Record Customer Payments and Settle Invoices

Enter the payment once and let it settle the invoices.

Record the money a customer sent straight off the bank statement. The amount spreads across that customer's open invoices, oldest first, and updates what each one still owes.

A billing clerk or accountant records the payment; there is no approval step. Settlement runs on its own, and money left over waits as credit for the customer's next issued invoice.

Use the documented operating model as a starting point, then adapt fields, approvals, reports, or connected areas when your process differs.

Before you start

Put the right records and roles in place.

The customer must exist in Customers, and the invoices being paid must be ISSUED, SENT or PARTIAL; only those receive allocations. Keep the payment in the same currency as the invoices it should settle.

Documented sequence

From the bank statement to a settled invoice.

Each stage identifies the action, handoff, or record change that moves the work forward.

01
Record the payment — Billing clerk / Accountant
Enter the statement line: name, bank reference, booking and value dates, amount, counterparty IBAN and name. Customer, company, method and currency come pre-filled; save a single record with no lines and no workflow.
02
Watch the settlement — System
On save the amount spreads over the customer's open invoices in the same currency, oldest first. Each invoice's Paid and Balance update and its status flips to PARTIAL or PAID; anything left over stays as unallocated credit.

Connected work

Carry the record into the next decision.

Related features and workflows reuse the same business records instead of asking teams to rebuild the context.

Customer paymentsEvery payment field, the pre-filled company and method, and how the method decides between a cash and a bank account.Sales invoicingThe payment-allocations tab, manual allocation, and the Payment Allocations and Open Items by Customer reports.Issue a sales invoiceHow unallocated credit is pulled onto a new invoice the moment it is issued.Chase overdue invoicesFollow up on the invoices that are still open once payments have settled.

Current scope

A payment in a different currency from the invoice never allocates automatically; it stays with the payment as unallocated credit.

A starting point, not a fixed package

Fit payment entry to your bank routine.

Payment methods and currencies are maintained as registers, and the receiving company and method are picked on each payment. Different matching rules or additional payment fields can be scoped as a Custom adaptation.

Try BusinessIntents

Decision-stage answers

Record a customer payment FAQs

Can I allocate a payment to a specific invoice by hand?

Yes. On an ISSUED, SENT or PARTIAL invoice, the Sales Invoice Customer Payments panel has an Add button that lists only that customer's payments; the amount defaults to the full payment and can be reduced. Rows can also be edited or removed there.

What happens to an overpayment?

The remainder stays with the payment as unallocated credit. When the next invoice for that customer is issued, the credit is pulled onto it automatically.

Which invoices can receive a payment?

Only ISSUED, SENT and PARTIAL invoices. Drafts and cancelled, voided or already paid invoices are skipped.

Can I edit Paid or Balance on the invoice?

No. Both are read-only roll-ups over the invoice's allocation rows and change only when allocations are added, edited or removed. The invoice's own lines stay locked from issue onward.

Review the real workflow

Record one real customer payment in BusinessIntents.

Use a real record or transaction to compare the documented flow with the way your team works today.

Try BusinessIntents Read the detailed guide