When I wrote that tweet, I don't deny the fact that that thought really crossed my mind. But whatever, today I'm gonna write about my work.

Work, so what is this all about?

Accounts Receivable. Simple, money in money out.

Simple? I thought so. I really thought so. How I wish my life was like the other admin jobs where I only had to take instructions and work like a robot. 'Come take these and file.' 'Enter these into the computer.' 'Shred this, Fax that.' If thats what you do at work, come on, you don't know what I'm facing.

Where does this start? I'll write out what I really do at work.

1.) It starts with a quotation for goods. So your client will fax/call your sales person and demand for quotation for a certain amount of goods, be it sweets, soap, oil, whatever. So your sales person will have to find a quotation and give an appropriate reply to your client. But we know, different clients have different rates. For instance, NTUC's price of 20,000 cartons is so much different from Watson's 50 cartons. Thus, there is no standard price list for us to follow.

2.) Client replies with a purchase order, if they are agreeable to the price. A copy of the purchase order(PO) will be passed to various departments and one of them is me. So what do I do with the PO? I will have to determine that credit status, if they are green in their debts. In simple terms, I have to see if they had paid their previous orders so as to approve this.

3.) Green, so we will pass it to the warehouse where the goods will be sent and such. Oh yeah, at this point, things varies. There's a possibility that theres not enough goods, and we will need to import more. If that happens, I will have to inform Accounts Payable department. But if everything is alright, the goods get sent and the invoice is issued. From what we know, companies don't do cash on delivery, they have terms. Ah, terms. If every client have like 3 months term, it will be easier. But no, loyal customers have longer term while new clients have shorter terms. How do we decide? We ask the Chief Finance Officer(CFO).

4.) The invoice is issued, be it cash on delivery or 2 month terms, I have to do the collection. At the end of the term, most clients will pay. Like previous, IF ONLY clients pay on the last day of their terms, then I won't have the big headache. No they don't, they pay whenever they like. If they pay after their deadline, I will have to chase for payment and inform my CFO of their credibility. What a headache.

5.) Payment. Lets say till this point, the client is SUPER NICE. He pays on time, lets say on 28 Feb. So on this day, I will have to find the invoice, which is probably dated on 31 Dec? Check the cheque amount to the invoice amount. Thats not the end, clients don't pay in cheques all the time, teletransmission (TT), CASH (OMG THIS IS THE WORST). When the client pays via TT, things are simpler, I just have to wait for the bank to fax me the debit notice into the bank account. CASH, let me tell you why this is the worst. Everyday we have to bank in all cheques, cash. So if no one is going to the bank, I'll have to keep the cash till the following day. The cash can be locked in a small safe and I am fully responsible for the cash. The thing is, cash amounts can amount to like $30,000, and THEY PAY IN $50 NOTES. My clients are SO NICE, I get to count 600 PIECES OF $50. It was fun, but when you count the 4th time and you can only count 599... ... You get me.

6.) All cheques have to be photocopied and kept properly as documents before they are banked in. Oh, one more thing, clients delay payment till the last day of their term. This affects cash flow, so my smart smart CFO came up with this nightmare for me: FACTORING.

7.) FACTORING. It is the process where the bank actually loans you money before your debtors pay you. For instance, lets say Sheng Siong buys $400,000 worth of goods today. We issue the invoice and they acknowledged the invoice. We will take the invoice, go to the bank, and ask them for factoring. They will pay you a percentage of the invoiced amount immediately into the bank, the remaining amount will be credited into your account when Sheng Siong actually pays you back. Of course, less the interest. At this point, for all the above financial transactions, theres JOURNAL ENTRIES!

8.) Worst yet to come. PARTIAL PAYMENTS. I got to love this. Whats worst? The clients pay you partially and didn't inform you. PERFECT. So all you get is this lump sum from the bank statement. So you will have to figure out which invoice they paid. Of course, at this point of time, you can say: just call them? ask them for whichever they are paying? Easily said if you can get to their accountants and specifically A/P accountants.

9.) Everyday I'll stare at Microsoft Excel, debit credit, debit credit. AWESOME. And after like 8 days, I can conclude that theres average of 40-50 invoices per day.

10.) This is only the tip of the iceberg. Today is 27th Apr, which means month-end closing. So all transactions will have to be completed by next week latest.

Yeah, this is my work, all that I can remember up to this point.

Last thing before I'm going to sleep, I don't think I will give up. And I didn't know just by putting a quitting tweet could sound such a loud din, it only crossed my mind. So stop saying that I don't have determination or other negative comments, my day doesn't end at 5.30pm. I have tuition, gym, runs, swims.. ...