Financial Matters
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The Netsuite Financial Tab
There are some areas within the ‘Financial’ tab of a customer record that employees should familiarise themselves with. You can add/edit information of certain fields by clicking the ‘Edit’ button.
VAT Reg Number
This field is applicable to customers registered in the EU – if your customer provides a valid VAT number they will not be liable to pay UK VAT. This obviously does not apply to UK customers who will always be charged at 20%. It is important that VAT numbers are validated, otherwise Flashbay may be held accountable for payment when incorrect numbers are used. There is a simple procedure to validate VAT numbers:
Enter the VAT number then click the link which says ‘click here to check updated VAT number’ – if the number is valid it will show a green tick, and if invalid will show a red cross. Alternatively you can validate the VAT number via this link http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/vieshome.do. This website is also useful if you need to check whether a VAT number is in the correct format.
Currency
By default, the currency of every new lead is set to the respective currency of the territory you primarily deal with. When you are scheduling an order for a first-time customer that is not being billed in the default currency, the correct currency must be selected and saved beforehand. The currency cannot be changed after the first order has been placed. Therefore it is suggested to set the currency you anticipate will be used when first viewing the lead.
Credit Applications and Payment Terms
By default all Flashbay customers are placed on Advanced Payment terms. Customers meeting our strict criteria may be offered Credit terms subject to approval as detailed below:
1. Advance Payment
New customers should always be placed on advance payment with the exception of certain classes of customers who can be considered for credit terms immediately, e.g. major companies or governmental institutions.
2. Credit terms
The Credit Auto Assessment Tool within Netsuite should initially be used on every occasion to assess the amount of credit Flashbay can offer.
Credit requests less than or equal to £10,000 or equivalent in other currencies
- All customer records should already have the customer web address completed but if this has not been done enter it now:
Please ensure you have entered the correct web address, as in the example above the general BMW website (www.bmw.com) would alter the credit approval outcome.
In case of franchises or groups it's important to enter the real address for the actual business of the customer rather then the global address.
All credit requests are logged and overviewed to improve the decision making process.
- The Credit Auto Assessment tool can be found under the 'Financial' tab on customer records.
Clicking the 'Credit Auto Assessment' link will launch a small popup window containing the output of the tool.
Approved Credit:
If you receive approval for your credit request you can go ahead and enter the given credit terms into Netsuite:
Declined Credit:
If the tool does not approve sufficient credit or any credit at all, Sales Team Managers can choose to carefully analyse the creditworthiness of a customer if the amount requested is less than or equal to £10k GBP (or equivalent in other currencies) and override the tool's decision.
Should a debtor subsequently become so delinquent that legal action has to be taken or the debt written off, Sales Team Managers will be held accountable if they did not perform the procedures outlined above.
Group Leaders must seek approval from Sales Team Managers if they wish to override the tool.
Credit requests over £10,000 or equivalent in other currencies
- Compose an email to Accounts UK using the Text Parts template found at:
- New Email -> Text Parts -> Credit requests -> Accounts UK (> 10,000 GBP)
- Customers most likely to receive credit terms
- - Governments and their associated departments
- - Educational Institutions e.g. schools, colleges and universities
- - Multinational and reputable large companies e.g. Rio Tinto, Coca Cola
- Customers unlikely to receive credit terms
- - Resellers
- - Sole Traders / ‘One man/woman’ businesses
- - Small companies with little trading history
- - Companies that we have any reason to suspect of fraudulent or untrustworthy activity
- Before asking Accounts for credit terms employees should ensure that they have collected the following information from the customer:
- 1) Their legitimate website URL
- 2) The billing address provided by the customer should match one of the physical addresses shown on their website
- 3) A valid email address, which is from the company domain (i.e. no free mail addresses)
- 4) An official purchase order in PDF or Fax format with a company letter head
- Always use the provided Text Parts for any credit request and complete the required details in full:
- Customer number + company name:
- Amount + currency:
- Credit term (15 or 30 days):
- Complete address details:
- Please also remember:
- -The more days credit offered, the higher your profit margin should be.
- - If you are unsure about the credibility of your customer you may, offer 50% advance payment and 50% credit terms with a reasonable price level with the approval of your Sales Team Manager.
- - Enter the Purchase Order number if applicable (see NetSuite –> New Sales Order -> PO #).
- - Are there any special requirements for this order or terms? (e.g. Invoice to state different date or special shipment arrangements). All special requirements must be approved by your Sales Team Manager before the order is scheduled.
- - Has the customer agreed to the given credit terms in writing? There are too many amendments afterwards. The customer must provide written confirmation that they accept the payment terms.
- -Accounts are here to help, always ask them for help or clarification of any points if you are unsure
Customers that frequently order from us will sometimes request for a credit account. You should email them this link (with respective domain for your territory) so they can fill in a credit application online:
- www.flashbay.com/credit
- www.flashbay.co.uk/credit
- www.flashbay.de/credit
- etc...
Once your customer has submitted the form, you can expect to receive a decision from our accounts department within 1-3 working days. If the account is approved, you will be advised the relevant credit limit and payment terms (The accounts department will enter this information into the customer record). If an urgent decision is required, please contact your Sales Team Manager.
This information must be conveyed to your customer. If the customer is refused credit, advise them politely of this, and indicate that we will reconsider our decision in the near future once we have conducted more business together.
Occasionally, customers will place an order and apply for credit immediately afterwards. Let your customer know that it is no problem to process their application, however their current order will remain on advance payment as there is insufficient time to complete the process and meet their deadline.
Sometimes when you are scheduling orders for customers who already have credit terms, you may find they are overdue or will surpass their credit limit. In these circumstances, Netsuite will automatically prevent you from scheduling the order. The customer will need to clear their overdue balance before you can schedule a new order. If this is problematic for your customer, please contact your Sales Team Manager.
Open and Overdue Invoices and Payment Chasing
Sales employees should regularly review their customers' outstanding payments and chase for payment.
To view all unpaid invoices, employees should use one of the following options:
- My Sales Admin tab via Zimbra
- Netsuite via this link: https://system.netsuite.com/app/common/search/searchresults.nl?searchid=90 - at the bottom of the page you can change the ‘Sales Rep’ tab to ‘Mine’ to filter through invoices applicable only to yourself. By regularly reviewing this list, you can stay up-to-date with all of your customers' outstanding payments. You can also find this information displayed in the "My Sales Admin" section of Zimbra.
Payment chasing is very important:
- It helps to ensure that the customer receives their order on time
- When we go into pre-production we take on the financial risk for the order which exists until payment is received in full
- You receive your commission only when the order is paid in full
- Prompt customer payment helps Flashbay to maintain a healthy cash-flow
When to chase for payment:
- You should begin to chase payment from the first day that the customer is overdue
- We produce many orders overnight and they are ready for shipping the next day
- For Advance Payment customers payment chasing should begin on the same day after the order is scheduled
- It is best to Follow-up in the morning with a friendly email, for example:

