Pastel Overview of Deleting Customer and Supplier Accounts
Before you can delete customer and supplier accounts, you need to be aware of the following issues:
The Account Balance Must be Zero
You cannot delete an account which has a balance. In the case of an inactive customer who still has a balance, you could either transfer the balance into a bad debts account so that you can delete it, or you could block the account until the amount is collected.
Tip If you write off an unpaid balance on a customer account, you may be able to claim a tax refund on the outstanding balance.
Invoice History
You cannot delete an account if there is invoice history for it. You control how much invoice history you keep in the system, by periodically deleting invoice history.
Transactions
Whenever you process to a customer or supplier, Pastel creates a transaction to store the information. These transactions are stored for two financial years. When you need to delete an account, these transactions have to be dealt with.
We cannot delete these transactions without creating integrity problems – the system would go out of balance. Although the account’s balance is zero, Pastel ensures that each entry type in each period balances, and deleting these transactions would put these balances out.
On the one hand, we cannot leave the transactions, since they are not attached to an account. Also, if in the future you were to create another account with the same code as the account you delete, then these transactions would incorrectly attach themselves to the new account.
Pastel solves this issue by using a dummy customer or supplier account, to which it transfers the transactions of all accounts it deletes. You need to create a customer or supplier account for this purpose. These accounts should be balance-forward, and they should be set to not print statements/remittances.
Deleting Customer and Supplier Accounts
Use the Change…Delete Inactive Customers / Suppliers menu option to delete old and/or inactive customers and suppliers.
Once you choose whether to delete customers or suppliers, you then have to choose an account to which to transfer the transactions of deleted accounts.
Next, you choose a range of accounts. If you wish to only delete one account, enter it here. Otherwise, in the next screen, you can specify inactivity criteria. Pastel will only delete zero balance accounts in the range you specify which also meet the criteria.
Deleting Accounts which have Never Been Used
If you create a customer or supplier account, and you never use the account, then you can use this Assistant to delete it. However, a quicker and simpler method is to use the Delete button in the edit screen for that account
A customer paid a deposit an 2014 his trip was postponed and this amount was cleared out in a 999 account how do I now reallocate this money to this customer who came and visited in 2015
Hi
You go to Process… Journals… Customer journals.
Debit the customers account with the amount, and the contra account will be the 999 suspense account.
Hi
I mistakenly captured an invoice at an incorrect amount, how do i delete it from the system.
Hi Samantha,
There is no way to delete a document from Pastel on a live system. Its for audit trail purposes, and to stop any “funnies” happening, and to cover yourself.
You have to do a credit note, for the same amount as your invoice. Try using the same date, and the same item code / GL code, and update it.
Then make a new invoice with the correct amount.
How do I transfer an outstanding balance from a customer account (that is inactive) into a bad debt account?
Hi Andre.
Go to a Customer Journal.
Choose your correct period, choose the customers account, … description…amount in credit… and contra the bad debts account.
This will take it off their account, and onto the ledger.
Not hard to do.
Bev
I have old customers who have not traded since 2010. I want to delete them but every time I try I get the message “This customer code ****** cannot be deleted because transactions or balances exist for this customer” _ I have tried every thing but nothing works. Any suggestions please. I am using Pastel Express Version 11. Many thanks
Hi Pat,
In answer to your question. As you know you cannot delete anything in Pastel for 2 years.
For audit trail purposes, and because Pastel always keeps the last 2 years available to view in that company.
By this they mean:
1 – You cannot have processed anything on that customer for two years (at all).
2 – You cannot have any balances on that account.
I know other consultants will disagree with me, but I’ve seen accounts that haven’t been touched for five years, but because they have a balance Pastel wont delete them.
So, to make life interesting, if they have balances on their accounts journalise these out, to a zero.
Then forget all about those accounts. And in 3 years time you will have the joy of deleting them 🙂
Have a good easter.
Bev
Hi
There are some clients who have small credit balances but now no longer trade with us. I was thinking of doing a customer journal and using the contra account sundry income , would this be correct ?
Hi
Once i have completed the customer journal removing the credits from clients who no longer trade and using the sundry income account as contra account. Would another journal need to be done to clear the sundry income account ?
Hi Bev
Thank you for the feedback. Would i need to do another journal to clear this from the sundry income account ?
Hi Trisha.
That sounds like a good plan 🙂
A customer journal is correct. The contra account sound right, but I ask that you always check with your accountant, or auditors as they do the financials, and each one has their own way of doing things.
KR,
Bev
Hi Bev
Thank you for feedback. Would there be another journal that would need to be done to clear Sundry income ?
Hi Trisha
Sorry for the late reply.
No, not from your side.
If your accountant wants to clean it up at year end, he will provide the journal entries you would need to make.
Bev
Good Day,
I am hoping you can assist here,
It was brought to my attention that Fraud was being committed with commissions not being allocated to the correct sales person.
It was noticed that sales figures had been ‘manipulated’ the day before month end rollover , even when the rollover period fell on a weekend when nobody should have been in the office.
Is there a way in which to see who accessed the system to make these changes and ultimately trace the culprit?
Will the Audit trail show this detail?
Hi Howard
This reply is so late that I’m sure you found your answer already.
My apologies.
Good thing you picked this up.
I have been busy lecturing Pastel to UNISA students, and this is one of the lessons that’s drummed into them, funny enough.
The audit trail would tell you who was in that batch before it was updated, but unless everybody keeps their passwords strictly to themselves, then anybody could log in on another user and quickly change the rep codes.
If you really want an answer, its probably better to get an IT techie to look at the IP address to see which machine was being used to access the server.
But this means a lot of work.
So from now on, everybody changes their passwords, and user rights get set up strictly, and they get held accountable even if they were not the culprit.
Best regards
Bev
Good Day,
In connection with deleting inactive accounts. I beg to differ. I have accounts which have been dormant for more than 4 years but Pastel would not allow me to delete these accounts.
Hi Anneke
My replies are so late. I apologise.
I have to say I beg to agree with you.
All the documentation states it can be done, but I’ve not had it happen for me. And you end up getting this massive list of unused accounts.
As a customer or consultant, we both don’t have access to the programmers. Its a bit like trying to get hold of a supervisor at Telk0m 😉
We are told that if you want something changed you have to email [email protected].
Have a good day
Hi , I accidentally added a GL account as a bank account (cash book). I don’t want an additional cashbook how do I delete or remove it?