Browse the manual

Record a payment a customer has made

Recording a deposit or rent payment on a booking (at the counter or backdated), choosing the method and type, and recording a payment against an invoice from the Payments tile

10 min read

What this page covers

  • Take a payment at the desk
  • Choose the payment method
  • Choose the payment type
  • Required fields on a payment
  • Matching customer and booking
  • A payment against an invoice only

Introduction

The Payments button near the top of a booking opens a screen headed Booking payments, with the customer's number and name underneath, a row of buttons, the payments already recorded on the booking, and a list of card authorisations.

Company administrators also have the Payments tile under Financials, listing every payment in the company — the route for money not tied to one booking.

You will use this when:

  • a customer pays the deposit at the counter before driving off
  • a customer pays the rent in cash or by card when bringing the vehicle back
  • a bank transfer arrives for a booking and you want the booking to show it as paid
  • a customer pays an invoice that does not belong to a single booking

Words used on these screens

The method names appear exactly as below:

The screen saysIt means
RentalRent: money towards the price of the booking
DepositThe deposit held against damage, fuel and the like
InvoiceA payment against an invoice, not linked to any booking
OtherA payment linked only to the customer
DebitCard, CreditCard, DirectDebitDebit card, credit card, direct debit
iDeal / BancontactThe Dutch and Belgian online bank payment
PointOfSaleA card terminal connected to the app
BatchMoney that came in as part of a bulk import

Every way to record a payment

RouteWhat you getCovered here
Payments on the booking, then New PaymentA payment dated now; you pick deposit or rent and the methodYes
Payments on the booking, then New Payment (manual) or Deposit (manual)The same, with a choice of date and quick-fill amountsYes
Financials menu, Payments tile, New paymentAny payment type, for any customer, with or without a bookingYes
The card-terminal tile on New PaymentThe customer pays on the terminalNo, see Card and online payments
Financials menu, Outstanding balances tilePayments against what a customer owesNo, see Check what a customer owes and take a payment
A bank file of many paymentsPayments spread over several invoicesNo, see Importing payments in bulk

Use the booking's Payments button for anything paid on a booking. Use the Payments tile only for money that has no booking.

How to use

Configuration

One company-wide setting decides which payment method is already filled in on New Payment.

  1. From the main menu open Admin, then Settings, then click the Financial tile. The screen is headed Financial settings.
  2. Set Default payment method to the method most of your customers use at the counter. It starts as DebitCard.
  3. Press Save. It applies to the next payment you start. Payments already recorded keep their method.

The two (manual) buttons ignore this setting and always start on DebitCard.

Before you start: recording a payment on a booking works with a normal staff account. The Financials menu, the Payments tile and Financial settings need a company administrator account. The booking must already have a customer; if it has none, every payment button answers Please assign a customer first.

Using the payment screens

On the booking

  1. From the main menu open Bookings, then Overview, and open the booking.
  2. Click Payments near the top of the booking. The Booking payments screen opens.
  3. Choose one of three buttons:
ButtonUse it whenAmount it fills in
New PaymentThe customer pays now, at the counterEverything still open on the booking: rent plus deposit, minus what is paid
New Payment (manual)The customer paid rent, possibly on an earlier dateThe rent still open
Deposit (manual)The customer paid the deposit, possibly on an earlier dateRent plus deposit still open

With New Payment. A window opens with three numbered parts.

  1. Under 1. Deposit or Rent? set Payment type to Deposit or Rental. It starts on Deposit, with Amount already filled in with everything still open: rent plus deposit.
  2. Under 2. Payment amount? check Amount, and change it to what the customer is actually paying. Switching Payment type to Rental does not change the amount — left as it is, the deposit is recorded as rent paid.
  3. Under 3. Payment method? are two picture tiles with no text. The left one, a card terminal, is covered on Card and online payments. Click the right one (it gets a green border), then pick Payment method below. Clicking that tile resets the method to DebitCard, so click it first.
  4. Click Register payment. The payment is saved, dated now, and the window closes. Cancel closes it without recording anything.

With New Payment (manual) or Deposit (manual). A window titled Edit Payment opens.

  1. Set Payment date if the money came in on another day. It starts at now.
  2. Payment type is already set by the button you pressed. You can still switch it.
  3. Check Amount. The links under it, each followed by the amount still open, copy that amount in: Deposit + Rent and Deposit for a deposit, Rent for rent.
  4. Choose the Payment method. Payment reference (a receipt number) and External reference (a bank transaction number) are optional.
  5. Click Save. Cancel throws the payment away.

