# Allocate and Reallocate

Allocation is the forgiving part of this module.

Moving a payment from the wrong invoice to the right one is a normal edit that leaves the payment itself untouched, so your cash position never wobbles while you correct the matching.

![A customer payment, PAY-00021 from Caldwell Marine Systems. An Associated Documents panel lists invoice INV-00005 as Paid with the full 1,631.70 pounds applied. Payment Details show mode CHAPS and a deposit account, and an Invoice Allocations table repeats the invoice, its amount and the amount allocated.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/customer-payments/customer-payment-detail.png)

*The allocations table is the payment split. Editing it does not touch the payment itself.*

## Allocate an existing payment

- **Open the payment**

  From the customer payments list, or from the customer's transactions tab.
- **Tick the invoices it settles**

  Open invoices are listed oldest first, with their outstanding balances.
- **Split the amount if it does not fit**

  Type a partial amount against an invoice. The remainder stays available for the next one.
- **Save**

  Any invoice reaching zero moves to Paid. Anything left over stays unapplied.

> **Note:**
>
> **Allocating posts nothing new**
>
> The money already arrived and already posted. Allocation only decides which receivable it clears, which is why it is safe to change.

## Fixing a mistake

| Problem | Fix |
| --- | --- |
| Allocated to the wrong invoice | Edit the allocation. The payment stays as it is. |
| Amount recorded wrongly | Edit the payment amount, then re-check the allocation. |
| Customer overpaid | Leave the excess unapplied. It settles their next invoice. |
| Allocated to the wrong customer | Delete the payment and record it again. Allocation cannot cross customers. |
| Payment never actually cleared | Delete the payment. Its invoices return to unpaid. |

> **Warning:**
>
> **Deleting a payment reopens its invoices**
>
> They return to unpaid and resume ageing from their original due date, so an invoice can jump straight back into the overdue bucket. That is correct, and it can be a surprise on a statement.

## Auto-allocation

When a payment exactly matches one open invoice, it is allocated for you. When it does not, nothing is guessed, because a wrong automatic allocation is far more expensive to unpick than a missing one is to add.

- Oldest first is the default order when you allocate by hand. It is what most customers assume you have done.
- A payment matching an invoice to the penny is matched automatically, including one paid through the portal.
- Partial payments are never guessed at. You decide which invoice they belong to.

## Applying credits at the same time

An invoice can be settled by a payment, a credit note and an advance together. Apply the credits first and take payment for the remainder, which is usually what the customer has actually done.