Record payments on a purchase order

Every payment you make to a supplier is recorded on the purchase order it pays for. The order shows how much has been paid and what is outstanding, its payment status moves from Unpaid to Partial to Paid, and the Payment Forecast report stops counting that money as cash still to find.

Permissions and order requirements

Recording, editing and deleting payments requires the Manage PO Financials permission. Without it, there is no Record Payment button and no edit or delete icons, but anyone who can open the order can still see its payments.

The order must be Approved and its supplier must not be deleted. On any other order, Record Payment is greyed out, and the pencil and bin on recorded payments are not shown.

People who are not allowed to see purchase prices see payments without amounts. If your account is restricted to certain departments, you can only work with payments on purchase orders in those departments.

How to record a payment

1. Open the approved order.
2. Select Record Payment at the top of the page or at the foot of the Invoices & payments card in the sidebar. On a phone, it is in the three-dot menu at the top right.
3. Under Apply to, pick the instalment you are paying. Each instalment shows what is outstanding, whether it has been invoiced and when it is due. You cannot pick an instalment that is already paid in full.
4. Enter the amount paid, or select Pay in full to fill in everything outstanding up to and including the instalment you picked.
5. Check the payment date. It starts as today, so change it to the date the money actually left your account. The date cannot be in the future or in a locked year.
6. Optionally, enter a Reference, such as the bank transfer ID.
7. Select Record payment.

How payments are applied

Payments always go to the oldest instalment first, whichever instalment you picked. Your selection only decides what Pay in full fills in.

If you pick the balance while the deposit is still open, the form reminds you that the deposit is open, and the payment settles the deposit first. The Payment Forecast report uses the same rule, so the order and report always agree on what is paid.

The line under the amount says what the payment will cover, for example, settles #1 · €6.27 of #2. A payment larger than what is left on one instalment carries on to the next.

Overpayments

Overpaying is allowed up to twice the order total because a supplier is sometimes genuinely paid too much. Beyond that, the save is refused. Check the figure first: it is usually a typing slip or a payment meant for another order.

Paying in another currency

The payment currency starts as the order's currency. If you paid in a different currency, choose it under Payment Currency and enter what you paid in that currency.

The Applied to the order box asks for the amount the payment settles in the order's own currency—what the supplier credited you with—and shows the rate between the two currencies. This applied amount reduces the outstanding balance and the forecast, so take it from the supplier's statement or your bank, not from today's exchange rate.

What you see afterwards

The payment appears under Payments in the Invoices & payments card. It shows the date, the instalments it went to (for #1, #2), the reference, who recorded it and the amount in the order's currency. A payment made in another currency also shows what was actually paid.

The figures at the top of the card show the total paid and what is outstanding. In the payment schedule, each instalment is marked Paid or Part paid.

The order's payment status appears under Payment in the card at the top of the sidebar. It reads Partial once something has been paid and Paid when payments cover the order total. It is only shown on approved orders.

Edit or delete a payment

To correct a payment:

1. Select the pencil icon on its line under Payments.
2. Change the details.
3. Select Update payment.

The form works out what is outstanding without the payment you are editing.

To remove a payment:

1. Select the bin icon on its line.
2. Select Delete to confirm.

Payments, invoices and the forecast

Payments and invoices are recorded separately and do not have to match. You can pay a deposit before the supplier has invoiced it; the instalment then shows Paid, with no invoice listed against it. Recording the supplier's invoice gives the forecast a firm date; recording the payment takes the money out of it.

In the Payment Forecast report, paid amounts move to the Paid line in the month of the payment date, not the month the instalment was due. If you record the wrong payment date, the money appears in the wrong month of the report until you correct it.