In this guide, you will learn how to handle payments for sales invoices in Netvisor. The guide instructs on adding a new payment, different handling methods such as overpayments and partial payments, as well as procedures for currency payments and cash discount situations.

Contents

For a sales invoice to be marked as paid, a payment must be recorded on the invoice. If you only change the invoice status to paid, the invoice remains open in reconciliation and deviates from the bookkeeping balance. For sales invoices to be automatically marked as paid, a bank statement and machine-readable reference payment material must be received in Netvisor from the bank (agreed with a payments traffic agreement). Sometimes a sales invoice is not automatically marked as paid based on the bank statement, or a payment needs to be manually added to the sales invoice. An invoice is considered paid only when the recorded payments and the invoice amount are equal.


Payment allocation
The reference number is primarily allocated to the oldest sales invoice or sales order, where the reference number matches, if the sales order has not been archived. If the sales order (where the reference number matches) has already been invoiced, the allocation is attempted to the invoice created from the order.


Arrival of payments

To receive machine-readable reference payments from the bank in Netvisor, this must be agreed upon with the bank in the payments traffic agreement. Reference payments may arrive at a different time than the bank statement, and payments may already be visible in the Payments listing even if the bank statement has not yet arrived. Reference payments arrive in Netvisor from the bank once a day. The previous day's material normally arrives on the morning of the next banking day.

Creating a new payment

A payment can be added to a sales invoice

  • By creating a new payment directly from the sales invoice
  • Through the bank statement editing view using the Add new sales payment function
  • By creating a new payment through the Payments view
  • From the Unallocated reference payments view (on the homepage under Exceptions and notices)

1. Directly through the sales invoice:

You can open the view by selecting Sales > Sales invoices > select an open invoice.

  1. Find the desired open invoice in the accounts receivable and open the invoice.
  2. Select "Add payment" from the sales invoice actions.

The "Add payment" function opens the New payment view.

"New payment" view:

  1. Select the bank account where the payment has been received (To account).
  2. Select the payment date.
  3. If necessary, change the payment amount (for example, installments).
  4. Select another payment method if the payment has not been received in the bank account.
  5. If necessary, create a completely new payment method through Sales basic data.

The handling methods are explained in more detail later in this guide.

"Save" creates the payment for the invoice and creates a voucher in bookkeeping.

Finally, you can link the voucher to the bank statement in the Bank statement editing view.

2. Through the bank statement:

You can open the function by selecting Financials > Bank statements > select a bank statement > Edit.

  1. In the bank statement editing view, select the bank statement row for which you want to record a payment for an open invoice.
  2. Select "Other transaction" > "Add new sales payment".
  3. Go via the link to the sales invoice list.
  4. Find the invoice related to the payment.
  5. From the end of the correct invoice row, select "new payment" from the downward triangle.

This guide does not cover machine-readable reference material; this is explained later in the guide.

When you allocate the payment to the desired invoice:

  • An MS voucher (sales payment) is created in bookkeeping.
  • The payment appears in the Payments section of the sales invoice.
  • The number of the created MS voucher is also shown on the bank statement.

3. Through the Payments view:
Sales > Payments > New payment.

  1. Open Sales > Payments > New payment.
  2. Enter the payment details and save.

After saving the new payment, the program moves to the payment allocation view, where you can allocate the payment to an existing invoice.

  • If you do not allocate the payment to any invoice, select "Do not allocate" as the handling method from the menu.


When the payment is allocated to the desired invoice, an MS voucher (sales payment) is created in bookkeeping, and the payment appears in the Payments section of the sales invoice.


If the sales invoice did not have an ML voucher before adding the payment, the ML voucher is automatically created when you add the sales payment.

4. Through the Unallocated reference payments view (on the homepage under Exceptions and notices)

You can open the view by selecting Sales > Payments > Unallocated reference payments or from the homepage, from the Exceptions and notices section, via the Unallocated reference payments widget.

