Recording a payment
When a customer pays outside Clipp (cash at the door, a check in the mail, a bank transfer, a card run on the supplier's own terminal), the supplier records it on the invoice by hand. Clipp marks the invoice Partially paid or Paid, books the money in the supplier's bookkeeping, and can send the customer a receipt. A payment of more than the invoice owes is refused.
To spread one payment over several invoices, or to turn an overpayment into store credit, use Paying several invoices at once instead.
Who uses it
- Supplier staff with full invoice access record payments. Admin and Clerk have it by default. See Permissions.
- Restaurants don't use this screen. If the supplier asks for it, they get a receipt by email, text and push.
How it works
- Open the invoice and click Manage Payments. The button only shows once the order is Ready for delivery or Delivered, or once the invoice is cancelled or void and its records are read-only.
- The Manage Payments panel opens on its Add Payment tab. Its other tabs are Issue Refund, available once the customer has paid something (see Refunds), and Records. When the supplier has card on file switched on, a Card on file section sits above the tabs.
- Fill in the form (below) and click Add Payment.
- The panel shows "Payment added successfully!" with "The amount has been applied to the invoices." There are no buttons on this view: switch tab, click outside the panel or press Escape to leave.
The invoice's status and balance change straight away. Hand-recorded payments are never Processing: they count as paid the moment they're saved.
The form, field by field
| Field | What it says | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heading | Add New Payment | ||
| Payment method | Please select the payment method. | Cash | Options, in this order: Cash, Check, Store Credit, Other ACH, Other Credit Card, Other. Only the methods ticked on the Payment Methods settings tab appear, but Store Credit is always offered. If Cash isn't accepted, the first offered method is picked instead. Admins see an info icon here, "Manage accepted payment methods here", linking to those settings. |
| Reference | Check Number (optional) · Transaction ID (optional) · Card Last 4 Digits (optional) | empty | Shown only for Check, Other ACH and Other Credit Card. Check numbers and transaction IDs stop at 15 characters ("Maximum 15 characters."), card digits at 20. Changing the method clears it. |
| Amount | Please enter the amount you'd like to add. with Balance Due: $X under it | the balance due, when it's above zero | Dollars and cents only. When store credit is already on the order, Store Credits Applied: $X shows too. |
| Account | Please select the account (Optional). | the account set for this method on the Payment Methods tab | Which bookkeeping account the money lands in. Hidden for Store Credit, since no money moves. Can be set to Unassigned. |
| Date | Select the date payment was received. | now | Any date, past or future. Not required. |
| Notes | Notes (optional), "Add a note for your records", "Internal only. Not shown to the customer." | empty | Up to 200 characters. With Other picked, it becomes "Please describe the payment method (optional)." ("e.g., Wire Transfer, Money Order, Venmo") and "This note will be shown on the customer's invoice." |
| Notify | Notify customer about this payment update | unticked | Tick it to send the customer a receipt. |
At the bottom are Cancel and Add Payment. Both are disabled while the payment saves, and a double click records it only once.
If you close the panel or switch tab with something typed, Clipp asks "You Have Unsaved Changes", "You are navigating away. Do you want to save the edits?", with Do Not Save and Save & Exit.
What each check says
The form itself only checks that there is an amount:
| You entered | Message |
|---|---|
| Nothing | Amount is required |
| $0 | Amount must be greater than 0 |
Everything else is checked when you click Add Payment. If the server refuses the payment, a Payment Failed toast shows its reason, or "Failed to add payment. Please try again." when there isn't one:
| You tried to | The toast says |
|---|---|
| Pay more than is owed with Cash, Check or the Others | That is $X more than the $Y due on invoice INV-1001. Issue the extra as store credit, or lower the amount. |
| Pay anything on an invoice that owes nothing | Nothing is due on invoice INV-1001, so there is nothing for this payment to settle. |
| Spend store credit beyond what the customer holds | Insufficient balance or credit not found |
| Spend store credit beyond what is owed | Store credit of $60.00 is more than the $40.00 owed on invoice INV-1001. |
| Pay on a cancelled order | This order is cancelled and can no longer be changed. |
| Pay on a draft | Payments can't be recorded on a draft order. |
| Enter an amount that rounds to $0.00 | A payment must be for a positive amount. |
The form has no "issue the extra as store credit" box, so the first message points at something that isn't there. See Paying more than is owed.
Calculations
Balance due
Balance due = invoice total − payments received − store credit applied + refunds given, never below $0.00. Only money that has actually arrived counts as received: a bank payment still Processing doesn't.
