Receipts (Payment Collection)
Every receipt creates a journal: DR Bank, CR AR.
Receipts record cash coming in from customers. Every receipt creates one journal entry: debit the bank or cash account, credit Accounts Receivable. Receipts are the mechanism that closes the AR loop opened by an invoice. Income with no customer behind it — bank interest, an insurance claim — is not a receipt; it is classified straight to an income account from Finance → Banking.
Use Cases
| Use Case | Who | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Customer pays an invoice | Accountant | Match receipt to invoice — reduces AR, increases bank |
| Customer pays multiple invoices in one transfer | Accountant | One receipt allocated across several outstanding invoices |
| Customer pays a partial amount | Accountant | $4,000 against a $10,000 invoice — invoice becomes Partly paid |
| Customer pays in advance | Accountant | Payment on Account — applied when the invoice is raised |
| Deposit arrives on the bank feed | Accountant | Convert the uncategorised bank line to a receipt for the customer |
Manual Receipt
Post receipts in real time as payments arrive.
Navigate to: Sales → Payment receipts → New
Form Fields
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Customer | Required. Searchable dropdown. On selection: loads the customer's outstanding invoices for allocation. |
| Date | Required. The date the payment was received. |
| Payment Method | Required. Bank Transfer (default), Cash, Check, Card, Wire Transfer, plus any configured in Settings. |
| Payment Source | Required. Cashflow Account — posts to a bank or cash account. Uncategorized — ties the receipt to an imported bank line. |
| Payment Account | Required. Bank and cash accounts for Cashflow Account; Select Transaction lists the imported bank lines for Uncategorized. |
| Amount | Required. The total amount received. |
| Details/Memo | Optional. Payment reference, transaction ID, or description. |
Payment Type
Once the customer and amount are set, choose how to apply the receipt.
| Mode | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Apply to Invoice | The Apply to Invoices table lists open invoices with Document, Amount, Tax, Discount and Gross. Enter amounts, use Pay in full, or Apply oldest first. Allocations can never exceed the receipt amount. | Known payment against specific invoices |
| Payment on Account | Records the full receipt against AR without linking to specific invoices. The receipt reads Unmatched until cash application applies it, or you match it from the receipt page. | Advance payments, unclear references, bulk deposits |
Bank-Led Receipt
When using bank-led posting, receipts originate from the imported bank statement rather than being entered manually.
Finance → Banking → select bank account → import the statement (Excel, CSV or PDF).
The Classification tab, "Classify uncategorised money", shows Money out · expenses and Money in · income.
Tick the income lines that are customer payments.
Click Convert N to receipts, pick the customer (and optionally a center), and confirm. Each line becomes its own receipt, posted in the background.
The receipts start Unmatched; cash application applies them to the customer's open invoices. See Bank-Led Receipt.
Receipt Matching Rules
When a receipt is posted, its cash meets invoices one of two ways:
| Method | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic cash application | Opening balances and statements first, then invoices oldest-first by invoice date, each exhausted in full. Runs on posting, on the customer page, and on a 20-minute sweep. Any excess stays unmatched. | Customers who pay general amounts without specifying which invoice |
| Manual allocation | You enter amounts per invoice on the receipt form, or open the receipt afterwards and click Match Invoices. | Complex scenarios, partial payments against specific invoices, disputed invoices |
Status Lifecycle
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Saved without posting. No journal. |
| Unmatched | Posted, but none of the cash names an invoice yet. |
| Partly matched | Some of the cash is allocated; the rest is an unmatched balance on the receipt. |
| Matched | The whole receipt is allocated to documents. |
| Voided | Reversed. The journal is voided and the invoices it settled reopen. |
Receipt Journal Entry
| Account | Debit | Credit | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Account | 10,000 | — | Cash received into bank |
| Accounts Receivable | — | 10,000 | Invoice balance settled |
Voiding a Receipt
If a receipt was recorded in error or a cheque bounced, void it.
Navigate to: Receipt page → More → Void Document (type the receipt number to confirm)
Voiding a receipt reverses the journal entry — the bank balance decreases and AR is reinstated. Every allocation is removed, so the original invoices return to Unpaid or Partly paid, and cash application re-runs for the customer. The voided receipt remains in the system for audit and can be restored.
An unmatched receipt increases the bank balance and reduces the customer's overall AR balance — but no specific invoice is marked paid. Aging shows invoices as outstanding even though cash was received. Cash application handles the common case; review the customer page's Unapplied payments figure and the Collections table before period close, and match by hand whatever it could not.
Related
- Recording one by hand: Manual receipt.
- Starting from the bank feed: Bank-led receipt.
- Choosing what it pays: Matching a receipt to invoices.
- The rule it follows on its own: Receipt matching rules.