invoice
includes an additional page to
be returned wit the payment,
called a remittance advice, lists
the customer’s name, account
number, and balance due.
Generally, two people are
assigned to open the mail to
reduce employee fraud or
theft.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill

The employees document the
payments by completing a batch
remittance list that lists the
source of each check and its
amount.

The amount of the check is
compared with the amount on the
remittance advice to verify their
equality and the check is
restrictively endorsed “for
deposit only”.
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Information Processes


A copy of the batch remittance list is 
sent, along with the checks, to
personnel in the Cash Receipts
Department.
A deposit slip is prepared to deposit the
checks in the bank. The batch
remittance list is used as a source
document to record the cash received
in the cash receipts journal. The totals
are used to prepare a journal voucher
that is sent to the General Ledger
Department to update (increase) the
General Ledger Cash account and
(decrease) the General Ledger
Accounts Receivable control account.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The batch of remittance advices
is sent to the Accounts
Receivable Department where
the customer's subsidiary ledger
is updated to reflect the
payment. The remittance
advices are placed in customer
files to document the customer
payment. A copy of the batch
remittance list is also sent to the
controller to reconcile total
remittances for the day to the
bank deposit amount (recorded
on a validated deposit slip
obtained from the bank).
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Sample Data Flows Commonly Associated with
the Sales/Collection Process











Customer Order
Sales Order
Picking Slip
Packing Slip
Bill of Lading/Shipping Notice
Sales Invoice (Bill)
Remittance Advice
Deposit Slip
Customer Check
Open Sales Order
Open Sales Invoice
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Traditional, Manual Sales/Collection Process - Part 1
Customer
Customer
Order
/O copy
acknowledgement
S 6
Credit
Manager
Sales
Order
Sales
Order
Customer
Order
Prepare
Sales
Orders
Approve
Credit
Invoice
C
E
Hold Until
Shipped
S/O
copies
Sales
Order
Shipping
Notice
Match Copies
/
Extend
Prices
Prepare
Invoice
Approved
S/O
D
Goods, Pkg
slip 3, Bill of
lading 1&2
Billing
Sales
Journal
F
I
G
C
Release all S/O
copies after
credit approval
B
Dr/Cr to
G/L
A= Alphabetic
C= Chronological
N= Numerical
A
A
.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
Sales Order #2
& Customer Order
H
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Traditional, Manual Sales/Collection Process - Part 1
Inventory
Control
Warehouse
F
Shipping
Notice
Post to
inv.
records
Inventory
Sub.
Ledger
.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
Shipping
A
B
Picking
Slip S/O
Packing
Slip S/O
Copy
Release
Goods
Picking
Slip S/O
Prepare
Shipping
Documents
Bill of
Lading
Ship
documents
& goods
Accounts
Receivable
General
Ledger
I
H
Accts Rec
Invoice copy
Dr/Cr to G/L
Post to
A/R sub
ledger
Post to
General
Ledger
A/R sub
ledger
General
Ledger
Bill of
Lading 3
N
Shipping
Notice
Goods,
Pkg slip 3,
Bill of
lading 1&2
D
E
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Traditional, Manual Sales/Collection Process - Part 2
Customer
Mail Check
and RA
Mail
Room
Cash
Receipts
Accounts
Receivable
In
Batches
Remittance
Advice
Controller
Bank
D
C
B
Cheques
Remittance
Advices
Deposit
Slip &
Checks
Dr/Cr to
G/L
A
Remittance
List
Created
A
Post to
A/R sub
ledger
Remittance
List 2
Remittance
List 1
Remittance
List 2
General
Ledger
Post to
General
Ledger
A/R
sub
ledger
Batch of
Checks
Gener
al
Ledger
Remittance
List 1
Compare
Bank
Validates
Deposit
Validated
Deposit
Slip
A
Batch of
Checks
Prepare
deposit
slip
Remittance
Advices
Post to
Cash Rec.
Journal
Remittance
Lists
Remittance
Advice
Checks and
Deposit
Slip
Cash
Receipts
Journal
D
Dr/Cr to
G/L
C
Remittance Lists
and Deposit Slips
A= Alphabetic
C= Chronological
N= Numerical
N
B
.
C
General
Ledger
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
An Overview Of The Traditional
Automated Sales/collection Process



Authorizations and data access can be provided through
computer screens there is potential for decrease in the
amount of paper
The paper sales and cash receipts journals in a manual
system have been physically changed to disk or tape
transaction files. The paper inventory and accounts
receivable subsidiary ledgers and the paper general
ledger have been upgraded to disk or tape master files.
Input typically comes from a hard copy document (the
document symbols) and goes through one or more
processes. Processes (represented by rectangles) store
data in files (the tape or disk symbols) or prepare data in
the form of a report (also a document symbol).
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
An Overview Of The Traditional
Automated Sales/collection Process