The payment appears on Booking payments and the booking's paid totals update at once.

To correct a payment, click its row. The Edit Payment window opens with Amount and Payment method locked. You can still change Payment date, Payment type and both references, then click Save.

From the Payments tile

This route needs a company administrator account.

  1. From the main menu open Financials, then click the Payments tile. The screen is headed Payment overview.
  2. Click New payment. A window titled Payment opens, with Payment type already on Invoice.
  3. Fill in the fields. The ones that appear depend on Payment type:
FieldStarts asWhat goes in it
Amount0The amount received. Anything but 0; a minus figure is accepted
Payment typeInvoiceDeposit, Rental, Invoice or Other
Payment dateNowThe day the money arrived
Payment methodDebitCardHow it was paid
Payment referenceEmptyOptional, your own reference
CustomerEmptyRequired. Type part of the name to search
BookingEmptyShown for Deposit and Rental only, and required then. Lists this customer's bookings as number and vehicle class
InvoiceEmptyShown for Invoice only. Lists this customer's invoices by number
External referenceEmptyOptional, for example the bank transaction number
  1. Choose Customer first: the Booking and Invoice lists show only that customer's records.
  2. Click Save. Cancel closes the window without recording anything.

After Save, Amount, Payment date, Payment method, Customer and Booking are locked.

Key details

Deposit or rent decides where the money counts. A Deposit payment adds to the booking's deposit paid; any other adds to rent paid.

A worked example. A van is booked for €480 including value-added tax (VAT), with a €250 deposit. Nothing is paid yet.

What you doAmount filled inResult on the booking
Deposit (manual), click Deposit 250, method CreditCard, Save730.00, then 250.00Deposit paid 250, rent paid 0
On return, New Payment (manual), method Cash, Save480.00 (the rent still open)Deposit paid 250, rent paid 480

New Payment with Register payment unchanged would have recorded all €730 as Deposit.

A payment against an invoice only stays outside the booking figures. An Invoice or Other payment has no booking. It changes no booking's paid totals, no balance on Outstanding balances, and does not mark the invoice as paid.

What the customer receives. A payment above zero on a booking sends the payment- or deposit-received email, if switched on for your company. Invoice and other payments send nothing.

What to do next: if the customer still owes money, see Payment requests to send them a payment link; to hold a card for the deposit instead of taking the money, see Deposits and pre-authorisation.

Q&A

Why does the booking show the whole amount as deposit paid? The payment was recorded with Payment type Deposit, which is where New Payment starts, and it counts the full amount as deposit. Click the payment's row on Booking payments, set Payment type to Rental and click Save. If the amount has to be split between rent and deposit, see Deposits and pre-authorisation.

How do I correct a payment with the wrong amount or method? Neither can be changed once saved. A company administrator can tick the payment on Payment overview, remove it with the red bin button and you record it again. That only works while the payment has not yet reached your accounting package. Read Payment problems first for what removing a payment does.

Why does an invoice still look unpaid after I saved a payment against it? A payment of type Invoice is linked to the invoice for reference only. For money on a booking, record it with the booking's Payments button instead. How to check whether an invoice is paid is on Sending an invoice.

Why is there no Register payment button on New Payment? It is hidden when Payment method is Batch, and when the card-terminal tile is chosen. Click the right-hand tile and pick another method.

Why did "Not valid" appear after Register payment? Amount, Payment type or Payment method was left empty. Fill it in and click Register payment again.

Why does the Booking list stay empty on the Payment window? No Customer is chosen yet, or that customer has no bookings. Choose the customer first.

Why does "Booking is not linked to selected customer." appear? The customer was changed after the booking was picked. Pick the booking again from the list, which now shows the new customer's bookings.

Why does "Please fill in" appear under Payment type on the Payment window? A booking is still filled in while the type is Invoice or Other. Set the type to Deposit or Rental, clear Booking, then set the type back.

Why does "Amount cannot be nul." appear? Amount is 0 on the Payment window. Enter the amount received. The misspelling is the app's own.

Why does "Please assign a customer first." appear? The booking has no customer. Add one on the booking, then press Payments again.

Why can I not find the Payments tile? The Financials menu needs a company administrator account. Record the payment on the booking, or ask your administrator.

Why is the SyncID cell red on Payment overview, and what are Resync and Mark synced? They show whether a payment has reached your accounting package. See Accounting sync.

Related pages: