Manage Credit Control using Sage Accounts 50

Updated On: May 25, 2026 12:02 pm

Sage 50 Credit control is used to monitor customer’s accounts so that they can stay motivated to pay all outstanding invoices through Phone Calls, Debtor Letters, Statements and Sanctions. All you have to do is write Customer’s Debt and the customer will find it that he/she is not able to pay his/her outstanding invoices.

Steps to manage credit control using Sage accounts 50

Various Customers’ Records are connected to Terms of Payments. It also calculates the invoices of the due dates.

It consists of calculation of starting point and number of days. Example: the employment of payment terms.

• Starting of Month: 30 days
• Date of Documentation: 25 days

Also Read: Setting Up Accounts Payable in Sage 50

Ageing Periods

• Outstanding Transactions in the Ageing periods are determined by the length of time since the initially posted time. It can easily be set from three to eight different periods. All the periods have specific days. Typically, it contains a number of days: 30, 60 and 90.
• Enter the date into your computer and the transaction will be aged from the same date only. Normally, it is treated like that your days in payment terms and your date of the first period should be the same.
• The Aged Debtors Report in your first day will show the transactions that are not due for the payment yet.

The transaction along with the ageing period falls into this is printer like:

• Customer’s Statement.
• Aged Debt Report.

Periods of Due Date

Any transaction’s escalation point has been marked with the due date period. It is for those who have passed the due date. 3 to 8 separate due date periods can be set and can also be linked with each of the due date periods.
The calculation of the due date period starts from the day/date of the invoices to be paid and the category, the transactions fall into. These are taken as.

• Debtor letters.
• Due date reports.

Monitoring of Customer Debt

Various inquiry screens and a number of reports are used for monitoring the net amount of debts you carry. It is to view all outstanding debts of the customers in one go with very high convenience.

For Monitoring Total Debt Levels

• Report of Aged Debtor
• There are detailed versions of the summary and report.

Examination of Single Customer’s Debt

• Work space Credit Control

Motivating Customers to Pay

• It gives motivation of paying outstanding debts to the customers. You can send Debtor Letters and Statements to the customers.
• Oldest transaction of the customer is linked with the age of the debtor letter. A debtor with escalating severity can easily be set up and it can be linked to the period of the due date that has been defined.
• Outstanding debts are only produced with the help of debtor letters along with the alignment of generated letters and customer’s oldest debts.

Non-paying Customer Sanctioning

If any outstanding debt is not addressed by the customer, perform this action:

• Reduce the payment terms and credit limit
• Place the account that can be kept on hold so that you can’t raise an

These actions can be linked to the debtor’s letter production so that a certain age can’t be achieved for a letter generation and the sanction can be applied to the customer’s account.

Also Read: Apply Credit towards open Invoices on Sage 50

Customers Credit Control

Any firm must have credit control since it enables you to efficiently manage your cash flow and steer clear of bad debts and late payments. Managing your outstanding debts is made simple by the customer credit control choices:

• Looking at your accounts’ past transactions and balances
• Recording contacts for customers
• Making payments
• Disputing items
• Handling bad debts
• Writing off invoices

Because the credit management options and the cash flow option are closely related, your cash flow forecast is updated with any promised payments and amounts paid. Let’s examine the possibilities in more detail.

If you want to find out more, then you have to select the options below:

Chase debt

NOTE:  Sage 50 Accounts Standard and Professional both have this feature.

1. Click Customers, then choose the Chase debt view.

The Chase debt view provides an alternative to the customer list. It shows customer accounts along with a summary of their current credit position as follows:

A/C:  The customer’s account reference

Name:  Shows which accounts have been marked as inactive

Contact Name:  The customer’s contact name

Telephone:  The customer’s telephone number

Overdue: The total amount of past-due invoices.

Note: This also includes any transactions that will fall due within the specified period.

• Sage 50 Accounts v28.0 and earlier: When the Payment Due Days on a customer record is set to zero, the default overdue period for invoices is 30 days.
• Sage 50 Accounts v28.1 and later:  You have the option to choose whether bills become past due immediately (0 days) or after 30 days when the Payment Due Days on a customer record is set to zero.

Balance: Shows the outstanding balance. This also includes invoices due within the days entered in the Due in XX day(s) box.

Payment Method:  The customer’s normal payment method, as stated on the Bank tab of their record.

Promised Payment:  When a promised payment is recorded for the customer in the Communications area, this column displays Y.

Follow up: The date is scheduled for any follow-up action you need to complete.

You can customize the columns in this window to match your needs. You can add or remove columns by right-clicking on a column heading and choosing or clearing the desired options.

1. To change the period shown in the credit control list, enter the required number in the Due in XX day(s) box.
2. When finished, click Close.

Record communications

NOTE: This option is available in Sage 50 Accounts Standard and Professional.

1. Click Customers, then select Chase debt.
2. Choose the required customer account and click Communications.
3. To add a new communication, click Add entry.
   • To amend an existing communication, select the entry you want to update, click Edit entry, and complete the Customer Communications History window as needed.

Communication Details

Enter the general details of the contact, such as the contact type, date, and contact name.
The contact type can be recorded as Telephone, Letter / Fax / Email, or Meeting.

NOTE: When editing an existing contact, the overall contact type cannot be changed. For example, a Telephone contact cannot be altered to a Letter.

Contact Details

When you record a Telephone call, the number stored in the customer record automatically appears in the Telephone box.
To dial the number if you’re using the Windows Phone Dialler, click the finder button next to it.

TIP: By default, Telephone is selected for all new contacts.