Each program can include screens for collecting data,
edit checks on the data entered, instructions for
processing and storing the data, security procedures
(e.g., limiting access via passwords or user IDs), and
steps for generating and displaying output.
To understand the files and their use, it is important to
consider their contents (their record layouts).
Notice the relationship between the documents and
files used for input and the files and documents
generated as output. The input documents and the
files must contain the data necessary to generate the
desired output.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Traditional Automated Sales/Collection
Process Flowchart - Order Entry
From customer or
salesperson
Customer’s order
Performed by
sales order clerk
Enter order via
terminal
Edit order, preform
credit check & check
inventory
Customer
master file
Picking list
To warehouse
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
Exception
and error
display
Merchandise inventory
master file
Open sales order file
Customer’s
order
Print order documents
Order
s
Acknowledgement
To customer
Sales
Order
Orde
rs
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Traditional Automated Sales/Collection
Process Flowchart - Shipping
Picking list
(amended)
From
warehouse
Performed by
shipping clerk
Exception
and error
display
Enter data concerning goods
delivered to shipping
Picking list
(amended)
Edit data concerning picked goods
Shipping file
Shipping
reference file
Print shipping documents
Bill of
lading
Packing slip
Performed by
shipping clerk
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
Pack goods
with
packing slip
enclosed &
ship
Shipping
notice
Shippin
g file
To carrier and
customer
To billing
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Traditional Automated Sales/Collection
Process Flowchart - Billing
From shipping
Shipping notices
Prepare batch total
Performed by billing
clerk
Shipping notices
Exception
and error
display
Enter batch total & select prices
Customer
billing data
Customer
master file
Edit billing data
Pricing ref.
file
A/R master
file
Printed at end
of day
Billing file
To customers
1
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
1
Merch. Inv.
master file
General
ledger file
Sales history
file
Open sales
invoice file
Sales invoice
To billing
Open sales
order file
Prepare
invoices &
update files
Invoice register
Customer
order
Shipping notices
A/R summary
Compare
to batch
totals of
invoices
File
Invoice batch
totals
Performed by accounts
receivable clerk
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Traditional Automated Sales/Collection
Process Flowchart - Mail Room
From customer
Checks
Remittance advices
Performed by mail
room clerk
Endorse checks &
prepare batch total
Batch total
Checks
Remittance advices
Enter cash receipts
& batch total
Edit receipts data, list errors &
write to receipts file
Separate checks
& remittance
advices
Exception &
summary report
Remittance advices
Checks
Error &
exception
display
To accounts
receivable
To cashier
Customer A/R file
Open sales invoice file
Cash receipts file
Compare batch totals &
print remittance list
Program compares
computed totals from
processed batch with
precomputed batch totals
Remittance list
To accounts receivable
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Traditional Automated Sales/Collection
Process Flowchart - Cashier
From mail room
Remittance list
Checks
Performed by cashier
Checks
Remittance list
Compare
Fromother
sources
Checks
Enter data from
checks
Add new check data to
file & print outputs
Deposit slip
Cash receipts file
Cash receipts
listing
C/R file
To bank
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
To accounting
manager
To accounts
receivable
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Traditional Automated Sales/Collection
Process Flowchart - Accounts Receivable
From mail room
From cashier
Remittance list
Batch total
Remittance advices
Exception & summary report
Customer
reference files
Compare &
make
corrections &
reconciliations
Performed by accounts
receivable clerk
Error &
exception
display
Enter changes
Remittance list
Remittance advices
Edit change data
Exception & summary report
Open sales
invoice file
Cash receipts file
Update files &
print analyses
GL trans.
summary
file
Customer
A/R file
File
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
Customer
A/R file
Updating errors
report
A/R summary
Compare,
reconcile,
adjust
To managers (and
summary files)
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Criticisms of Traditional IT
Applications

Multiple systems


Subset of the process


the sales/collection process has helped you notice the large
number of IT applications and which exist in each functional
area, including production, marketing, and finance.
each of the traditional IT applications capture, store, and
process data about a subset of the events. None of the
applications provide an organization-wide view of this
process.
Untimely processing

system does not capture data in real time, significant amount
of processing delays results
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Criticisms of Traditional IT
Applications

Limited characteristics


Level of aggregation


The traditional accounting system captures only limited
characteristics about the events (e.g., date, account, and
amount). Capturing only limited characteristics restricts the
types of information accountants can provide to information
customers.
Data stored in the traditional accounting system is typically
very summarized.
One view

the traditional accounting system restricts users to only one
view of the businessthe financial view
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Opportunities to Improve the Process

3 opportunities for accounting and IT professionals to
enhance their value:




Define rules to shape the business processes.
Embed IT applications in business processes to control the
process and to capyure and store detailed data in real time.
Provide useful information for decision makers to plan, execute,
control, or evaluate the organization.
Understanding and defining a business process includes:


Describing each event, what triggers the event, and the business
rules associated with the event.
Identifying business risks associated with each event
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
New Architectures to Support the
Sales/Collection Process

Organizations can significantly improve processes by
following just one simple principle:


Embed IT into the business process so business event data
are recorded and event/process rules are executed as each
event occurs.
The REAL analysis framework aids in analyzing
business events by highlighting what (the resources
involved in the event), who (the internal and external
agents), and where (the location) of each event. The
events, agents, and resources involved in the
sales/collection process will vary somewhat from
organization to organization.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Providing Useful Measures About the
Sales/Collection Business Process

