Past Due Letter

Circulation has the capacity to create past due letters for home delivery carriers or dealers with balances in a specified age group. You can format the letter using File Map, or generate it from a template that you set up in the Progress Editor.

To produce the letters:

• Create a file map or a template for the letter (see below).

• Select Past Due Letter from the Account menu to display the Past Due Letter window.

• Click Add and complete the following fields.

Field	Type	What to enter
COMPANY	setup	Enter the company for which to generate letters.
BILL SOURCE	setup	Enter the bill source for which to generate letters.
ACCOUNT CLASS	setup	Enter the account class, if applicable.
ACCOUNT GROUP	setup	Enter the account group, if applicable.
AGE PERIOD	integer (1)	Enter the aging period for which to generate letters. Letters will be printed for accounts with unpaid balances in this aging period or higher.
FOR SELECTED PERIOD ONLY	yes/no	If you select this checkbox, only those accounts that have balances in the age period identified will be selected for this report. If you do not select this checkbox, accounts that have balances in the age period identified, and higher, will be included.
PERIODS TO AGE	integer (1)	This field determines how many aging “buckets” into which the aging balances should be sorted (e.g., age period 1, age period 2, age period 3, etc.). It must be equal to or greater than the age period.
MINIMUM DUE MAXIMUM DUE	decimal (13)	Enter the minimum and maximum amounts due. Only accounts that fall within this range will be selected.
SELECT TRUCK SEQUENCE TRUCK SEQUENCE	setup	Optionally, select this checkbox and specify a truck sequence. The truck sequence provides an addition criterion for selecting the accounts for which a letter will be generated.
SUSPENSION DATE	date	Enter the date on which deliveries will be terminated unless payment is received.
DELIVERY DATE	date	Enter the date the letters will be delivered.
DISTRIBUTION TYPE	predefined	Specify the type of distribution for which to create letters: single copy, route, or both.
CREATE EXPORT FILE	yes/no	Select this checkbox if you want to create an export file.
FILE FORMAT	setup	Select the file map you want to use for the export.
FILE NAME	open (30)	The default file name will be displayed. You can overwrite it if you wish.
FILE OPTION	predefined	Select append or replace.
TEMPLATE PATH	open (40)	Enter the directory path and file name of the letter template. You can define more than one letter template, for example, to send different letters to dealers and carriers, or if you want one letter for age period 2 or greater, another for age period 3 or greater, and so on.
GENERATE TASKS	yes/no	Enter “y” if you want to generate event tasks for qualifying accounts when running this report. Note: Event tasks must be set up previously.

• Click OK and then Continue to generate the letters.

How to Create a Letter Template

This procedure describes how to create the template (generalized form) for the letter using the Progress editor. Note that you can customize the letter for individual accounts by taking advantage of the method explained in Step 4.

To create a letter template:

• Select Progress Editor from the Utilities menu. (See the Progress manuals for more information about the editor.)

• Retrieve the sample template file by pressing F5 (or Ctrl-G) and entering reports/carr/pastdue/template. Then press F1.

• The sample template will be displayed on the screen. Save the file under a new name by accessing the top strip menu (press Esc-M) and selecting File | Save As. Enter another location and press F1.

Note: Be sure to save your template file in the /custom directory (or another safe directory). If it is saved back to its original location, it will be overwritten when software upgrades are installed.

• In addition to the body of the letter, you customize the letter for individual accounts by printing the contents of certain fields. These are listed in the following table. Enter these field names within curly brackets {} as in the sample provided.

Field name	What appears in the letter
HeadingDate	Current date.
AccountID	Carrier/dealer’s account number.
TruckNumber	Truck number from the truck sequence files.
AreaPhone	Carrier/dealer’s phone number.
Address1	Carrier/dealer’s name.
Address2	Carrier/dealer’s address.
Address3	Carrier/dealer’s address.
Address4	Carrier/dealer’s address.
Address5	Carrier/dealer’s address.
Address6	Carrier/dealer’s address.
Balance	Total balance due.
PastDueBal	Past due balance amount.
DueDay	Day payment is due based on the suspension date.
DueDate	Date payment is due based on the suspension date.

• Press F3 (or Ctrl-T) to enable insert mode so you can insert characters within in a line of text. (Press F3 again to disable insert mode.)

• When you have finished editing the letter, press F6 (or Ctrl-P) to save it. You can retrieve and edit it by following step 2.

• After saving your work, press F8 (or Ctrl-Z) to clear the screen.

• Type run sysinit and press F1 (or Ctrl-X) to exit to the main menu.

• Reference this new template by file_name_you_select when processing the past due letters.

Note: To customize the contents of the letter for individual accounts, place field names enclosed in curly brackets (e.g., {HeadingDate}) anywhere in the letter.

Example—Past Due Letter