"What's my current balance?", "Which of my invoices are due?", "Could you send me a statement?" Wholesale companies' accounting teams get these questions dozens of times a day. Each one takes only a few minutes, but together they add up to a serious loss of time. And while the dealer waits for an answer, the payment waits too. Letting dealers view their own current account in the portal is the simplest way to break this cycle.
Why Do Dealers Want to See Their Balance?
For a dealer, current account information is the foundation of planning their business. Before placing a new order, they want to know how much they owe, how much of their credit limit they've used, and which payments are coming due in the days ahead. When they can't get to this information, they either call you or put off their decision.
You also want that same information to show up correctly on the dealer's side. When dealers clearly see what they owe and when it's due, planning payments gets easier and the chance of late payment drops.
Then there's the relationship side. A dealer calling you to ask about their balance often turns into a conversation that makes both sides uncomfortable. Dealers may hesitate to ask about their debt, and your accounting team gets tired of repeating the same information on every call. Having the information transparently on screen removes this tension and supports a relationship built on trust.
What Should the Portal Show Dealers?
The current account screen should answer the dealer's most frequent questions at a glance:
- Current balance: The total amount owed or in credit.
- Credit limit: The assigned limit and the remaining available amount.
- Payment terms: When each invoice is due, plus any overdue amounts.
- Statement: Invoice, payment, and return transactions for a given date range.
- Documents: Access to e-Invoice and e-Archive invoice documents.
For this information to be accurate, it has to stay continuously in sync with your ERP. Because Multistok syncs with your ERP in both directions in real time, a payment posted in accounting also shows up on the dealer's screen. We explained how the integration works in our software integration article.
e-Collection: Let Dealers Pay Through the Portal
Once dealers can see their balance, the natural next step is making a payment. e-Collection lets dealers pay what they owe by credit card through the portal via virtual POS. A virtual POS is a bank service that lets you accept card payments online.
Here's what this approach makes easier:
- Dealers pay a due invoice right from the screen where they see it.
- The payment is posted to the current account, and the balance is updated.
- Your accounting team doesn't have to match bank transfer (EFT) descriptions one by one.
- Automatic reminders can be sent for upcoming payments.
Card payments give dealers flexibility, too. A dealer planning their own cash flow can settle an amount due whenever they want, without depending on business hours or bank processing. Payments made in the evening or on the weekend are posted to the current account as well.
Reminders are especially important. Many late payments happen not because the dealer doesn't want to pay, but because they forgot the due date. A polite, timely reminder is far more effective than collection calls after the fact.
Reconciliation Gets Easier
Reconciliation is when you and your dealer agree on the current account balance as of a certain date. Done at the end of each period, this process can turn into long email threads if the two sides' records don't match. If dealers can track their own transactions in the portal throughout the year, discrepancies are usually caught early instead of piling up until period end.
A few simple habits also help make reconciliation easier:
- Encourage your dealers to check their statements at regular intervals.
- Agree up front on which document you'll refer to when a discrepancy comes up.
- Make sure transactions that affect the balance, such as returns and discounts, are posted on time.
To see the difference more clearly, let's compare the two scenarios:
| Topic | Without a Portal | With a Portal |
|---|---|---|
| Balance inquiry | Phone or email, then waiting on accounting's reply | Dealers see it instantly on their own screen |
| Statement request | Accounting prepares and sends it | Dealers pick a date range and pull it themselves |
| Payment | Bank transfer, followed by manual matching | Paid via virtual POS and posted to the account |
| Payment term tracking | Collection calls | Automatic reminders |
| Reconciliation | Long email threads at period end | Discrepancies caught early during the year |
You Manage Your Risk Better, Too
Dealers seeing their balance benefits you as well, not just them. When the credit limit is defined in the portal, you and your dealer see the limit status from the same information, so open risk is clear before a new order. Your sales team can track from reports which dealers are falling behind on payments. With role-based permissions, only the relevant teams can access account information.
Account information is sensitive data. That's why each dealer should see only their own account, data should be kept on secure infrastructure, and access should be controlled. Multistok's infrastructure complies with the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) and is operated in line with ISO 27001 standards.
In Multistok, current account tracking and credit limits are part of the dealer portal. The e-Collection feature is included in the Multibusiness plan. For details, see our plans page.
Conclusion
Letting dealers view their balance, payment terms, and statements in the portal frees your accounting team from repetitive questions, speeds up collections, and makes reconciliation easier. When dealers also pay from the same screen, both you and your dealers save time. If you'd like a closer look at the current account and e-Collection screens, you can request a Multistok demo.
