One receipt across several invoices, and paying on account

A customer transfers one amount covering three invoices. Recording it three times distorts the bank statement and loses the transfer reference. The answer is the Sales Receipts screen.

Steps

1. Open Sales → Sales Receipts and press + Create — image 1.
2. Choose the customer, and their unpaid invoices load automatically.
3. Set the date and the branch.
4. Choose the payment method and the deposit account, and enter the reference — the transfer or cheque number.
5. Enter the receipt's total amount.
6. Under invoice allocations, type the amount settled against each invoice, or press Pay beside one to fill in its whole balance.
7. Press Save.

Paying on account

The allocations do not have to add up to the receipt amount. If the amount is larger, the difference stays unallocated as a credit for the customer to use on later invoices. That is paying on account, and it fits advance payments and order deposits.

The system names the receipt type accordingly: invoice when fully allocated, on account when nothing is allocated, and mixed when it is partly allocated.

Notes

• No invoice can be allocated more than its balance; the excess is refused with a plain message.
• Allocations to a cancelled or unapproved invoice are refused.
• The allocations cannot exceed the receipt amount — you cannot distribute money you did not collect.
• One customer's invoice cannot be allocated to another customer's receipt; the check is automatic.
• Always fill in the reference — it is what ties the receipt to the bank statement at reconciliation.
• Receipts and their allocations show in the Sales Receipts list — image 2 —, and each one can be printed for the customer.
• For a single invoice, the Payments tab inside it is quicker.