- Dear [Customer name],
- Good news, I can confirm that your order is ready to be shipped once we have recieved proof of payment.
- You can pay for your order online by visiting our Customer Centre at www.flashbay.co.uk
- [change as appropriate for your territory] or by calling 0207 371 7333 [change as appropriate for your territory]
- Alternatively, please send me your proof of payment directly, if you have paid by bank transfer.
- This enables me to arrange prompt despatch of your goods and keep your delivery deadline of DD.MM.YY.
- Best regards,
- [Your Name]

After 3 days follow-up again but with more urgency, for example:
- Dear [Customer name],
- As I advised on DD.MM.YY, your order is ready to be shipped to you.
- In order that your delivery deadline of DD.MM.YY can be honoured please send me proof
- of payment or make payment for your order online by visiting our Customer Centre at www.flashbay.co.uk
- [change as appropriate for your territory] or by calling 0207 371 7333 [change as appropriate for your territory]
- Best regards,
- [Your Name]
After 7 days you must follow-up again, for example:
- Dear [Customer name],
- Your order has been ready to ship for the past week but cannot be released, as you have still not provided proof of payment.
- In order that your delivery deadline of DD.MM.YY can be honoured please send me proof
- of payment or make payment for your order online by visiting our Customer Centre at www.flashbay.co.uk
- [change as appropriate for your territory] or by calling 0207 371 7333 [change as appropriate for your territory]
- Best regards,

- [Your Name]
After 10 days and beyond you must contact your customer daily, for example:
- Subject line: Overdue payment reminder X [i.e. 1, 2, 3, ... as appropriate]
- Dear [Customer name],
- Your invoice is currently N days overdue. Please urgently contact me to provide proof of payment.
- [Information on deadline and implications for delivery due to the overdue payment]
- Best regards,
- [Your name]
From the 10th day you need to call and email your client every day. Calling prior to the 10th day is also beneficial but every call must be accompanied by a follow-up email.
Written confirmation:
Always get a written confirmation from your customer of any date given for when we
can expect receive payment. If payment confirmation is not received by this date then resume payment chasing.
Other possibilities if you cannot reach your customer:
- Be proactive and offer to call the customer’s accounts department directly
- Call the main reception and ask to speak to your customer contact or the person responsible for payment of invoices
- Include more email recipients on the email reminders that you are sending ( for example, CC the info@... or any other general accounts or contact email address that you are able to find on the customer website)
Customer relationship:
It is important to keep the relationship with your customer intact. You should make it clear to them
that your own accounts department is chasing you for payment proof, which is why you are chasing them.
Debt collection:
Once an invoice is 90 days overdue you need to forward full details of your case to your Team Leader and Accounts so that they can arrange for collection of the debt. 
We accept the following as proof of payment:
- Official bank remittance advice or proof of Online Banking transfer in PDF, fax or paper format
- Screenshot of payment confirmation screen showing successful payment
- Credit/Debit card with our secure online payment facilities provided in the Customer Centre on our website or over the phone (with a 1.5% surcharge except in the US and Japan)
- Please note that for reasons of data protection and security it is not acceptable to receive or internally communicate customer credit / debit card details by email.
- Where a customer insists on providing their card details to you directly these may only be accepted by telephone and recorded on the CreditCardFormUK, CreditCardFormAUS, CreditCardFormUS.
- You will be individually issued with three forms to keep on your desk and should collect a new blank form from accounts each time you hand in a completed form.
Payment proof, action items:
1. When you receive a remittance please email paymentproof@flashbay.com
- Subject line: IN123456
- Hi All,
- Please approve to ship, remittance attached
