Payment

Payments screen enables you to record a payment against an invoice to record a single payment for multiple jobs, to set discounts and credits. The Payment screen enables for direct input of payment information as well as a review of previously recorded payments. When recording payments, you can distribute the payment among multiple invoices on either a client or project basis. A payment might cover one or more invoices, or it might not completely cover an invoice. You select the invoice or invoices to settle against a payment and you select the amount to apply to each invoice.

History:

A drop-down menu is available that displays a list of previous payments for the client or project selected. In order to look at a previous payment, select it from the list. The transaction is displayed on the screen. The payment record can be deleted when you click the Delete button. This is helpful if an error was made in the application of the payment.

Key Field

The fields at the top of the screen set the criteria for the data being entered or reviewed. Depending on security permissions granted to users, they can edit, review, and print, etc. the records.

View By:

Choose the desired option from the drop-down list-Client, Project, Invoice or Reference. If Client is chosen, you will be able to apply payments to any of the invoices associated with the specified client. When viewing by Project, the invoices displayed in the grid will correspond only to the selected project. If Invoice (other than joint invoice) is chosen, the Project ID will get pre-filled and you will be able to apply payments or retainers to the selected invoice number.

Reference Number enables you to keep track of your invoices by reference number used in electronic invoicing.

Client ID/Invoice No:

If View By Client was selected, choose the client from the list provided by clicking . When a client is chosen, all of the client's invoices are displayed. You can check the Show Active Only option here to view only active status clients in the list. When View By: Invoice is selected, choose the Invoice number here.

Project ID:

When View By Project is chosen, a Project ID must be selected from the list provided by clicking , prior to entering payments. When View By Client is chosen, the projects available will belong to the client selected only. Select one if you want to only record a payment to one project, otherwise, ignore this field. After a project is selected, the invoices displayed will belong to that project only. You can check the Show Active Only option here to view only active status projects in the list.

Data Entry Fields

Date:

The date of payment—you can choose any date you want for your payment records. Today's date will fill this field as a default. You can click -- or ++ links to change the date, or you can click the Today link to display today's date.

Pay Method:

Select the method of payment from the drop-down list. The available options are:

• Cash: This method involves immediate cash payment. It is a Cash payment type.
• Check: This method involves payment via travelers checks, etc. that can be encashed or deposited in the bank. This is a Check payment type.

You can change Check to Cheque if needed using Custom Labels.

• Credit: Credit is issued to clients in favor or exchange for any task or activity. It can be used for recording over-payments or saved as a retainer (project or client retainer). If the client has a credit with you, you can apply this credit to an invoice. This payment will reduce the outstanding balance on invoices as in a discount. When you record and save a credit payment, BillQuick Online asks if you want to print a Credit Memo.
• Credit Card: When a payment is made via a credit card, it can be recorded under this payment method. It is a Cash payment type.
• Debit: It is charged to the client for some favor or service, thus increasing the outstanding balance. It is a Cash payment type.

Debit pay method can be used in case client makes a payment through check and later that check gets bounced, you can reverse that payment via Debit pay method.

• NSF: Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) payment method is used for bounced checks and is treated as a debit payment. If you record a non-sufficient payment (NSF) in the Payment screen, that reduction in fees or expenses gets reflected in the Payment Disbursement screen in the form of negative entries. This offsets the previous disbursement for the original payment.
• EFT: When the payment is made via the Electronic Fund Transfer system, it can be recorded under this payment method. It is a Cash payment type and is similar to a wire transfer.
• Money Order: When payment is made via a money order, it can be recorded under this pay method. It is a Cash payment type.
• Write Off: If you know that the payment on an invoice will not be made, you can write off that amount due. It reduces the outstanding balance on invoices and applies to payments as an irrecoverable/uncollectible amount.
• Other: If a payment is made via any other method not listed, you can record it under this method. It is a Cash payment type.
• PayPal: If you have a PayPal business account, your clients can make secure online payments with a credit card. If you want to record such a payment, you can choose this option.
• E-check: E-checks is a method of paying for products and services directly from a checking (bank) account, without having to send in an actual paper check. If your client pays you via an electronic check, you can choose this option. The payment amount is debited to the client's account and is then transferred to your company's account the same manner as if it was a paper check. E-check is similar to an ACH (Automated Clearing House) transaction.
• Wire Transfer: Wire transfer or credit transfer is a method of payment which involves electronic funds transfer from one person or company to another. If your clients make a payment from their bank account or from a financial institution to your bank account, you can choose this option.
• Use Retainer: Select this option to record a retainer payment.

Apply as Retainer:

When you are recording a payment for a project that has not been invoiced yet, check this box and record the payment as a retainer, without applying it to an invoice. A Client ID or a Project ID must be selected when recording retainer payments. When a retainer is applied to a client only, it is recorded as a Client Retainer in BillQuick Online, while as, if a project is specified; it is recorded as a Project Retainer. BillQuick Online enables recording a negative amount retainer payment. This will enable users to release back a portion of the retainer received.

Retainers can also be applied to retainer invoices in Payment screen or when they are processed in Billing Review. However, in case you choose to make a payment on a joint invoice in the View By Invoice mode, the Apply as Retainer option is unavailable. Retainer invoices can be printed in Project or Retainer Management screen. Warning message will pop up as soon as you try to delete a retainer that has been fully or partly applied to the invoices.

Retainer invoices (invoice # 0) are not stored as receivables in the database.

