Editing Client Payment

Quick Overview

A payment is the amount you collected from a client on an invoice, or as a credit balance in their account. You may need to edit it if the amount, date, payment method, or treasury was entered wrongly, or to delete an attachment such as a cheque image or a transfer receipt, or to change its status such as confirming receipt of a payment that was Under Review. This article explains editing a payment step by step, and what happens to the invoice, the client’s balance, and the entries after saving.

Before You Start

• You must have the permission Delete and Edit All Payments, or the permission Delete and Edit Own Payments and you are the one who collected the payment (specified in the Collected By field).
• To change the payment date you need the permission Change Payment Date, otherwise the date field appears non-editable.
• Neither the payment’s current date nor the new date may fall within the Closed Periods.
• If the payment is recorded with the Client Balance method, the Pay Invoice Automatically When the Client Has a Balance option must be disabled in Invoice Settings.

How to Access

You can open the payment edit screen in one of the following ways:

• From Client Payments: click the actions menu next to the payment, then Edit.
• From the payment view page: click the Edit button at the top of the page.
• From the invoice page: open the Payment Operations on the Invoice payments tab, then click Edit next to the payment, and you return to the invoice after saving.
• From the client page: open the payments tab in the client’s file, then click Edit next to the payment.
• To edit the client’s opening balance: from the client page or their account statement, click Edit Opening Balance.

The Steps

1. Open the Edit Payment screen in one of the previous ways.
2. Edit the Amount if needed.
3. Edit the Date if you have the permission to change the payment date.
4. Choose the correct Payment Method, then make sure of the Treasury that received the amount; the payment method’s treasury is chosen automatically when the method is changed.
5. Specify the Payment Status; the accounting entry is created only for a Completed payment.
6. Complete the Reference Number, Payment Data, and Receipt Notes, and add or delete the Attachments when needed.
7. Click Update Payment (or Ctrl+Enter) to save the edit.

Fields and Sections Explained

Payments Recorded from Inside the System

Field	Description	Required	Appears When
Amount	The payment value in the invoice’s currency. If it differs from the remaining amount by a very small difference (less than the smallest fraction of the currency), it is set automatically to the exact remaining amount.	Yes	Always
Date	The payment date with which the payment entry is recorded.	Yes	Editing it requires the permission Change Payment Date
Payment Method	The payment method, which must be enabled. When it is changed, its linked treasury is chosen automatically.	Yes	Always, and it is locked for payments settled from the client’s balance on an invoice
Treasury	The treasury or bank account that received the amount.	Yes	When you have the permission on more than one treasury, and it doesn’t appear when the client balance is chosen
Payment Status	Completed, Incomplete, Under Review, Failed, or Draft. Only a Completed payment is counted in what’s paid on the invoice and has an entry created for it.	Yes	Always
Collected By	The employee who collected the payment, used in the permission to edit own payments.	No	When the employees app is enabled and there is the permission to add payment operations for all invoices
Reference Number	A reference number for the operation, such as the bank transfer number, added to the entry’s description.	No	Always
Payment Data	Internal notes about the payment, with a maximum of 500 characters.	No	Always
Receipt Notes	Text that appears in the receipt voucher and is added to the entry’s description.	No	Always
Attachments	One file attached to the payment, such as a cheque image or a transfer receipt. The allowed formats: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, csv, jpg, jpeg, png, gif, and zip. To delete or replace it, see Deleting or Replacing the Payment Attachment.	No	Always

The invoice, the client, or the currency cannot be changed from the edit screen. And if the payment was recorded on a wrong invoice or client, delete it and record it again on the correct invoice.

Payments Recorded by the Client Online

If the client paid the invoice themselves through an electronic payment gateway, you can edit only the Payment Status, the Payment Data, and the Attachments, and the amount, the method, the date, or the reference number cannot be changed.

Client Balance Payments and Distributing Them to Invoices

A payment recorded as a balance in the client’s account (without an invoice) is edited from the same screen. And when automatic payment from the client’s balance is not enabled and you have the permission Add Payment Operations for All Invoices, the Invoices to Pay table appears to distribute the balance manually:

Column	Description
Invoices	The client’s unpaid invoices in the same currency.
Invoice Total / Remaining Amount	The invoice total and the amount remaining on it.
Distribution Amount	The part you want to settle from the balance for this invoice, and it must not exceed what remains on it.
Total Distribution Amount	The total distribution, and it must not exceed the client’s balance.

