Recording & allocating payments

On the invoice-first model, payments are applied against invoices. A payment reduces the invoice balance, and the invoice records each payment with its date and amount. Receipts can be split across multiple invoices, and one invoice can be paid by multiple receipts.

Record a payment against an invoice

1. Open the contact's profile and click the Financial tab.
2. Click the invoice you want to pay to open it in a drawer.
3. Open the dropdown beside the Email button and choose Pay Invoice.
4. Enter the amount to pay.
5. Select the payment method (credit card, cash, etc.).
6. Submit the payment.

The invoice now shows the payment under Payments and updates its status to Partially Paid or Paid.

Partial payments

An invoice can be partially paid. The invoice view shows:

• the original total,
• each payment allocated to it (with date and amount),
• any adjustments (write-offs, hold credits, fee changes), and
• the outstanding balance.

Automatic allocation

Automatic payments such as direct debit follow these rules:

• The payment is allocated to the first unpaid invoice.
• If the payment exceeds the outstanding balance, the remainder is allocated to the next unpaid invoice.
• The receipt lists each split — for example "$26 to last year's invoice, $24 to this year's invoice".

Manual payments — made by a member through the portal, or by a membership officer in SwiftFox — can be explicitly allocated to a specific invoice. This may leave older invoices partially unpaid until reallocated.

Paid To Date

Paid To Date is derived from invoices, not edited by hand. It represents the date through which a member has paid, based on the first unpaid invoice.

• If a member has paid into a future period but an earlier invoice is unpaid, Paid To Date reflects the earlier invoice.
• To correct it, reallocate payments so the earliest invoice is paid first. Paid To Date then recalculates automatically.

Member showing as unfinancial after paying

This usually means a payment was allocated to the wrong (later) invoice while an earlier invoice is still partly unpaid.

1. Open the member's Financial tab.
2. Find the receipt that should have gone to the earlier invoice.
3. Unallocate the payment.
4. Reallocate it to the earlier invoice.

Paid To Date will recalculate. See Refunds, reallocating & unallocating payments for the full steps.