Receive payments against open invoices
When a customer pays what they owe, Receive Payment finds their open invoices and records the money against them. Look them up by invoice number, name, company or phone, see each invoice's age and balance, and apply a full or partial payment.
Receive payments in SeroPOS
Search four ways
Find open invoices by invoice number, customer name, company name or phone number.
Open invoices at a glance
Each open invoice shows its age, total, amount paid and the balance still owing.
Full or partial payment
Pay an invoice off, or record part of it now and leave the rest open for later.
Pay a contact's total due
From the customer's page, take one payment against everything they owe across several invoices.
Ledger updates at once
Every payment appears on the customer's ledger and in the sales payment report as soon as it is saved.
Payment Received message
Send the customer a Payment Received email or SMS from your notification templates.
Finding what a customer owes
Receive Payment is under Sell in the back office. Type an invoice number if the customer quotes one, or search by customer name, company name or phone number. SeroPOS lists that customer's open invoices with the age of each invoice, its total, what has been paid so far and the balance.
Seeing the age next to the balance helps when a customer has several invoices open. You can apply the payment to the oldest first or to the one they say they are paying, and the rest stay open with their correct balances. Customers often pay a round amount, so seeing balances side by side helps you apply it sensibly.
Recording the payment
Choose the invoice, enter the amount and the payment method, the date and any note. Methods include cash, card, cheque and bank transfer, plus the custom payment methods you named in Business Settings. Enter less than the balance to record a partial payment; the invoice then shows as partly paid.
If payment accounts are turned on, link the payment to the account it went into, such as your business chequing account. The account book and cash flow report then include it, and the payment account report shows any payments that still need an account. That keeps your bank records and SeroPOS in step.
- Full payment clears the invoice
- Partial payment leaves the balance open
- Method, date and note on every payment
- Optional link to a payment account
Paying everything at once
Trade customers often pay a monthly statement rather than each invoice. Open the customer in Contacts and use Pay due to take one payment against their total balance. The payment is applied to their open invoices, and the ledger shows the payment and the new balance. It suits customers who pay against a monthly statement.
Before they pay, you can email the customer their ledger for any date range with Send ledger, so both sides are working from the same figures. The statement and the payment then match line for line. It also gives the customer a record to check against their own books before they pay, which avoids most disputes.
Where payments show up
Each payment appears on the invoice, on the customer's ledger and in the sales payment report, which filters by customer, location, payment method and customer group. The dashboard's Invoice Due tile drops as payments come in, and the Sales Payment Due table loses invoices once they are paid. Everyone looking at the figures sees the same up-to-date balance.
If you use the QuickBooks integration, payments recorded here go to QuickBooks with the rest of your sales data, so your accountant sees them without a second entry. Without that integration, payments stay in SeroPOS and its reports. Your accountant can still review them in the sales payment report or the customer ledgers whenever they need to.
Frequently asked questions
How do I record a payment on an old invoice?
Go to Sell, then Receive Payment, and search by invoice number, customer, company or phone. Choose the invoice from the list of open invoices, enter the amount and method, and save. The invoice and the customer's ledger update straight away.
Can a customer pay part of an invoice?
Yes. Enter an amount smaller than the balance. The invoice is marked partly paid and the remaining balance stays open. Record further payments the same way until it is cleared. There is no limit on how many partial payments an invoice can take.
Can I apply one payment to several invoices?
Yes. Open the customer in Contacts and use Pay due. Enter the amount they paid and it is applied against their outstanding invoices. The ledger shows one payment and the new balance. It is the quickest way to handle a cheque that covers several invoices.
Does the customer get a receipt for the payment?
You can send the Payment Received notification by email or SMS. Edit the template once with tags such as the amount and invoice number, and the details fill in for each payment. Customers then have a record of what they paid.
Will payments sync to QuickBooks?
Only if you use the QuickBooks integration. With it connected, payments go to QuickBooks along with your invoices and customers. Without it, payments are kept in SeroPOS and its reports. Your accountant can still see every payment in the sales payment report.