Receive money from a customer

Q: The customer paid, but the invoice still shows Unpaid.

The receipt was saved as Advance , Customer or Other , so it names no invoice. The customer's balance is right. To show the invoice as paid, the accountant records the money against the invoice instead. See What clears what in the customer's account .

Q: The customer deducted TDS.

Enter the deducted part in the invoice's TDS amount when you receive Against voucher ; the invoice is then cleared by the money plus the TDS.

Q: One cheque pays several invoices.

Use Receipt voucher > Add , Against voucher , and type the amount for each invoice in Current receipt .

A receipt voucher records money received from a customer into a cash or bank account. Made against an invoice it clears that invoice; made as an advance it waits on the customer's account until it is matched.

Accounting Getting paid
5 min read
Updated October 20, 2026

For Cashier Accountant Sales clerk

On this page

Three ways to record a receipt
Receive a payment against an invoice
Receive one payment for several invoices
An advance or a payment on account
What a receipt changes
After saving
Common questions

Three ways to record a receipt

You are	Do this	What it clears
Collecting on one invoice	Receipt on the invoice's view page	That invoice, by the amount you enter
Collecting a payment for several invoices of one customer	Receipt voucher > Add, receipt type Against voucher	Each invoice you tick, by its own amount
Taking money before there is an invoice	Receipt on a sales order, or Receipt voucher with receipt type Advance	An order's advance moves onto its invoice; a plain advance waits

A sale paid at the counter needs none of these: the cash sale saves its own receipt (Cash sales and credit sales).

Receive a payment against an invoice

Open the invoice and choose Receipt
Who
Cashier or accountant
Where
Sales Invoice > the invoice > Receipt (choose the receipt series if there is more than one)
What changes
Receipt voucher opens with the customer and the Outstanding amount.
Fill the receipt
What changes
Date, Deposited to (the cash or bank account the money goes into), Amount, Currency, and Cheque No and Cheque date if paid by cheque, and a Narration.
Needs
The amount cannot be more than the outstanding amount, unless your company switched on Over payment receipt applicable. The date cannot be before the fiscal year starts.
Save
What changes
The receipt is saved with its own number. The invoice's Due amount falls and its Status moves to Partial or Paid.

Receive one payment for several invoices

Open Receipt voucher and choose Add
Who
Accountant
Where
Receipt voucher (menu Receipt Voucher) > Add
What changes
Add receipt voucher opens.
Choose the receipt type
What changes
Receipt types: Against voucher, Advance, Customer, Other or Against voucher(Multiple Party). Choose Against voucher and the customer to see their unpaid invoices.
Allocate the money
What changes
The Receipt against invoice list shows each invoice's Bill amount, Due days, Outstanding amount, a TDS amount (where your company has a TDS ledger) and Current receipt. Type the amount for each invoice you are paying.
Needs
Each amount at most what is outstanding on that invoice (with its TDS), unless over payment is allowed.
Choose where the money went and save
What changes
Receipt on the cash or bank account, the amount received into it, the cheque details if any, the Reference Voucher if your company requires one.

Worked example: one cheque for two invoices

ABC Traders owes on two invoices: SB-00041, with 11,300 outstanding, and SB-00057, with 22,600 outstanding. It hands over one cheque, dated today, for 25,000. On Receipt voucher > Add, receipt type Against voucher, the accountant chooses ABC Traders and types the Current receipt for each invoice:

Invoice	Outstanding amount	Current receipt	Afterwards
SB-00041	11,300	11,300	Paid
SB-00057	22,600	13,700	Partial, 8,900 still due
Total	33,900	25,000	ABC Traders owes 8,900

Receipt on is the bank account, with the cheque number and date. Typing 15,000 against SB-00041 would be refused with "The amount could not be greater than the outstanding amount", unless your company allows over payment.

An advance or a payment on account

Choose receipt type Advance (or Customer) to record money with no invoice named. The customer's account shows the credit, but no invoice's Due amount changes. When the invoice is raised later, record a receipt Against voucher to match them, or ask your accountant to adjust it. A receipt on a sales order is different: it follows the order onto its invoice by itself (Take a sales order).

What a receipt changes

What happens when you save a receipt

Area	Change
Cash or bank account	The Deposited to (or Receipt on) account goes up by the amount
Customer's account	The customer owes that much less, on the receipt date
The invoice	Only a receipt made against it lowers its Due amount and moves its Status to Partial or Paid
An advance	Sits on the customer's account as credit; no invoice changes until it is matched
Number	The next number of the receipt series
IRD	Nothing: receipts are not sent to the IRD

After saving

The customer's balance, the Customer list and the customer reports show the receipt at once.
A receipt keeps its number in the Receipt voucher series; a missing series stops the save.
A receipt is a cash-bank document: see Record any money received with a receipt voucher for the voucher, Record and deposit cheques and Record cash you have not banked yet for cheques and cash not yet banked, Reconcile a bank account with its statement for matching it with the bank statement and Approvals for purchases and vouchers for approval.

Common questions

The customer paid, but the invoice still shows Unpaid.

The receipt was saved as Advance, Customer or Other, so it names no invoice. The customer's balance is right. To show the invoice as paid, the accountant records the money against the invoice instead. See What clears what in the customer's account.

The customer paid more than the invoice.

The screen stops a receipt above the outstanding amount unless your company switched on Over payment receipt applicable. Otherwise receive the invoice amount against the invoice and the rest as an Advance.

The customer deducted TDS.

Enter the deducted part in the invoice's TDS amount when you receive Against voucher; the invoice is then cleared by the money plus the TDS.

One cheque pays several invoices.

Use Receipt voucher > Add, Against voucher, and type the amount for each invoice in Current receipt.

The receipt went to the wrong invoice.

Ask the accountant to correct the receipt voucher. The customer's balance is not affected; only which invoice shows as paid.