Deleting or Replacing the Payment Attachment

If you attached a file to the payment operation, such as a cheque image or a transfer receipt, and want to delete it from the invoice, delete it from the payment operation itself; because the attachment is saved on the payment and not on the invoice:

1. Open the invoice, then from the Payment Operations on the Invoice payments tab click Edit next to the payment that contains the attachment. You can also open it from Client Payments.
2. In the Attachments field you will find the name of the attached file; click the delete icon next to it to remove it.
3. To replace the file with another, drag the new file to the field or click it to choose it from your device after deleting the old file; since the payment accepts only one file.
4. Click Update Payment to save the edit, and the attachment disappears from the payment and from the invoice page.

In old payments the attachment may appear with the file name and the Download and Delete buttons. Click Delete then confirm the message Are you sure you want to delete this image?, and the attachment is deleted directly.

Save Options

The Button	What Happens
Update Payment	Saves the edit, recalculates the invoice status and the entry, then takes you to the payment page, or to the invoice if you opened the edit from it.
Cancel	Exits without saving and returns to Client Payments.

After saving, the message Payment operation saved appears.

Error Messages and Their Solutions

The Message That Appears	The Cause	The Solution
You are not allowed to edit this payment	You don’t have the permission to edit all payments, or your permission is for your own payments only and the payment was collected by another employee.	Ask the system manager for the permission Delete and Edit All Payments from Employee Roles.
You cannot add, edit, or delete a movement on this day (date), within a closed period	The payment’s current or new date is inside a closed period.	Choose a date outside the closed period, or reopen the period from Closed Periods.
If you want to edit the automatic payment operation, you must first disable automatic invoice payment	The payment was settled from the client’s balance and automatic payment from the balance is enabled.	Disable Pay Invoice Automatically When the Client Has a Balance from Invoice Settings then edit the payment.
You cannot edit or remove payments on the movement that falls in a commission record that is approved, rejected, or paid	The invoice is within a Commission Record that was approved, rejected, or paid.	Editing isn’t possible until the commission record is returned to a state that allows editing.
Unsupported payment method	The chosen payment method isn’t enabled.	Choose an enabled method, or enable it from Payment Methods.
Required / A number must be entered correctly	The amount is empty or not a number, or the method or status wasn’t chosen.	Complete the required fields with correct values.
Only 500 characters are allowed	The payment data is longer than 500 characters.	Shorten the text.
The distribution amount must be less than or equal to the unpaid amount	The distribution amount on an invoice is greater than what remains on it.	Reduce the distribution amount.
The total distribution amount must be less than or equal to the client’s balance	The total distribution is greater than the balance.	Reduce the distribution amounts.
You cannot choose the same invoice twice	The invoice is repeated in the distribution table.	Delete the repeated row.
The refund amount cannot exceed the original amount paid in the sales invoice	Editing a refund invoice payment with an amount greater than its total.	Enter an amount that doesn’t exceed the refund invoice’s total.
Payment operation doesn’t exist	The payment doesn’t exist or was deleted.	Go back to Client Payments and verify the payment.

Cases and Settings That Affect Editing

What you can edit and what happens after saving differ according to the payment’s type and status and your account’s settings:

Changing the Payment Status

The Change	What Happens
From Under Review or Incomplete to Completed	The payment entry is created, the amount is added to what’s paid on the invoice, and a payment completion email is sent to the client according to the email templates settings. You can also use the Confirm Payment button on the payment page.
From Completed to any other status	The payment entry is deleted, the amount is deducted from what’s paid on the invoice, so the invoice returns to unpaid or partially paid.
Between incomplete statuses	No entry is created, and what’s paid on the invoice isn’t affected.

Automatic Payment from the Client’s Balance

This setting is set from Invoice Settings in the Payment and Credit section.

	Enabled	Not Enabled
Client balance payments on invoices	They cannot be edited or deleted; because the system manages them automatically.	They can be edited, and the Client Credit method appears with their available balance.
Distributing the balance payment to invoices	It is done automatically on the unpaid invoices.	It is done manually from the Invoices to Pay table.

