Previously I’ve talked about setting up recurring transactions to automate transactions that occur on a regular schedule and with the same amounts each time. But many other transactions happen repeatedly but not a fixed schedule or maybe the amounts can vary each time. In that case, memorized transactions are the preferred solution.
Memorized transactions are like templates that you create so that you can use them later to speed up and simplify the entering of new transactions. Memorized transactions are available for:
- Quotes
- Sales Invoices
- Purchase Orders
- Purchase Invoices
- Payments
- General Journal Entries
There two ways to create a memorized transaction. I’ll use a sales invoice as an example.
1. Go to the Maintain menu and choose Memorized Transactions -> Sales Invoices. You will get a screen that looks almost identical to the invoicing screen. But the first field is Transaction ID. This is like all other IDs in Sage 50. The ID is required and must be unique so that it can identify this memorized invoice in the list. Next enter a brief description of this invoice. Then fill in the rest of the fields like you would for a real invoice. Normally you would only fill in the parts that you expect to stay the same when you use this to create a real invoice. If you have a customer that routinely purchases the same thing, you could fill in a complete invoice. But if you have a group of items that are commonly sold together to many different customers, you would want to enter the items but leave the Customer ID blank. When you are done, click the save button. This does not post an invoice, it just saves your work to the memorized transaction list.
2. The alternate method of creating a memorized invoice is to start in the Sales/Invoicing screen. Fill out all or part of the invoice. Click on the small down arrow at the right edge of the Save button. Then click the Memorize button. You will jump to an already completed Memorized Invoice window where you can assign a transaction ID and description. You can also edit it before saving if you need to. This method would be common if you are already entering an invoice when you realize you may want to issue the same or similar invoice again. After you save and close the Memorized Invoice window, you will still need to save or print your actual invoice, just like you normally would.
Now that you know how to create a memorized invoice, let’s talk about how to use one to create an actual invoice.
In the Sales/Invoicing window, click the down arrow at the right edge of the List button and click the Select button. You will be given a list of transaction IDs and descriptions. Just select the one you want and click OK. Everything that was on the memorized invoice will be placed on your new invoice. You can now edit, save, or print the invoice just like you could if it had been hand entered. Saving your invoice does not affect the memorized transaction.
If you ever need to change the memorized transaction, you can edit it in Maintain – Memorized Transactions.