  1. Check that the payment has arrived as a machine-readable reference payment from the bank and has not been allocated to any invoice.
  2. From the Unallocated reference payments widget or the Sales > Payments page, select the "Allocate" link on the payment row.
  3. Select the invoice to be allocated and a suitable handling method.
  4. If you do not allocate the payment to any invoice, select "Do not allocate" as the handling method.

The homepage widget shows unallocated reference payments from the open financial period. When you close the financial period, the unallocated reference payments disappear from the homepage. When you reopen the period, the unallocated reference payments reappear if they have not been allocated. If there is a voucher for the payment, the allocation does not update the invoice status.

Note! If you change the invoice status to Paid and after this a machine-readable reference arrives for the invoice, the payment remains in unallocated reference payments and you must handle it manually.

Machine-readable reference material cannot be processed through the bank statement view.

Payment methods and handling methods

Payment methods (1) can be used when recording a manual payment instead of bank accounts (Account field).

  • You can use payment methods, for example, to record credit card payments instead of a bank account.
  • You can add new payment methods and their default receivable accounts (credit cards, etc.).

You can add a payment method by selecting Sales > Basic data and settings > Payment methods > New payment method.

Handling method (2):

All handling methods' bookkeeping accounts can be defined in Default accounts in bookkeeping. Handling methods cannot be added, edited, or deleted.

  • Normal
    • Records the payment normally according to the default account of the payment account and sales receivables.
  • Rounding difference
    • Records the differing amount to the default account for rounding differences.
    • Example: The invoice amount is 100 €, and the payment is 100.01 €. When you use the handling method "rounding difference", the entire payment of 100.01 € is recorded so that 100 € is recorded to the default account for sales payments and 0.01 € to the default account for rounding differences.
    • The handling method cannot be used solely for recording the rounding difference; with this method you handle the entire incoming payment.
  • Discount
    • You can use this when the payment is less than the original amount.
    • Select "Discount" as the handling method for the entire incoming payment.
    • The unpaid portion is recorded to the default account for sales discounts.
    • The change in VAT liability is taken into account on the voucher.
  • Partial payment
    • Records the partial payment normally according to the default account of the payment account and sales receivables.
  • Overpayment to be clarified
    • Records the overpayment to the account defined for overpayment posting.
    • The payer information for the payment is recorded as "Overpayment correction" (visible on the Payments page).
    • If you want the overpayment to appear in the Overpayments view (Sales > Overpayments), select "Normal" as the handling method.
    • The guide on overpayments can be found here.
  • Collection
    • Use this when a collection charge has been added to the invoice and the customer pays the invoice including the collection charge.
    • The collection charge is recorded to the collection account defined in the system default accounts.
    • The payer information for the payment is recorded as "Customer paid collection charge" (visible on the Payments page).
    • In Netvisor, the collection charge is not added to the invoice principal, but this handling method corrects both the ledger and bookkeeping and records the collection charges in bookkeeping.
    • You can also use this recording method in a situation where the customer pays only the collection charge separately.
  • Do not allocate
    • You can use this when the payment is not intended to be allocated to any invoice.
    • The payment is recorded normally according to the default account of the payment account and sales receivables.
    • The description for the payment is recorded as "Unallocated payment to invoice, [payer's name]".
  • Bad debt
    • Updates the invoice status to bad debt.
    • Records the payment as bad debt.

Currency payment

If the invoice is in a currency other than euros and the payment is made in another currency, add the payment manually from the sales invoice actions "Add payment".

  1. Open the sales invoice that is in a currency other than euros.
  2. Select "Add payment" from the sales invoice actions.
  3. Enter the original currency amount in the Currency amount field.
  4. Enter the euro amount received on the bank statement in the Amount field.

Currency exchange difference is automatically recorded to the exchange differences account. For the automatic recording of exchange differences to work, an account for sales currency exchange differences must be saved in the default accounts in bookkeeping: Default accounts used in bookkeeping.

