Overview
Payments record money received from clients (income) and money paid to suppliers (expenses). Each payment is linked to one or more invoices, expenses, or payroll entries and tracks the amount paid against each.
Key characteristics:
- Two directions — Receive payments against invoices (income) or make payments against expenses (outgoing).
- Partial payments — Pay any amount up to the outstanding balance. Multiple partial payments can be made against a single document.
- Bank-account linked — Every payment is recorded against a specific bank account.
- State transitions — Payments automatically update the state of the linked invoice or expense (e.g. from finalised to partial paid or paid).
- Reconciliation-ready — Payments create remittances that appear during bank reconciliation.
Receiving Payments (Income)
Use the Receive Payments page to record money received from clients.
Workflow
- Select invoices — Choose one or more unpaid or partially paid invoices.
- Configure amounts — Enter the payment amount for each invoice. You can pay the full amount or a partial amount.
- Select bank account — Choose which bank account received the money.
- Set date — Enter the payment date. Defaults to today.
- Submit — The payment is recorded and the invoice state is updated.
What Happens
- A payment record (Income Payment) is created.
- A remittance is created linking the payment to each invoice.
- The invoice state transitions to Partial Paid or Paid depending on whether the full amount has been received.
- A system transaction is created on the Trade Debtors account.
Making Payments (Expenses)
Use the Pay Expenses page to record money paid to suppliers.
Workflow
- Select expenses — Choose one or more unpaid or partially paid expenses.
- Configure amounts — Enter the payment amount for each expense.
- Select bank account — Choose which bank account the money was paid from.
- Set date — Enter the payment date. Defaults to today.
- Submit — The payment is recorded and the expense state is updated.
What Happens
- A payment record (Expense Payment) is created.
- A remittance is created linking the payment to each expense.
- The expense state transitions to Partial Paid or Paid.
- A system transaction is created on the Trade Creditors account.
Payment Validation
- You cannot pay more than the outstanding balance on an invoice or expense.
- You cannot make a payment against a document that is already fully paid.
- A bank account must be selected for every payment.
Payment Types
| Type | Direction | Created When |
|---|---|---|
| Income Payment | Money in | Receiving payment against an invoice |
| Expense Payment | Money out | Making payment against an expense |
| Payroll Payment | Money out | Making payment against a payroll entry |
Payment Approval
Invoices and expenses can be marked as approved for payment by authorised users. This is a separate permission from creating or recording payments.
- Only Owners and Super Admins can approve invoices and expenses for payment.
State Transitions
When a payment is made, the linked invoice or expense automatically transitions:
| Scenario | New State |
|---|---|
| Partial amount paid | Partial Paid |
| Full amount paid (balance reaches zero) | Paid |
| Payment deleted and others remain | Partial Paid |
| Payment deleted and none remain | Returns to Finalised |
Permissions by Role
| Action | Owner | Super Admin | Admin | Accountant | General | Client |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receive payments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Make payments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Approve payments | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| View payments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Key Notes
- Admins can create and view payments but cannot approve them.
- Accountants can create and view payments but cannot approve them.
- Only Owners and Super Admins can approve payments.
- General Users, Contractors, and Clients cannot access payment features.