Instalments and collections
See how payment terms become instalments on a posted invoice, and hand overdue instalments to collections.
Before you begin
- The feature Instalment schedules from payment terms is on (the default). If it is off, new invoices get no instalments and the Instalments due report is hidden. Existing schedules stay.
- The customer has payment terms.
- The invoice is posted. Instalments are written at the moment of posting.
How instalments are written
When you post an invoice, the system splits the total according to the customer's payment terms.
| Terms | Invoice total | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 50% now, 50% in 30 days | AED 1,050.00 | 525.00 due on the invoice date, 525.00 due 30 days later |
| Three equal parts | AED 1,000.00 | 333.33, 333.33 and 333.34 |
| No terms | AED 1,000.00 | One instalment for the full amount on the due date |
The last instalment takes the remainder, so the instalments always add to the invoice total exactly.
Steps: view instalments on an invoice
- Open a posted invoice from Billing > Customers > Invoices.
- Open the Instalments tab (or the Instalments smart button).
Each row shows its number, due date, status and the open amount.
Payments fill instalments in date order
Payments are recorded in Accounting. Billing allocates them to the earliest instalment first. If you receive AED 600.00 against two instalments of 525.00:
- instalment 1 is Paid (525.00);
- instalment 2 is paid 75.00 and has 450.00 open. It shows Part paid, or Overdue once the due date passes.
Steps: hand overdue instalments to collections
- Open Billing > Reporting > Instalments due. The report lists Invoice, Partner, #, Due, Status, Amount, Open and To collections. It reconciles when each invoice's instalments add to its total.
- Press Hand overdue to collections. You need billing.manage.
The system stamps the To collections date on each overdue open instalment and publishes a hand-off event for Accounting. Pressing the button again hands nothing over twice.
What happens next
The collections follow-up itself, such as reminders and dunning, is done in Accounting. Billing only marks the instalments and signals them.
Good to know
- Billing > Overview shows receivables aging in buckets of days past due. The buckets add to the overdue figure.
- Invoices posted before Billing was used have no instalments.
- A view-only user can see the Hand overdue to collections button but is refused when pressing it.
- A reversed invoice shows Reversed on its billing record.