Payment workflow guide
How to Invoice Partial Payments
Keep the original invoice total visible, record each cleared payment against it and show the remaining balance. Issue a receipt for each payment when appropriate, and use the invoice number as the shared reference across the invoice, receipt, bank record and tracker.
Reviewed 2026-07-29 · General information, not legal, tax or accounting advice.
| Record | Amount to show | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice | Original total, payments and balance | What was billed and remains due |
| Receipt | The individual payment | Proof that money was received |
| Tracker | Cumulative paid and open amount | Operational collection status |
Separate the sale from the payments
Do not reduce the line-item value just because part of the invoice was paid. The original total explains the transaction; the amount-paid and balance fields explain settlement.
When a deposit is billed before final work, state whether it is refundable, what milestone it covers and how it will be applied. Tax timing for deposits varies and requires jurisdiction-specific advice.
Reconcile each payment
Record the clearing date, amount and method. A promised or pending transfer is not yet a cleared payment. After each update, confirm that total minus cumulative payments equals the displayed balance.
If a charge itself changes, use a credit note or corrected invoice process rather than disguising the correction as a payment.
Example
Invoice INV-1042 totals $3,000. A $900 deposit clears before work and a $1,100 milestone clears later. The invoice continues to show $3,000 total, $2,000 paid and $1,000 due. Each receipt references INV-1042 and its own payment date.