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The eTailPet system enables you to give your best customers in-house credit accounts that they can use to purchase products and services. This article shows you how to set up in-house credit accounts and how customers can pay their balance. Take a look!

Account Setup

Here is how you can set up a customer's In-House Credit account:

1. In the main Dashboard menu on the left, go to Customers.
2. Find the customer you want and click on their name. 💡Pro Tip: Email searches are faster because they usually have the fewest matches to search through.
   
3. In the Customers detail page, make sure the Customer Info tab on the left is selected. Scroll down to the In-House Credit Enabled setting and check the box.
   
4. When you're finished, click the Save button in the lower right.

Using a Credit Account in New Sale as a Payment Method

When you go to the Payment page in New Sale for a customer who has an In-House Credit account, in the Other payment method area, you'll see On-Account as an option. Be sure to check the Outstanding balance the customer has at the top of that area:

Your store likely has a policy on how much balance a customer can have before they need to pay it off. If they can proceed, enter the amount the customer is paying with their In-House Credit into the amount field if it's less than the Total Due. Or if they are paying the Total Due, click the Max Amount button. Either way, when you have the amount in place, click the Apply button to add it to the transaction. You can then finish the transaction in the normal way.

In-House Account Balances in Reports

Purchases made with in-house credit appear on all sales reports the same as any other transaction. You can easily create a report of all in-house credit purchases by filtering with this Payment Type and a date range. Here are the relevant reports:

1. In the Customers section of the Reports page list, there is an Account Balances Report that will show you the total balance for each customer. You can use this report to Verify that a customer has paid a balance they owe (more details about this are in the section below on Paying Customer In-House Account Balances).
   
2. You can also filter many sales reports to show the payment type used. For example, in the Payments area, you can use the Payment Report. After you enter the date range you want, open the Payment Type filter and select Customer Credit from the drop-list, then click Search. You'll only be seeing payments made via On-Account at that point, and if you need to see the total, you can click the View Total button in the lower left. This report also lists the Customer Name that you can use to manage house credit.
   

Boss Quote

"Make sure your human understands how easy it is to tell the difference between Store Credit and Customer Credit. Store Credit is what they get when a refund gives them money they can spend in the store. Customer Credit is when they have an account and use On-Account to pay. Swat your human a few times on the nose to chastise them, then purr for a bit so they love you again after your ferocious outburst."

— Adrian, Wenatchee, WA

Paying Customer In-House Account Balances

⚠️Important Note: Invoicing and payment for house credit is typically NOT done through eTailPet POS.

As a workaround, you can do the following:

• If the customer would like to pay off their credit balance due by Credit Card or Debit Card, you can use the Virtual Terminal in your Payments Processor Portal, then Verify the payment as described in the section below.
• If the customer would like to pay off their credit balance due by Cash, you can complete an Add under Register in your dashboard menu on the left. Click Submit after you add a Note about the payment. Then you can Verify the payment as described in the section below.
  

Export Data to Create External Invoices

Here’s how to export the house credit information so that you can create and send invoices through your regular accounting software:

1. Run the Account Balances Report to view current charges.
2. Set the Date Range you need.
3. Filter for balances in the Verify status.
4. Click the Search button to load the balances that fit your selections.
5. Click the Export button to export the data to a spreadsheet.
6. (Not Pictured) Use the data in your external application of choice to generate and send invoices to customers with active balances.

Verify Payment in eTailPet

1. When you receive payment from your customer, go to the dashboard and click on Customers in the main menu.
2. Search for the customer and click on their name to open their details page.
3. Click on the Credit Account tab and find the payment amount(s) the customer paid.
4. Click the Verify button. 
5. A success popup will let you know that the credit was settled successfully, and the credit balance line item will change to a Settled status.
   

💡Please Note: You can also Verify from the Account Balances Report. If you have multiple customer payments to verify, this is the best place to do so.

Related Topics

New Sale Tour

Customers in New Sale

Payment Types in New Sale

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I set up an In-House Credit account for a customer?

A: Go to Customers in the main menu and click the customer's name. On the Customer Info tab, scroll down to In-House Credit Enabled, check the box, and click Save.

Q: How does a customer pay with their credit account at checkout?

A: On the Payment page in New Sale, find On-Account in the Other payment method area and check the customer's Outstanding balance. Enter the amount, or click Max Amount to pay the Total Due, then click Apply.

Q: What's the difference between Store Credit and Customer Credit?

A: Store Credit is money a customer receives from a refund that they can spend in the store. Customer Credit is what they use when they have an account and pay with On-Account.

Q: How do I see all the purchases made with in-house credit?

A: In the Payments area of Reports, open the Payment Report, enter your date range, set the Payment Type filter to Customer Credit, and click Search. Click View Total in the lower left to see the total. To see each customer's total balance, use the Account Balances Report.

Q: Can customers pay off their balance in the system?

A: Invoicing and payment for house credit typically isn't done through the system. As a workaround, take card payments through the Virtual Terminal in your Payments Processor Portal, or take cash by completing an Add under Register. Then Verify the payment in the system.

Q: How do I mark a customer's balance as paid?

A: Open the customer's page, click the Credit Account tab, find the payment, and click the Verify button. The line item changes to Settled. You can also verify from the Account Balances Report, which is the best place to do it when you have several payments to verify.

Q: I have a question, but I can't find my answer here. How do I get more assistance?

A: You can ask any question at the number listed here. Contact our 24/7 support team at (323) 370-0738 for the U.S. and (888) 370-2363 for Canada.