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Documentation › Accounting

Record a payment against an invoice

When a customer pays — in full, in part or months late — record it against the invoice and Filantis issues the receipt, updates the balance and posts the books.

Last updated 12 October 2026

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At a glance

  • A payment is recorded against an issued invoice — never against a draft.
  • Part payments are fine. The invoice moves to Part paid, then Paid when the balance is nil.
  • Each payment gets its own numbered receipt.
  • You cannot record more than is owed on the invoice.
  • Who owes you lists every unpaid bill by how long it has been outstanding.

On this page:

  1. Four ways to record money
  2. Record a payment
  3. Part payments
  4. Issue and mark paid
  5. Who owes you
  6. Send a statement
  7. Ask for payment online
  8. Questions

1Four ways to record money

They all do the same three things — reduce the invoice’s balance, issue a receipt and post the books. Use whichever screen you are already on.

WhereWhen to use it
On the invoice — Record a paymentThe everyday way. You have the invoice open and the money in hand.
On the draft — Issue and mark paidThe customer pays as the bill is raised: issue and settle in one step.
Who owes you → Take paymentChasing old bills: work down the list of what is outstanding.
Day Book → Receipt voucherMoney received against an older bill, entered from the books side.

2Record a payment

  1. Open the invoice from Accounting → Invoicing. It must be Issued or Part paid.
  2. In the Record a payment card, type the Amount. It starts at the balance still due.
  3. Choose the Method — cash, card, bank transfer, cheque and so on.
  4. Add a Reference: the cheque number or the bank’s transaction reference.
  5. Click Record. The page confirms with the receipt number.

The payment then appears under Payments on the invoice, with its amount, method, reference and time.

1You click RecordAmount, method, reference
2Receipt issuedIts own number, from the receipt series
3Balance updatedPart paid, or Paid
4Books postedIn the day book and the cash or bank account
One click, four results. Nothing has to be entered twice.

3Part payments

Type less than the balance and the invoice becomes Part paid. Record the rest when it arrives; each instalment gets its own receipt.

Invoice

50,000

Issued
Advance

20,000

Part paid — 30,000 due
Balance

30,000

Paid
The status follows the money. You never set it by hand.

A payment larger than the balance is refused, with the figure still owed. If a customer has genuinely overpaid, record what the invoice is owed here and enter the rest as a receipt voucher — see Vouchers, ledger and day book.

5Who owes you

Accounting → Who owes you is the list to chase from: every bill raised and not yet paid, by how long it has been owed.

  • Each row shows the customer, the document, when it was issued, the Days outstanding and the amount Owed.
  • Take payment opens the invoice ready to record money.
  • Statement opens that customer’s whole account.
  • Change Aged as at to see the position on an earlier date.

Receipts are never listed here — they acknowledge money already received. Anything credited by a credit note comes off the amount owed.

6Send a statement

A statement of account shows a customer everything they have been billed, what they have paid and what is left. It is not a bill — it is sent to be agreed.

  1. Open Accounting → Statement, or click Statement on any of the customer’s invoices.
  2. Choose Whose account and the dates.
  3. Read down the running balance: Brought forward, each charge, each payment or credit, and the Balance due.
  4. Download it as a PDF or email it to the customer.

Drafts and proformas are not on a statement — nobody has been billed for them yet.

8Questions

The page says “Issue the document before recording payment against it”.

The invoice is still a draft. Issue it first — or use Issue and mark paid to do both together.

One cheque covers three invoices. How do I record it?

Record a payment on each invoice for its share, with the same cheque number as the reference on all three.

Does the customer get the receipt?

Each payment issues a numbered receipt, listed under Accounting → Invoicing with the kind set to Receipt. Open it to download or email the PDF.

Why is an old unpaid bill not in my profit and loss?

Your books may be on the cash basis, where revenue is recognised when the money arrives. Who owes you still lists the bill either way — see Accrual or cash.

Know who has paid, without a spreadsheet

Every payment is one entry: the receipt is issued, the invoice balance drops, the debtor list shrinks and the books are posted. Ask Filantis who owes you and it already knows.

  • Receipts issuedNumbered, one per payment.
  • Debtors, agedBy how long each bill is owed.
  • StatementsPDF or email in a click.
Create my free workspace See accounting

What to do next

See where each payment lands in Vouchers, ledger and day book, then check the year so far in Profit & loss, ageing and tax reports.

Still stuck?

Write to support@filantis.com with your workspace name and what you were trying to do.