Using the payments view

Sales > Payments > Payments

Basic search

In the search field in the Payments view, you can search for payments by reference number or payer's name.

You can refine the basic search using the dropdown menu on the right side of the search field.

  1. Open the dropdown menu on the right side of the search field.
  2. Select one or more search terms.
  3. Payments are listed according to the selected search criteria while the search window is open.

If the search window is closed, the basic search works without separate search criteria.

If you do not restrict the search criteria at all, you can list all payments by pressing the Search button. This lists all recorded payments and payments created through reference payments.

The searched payments can be allocated, edited, deleted, or mass posted. Allocation and mass posting are done in the payment list view.

Editing a payment

Editing a payment requires editing rights for Payment management, which are set in function-specific rights. You can access payment editing by drilling down directly from the sales invoice or through the Sales > Payments view.

On the sales invoice, proceed as follows:

  1. Click the Payments link on the sales invoice.
  2. Drill down from the reference number to the invoice payments.
  3. Click the payer's name.
  4. Edit the payment details and save.

If the payment has arrived as a machine-readable reference payment, you can only edit the name, payment date, and amount.

Note! If you edit the payment date during allocation, the payment will appear on the bank statement of the selected payment date instead of the original bank statement.

Manual payment and machine-readable reference payment differ in that a manual payment can be deleted, but a machine-readable payment cannot be deleted. The allocation of a machine-readable payment can, if necessary, be undone and then processed or allocated again (see section Undoing the allocation of a machine-readable reference payment).

Deleting a payment

KP rights are required to delete an allocated payment.

Deleting a single payment

Deleting a payment is done in the Sales > Payments > Payments view.

  1. Open Sales > Payments > Payments.
  2. From the payment list, click the payer's name to open the detailed payment information.
  3. In the view that opens, select the delete function for the payment.

Deleting a machine-readable reference payment is not possible. If necessary, you can undo its allocation or edit the amount (see section Undoing the allocation of a machine-readable reference payment).

Note!  Changes made to the payment through editing do not automatically update the bookkeeping voucher, and you must manually update the payment voucher.

Deleting a payment invalidates the Sales payment voucher related to the payment, if no other payments have been recorded on the voucher. Deleting a payment does not change the sales invoice status to open, but you must update the invoice status through the sales invoice list using the "Update status" function.

Deleting payments in bulk

You can delete payments in bulk in the Sales > Payments > Payments view.

  1. Open Sales > Payments > Payments.
  2. Select the desired payments from the list using the checkboxes.
  3. Press the "Delete payments" button at the bottom right of the view.

Machine-readable reference payments cannot be deleted in bulk, nor can the allocations of machine-readable reference payments be undone in bulk.

Note!  Changes made to the payment through editing do not automatically update the bookkeeping voucher, and you must ensure that the payment voucher is updated manually.

Deleting a payment invalidates the Sales payment voucher related to the payment, if no other payments have been recorded on the voucher. Deleting a payment does not change the sales invoice status to open, but you must make the change through the sales invoice list using the "Update status" function.

If you want to process a payment without allocation, proceed as follows:

  1. Open Sales > Payments > Payments.
  2. On the payment row, press the blue "allocate" link.
  3. On the next page, select "Do not allocate" as the handling method.

If you process the payment without allocating it to any invoice, it does not affect ledger balances. The MS voucher created by this function must be invalidated if you want it not to remain in bookkeeping.

Undoing the allocation of a machine-readable reference payment

You can undo an incorrectly allocated machine-readable reference payment through the Sales > Payments view.

  1. Open Sales > Payments > Payments.
  2. In the search, set Handling status to All, because the payment is allocated.
  3. Find the desired payment using suitable search criteria.

After the search, you can click either the payer's name or the edit button at the end of the row.

