Pay an invoice with store credit
Once an order is Ready for Delivery, store credit is spent by recording a payment with the method Store Credit, either on one invoice from Manage Payments, or across several invoices from Add Payment on the Invoices page. The credit leaves the customer's balance and the invoice's balance due drops by the same amount.
Who uses it
- Supplier staff with full invoice access (Admin, Clerk by default).
- Restaurants aren't told unless the supplier ticks Notify customer about this payment update (single invoice only).
How it works
On one invoice (Manage Payments)
- Open the invoice and click Manage Payments. The button shows for invoices that are Ready for Delivery or Delivered. The panel opens on Add Payment.
- Under "Please select the payment method.", choose Store Credit. It's always in the list, whatever payment methods the supplier accepts. The list order is Cash, Check, Store Credit, Other ACH, Other Credit Card, Other.
- Under "Please enter the amount you'd like to add." the form shows "Balance Due: $40.00" and, when the order already holds credit, "Store Credits Applied: $60.00". The account field disappears: credit posts to no account.
- Enter the amount (it starts at the balance due), the date ("Select the date payment was received."), and an optional note.
- Leave Notify customer about this payment update unticked (the default) to tell the customer nothing.
- Click Add Payment. The success screen reads "Payment added successfully!" / "The amount has been applied to the invoices."
The form doesn't show the customer's balance or check the amount against it. The server does, and refuses a shortfall (see Errors).
On several invoices (Invoices → Add Payment)
- On the Invoices page click Add Payment.
- Pick the customer, then their invoices. Only invoices that still owe something are offered. The line under the amount reads e.g. "2 Invoices Balance Due: $70.00".
- Choose Store Credit, enter the amount, then Yes, Add Payment, then Confirm Payment on the summary.
- The credit is spread over the invoices oldest due date first, each one settled in full before moving to the next. Each invoice gets its own Payment, Store Credit record.
The drawer doesn't show the customer's balance either.
Errors
| Situation | Where | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Amount empty | Both | "Amount is required" |
| Amount 0 | Both | "Amount must be greater than 0" |
| More than the invoice's balance due | One invoice | "Payment Failed" toast: "Store credit of $60.00 is more than the $40.00 owed on invoice INV-1001." |
| More than the customer's balance | One invoice | "Payment Failed" toast: "Insufficient balance or credit not found". Nothing is recorded |
| More than the selected invoices' total balance due | Several | "Amount cannot exceed total balance due ($70.00) when paying with Store Credit." |
| More than the customer's balance | Several | "Payment Failed" toast: "Insufficient balance or credit not found". Nothing is recorded |
| Invoice cancelled | One invoice | Add Payment tab disabled: "You can't add payments or refunds to a cancelled order." |
The "Issue the extra … as store credit" option never applies to Store Credit: spending credit can't create credit.
Calculations
What changes on the invoice
A store-credit payment counts toward what's covered, but it is not money received:
Balance due = total − money paid − store credit + money refunded, never below $0.00.
So paying $60.00 in credit on a $100.00 invoice lowers the balance due to $40.00. "Payment" on the invoice still reads $0.00.
Payment status
Status counts money paid and store credit against the invoice total.
| Invoice | Cash paid | Store credit | Balance due | Status after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100.00 | $0.00 | $60.00 | $40.00 | Partially paid |
| $100.00 | $0.00 | $100.00 | $0.00 | Paid |
| $100.00 | $30.00 | $70.00 | $0.00 | Paid |
| $100.00 | $30.00 | $30.00 ($20 + $10 payment) | $40.00 | Partially paid |
The last row is the pinned example in the test suite: $100.00 order, $20.00 credit at order time, then a $10.00 store-credit payment and $30.00 cash.
Spreading over several invoices
Joe's Diner holds $100.00. INV-1001 owes $40.00 (due Oct 1), INV-1002 owes $30.00 (due Oct 10).
| Amount entered | INV-1001 | INV-1002 | Balance after |
|---|---|---|---|
| $70.00 | $40.00 → Paid | $30.00 → Paid | $30.00 |
| $50.00 | $40.00 → Paid | $10.00 → owes $20.00 | $50.00 |
| $80.00 | refused: "Amount cannot exceed total balance due ($70.00) when paying with Store Credit." | $100.00 |
Knock-on effects
Pay $60.00 of INV-1001 ($100.00, nothing paid yet) with store credit. Joe's Diner holds $80.00.
| What | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Store credit balance | $80.00 | $20.00 |
| Invoice: Store Credits line | — | −$60.00 |
| Invoice: balance due | $100.00 | $40.00 |
| Payment status | Unpaid | Partially paid |
| Records / Payment History | — | + Payment, Store Credit, $60.00, recorded by you |
| Invoice PDF | — | Store Credits −$60.00 line (not listed under Payment Method) |
| Bookkeeping | — | Nothing |
| Messages (box unticked) | — | None |
Messages, when Notify customer… is ticked
A payment receipt goes to the restaurant, with the invoice's new balance. The multi-invoice drawer has no such box and sends nothing to anyone.
Where it shows up
Invoice Records (chip Payment, method Store Credit) · customer Payment History · invoice preview and PDF (Store Credits deduction) · sales report Store Credit Applied card.
Permissions
Manage Payments and the Invoices page's Add Payment button need full invoice access (Admin, Clerk by default). Others don't see them.
Decisions
- Credit can't settle more than the invoice owes. An invoice can't go below $0.00, so the excess would simply vanish. Checked before anything is written and again inside the save. (#2306, IMM-023)
- Several invoices: credit is capped at what they owe together. Only that much is taken from the balance. (IMM-024)
- No accounting entry. Credit isn't money received. (#2306, IMM-009)
- Store Credit is always offered, even when the supplier hasn't enabled other manual methods.
- Credit counts as paid, so the status moves with it. An invoice covered $60.00 of $100.00 by credit reads Partially paid, not Unpaid. (#2540)
Known limitations
- Neither payment form shows or checks the customer's balance. If the credit isn't enough, the server refuses and the toast says so, but only after Add Payment.
- The customer page's Add Payment button doesn't list the new invoices. It opens an older drawer. Use Add Payment on the Invoices page.
FAQ
I paid $60 with credit and the invoice says Partially paid. Is that right? Yes. Credit counts as paid. Once the remaining $40.00 is paid, it reads Paid. See Payment status.
Can I take more credit than the invoice owes and keep the rest on the invoice? No. "Store credit of $60.00 is more than the $40.00 owed…". Credit that can't be used stays in the balance.
Why doesn't the store-credit payment appear in my bookkeeping? Credit isn't money coming in. The cash or card that originally created the credit, if any, is where income was booked. See Bookkeeping & reports.
I added a store-credit payment by mistake. Delete it from Records. The credit returns to the balance and the invoice owes it again. See Correct or remove.