Each invoice shows two things: how the sale was made and how far it has been paid. This page explains both, and how to record a payment that arrives after the sale.
Cash or credit: how the sale was made
- Cash invoice: the customer paid in full at the sale. The payments are entered on the invoice itself, in Payments (split tender).
- Credit invoice: the customer did not pay in full at the sale. The amount goes on their account.
This never changes. A credit invoice stays a credit invoice when the customer pays it off later, because your books must show that the customer owed the money for a while.
Status: how far it has been paid
- Unpaid: nothing received yet.
- Part paid: some money received, a balance remains.
- Paid: nothing left to pay.
The status appears beside the invoice title, in the Status column of Sales → Invoices, and on the printout.
Steps: record a payment after the sale
- Open the invoice from Sales → Invoices.
- Click Receive payment. It is next to Payments (split tender) once the sale day has passed, and in the invoice list for any invoice with a balance.
- The customer receipt opens with this invoice already selected. Enter the amount and how the customer paid, then save.
- Back on the invoice, the receipt now appears under Paid by receipts, and the summary counts it in Total Payment and Balance Due.
Tips
- Click a receipt number, on the invoice or in the Receipts column of the invoice list, to open that receipt.
- The summary splits Paid at sale from Paid by receipts, so you can see at a glance how the invoice was settled.
- On the sale day itself you can still add a payment you forgot, using + Add payment.
Common problems
- "+ Add payment" is missing → the sale day has passed. Use Receive payment instead. A payment added to the invoice later would turn a credit sale into a cash sale and skip the customer's account.
- "Payments received after the sale day must be recorded as a customer receipt" when saving → you added or increased a payment on an older invoice. Remove that change, save, and use Receive payment.
- The invoice shows Paid but says CREDIT INVOICE → that's correct. It was sold on credit and later paid in full by receipt.
- The balance looks wrong on an older invoice → if it was re-saved before this update, its stored paid figure may have lost its receipts. The screen, list and printout now work it out from the receipts, so they show the right figure. Ask your administrator to run the invoice repair script to correct the stored figure for reports.