Payments

A payment is the record that money changed hands: a customer paying an invoice, or you paying a supplier's bill. Every payment is posted to your ledger and reduces what is owed on the invoice or bill it covers.

Where payments come from

• You record one on an invoice or a bill (below).
• A customer pays online by card or Direct Debit. The payment is recorded for you.
• You match a bank transaction to an invoice or bill in Accounting → Bank Transactions.
• Mark as Paid on an invoice or bill records a payment for whatever is still outstanding.

Record a payment on an invoice

1. Go to Accounting → Invoices and open the invoice.
2. Click Payments. You see what has been paid so far and what is still outstanding.
3. Enter the Amount, the Date it was paid, the Method and, if you have one, a Reference.
4. Click Record payment.

The amount starts at the full outstanding balance. Enter less to record a part payment: the invoice becomes Part paid and the rest stays outstanding. When the balance reaches zero the invoice becomes Paid.

A payment cannot be more than the outstanding balance, and it cannot be dated in the future. Draft invoices cannot take payments: send the invoice first.

Record a payment on a bill

Go to Accounting → Bills and click Payments on the bill. It works the same way. A bill must be approved before you can pay it.

See every payment

Accounting → Payments lists every payment in and out.

• Use Money in and Money out to see one direction.
• Search by payment number, reference or supplier.
• Tick Show voided to include payments that were voided.
• Click a row to see what it was paid against and its ledger postings.

Void a payment

A payment is never deleted. If one was entered by mistake, an administrator voids it:

1. Open the payment, from Accounting → Payments or from Payments on the invoice or bill.
2. Click Void payment and say why. The reason is kept on the record.

Voiding reverses the ledger posting and reopens the invoice or bill, so the amount is owed again. The voided payment stays in the list, struck through.

Who can do what

Action	Who
View payments	Anyone with access to Accounting
Record a payment	Administrators and managers
Void a payment	Administrators

"Not in the ledger"

If a payment, invoice or bill shows Not in the ledger, it is saved but its posting is waiting, usually because today falls in a closed accounting period. It posts by itself within ten minutes of the period being reopened. See Close Accounting Periods.

Where to go next

• How Accounting Works
• Reconcile a Bank Account
• Credit Notes
• Vendor Bills