Advances and credit balances

Advances and credit balances

What it is

An advance is money that has been received (or sent) before a corresponding invoice or bill exists. A credit balance is money owed back to a customer or vendor because of an overpayment or return.

Example scenarios:

• A customer pays 1,000 AFN upfront, but you haven't invoiced them yet. They now have a 1,000 AFN advance (prepayment).
• A customer pays their 500 AFN invoice but accidentally sends 600 AFN. The extra 100 AFN is a credit balance (overpayment).
• You return 200 AFN of goods to a vendor. Instead of refunding cash, you credit their account.

In all cases, Usystems tracks the amount owed to the customer or vendor in a balance field.

Why it matters

• Cash flow: Advances represent real money that has arrived but hasn't been matched to a specific transaction yet. They reduce the amount you need to collect later.
• Convenience: Instead of issuing a refund check, you can apply a credit balance to the next invoice. This is faster and reduces paperwork.
• Accounting clarity: The balance field makes it obvious when a customer or vendor has a standing credit—no guessing.

How it works in Usystems

Receiving an advance (customer prepayment)

1. A customer sends you 500 AFN without an invoice yet.
2. You record this via Payments → Add payment, choose the customer, enter 500 AFN, and save.
3. The customer's balance now shows –500 AFN (they have credit with you).
4. When you later invoice them for 300 AFN, Usystems can automatically apply the 500 AFN balance to settle the invoice and leave a 200 AFN credit remaining.

Overpayment (customer pays too much)

1. A customer owes you 500 AFN. They pay 600 AFN by mistake.
2. You record the 600 AFN payment against the 500 AFN invoice.
3. Usystems marks the invoice as Paid and shows the customer's balance as –100 AFN (credit).
4. On the next invoice, the 100 AFN balance is automatically applied (or you can apply it manually).

Vendor advance (you prepay a supplier)

1. You decide to prepay a supplier 1,000 AFN to lock in a discount.
2. You record this as a payment on the vendor's account (same process as customer advance, but in reverse).
3. The vendor's balance now shows +1,000 AFN (you have credit with them).
4. When they send you an invoice for 600 AFN, the 1,000 AFN balance is applied, leaving 400 AFN standing credit.

Where you see it

• Contact / Customer / Vendor detail page: Open any customer or vendor. The "Balance" field shows their current advance or credit (negative = they owe you; positive = you owe them, or they have standing credit).
  • Open Customers
  • Open Vendors
• Payments page: When you record a payment, you can choose to apply an existing balance to an invoice, or leave it as a standing advance for later. Open Payments
• Invoice detail page: When creating or editing an invoice, a "Balance allocation" or "Apply credit" section may appear if the customer has a balance. You can choose to apply it or leave it.
• Aging reports: Outstanding balance reports show both unpaid invoices and any standing customer/vendor balances. Open Reports

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