A partial payment
A $250.00 invoice, nothing paid yet. The supplier records $100.00 cash.
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid | $0.00 | $100.00 |
| Balance due | $250.00 | $150.00 |
| Payment status | Unpaid | Partially paid |
The status rule: paid, with store credit and refunds counted, at or above the total is Paid; money still clearing is Processing; above zero is Partially paid; otherwise Unpaid. See Payment statuses.
Paying more than is owed
A hand-recorded payment pays up to the balance due and no more. The extra counts when it's more than half a cent.
Same $250.00 invoice, the customer hands over $300.00 cash:
| In the panel | Result |
|---|---|
| Record $300.00 | Refused: "That is $50.00 more than the $250.00 due on invoice INV-1001. Issue the extra as store credit, or lower the amount." |
| Record $250.00 | Saved. The invoice is Paid. The other $50.00 isn't recorded anywhere. |
| Add Payment on the Invoices page, $300.00 on this one invoice | Saved. $250.00 is recorded on the invoice and $50.00 becomes store credit, as a Credit Issued row: "Overpayment of $50.00 on a $300.00 payment across 1 invoice…" |
Why the extra isn't just recorded
Before October 2026, an overpayment sat on the invoice as a negative balance nobody chose. In production that was almost always the same payment entered twice. Now the extra is refused on a single invoice, and only turned into store credit by the several-invoices form. (#2499)
A bank payment still clearing counts against what's owed
The invoice owes $100.00 and the customer's $60.00 online bank payment is still Processing. Only $40.00 is left to settle, so recording $50.00 cash is refused: "That is $10.00 more than the $40.00 due on invoice …". The Balance Due caption still reads $100.00 and the amount is pre-filled with $100.00, which fails until lowered (see Known limitations).
Paying with store credit
Store credit spends the customer's credit balance with this supplier. It can't exceed the credit they hold or what the invoice owes:
- Owes $40.00, holds $100.00, apply $60.00 → refused: "Store credit of $60.00 is more than the $40.00 owed on invoice …". The customer's balance is unchanged (IMM-023).
- Owes $250.00, apply $100.00 → saved. The customer's balance drops by $100.00 and the invoice owes $150.00.
Store credit never reaches the supplier's bookkeeping. On the invoice it counts toward paid, so a $250.00 invoice with $100.00 of store credit and nothing else reads Partially paid, $150.00 due. See Store credit.
Order fees
If the order carries a one-time order fee, the first money received settles the fee before the goods. This only changes how the payment is split in bookkeeping. See Bookkeeping effects.
Where it shows up
- The invoice page: payment status chip, balance due, and the Records tab.
- The invoice PDF: payment lines by method, with the reference in brackets, such as "Check (1042)". With Other, the note shows instead.
- The customer's Payment History and their balance on the customer page.
- Bookkeeping: one income entry per payment, apart from store credit.
- Sales report → Payment Breakdown, by method and payment date.
- The receipt email, text and push, if Notify customer was ticked.
Permissions
| Role | Can record a payment |
|---|---|
| Admin, Clerk | Yes |
| Driver, Warehouse, Sales Person | No. The Manage Payments button needs full invoice access, and these roles have read-only access. |
| Custom roles | Only with full access to Invoices |
Only the supplier who owns the order can record against it. A restaurant can pay, but only through checkout.
Decisions
- A hand-recorded payment pays up to the balance due; the extra becomes store credit only when asked. Most real overpayments were duplicates. (#2499)
- A bank payment still clearing counts against what is owed. Otherwise a supplier could collect the same money twice while the bank payment clears. (#2499)
- Store Credit is always offered as a method. It isn't money from outside, so the accepted-methods setting doesn't apply to it. (#1919)
- The reference has its own field, apart from the notes. One field was carrying both, and only Check, Other ACH and Other Credit Card have a reference worth reconciling. (#2142, #2187)
- The account defaults per method and can be Unassigned. Each bookkeeping entry lands where the money really went. (#2124)
- Customers are told only when the supplier ticks Notify. The box starts unticked. (#1998)
- A payment, its bookkeeping entry and the invoice status save together. A payment that isn't booked would be a ledger that disagrees with the money. (#2261)
Specs
invoice-money-movements.feature
# prefix: IMM
Feature: Invoice Money Movements
Every movement of money against an invoice — money the customer pays, money the
supplier returns, and store credit moving in either direction — is kept on one
record the supplier can review. Movements the supplier recorded by hand can also
be corrected and undone; those the payment processor moved cannot.