Telephone Timer

Use this area to track the duration of a telephone call. Click Start when the call begins—the timer will run until you click Stop at the end of the call.

• Start shows the time the conversation began.
• Stop shows the time the conversation ended.
• Duration displays the total length of the call in hours, minutes, and seconds.

Communication Result

Record the contact’s outcome in this section. From the Outcome drop-down list, select the appropriate option.

• If you select Payment Promised, enter the Promised Amount and the Due Date.
  
  • When promised payments already exist, the Follow-up column in the Chase debt view updates with the date of the most recent contact that includes a promised payment.
  • The promised payment details also appear in the Bank accounts – Cash flow window.

You can also:

• Set a Follow-up Date.
• Choose the required Account Status.
• Select the appropriate Credit Position.
  

3. To generate an invoice for the contact, click Invoice and enter the required details.
4. For telephone contacts, Sage 50 Accounts automatically calculates the chargeable time using the Telephone Timer details. For other contact types, or if the timer was not used, you must enter the chargeable time manually.
   5. When finished, click Save, then click Close.

View a Customer’s Transaction History

• Click Customers, then select the Chase debt view.
• Select the customer account you want, then click Activity.
• To filter transactions:
• From the Show drop-down list, choose a predefined range.
• To set your own dates, select Custom Range and enter the required dates.
• When finished, click Close.

View Aged Balances for a Customer

1. Click Customers, then select the Chase debt view.
2. Click Aged debt after selecting the desired client account.
3. Enter the required dates and click OK.
4. To set the ageing periods:

• Click Settings.
• Select Customer Defaults.
• Click the Ageing tab.

1. Use the following options as needed:

Detailed – Displays the account’s detailed aged balances.

Print List – Prints the list of aged balances.

To Excel – Exports the list of aged balances to Microsoft Excel.

Graph tab – Presents the aged balances in a graphical format.

1. Click on Close

Flag Transactions in Dispute

NOTE: This option is available in Sage 50 Accounts Standard and Professional.

Set Up or Amend Dispute Reason Codes

1. Click Settings.
2. Click Configuration.
3. Select the Dispute Reasons tab.

Flag a Transaction as Disputed

1. After choosing Chase debt, click Disputes after selecting Customers.
2. From the A/C drop-down, choose the required customer and click OK.
3. Select the transaction you want to dispute, then click Dispute.
4. From the Reason code drop-down, select the appropriate dispute reason and click OK.

Remove Disputed Status

1. Select the disputed transaction.
2. Click Dispute to clear the status.
3. When finished, click Save, then click Close.

Apply credit charges

Set Up Finance Rates

Before applying credit charges to customers, you need to set up the finance rates.

Create Finance Rates

1. Click Settings, then click Configuration.
2. Select the Terms tab.
3. In the Customer Finance Rates section, click Add.
4. Enter the Start Date for the finance rate.
5. Enter the Base Rate percentage and any Additional Percentage Rate.
6. Click OK, then click Apply.

Enable Credit Charges for a Customer

1. Open the required Customer Record.
2. Click the Credit Control tab.
3. Select the Can charge credit check box.
4. Click Save.

Apply Credit Charges

1. Click Customers, then select Chase debt and click Credit charges.
2. If a message appears stating that this option cannot be used for customers with a foreign currency:
   • Click Yes to proceed.
   • To get back to the Credit Control window, click No.
3. Click Backup, complete the backup as required, then click Next.
4. For the credit charge transactions, enter the date and department.
5. (Optional) To include disputed items in the calculation, select the Include Disputed Items check box, then click Next.
6. Click Next after choosing which Customer Accounts will be charged.
7. Select the Transactions to be included, then click Next and click Post.
8. To finish:
   • Select Print Summary to print a report of the charges.
   • Select Exit without printing summary to post charges without printing.
9. Click Exit.

Write Off Outstanding Transactions

NOTE: This wizard can only be used to write off bad debts if you are on the Standard VAT scheme. If you use the VAT Cash Accounting scheme, debts must be written off manually (see the related guide).

1. Click Customers, then select Chase debt, and click Write offs & returns.
2. Choose the Write Off Type.
3. From the Select Account drop-down, choose the required customer account, then click OK.
4. Click Next, then select the transactions to be written off and click Next again. If you select Customer Invoice Refunds, Refund Credit Notes, or Payment on Account Refund, also choose a Bank Account from the drop-down list.
5. Enter the Date and an Additional Reference, then click Next.
6. Review the details, and if correct, click Post.

View the Days Sales Analysis Information

NOTE: This option is available in Sage 50 Accounts Standard and Professional.

1. Click Customers.
2. Select Chase debt.
3. Click Debt analysis.

Suppliers credit control

Controlling your credit is crucial for managing your cash flow and preventing bad debts and late payments.

Manage your outstanding creditors by:

• Looking at your accounts’ past transactions and balances
• Recording contacts for suppliers
• Making suggested payments
• Disputing items
• Handling bad debts
• Writing off invoices

Manage payments

Use the Supplier Manage Payments window to view details such as overdue balances and promised payments.

Record communications

Use the options on the Supplier record – Communications tab to record and track contact with your suppliers.

View a supplier’s transaction history

View your transactions and aged balances in the Supplier record – Activity tab.

View a supplier’s aged balance

Review outstanding amounts in the Supplier Aged Balances article.

Flag transactions in dispute

Flag supplier invoices as in dispute to record unresolved issues or service concerns.

Write off outstanding transactions

To write off bad debts, specific transactions, or entire accounts, use the Write Off, Refunds, and Returns wizard.

Suggested payments to suppliers

Prioritize your available finances when paying suppliers by using the Suggest Payments feature.

Final Words

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