Allocating one payment across several invoices
Apply a single customer payment to multiple invoices at once.
When a customer sends one payment to cover multiple invoices, you can allocate that single payment across all of them in one step. This is faster and clearer than creating separate payments for each invoice.
Before you start
- You have a single payment from a customer (one check, one bank transfer, one cash amount).
- That payment covers one or more of the customer's outstanding invoices.
- You know the total amount of the payment.
- You are comfortable selecting multiple invoices at once.
How allocation works
When you allocate one payment to multiple invoices:
- Usystems applies the payment to the invoices in the order they appear on screen (oldest invoices first, typically).
- It subtracts the payment amount from each invoice's balance until the payment is fully used.
- An invoice is marked Paid if the payment is enough to cover it completely, or Partially Paid if the payment covers only part of it.
- If the payment is more than all the invoices combined, the remaining balance becomes a credit on the customer's account, which they can use later.
Steps
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Go to Payments → New Payment Open in Usystems
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Select the Customer who sent the payment.
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Enter the Amount of the payment (the total, not per invoice).
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Choose the Account where the money is being received.
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Set the Payment Date (defaults to today).
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Scroll down to the Invoices section. This is where you will assign the payment to multiple invoices.
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Click Add Invoice or the plus button to start selecting invoices.
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Choose the first invoice you want to pay with this payment. Usystems shows you the invoice amount and a field for how much of this payment goes to it. By default, it will apply as much as needed to cover that invoice (or the full remaining payment, if it is less).
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Click to add the next invoice. Repeat until you have added all the invoices this payment should cover.
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Usystems will automatically calculate how much of the payment goes to each invoice. You can adjust these amounts manually if needed (for example, if the customer specifies which invoices to prioritize).
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Review the allocation summary to make sure the total matches your payment amount.
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Click Save to record the payment and allocations.
Accounting impact
When you save a multi-invoice payment, Usystems records:
- Debit the payment account (cash, bank) for the full payment amount — this records the money received.
- Credit the customer's account for each invoice that was paid — the amount goes toward that invoice's balance.
- If any amount is left over (payment exceeds all invoice balances), that remainder becomes a customer credit or advance on account, which the customer can use later.
Tips & common mistakes
- Order matters: Usystems applies the payment to invoices in the order shown, oldest first. If you want a different order, you can reorder the invoices before saving.
- Over-payment: If the payment is more than the total of all invoices selected, the extra becomes a credit on the customer's account. They can use it to pay future invoices.
- Under-payment: If the payment is less than one invoice, it will be split across the invoices. The system applies it to the oldest invoice first.
- Manual allocation: You can manually adjust how much of the payment applies to each invoice. For example, if a customer specifies "apply $500 to invoice #A and $300 to invoice #B," change the amounts in the Allocation column.
- Editing later: Once saved, you cannot edit this payment-to-invoice allocation. If you need to change it, contact your administrator.
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