Undoing the allocation also invalidates the payment voucher. Undoing the allocation moves the payment back to unallocated reference payments, where you can process the payment again. Note! If you edit the payment date during allocation, the payment will appear on the bank statement of the selected payment date instead of the original bank statement.



Handling a consolidated payment

Reference consolidated payment (customer pays multiple invoices with one reference)

The payment cannot be directly allocated to multiple invoices. In this situation, proceed as follows:

  1. First allocate the received reference payment to one invoice.
  2. Then find this payment in the Sales > Payments list.
  3. Edit the payment amount to match the invoice to which the payment was allocated.
  4. Also edit the payment voucher to match the new payment amount.
  5. Find the remaining invoices of the consolidated payment in the sales invoice list.
  6. Record manual payments on these invoices on the date and bank account of the consolidated payment (Sales invoice actions > Add payment).

When you have recorded manual payments for all invoices, the bank statement matches these.

Non-reference consolidated payment (customer pays multiple invoices as a deposit, no reference)

A non-reference consolidated payment is handled with small differences compared to the previous one:

  1. Find the invoices that have been paid with the consolidated payment.
  2. Record manual payments on these invoices on the date of the consolidated payment.
  3. Note the numbers of the created MS vouchers.
  4. Go to the bank statement editing view.
  5. In the bank statement editing, select "Other transaction" and then "Link entry".
  6. Link all the above-mentioned vouchers to the consolidated payment bank statement row one by one.

Mass posting of payments

Mass posting of payments is found at the bottom of the Payments view.

Mass posting requires the creation of a posting rule for the company. Instructions for posting rules can be found here.

  1. Open Sales > Payments > Payments.
  2. Select the payments to be posted from the list.
  3. Select a suitable posting rule.
  4. Enter the necessary posting information for recording the payments in bookkeeping.
  5. Press the "Mass post selected payments" button.

For mass posting, you can choose the recording method, whether the selected rows are recorded on the same voucher or each is made into its own voucher.

  • If recorded as separate vouchers, the voucher date is the payment date.
  • If recorded on one voucher, the current day becomes the voucher date.

Unallocated reference payments

From Unallocated reference payments (under Exceptions and notices on the homepage), you can allocate payments to invoices, post payments using a pre-created posting rule, or choose that the payment is processed without allocation.

The allocation starts from the "Allocate" link in the view.

By default, the view restricts invoices by reference number, but you can also restrict payments to appear by, for example, the customer's name.

  1. Select the payment to be allocated from the Unallocated reference payments view.
  2. Select the "Allocate" link.
  3. Select the invoice to be allocated.
  4. Select a suitable handling method (see section Payment methods and handling methods).
  5. Select "Process".

If you do not allocate the payment to any invoice, select "Do not allocate" as the handling method from the menu. If you process the payment without allocating it to any invoice, it does not affect ledger balances. The MS voucher created by this function must be invalidated if you want it not to remain in bookkeeping.

If necessary, you can also post unallocated reference payments individually or in bulk using a posting rule.

  1. Select (tick) the desired payment or payments.
  2. Select a suitable posting rule.
  3. Select the recording method:
    • If recorded as separate vouchers, the voucher date is the payment date.
    • If recorded on one voucher, the current day becomes the voucher date.
  4. Select "Mass post selected payments".


In the Unallocated reference payments view, payments can only be processed from an open VAT period. If necessary, the VAT lock must be opened to process the payment.

Reference payments

For reference payments to automatically allocate to sales invoices, the following conditions must be met:

  • The reference in the payment matches the reference on the sales invoice.
  • The payment amount matches the amount on the invoice.

The program attempts allocation only once.

A standard reference may not allocate because the program always tries to allocate to the oldest invoice. If the payment arrives before the invoice is created, allocation does not occur automatically. Allocation also does not occur if the payment amount differs from the invoice amount.

The payments traffic agreement must include an agreement on machine-readable reference material for reference payments to automatically allocate to the invoice.

At the time of payment arrival, the relevant financial period must be created.