Money returned by cash, check or another hand-recorded method is an expense in
the supplier's accounting. Store credit is not money the supplier holds, so it
never reaches the accounting at all — it only moves the customer's credit
balance. Because of that, the same store-credit amount moves the balance in
opposite directions depending on which way the money was travelling: a refund
paid in store credit gives the customer credit, while a payment made with store
credit spends it.
The customer's credit is a single balance per supplier, not a history of
separate grants. So "the credit has already been spent" can only be judged from
what is left, and is exact only when the refund in question is the only credit
the customer holds with that supplier.
Correcting a refund downwards takes the difference back out of that one balance,
so a refund can only shrink by the credit the customer still holds. What is left
is therefore how much can be taken back, never how small the refund may become:
1000.00 returned against 600.00 still held can come down to 400.00 and no lower.
Background:
Given a supplier has issued an invoice to a customer
Rule: Every movement of money on an invoice sits on one record
Scenario: IMM-001 the invoice's money record covers payments, refunds and store credit alike
Given the customer has paid part of the invoice in cash
And the supplier has returned part of the invoice in cash
And part of the invoice was settled with the customer's store credit
When the supplier reviews the money recorded against the invoice
Then the cash payment is listed
And the cash refund is listed
And the store credit settlement is listed
Scenario: IMM-002 each movement identifies what moved, when, how and by whom
Given money has been recorded against the invoice
When the supplier reviews the money recorded against the invoice
Then each movement shows its amount
And each movement shows the date the money moved
And each movement shows the method the money moved by
And each movement shows who recorded it
And each movement states whether the money came in from the customer or went back out to them
Scenario: IMM-003 money recorded against a cancelled order can be reviewed but not changed
Given the order behind the invoice has been cancelled
When the supplier reviews the money recorded against the invoice
Then every movement is listed
And no movement can be corrected
And no movement can be removed
Rule: Only money the supplier recorded by hand can be corrected or removed
Scenario Outline: IMM-004 hand-recorded money can be corrected and removed
Given the supplier returned 50.00 to the customer by <method>
When the supplier reviews the money recorded against the invoice
Then the refund can be corrected
And the refund can be removed
Examples:
| method |
| cash |
| check |
| store credit |
| bank transfer |
| credit card |
| another method |
Scenario Outline: IMM-005 money returned through the payment processor cannot be corrected or removed
Given the supplier returned 50.00 to the customer by <method> through the payment processor
When the supplier reviews the money recorded against the invoice
Then the refund cannot be corrected
And the refund cannot be removed
And the supplier is told to contact the customer or Clipp support instead
Examples:
| method |
| card |
| bank transfer |
Scenario: IMM-006 anyone who can reach the invoice can correct the money on it
Given a member of the supplier's team can reach the invoice
And that member did not record the refund themselves
When that member corrects the refund
Then the correction is accepted
Rule: Removing a refund puts the money back where it came from
Scenario: IMM-007 removing a cash refund restores the amount owed and clears it from the accounting
Given the supplier returned 120.00 to the customer in cash
When the supplier removes that refund
Then the amount recorded as returned on the invoice drops to nothing
And the returned-sale expense for that refund no longer stands in the supplier's accounting
Scenario: IMM-008 removing a store-credit refund takes the credit back from the customer
Given the supplier returned 50.00 to the customer as store credit
And the customer has not spent any of it
When the supplier removes that refund
Then the customer's credit balance with the supplier falls by 50.00
Scenario: IMM-009 store credit never touches the supplier's accounting
Given the supplier returned 500.00 to the customer as store credit
When the supplier removes that refund
Then nothing about that store credit is recorded in the supplier's accounting
And nothing about it was recorded there when the credit was first given
Scenario: IMM-010 removing a payment leaves the invoice's refunds alone
Given the customer paid 1000.00 in cash
And the supplier returned 300.00 to the customer as store credit
When the supplier removes the 1000.00 payment
Then the 300.00 refund is still recorded against the invoice
And the customer's credit balance is unchanged
Rule: Store credit moves in opposite directions depending on which way the money was going
Scenario: IMM-011 a refund paid in store credit gives credit, and removing it takes that credit away
Given the customer's credit balance with the supplier is nothing
When the supplier returns 1000.00 to the customer as store credit
Then the customer's credit balance is 1000.00
When the supplier removes that refund
Then the customer's credit balance is nothing
Scenario: IMM-012 a payment made with store credit spends credit, and removing it gives that credit back
Given the customer's credit balance with the supplier is 500.00