Top Management

Top managers are primarily interested in summary
information for the sales efforts of the entire enterprise:
– Market share of company products compared to the market share of
competitors.
– Trends in sales this year compared to prior years.
– Changes over time in key economic indicators compared to changes
in the organization’s sales, sales returns and allowances, and
uncollectibe accounts.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Providing Useful Measures About the
Sales/Collection Business Process

Marketing

Information relevant to marketing includes:
–
–
–
–
–
Amount and location of inventory in stock.
Customer preferences and changes in those preferences.
Cost to produce each product and to provide each service.
Activity and success of each salesperson.
Quantity and price of each product sold
by salesperson, by customer type, and
by geographic area.
– Detailed information on competitor’s
products, services, pricing strategy,
and advertising campaigns.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Providing Useful Measures About the
Sales/Collection Business Process

Human Resource


requires labor information to determine workforce needs,
oversee employee scheduling, initiate employee
compensation, and conduct employee performance
evaluation.
Production

to maintain adequate stores of
inventory on hand and produce
a quality product.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Providing Useful Measures About the
Sales/Collection Business Process

Finance & Accounting

Finance people must provide:
– Strategic management and analysis.
– Management control measures that tie actions to
corporate strategy.
– Cost management that is forward focused.
– Effective & efficient management
of financial processes.
– Support for the core
business processes.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Christopher, Inc. Sales/Collection
REAL Model
(1,1)
Customer
(0,*)
(1,1)
Call on
Customer
(1,1)
(1,1)
Salesperson
Customer
Places
Order
(0,*)
(1,1)
(1,1)
(0,*)
Inventory
(1,*)
(0,*)
Pick/Pack
Inventory
(0,*)
(1,1)
Order Clerk
Warehouse
Clerk
(1,1)
Shipping
Clerk
(0,*)
Ship Order
(0,*)
(1,*)
(0,*)
Bank
(1,1) (0,*)
Cash
(1,1)
(0,*)
Collect
Payment
Carrier
(0,*)
Cashier
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Sales/Collection Process
Sample Events







Marketing event
Customer Order event
Move the Goods from Warehousing to Shipping event
Ship Goods and/or Provide Services event
Receive Customer Payment event
Accept Returns and Approve Allowance event
Write Off Uncollectible Accounts event
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Sales/Collection Process
Sample Information Customers
Top Management
Marketing
Accounting
Finance
Production
Customers
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Christopher, Inc. Sales/Collection Process
Event Logical Structures: (used to store documentation data about events)
SALES-CALL
Sales call #, [Salesperson Employee #], [Customer #], Date, Starting
time, Ending time, Meeting location, Meeting expense, Notes about
the meeting (e.g. products discussed and other comments)
CUSTOMER ORDER
Sales order #, [Salesperson Employee #], [Customer #], [Customer
Service Representative Employee #], Date, Time, Shipping
instructions, Cancel by date, Location of order (e.g., phone, during
sales call, fax, or mail),
MOVE INVENTORY
Picking #, [Sales Order #], [Warehouse Clerk Employee #], Date,
Time started, Time completed, Time released to shipping area
SHIP MERCHANDISE
Bill of Lading #, Invoice #, [Picking #], [Shipping Clerk Employee #],
[Customer #], [Carrier ID #], Date, Time, Shipment tracking #,
Packaging information, Shipping cost, Sales tax, Salesperson
commission
COLLECT PAYMENT
Cash receipt #, [Cash account #], [Cashier Employee #], [Customer #],
Date, Time, Amount received, Electronic funds transfer #
ORDER/INVENTORY
[Sales order #], [Inventory Item #], Quantity ordered
MOVE/INVENTORY
[Picking #], [Inventory Item #], Quantity picked
SHIP/INVENTORY
[Bill of Lading #], [Invoice #], [Inventory Item #], Quantity shipped,
Price each
SHIP/COLLECT PAYMENT
[Cash receipt #], [Invoice #], Amount applied to this invoice
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
Christopher, Inc. Sales/Collection Process
Resource Logical Structures: (used to store reference data about resources)
INVENTORY
Inventory item #, Description, Product specification, Reorder point,
Current Price, Beginning Quantity, Beginning Quantity date
CASH
Cash Account #, [Bank #], Type of account (e.g., checking, savings,
CD, etc.), Beginning Balance, Beginning Balance date
Agent Logical Structures: (used to store reference data about agents)
EMPLOYEE
Employee #, Name, Street address, City, State, Zip, Telephone #, Birth
date, Marital Status, Job code (e.g., salesperson, shipping clerk,
cashier, etc.), Start date, Salary, Comments
CUSTOMER
Customer #, [Salesperson Employee #], Name, Street address, City,
State, Zip, Telephone #, Credit rating, Credit limit
CARRIER
Carrier Id #, Carrier Name, Street address, City, State, Zip, Telephone
#, Contact Person, Rate information
BANK
Bank #, Bank name, Contact person, Bank street address, City, State,
Zip, Bank phone #
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000