• Registered: 03/12/2010
  • Posts: 12

Topic: Customer invoices always showing unpaid

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding how this work, but when I enter a customer invoice and then make a payment on that invoice, then enter another invoice to the same customer (perhaps for another item) and enter the payment screen, the original invoice still shows up even if it was paid in full. There is no indication that it was paid in full either. Am I doing something wrong?

It seems to me that the only invoices that should show up in the customer payment screen are thos that are unpaid or partially unpaid.

Also, how do you handle a customer that pays too much? (yeah, I know, it's a dream problem, but it happens) What I would like is an option to apply the excess payment to a GL account from within the customer payment screen.

Any ideas?

Thanks

  • rodw
  • Senior Member
  • Offline
  • From: Australia
  • Registered: 03/01/2010
  • Posts: 115

Re: Customer invoices always showing unpaid

I won't get into the first problem but one way to dispose of an overpayment is to create another invoice than allocate the payment to it. smile

[b]RodW[/b]
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  • Registered: 03/12/2010
  • Posts: 12

Re: Customer invoices always showing unpaid

An update on the first problem...

If an invoice is partially paid, then fully paid, the program behaves as I expect it to. If the invoice is fully paid right away, it does not.

However, when you fully pay an invoice, the problem remains. I think its a bug. (running 2.2.6)

Randy

  • Registered: 03/12/2010
  • Posts: 12

Re: Customer invoices always showing unpaid

hmm, ok - same problem on the supplier invoices and payments. while inspecting the "0_supp_trans" table, I see where on the supplier invoices that repeatedly show up the field 'ov_amount' has the amount of invoice or payment (appears to be 'type' = 20 for invoice and 'type' = 22 for payment.

On the invoice that does not show up, the field 'alloc' has the same amount in it as 'ov_amount'.

On the invoice that does show up repeatedly, the field 'alloc' is empty in both types of entries.

it appears that the program is not updating these fields unless a partial payment is made.

On the plus side, the reports still show the correct balance and payment information.

  • Registered: 03/12/2010
  • Posts: 12

Re: Customer invoices always showing unpaid

ok. I looked into the allocation process. this is definitely different than anything I have done before...

The unallocated payments can be allocated to the invoices through that process and then those invoices cease to show up in the customer payment or vendor payment screens and the fields are filled out properly in the database.

However, i now see why some show and some do not... if I manually add the value to the allocate field in the payment screen, the payment is allocated properly. if i click on the 'All' link and allow the screen to automatically fill in the value, the program does so on the screen, but leaves the allocation value at '0' when it updates the database. that's definitely odd behavior, but workable if I just remember not to use the 'All' link.

  • rodw
  • Senior Member
  • Offline
  • From: Australia
  • Registered: 03/01/2010
  • Posts: 115

Re: Customer invoices always showing unpaid

Hmm, that does sound like  abug. I had noticed that I had quite long listings with lots of 0 balances on items when I ran a customer Aged balance listing...

[b]RodW[/b]
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  • Registered: 12/25/2007
  • Posts: 2,448

Re: Customer invoices always showing unpaid

I'm not sure what is the reason of the problem on your site, but the allocation works as expected with 'All' buttons at least on my install, and demo site as well.

I think there is some misunderstanding of the process. When you have some payment to supplier and some part of it (but not whole amount) is already allocated to invoice, when you select again the payment you have all allocated invoice displayed with 'This allocation' input filled. This is presented here to enable reallocation of the payment, however it was previously allocated.
.
Janusz

  • Registered: 03/12/2010
  • Posts: 12

Re: Customer invoices always showing unpaid

itronics wrote:

I think there is some misunderstanding of the process. When you have some payment to supplier and some part of it (but not whole amount) is already allocated to invoice, when you select again the payment you have all allocated invoice displayed with 'This allocation' input filled. This is presented here to enable reallocation of the payment, however it was previously allocated.
.
Janusz

I wouldn't doubt that I am misunderstanding. I am learning accounting at the same time I am running this program. :-)

I'm not sure I understand your last statement though. perhaps If someone walked me through the expected process?

Here is what I am doing now...

Business is a bookbinding setup. Customer gives me a book to rebind and I fill out a paper slip with the customers desired options on it. This slip stays with the book as it goes through the whole process. (tried a workorder process at some point and it just didn't work. I need a paper slip with the book). When I'm finished with the book:

1) Create direct invoice with delayed payment.
2) Print invoice and place it in the book (call customer to pick up the book)
3) When customer arrives, I accept payment through the customer payment process.
4) Customers invoice pops up on the customer payment screen and I select the 'All' link which then fills in the 'This Allocation' with the whole payment amount as well as the total amount.
5) select the 'Add Payment' button

Now the next time that customer brings me a book, I go through the same process except at step '4' I now see the new invoice as well as the original invoice with both invoices showing the full amount under 'Left to Allocate'

If I look at Aged Customers, I see a whole bunch of customers with '0' balances. If I inspect the database, I see the 'alloc' field contains '0' in the transactions table for the customer.

I can then go to the payment allocation field and manually allocate that payment to the customer which then fills in the proper amount in the 'alloc' field.

If, instead of selecting the 'All' link in the original process, I instead manually fill in the 'This Allocation' field, it appears the same on the screen, but the database actually gets updated with the proper amount in the 'alloc' field of the table and I do not have to manually allocate the payment.

It's not a big deal, just doesn't seem to work the way I thought it would.

  • Registered: 12/25/2007
  • Posts: 2,448

Re: Customer invoices always showing unpaid

Well, I can't reproduce the problem. As I said the process works right on demo site - please check there (I have just cleaned up the demo data to make it more usable). You have version 2.2.6 while demo uses 2.2.7, but there was no related changes (I think) in meantime, so this should also not hurt. In fact when you press All control, javascipt fills the input field, so if the value displayed is the same as entered manually, the effect should be the same.

Janusz