If the payment has not been automatically allocated, you can check the reason from the Payments view.

Select Sales > Payments > Show columns > Import message > Update selections.

Cash discount on sales invoice

Sales payments arriving as reference payments are automatically processed if the cash-discounted payment is made within the tolerances set in the company basic data (Company menu > Company basic data and settings > Basic data > Cash discount tolerances).

The default account comes from the Accounting settings through "Default accounts used in bookkeeping" and from there "Sales discounts".

If the cash-discounted amount is manually recorded on the invoice, use the handling method Discount. In this case, the unpaid portion is recorded to the default account for sales discounts and the change in VAT liability is taken into account on the voucher.

Partial payment has remained unallocated, even though the reference matches

This may be due to the following reasons:

  1. If the invoice was created manually, check in Sales > Basic data and settings > Sales basic data that the option "Allocate partial payments by default" is selected.
    • This setting must be selected before the invoice is created for it to affect the payment of that invoice.
  2. If the invoice was created through the interface, the invoice message must have the value 1 in the expectpartialpayments field.

https://support.netvisor.fi/fi/support/solutions/articles/77000554152-myyntilaskun-tai-tilauksen-tuonti-salesinvoice-nv

Frequently asked questions

Question: How do I add a new payment to a sales invoice?

You can add a payment to a sales invoice directly from the sales invoice, through the bank statement editing view, through the Payments view, or from the Unallocated reference payments view. Select the method that suits your situation and follow the steps in the "Creating a new payment" section of this guide.

Question: Why is the sales invoice not marked as paid even though I have changed its status to Paid?

The invoice is marked as paid only when the payments recorded on the invoice and the invoice amount are equal. Changing the status to Paid is not sufficient; a payment must be recorded on the invoice.

Question: What should I do if a reference payment is not automatically allocated to an invoice?

Check that the reference and amount in the payment match the invoice details and that the financial period has been created. You can check the reason in the Payments view by adding the "Import message" column. If necessary, you can allocate the payment manually in the Payments or Unallocated reference payments view.

Question: Can I delete a machine-readable reference payment?

A machine-readable reference payment cannot be deleted. However, you can undo its allocation in the Sales > Payments view, after which the payment moves back to unallocated reference payments and you can process it again.

Question: How do I handle an overpayment?

You can handle an overpayment by selecting the handling method "Overpayment to be clarified" or "Normal". "Overpayment to be clarified" records the overpayment to the account defined for overpayment posting, and the payer information is "Overpayment correction". If you want the overpayment to appear in the Overpayments view, select "Normal" as the handling method.

Question: How do I record a currency payment?

Add the payment from the sales invoice actions "Add payment". Enter the original currency amount in the currency amount field and the euro amount received on the bank statement in the amount field. The currency exchange difference is automatically recorded to the exchange differences account if an account for sales currency exchange differences has been defined in the default accounts in bookkeeping.

Question: Why is a partial payment not allocated even though the reference matches?

If the invoice was created manually, check that "Allocate partial payments by default" is selected in Sales basic data before creating the invoice. If the invoice was imported through the interface, check that the invoice message has the value 1 in the expectpartialpayments field.

Question: How do I handle a consolidated payment that covers several invoices?

For a reference consolidated payment, first allocate the payment to one invoice, edit the payment amount and voucher to match this invoice, and record manual payments on the other invoices. For a non-reference consolidated payment, first record manual payments on the invoices and then link the created MS vouchers to the consolidated payment bank statement row using the "Link entry" function.

Question: How do I mass post payments?

Open Sales > Payments > Payments, select the payments to be posted and a suitable posting rule, and press "Mass post selected payments". You can choose whether the rows are recorded on the same voucher or as separate vouchers.

Keywords: sales invoice, new payment, reference payment, handling methods, currency payment


This article has been translated using an AI-based translation tool. The contents or wording of these instructions may differ from those in other instructions or in the software.


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