Payments That Cannot Be Edited or Whose Editing Is Restricted

• Deleted payments: they cannot be opened for editing.
• Online payments recorded by the client: only the status, the notes, and the attachment are edited.
• Point of sale invoice payments after the session is closed: the edit button doesn’t appear in the invoice page.
• Payments of invoices within a commission record that is approved, rejected, or paid.
• Payments dated inside a closed period.
• Payments of advance payment invoices: they can be edited, but an entry isn’t recreated for them.

Currency

• The payment stays in the invoice’s currency, and the currency cannot be changed from the edit screen.
• If the payment’s date changes and the exchange rate differs from the rate on the invoice date, an exchange rate difference entry is created or updated as in Exchange Rate Difference Entry, and it is deleted if the difference disappears.

Disabling Automatic Entries

If Disable Automatic Invoice Entries is enabled, or the invoice is a draft, or the payment is from the client’s balance, no entry will be created for the payment after editing.

The Effect on the System

Editing the payment doesn’t create a new entry, but updates the payment entry itself. The examples use an invoice for Example Trading Company with a total of 1,150, and a payment recorded for 1,150 that was edited to 1,000.

1. The Payment Entry Before Editing

Description: Client Payments with the client number and the invoice.

Account	Debit	Credit
The main treasury (or the chosen bank account)	1,150.00
Example Trading Company		1,150.00
Total	1,150.00	1,150.00

2. The Payment Entry After Editing

Account	Debit	Credit
The main treasury (or the chosen bank account)	1,000.00
Example Trading Company		1,000.00
Total	1,000.00	1,000.00

The remaining on the invoice becomes 150, and its status changes to Partially Paid. And if you change the treasury, the debit side in the entry moves to the new treasury’s account.

3. Payment with a Method That Has Fees

If the payment method has fees, such as an online payment gateway with fees of 30, the fees are recalculated on the new amount:

Account	Debit	Credit
The main treasury	970.00
Payment fees	30.00
Example Trading Company		1,000.00
Total	1,000.00	1,000.00

4. The Exchange Rate Difference Entry

It is created or updated for payments in a foreign currency if the exchange rate differs between the invoice date and the payment date. Description: Currency Exchange Rate Difference. Example: a difference of 20 in the base currency in the company’s favor:

Account	Debit	Credit
Currency Change	20.00
Example Trading Company		20.00
Total	20.00	20.00

And if the difference is in the other direction, the sides are reversed.

5. The Effect of Editing on the Rest of the System

• The invoice: the paid and remaining amounts are recalculated, and its status changes to paid, partially paid, or unpaid.
• The client’s balance: it changes by the amount difference, and the edit appears in their account statement.
• The treasury: its balance changes by the amount difference, or the amount moves to the new treasury when it is changed.
• The activity log: the edit is recorded in the invoice’s and the client’s activity log.
• Overpayment: if what’s paid becomes greater than the invoice total, the payment appears in the Overpaid filter in Client Payments.

Important Notes

• The system doesn’t verify that the new amount doesn’t exceed what remains on the invoice, so review the amount before saving so the invoice doesn’t become overpaid.
• To correct a payment recorded on a wrong invoice or client, delete it and add it again on the correct invoice; it cannot be moved by editing.
• If you only want to confirm a payment that is Under Review, use the Confirm Payment button on the payment page instead of opening the edit.
• If the payment is on an e-invoice sent to the tax authority, editing the payment doesn’t change the invoice itself, but review your reports after the edit.

Frequently Asked Questions

I added the cheque image in the payment operation on the invoice. How do I delete it?

The attachment is saved on the payment operation and not on the invoice. Open the invoice, and from the payments tab click Edit next to the payment, then delete the file from the Attachments field and click Update Payment. The details are in Deleting or Replacing the Payment Attachment.

The Edit button appears for me but the message “You are not allowed to edit this payment” appears. Why?

The edit button appears to whoever has the permission to add payment operations, while saving requires the permission Delete and Edit All Payments, or Delete and Edit Own Payments and you must be the one who collected the payment.

Why can’t I edit the payment date?

Because you don’t have the permission Change Payment Date. Ask the system manager for it.

Can I move the payment to another invoice?

No. Delete the payment from the current invoice, then add a new payment on the correct invoice.

Why can’t I edit a payment settled from the client’s balance?

Because the Pay Invoice Automatically When the Client Has a Balance option is enabled. Disable it from Invoice Settings then edit the payment.

I edited the payment status to Under Review and its entry disappeared. Is this normal?

Yes, the entry is created for completed payments only, and it will be recreated when the status is returned to Completed.