Retainers are included because they are applied to invoices when processed, which results in a reduced invoice amount and, therefore, a reduced Total Amount Billed.

Amount:

The total amount of payment received. This amount can be distributed to any number of invoices displayed in the grid below. This amount entered can be more than the bill amount. In such cases, there will be a remainder. On saving the payment, you will be prompted to record the over-payment as a retainer.

If you are recording a payment to a Client ID, the over-payment will be recorded as a Client Retainer. If the Project ID is specified, it will be recorded as a Project Retainer.

Auto Apply:

When checked the payment will be automatically applied to the selected invoices, from the oldest to the latest. When applying a lump sum payment to multiple invoices at one time, you have the option to auto apply the payment to selective invoices only by unchecking the Apply To status of those to be excluded.

You cannot use Auto Apply check box in case of Debit pay method. You will have to manually use the Apply option in the grid to record the payment.

Reference:

A Reference number can be entered here to track the method of payment. For example, a routing number from a personal check might be typed here. The field size should not exceed 60 characters. This is a drop-down list and holds list of distinct Payment Reference.

Memo:

A memo field is provided for additional notes related to the payment. This is a drop-down list and holds list of distinct payment memo. The field size should not exceed 60 characters.

If you enter a memo for an overpayment, BillQuick Online saves the memo to the retainer payment as well as the invoice payment.

Parent Project Retainer Available:

This is the retainer available at the parent project level and can be used for all its child projects (phases and sub-phases).

Client Retainer Available:

This gives the retainer available for the selected client or the client of the selected project. It is the Client Retainer Paid - Client Retainer Used amount. This helps you to know what is available before recording a retainer payment (Use Retainer type payment).

Project Retainer Available:

This gives the retainer available for the selected project of a client. It is the Project Retainer Paid - Project Retainer Used amount. This helps you to know what is available before applying a retainer (Use Retainer type payment).

Balance:

The total still owed by the client. This amount does not reflect any retainer payments.

Unused Payment:

While applying a payment amount, the entire amount might not be applied to the invoices. In that case, it will show the unused payment amount here. Before saving, you will be prompted to save the remainder as a retainer.

Show Void Payments:

When checked, the payments made void are also displayed in the grid.

Hide Paid Invoices:

When checked, the invoices displayed will be restricted to those that have outstanding balances.

Hide Negative Invoices:

When checked, the invoices with a negative Net Bill Amount are not displayed in the grid.

Grid: (read only)

Column Chooser :

Click to open the Column Chooser to hide or show columns in the grid. Select the field names you want to show in the grid. By default, some of the fields are already selected and displayed in the grid. Clear the check boxes if you want to hide them in the grid.

Apply:

Selected, it indicates that the payment amount will be applied to the invoice against the check mark. It is a quick way to mark the invoices you want to distribute the payment to. When applying a lump sum payment to multiple invoices at one time, you have the option to auto apply the payment to selective invoices only. To exclude any invoice, un-check this option.

Amount Applied:

Enter the portion of the total payment to be applied against each invoice. The Remainder will indicate any difference between the Amount Applied and the payment Amount entered.

Project ID:

In the View by Client mode, this column shows the project IDs for each of the client's projects for which invoices have been processed. In the View by Project mode, the project ID displayed will be restricted to the project selected.

Project Name:

In the View by Client mode, this column shows the project name for each of the client's projects for which invoices have been processed. In the View by Project mode, the project name displayed will be restricted to the project selected.

Invoice No:

The number of the invoice displayed in that row. Retainers will show 0 invoice number.

Invoice Date:

The invoice date.

Net Bill:

The bill amount of the invoice. It does not include any previous balance that might have been displayed on the invoice.

Paid:

The amount already paid towards the invoice. Information in this column cannot be typed in. After a payment is applied, it will appear in this field.

Balance:

The outstanding balance of the invoice. Parenthesis indicates a negative balance.

Foreign:

This column displays the invoice balance multiplied by the currency multiplier used for that transaction. This enables you to see how much the client owes on a particular invoice in a different foreign currency.

Notes:

Click opens the Notes screen where you can record notes for the selected project.

Payment Button Panel

Help:

Opens the BillQuick Online Help in the Payment section.

Print:

Opens the corresponding report that enables you to print, preview or cancel the report.

Options:

Rows:

Make a selection from this drop-down list to specify how many rows display in the grid.

Void:

A previous payment can be voided by clicking the Void button. You need to select a previous payment first and then use this option. When you void a disbursed payment, the associated disbursement of time and expense entries is also deleted.

Edit:

Click to delete and then edit a previous payment without having to re-enter all details.

Cancel:

An entry can be canceled only if it has not yet been updated. After the Cancel button is chosen, the grid is cleared and you can either start over again, or leave the screen.

Attachment:

Click to attach a file (for example, receipt image) to a processed payment.

This file attachment option is only available in the BillQuick Online Enterprise edition.

Bounced Checks:

Opens the Bounced Check screen where you can specify the charges towards the bounced check. Check out How Do I Handle Bounced Checks for more details.

Delete:

A previous payment can be deleted when you click the Delete button. However, this option remains unavailable until a project is selected. If you try to delete a retainer payment, you will be prompted with a warning in case it has been partially or fully applied to an invoice.

Save:

Enables to record a new entry.

New:

Enables you to record a new payment for the project.

Refresh:

Click to refresh the information displayed on the screen.