Unapplied payments are funds you’ve received from a customer that have not yet been tied to a specific invoice. These are typically the result of an overpayment or a prepayment for future services and should be manually reviewed and applied to maintain accurate account records.
Locating Unapplied Payments #
To find unapplied payments, begin by navigating to the Accounting section from the left-hand navigation menu. Click the Payments tab at the top of the screen to view all payments logged in the system.
From here, you have a couple of ways to identify unapplied funds. You can filter the view specifically to show only Unapplied Payments, or you can enable the Un-applied Amount column and sort by that field. Once sorted, click on any payment number to open the payment detail and view how much of the payment remains unallocated.
In some cases, you might notice that a payment is partially applied—it’s linked to an invoice, but still shows an unapplied amount. This simply means the customer paid more than the invoice required, leaving extra funds available on the account.
How Unapplied Payments Are Used #
Unapplied payments can be useful in scenarios where a down payment is required, or when a customer prepays for future services. They also play a role in auto-pay workflows, where a payment is made in advance and then automatically applied once the invoice is generated.
To avoid double-charging customers, it's important to manually apply unapplied funds to the correct invoice as soon as it becomes available. This ensures that the invoice reflects the payment accurately and prevents unnecessary follow-ups or billing errors.
Applying Unapplied Payments to Invoices #
To apply an unapplied payment, click on the payment record from the Payments screen. This will open the Payment Details panel. Scroll down to the Applied Payments section and click the Apply Payment button.
At the top of this screen, you’ll see the Unapplied Amount still available. Below that, a list of all open invoices for the account will be displayed. Check the box next to the invoice—or multiple invoices—you want the payment to be applied to.
Once your selections are made, click Save Payment to complete the action. The payment will now be properly linked to the selected invoice(s), and the customer’s account will reflect the updated balance.
Note: You can split one unapplied payment across multiple invoices if necessary.
