Raw

**To:** Robert Salton
**From:** John Jackson
**Subject:** Big Chief's electronic settlement request can be approved as proposed

Big Chief (account 8306) asks to stop settling delivery tickets individually and instead send us one monthly computer file covering all its outlets, paid by a single prepaid cheque. We have reviewed how that would work end to end and recommend you approve it: the arrangement gives us everything we need to settle the account, requires no change to our systems, and keeps the money controlled before anything posts.

**1. We will still hold every identifier the settlement needs.** The file must carry the parent number, outlet number, ticket number, ticket amount, and delivery date. Where Big Chief cannot supply the parent and outlet numbers, we can take them from our customer master file and have them included in later submissions.

**2. Nothing changes on our side.** Big Chief writes the extraction program against its own accounts-payable file and produces the file in the format our national-accounts cash-receipt system already accepts. Once balanced, the monthly file runs through that system as it stands, matches ticket numbers against statement history, and produces the billing records.

**3. The cash stays controlled before it posts.** Big Chief sends the file to Data Processing and the cheque, with a detailed listing, to the lockbox. We balance the file under the prescribed procedure, and the cheque total and file detail must net to zero before the file goes anywhere.

Our review covered feasibility and control only; it does not put a value on the change. [data needed: cost and workload effect of monthly versus per-ticket settlement]

**What I need from you:** approval to proceed with Big Chief on this basis, so they can begin building the extraction program.