When the customer settles 500.00 of the invoice with store credit
Then the customer's credit balance is nothing
And 500.00 of credit stands against the invoice
When the supplier removes that settlement
Then the customer's credit balance is 500.00
And no credit stands against the invoice
Scenario: IMM-013 an invoice carrying store credit in both directions settles each movement on its own
Given the customer settled 400.00 of the invoice with store credit
And the supplier later returned 250.00 to the customer as store credit
When the supplier removes only the 250.00 refund
Then the customer's credit balance falls by 250.00
And the 400.00 settled with store credit still stands against the invoice
Rule: Credit the customer has already spent cannot be clawed back
Scenario: IMM-014 removing a store-credit refund is refused once the customer has spent the credit
Given the supplier returned 1000.00 to the customer as store credit
And the customer has since spent 400.00 of their credit
When the supplier tries to remove that refund
Then the removal is rejected
And the supplier is told that 400.00 of the credit has already been spent
And the supplier is told the refund can be reduced no lower than 400.00
Scenario: IMM-015 reducing a store-credit refund is refused when the reduction exceeds the credit still held
Given the supplier returned 1000.00 to the customer as store credit
And the customer has since spent 400.00 of their credit
When the supplier tries to reduce that refund to 10.00
Then the correction is rejected
And the supplier is told that 400.00 of the credit has already been spent
Scenario: IMM-016 a refused claw-back changes nothing at all
Given the supplier returned 1000.00 to the customer as store credit
And the customer has since spent 400.00 of their credit
When the supplier tries to remove that refund
Then the refund still stands at 1000.00 against the invoice
And the customer's credit balance is exactly what it was before the attempt
And the customer's credit balance never falls below nothing
Rule: Correcting a refund moves only the difference, never the whole amount again
Scenario Outline: IMM-017 correcting a store-credit refund moves only the difference in credit
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer as store credit
And the customer's credit balance is 100.00
When the supplier corrects that refund to <corrected amount>
Then the customer's credit balance becomes <resulting balance>
Examples:
| corrected amount | resulting balance |
| 150.00 | 150.00 |
| 60.00 | 60.00 |
Scenario: IMM-018 correcting a cash refund restates the accounting and keeps it money going out
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer in cash
When the supplier corrects that refund to 60.00
Then the supplier's accounting shows a single returned-sale expense of 60.00 for that refund
And it is still recorded as money going out to the customer, not money coming in
And the amount recorded as returned on the invoice is 60.00
Scenario Outline: IMM-019 changing the method a refund was paid by moves the money between accounting and credit
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer by <original method>
When the supplier changes that refund's method to <new method>
Then the customer's credit balance ends at <resulting balance>
And the returned-sale expense in the supplier's accounting ends at <accounting result>
Examples:
| original method | new method | resulting balance | accounting result |
| cash | store credit | 100.00 | nothing recorded |
| store credit | cash | nothing | 100.00 going out |
Scenario: IMM-020 correcting only the note of a refund leaves every balance alone
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer as store credit
When the supplier corrects only the note kept with that refund
Then the customer's credit balance is unchanged
And the amount recorded as returned on the invoice is unchanged
Rule: A refund can never return more than was paid, and the suggested amount is what has not yet been returned
Scenario: IMM-021 the suggested full refund is the part of the invoice not yet returned
Given the customer has paid 100.00 against the invoice
And the supplier has already returned 30.00 of it
When the supplier begins returning money on that invoice
Then the suggested full refund is 70.00
Scenario: IMM-022 a refund larger than what is left of the customer's payment is rejected
Given the customer has paid 100.00 against the invoice
And the supplier has already returned 30.00 of it
When the supplier tries to return 80.00 to the customer
Then the refund is rejected, naming 70.00 as the most that can be refunded
And raising an existing refund past that limit is rejected the same way
Rule: Store credit can never settle more of an invoice than it owes
Scenario: IMM-023 settling a single invoice with more store credit than it owes is rejected
Given the invoice still owes 40.00
And the customer's credit balance with the supplier is 100.00
When the supplier tries to settle 60.00 of that invoice with store credit
Then the settlement is rejected
And the supplier is told the invoice only owes 40.00
And the customer's credit balance is unchanged
Scenario: IMM-024 settling several invoices with store credit spends only what those invoices owe
Given the customer has two unpaid invoices from the supplier owing 40.00 and 30.00
And the customer's credit balance with the supplier is 100.00
When the supplier settles both invoices with store credit
Then 70.00 of the customer's credit is spent
And the customer's credit balance is 30.00
And neither invoice is left owing anything
