# Record a payment

Taking money against a repair invoice and allocating it so the bill actually clears.

Recording a payment is two jobs in one form: saying what arrived, and saying what it pays for. The second half is the one that gets missed, and it is the half that clears the invoice.

> **Before you start:**
>
> An invoice already raised and saved. You cannot allocate money to a bill that does not exist yet.

## Highlights

- **Choose the customer first.** Their unpaid invoices only load once you have.
- **Amount and payment date are required**, along with the mode and the deposit account.
- **Bank charges have their own field** and are not applicable to cash.
- **The reference number is what you will search on** when reconciling later.
- **Allocation is not automatic.** Money you do not allocate clears nothing.

## Fill in the form

![The Create Customer Payment screen with a breadcrumb reading Sales, Customer Payments, Create. Customer Details holds a required Customer picker. Payment Details holds a required Amount field in GBP, a Bank Charges field noted as Not applicable for Cash payments, a required Payment Number prefilled PAY-00051, a required Payment Date of 07/09/2026, a required Payment Mode set to Cash, a required Deposit Account set to Cash, and a Reference Number. An Apply to Invoices panel below reads Select a customer to load their unpaid invoices. The footer holds Attachments, Cancel and Save.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/repairs/sales/payment-create.png)

*Until a customer is chosen, the allocation panel has nothing to show. That empty state is the prompt.*

- **Go to Payments Received and select the Payment button**
- **Choose the customer**

  Their outstanding invoices load into the **Apply to Invoices** panel underneath.
- **Enter the amount that arrived**

  Enter what the customer actually sent, before any deduction.
- **Set the payment mode and the deposit account**

  The mode is how it arrived; the account is where it landed. Add **Bank Charges** if the transfer cost you something, which does not apply to cash.
- **Enter a reference number**

  Their remittance number, or the invoice number they quoted. This is what makes the payment findable later.
- **Allocate the money against their unpaid invoices**

  Enter an amount against each invoice this payment settles. Spread it across several if that is what the customer intended.
- **Select Save**

  The invoices you allocated to update their badges, and the payment joins the list.

> **Warning:**
>
> **Saving without allocating leaves the invoice looking unpaid**
>
> The money is recorded and the customer's balance is right, but the invoice keeps its outstanding badge and will eventually be chased. It is also the reason a payment does not appear on the Repairs list at all. Allocate before you save.

> **Tip:**
>
> **Let the customer's remittance decide the split**
>
> When a payment does not match any single invoice, look at what they sent with it rather than spreading it evenly. Allocating the way they intended is what stops the next conversation being about which bill is outstanding.