Record payments
Record full and partial payments, correct or remove them, and see how the status follows the balance.
Record each payment you receive against its invoice. Bookmaker keeps the balance due and the status in step with the payments, so an invoice shows Partially Paid or Paid without anyone changing the status by hand.
Before you start#
Recording payments needs the payments permission, which owners, admins and accountants have. Sales and operations can edit documents but not record money.
Payments are recorded on issued documents. Drafts, quotations, and void or cancelled documents do not take payments.
Record a payment#
- Open the invoice and choose Record Payment.
- Check the Amount. It starts at the balance due, so a payment in full needs no typing.
- Set the Date the money arrived. It starts at today.
- Choose the Method, such as Bank Transfer, or No method.
- Add a Reference, such as the bank transaction or teller number, so the payment can be traced.
- Save it.
The payment appears in the invoice's payment history, and the balance due and status update at once.
How the status follows the balance#
The status is worked out from all the payments on the invoice, every time one is recorded, edited or deleted:
| Payments recorded | Status |
|---|---|
| At least the total | Paid |
| Some, but less than the total | Partially Paid |
| None | The status the invoice had before its first payment, such as Sent or Overdue |
Paid always means payments, or payments and credit from the customer's credit notes, covered the total; nothing was given up. An invoice with nothing left to collect because part or all of it was written off shows Settled with write-off instead.
Because the status is calculated, deleting a mistaken payment moves a paid invoice back to partially paid or to its earlier status. Nobody has to remember to undo it.
Payments on an invoice with a write-off#
A payment and a write-off cannot both be counted against the same money. On an invoice where part of the balance was written off, a payment up to what is still collectible is recorded as usual. For a larger one, Record Payment offers to reverse as much of the write-off as the payment needs and record the payment, together. See Write off a balance.
Payments and reminders#
Where payment reminders are switched on, they follow the balance too:
- Recording a payment in full cancels the reminder that was waiting for that invoice. No more are sent.
- A part payment leaves reminders in place, and the next one shows what is still owed.
- Deleting a payment that had settled an invoice brings its reminders back.
The balance is checked again immediately before each reminder is sent, so a payment recorded before then stops it. One recorded after the reminder has gone cannot take it back; record payments as they arrive.
Correct or remove a payment#
In the payment history, open a payment's menu:
- Edit changes its amount, date, method or reference. Edited payments are tagged Edited.
- Delete removes it after you confirm with Delete Payment.
Tell customers how to pay#
Your bank details reach invoices through Payment instructions in Settings › Organization, printed in a Payment Instructions block on every money document. See Set up your organization.
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