Rule: Credit created by an overpayment is recorded and can be undone
Scenario: IMM-025 paying more than is owed records the surplus as credit given to the customer
Given the customer's unpaid invoices from the supplier owe 70.00 in total
When the customer pays 100.00 in cash against those invoices
Then the invoices are settled
And 30.00 is given to the customer as store credit
And that 30.00 appears in the customer's money history with the supplier as credit given
Scenario: IMM-026 the surplus-credit entry can be undone and takes the credit back
Given 30.00 was given to the customer as store credit from an overpayment
And the customer has not spent it
When the supplier removes that credit entry
Then the customer's credit balance falls by 30.00
Scenario: IMM-027 cancelling an order returns the store credit it consumed and records the return
Given 25.00 of the customer's store credit was used to settle an order
When that order is cancelled
Then the customer's credit balance rises by 25.00
And that 25.00 appears in the customer's money history with the supplier as credit returned
Rule: A payment keyed in by hand on one invoice pays up to what it owes, and more only on request
Scenario: IMM-030 a cash overpayment on one invoice is refused unless the supplier asks for credit
Given the invoice still owes 100.00
When the supplier records 120.00 in cash against it without asking for the extra as store credit
Then the payment is refused, naming the 20.00 that exceeds what is owed
And nothing is recorded
Scenario: IMM-031 asking for the extra as store credit settles the invoice and credits the rest
Given the invoice still owes 100.00
When the supplier records 120.00 in cash and asks for the extra as store credit
Then the invoice is settled by a 100.00 payment
And 20.00 is given to the customer as store credit
Scenario: IMM-032 a corrected payment can never exceed what the invoice owes
Given the customer paid 100.00 in cash and the invoice owes nothing more
When the supplier corrects that payment to 100.01
Then the correction is refused
Scenario: IMM-033 a payment on an invoice that owes nothing is refused, even as store credit
Given the invoice owes nothing
When the supplier records 20.00 in cash and asks for the extra as store credit
Then the payment is refused, saying nothing is due
And the customer's credit balance is unchanged
Scenario: IMM-034 a bank payment still clearing counts against what is owed
Given the invoice owes 100.00
And a 60.00 bank payment against it is still clearing
When the supplier records 50.00 in cash without asking for the extra as store credit
Then the payment is refused, naming the 10.00 that exceeds the 40.00 still owed
Rule: The customer hears about a refund correction only when the supplier asks
Scenario: IMM-028 correcting or removing a refund tells the customer nothing by default
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer in cash
When the supplier removes that refund without asking for the customer to be told
Then the customer is not told about it
Scenario: IMM-029 when the supplier asks, the customer is told in refund wording
Given the supplier returned 100.00 to the customer in cash
When the supplier removes that refund and asks for the customer to be told
Then the customer is told the refund was withdrawn
And the wording refers to the refund, not to a payment they made
Scenarios IMM-023, IMM-030 to IMM-034 cover this page.
Known limitations
- No "Issue the extra as store credit" box. An overpayment on one invoice is refused with a message telling the supplier to tick a box that isn't on the form. Use Add Payment on the Invoices page instead.
- No client-side checks beyond "Amount is required". The overpayment, store credit and nothing-due checks only show as a Payment Failed toast after saving. The form doesn't show the customer's available store credit.
- No duplicate warning. Nothing warns that the same amount was just recorded, the commonest real mistake. (Suggested by QA, not built.)
- The amount is pre-filled with the full balance even when a bank payment is clearing, so it fails until lowered.
- A payment needs a bookkeeping category for its method. If the supplier has none for it, the payment is refused with "Supplier … has no accounting category for payment mode …" (verify which suppliers lack one).
- Online card and bank payments can't be recorded here. Those come only from the customer's checkout. See Paying online.
- An inactive customer can still be paid. Nothing blocks it, which is probably intended since old invoices still need settling (verify intent).
FAQ
I typed $300 on a $250 invoice and it won't save. Why? A payment can't be more than the invoice owes. Lower it to $250, or record it from Add Payment on the Invoices page, which keeps the extra $50 as store credit. See Paying more than is owed.
The invoice says $100 due but it won't take $100 cash. Part of the balance is a bank payment that's still clearing. Clipp counts it as on its way, so only the rest can be settled by hand. See A bank payment still clearing.
Did the customer get a receipt? Only if you ticked Notify customer about this payment update. It starts unticked.
Where's the "Card" or "ACH" method? Those are online payments the customer makes through their pay link. For a card you ran on your own terminal, use Other Credit Card. For a bank transfer you received, use Other ACH.
Why does the invoice say Partially paid after I applied store credit? Store credit counts toward paid. The balance due is what's left. See Paying with store credit.