#18 Money in the Bank Doesn't Mean Your Books Are Upto Date
Many businesses have experienced this.
A customer transfers the payment. You check your bank account and see the money has arrived.
A week later, while reviewing outstanding invoices, you realize the same invoice is still marked "Unpaid."
The payment reached your bank, but it never reached your books.
That's why this feedback from Matthew Philogene, Business Owner, resonates with so many businesses, "Zoho Invoice streamlines our monthly invoices so we always know what we are billing, who we have billed and how much each client has paid or is owing. We really enjoy the simplicity."
Not every customer pays through an online payment gateway.
Some prefer bank transfer.
Some pay by cheque.
Others settle invoices in cash or through an offline card payment.
In all these cases, Zoho Invoice won't know you have been paid until you record the payment manually.
Recording offline payments keeps your invoices, customer balances, reports, and cash flow accurate, ensuring your financial records reflect what's actually happened.
To record an offline payment, go to
Invoices -> Open the Invoice -> Record Payment
Important Action
Customer pays in Bulk?
Instead of opening each invoice individually, use Bulk Record Payment to update several invoices of the same customer in one go.
Go to Payment Received -> +New
Enter the customer details to get the list of all unpaid invoices.
With Bulk Record Payment, you can:
Record payment for multiple invoices in a single action.
Update the payment date and payment mode.
Keep receivables and reports accurate without editing every invoice individually.
It's useful when you are reconciling daily or weekly bank transfers or updating payments received in batches.
Things to RememberOffline payments don't update automatically like online gateway payments.
While recording payment, enter the payment reference number (bank transaction ID, UTR number, cheque number, etc.) along with the payment
mode promptly. These details create a clear audit trail and make reconciliation and payment record verification easier.
Pro tip:
Zoho Invoice allows you to record both pre-dated and post-dated payments. Whether you are catching up with an unpaid customer or recording a payment that cleared on a different date, this flexibility helps ensure your books accurately reflect when the transaction actually took place.
Watch out:
When recording bulk payments, always verify that you have selected the correct invoices based on the customer's agreed payment terms. Recording payments against the wrong invoices can result in incorrect outstanding balances and might confuse both you and your customer. Keep your bank account and Zoho Invoice in sync to ensure your reports stay accurate.
When recording bulk payments, always verify that you have selected the correct invoices based on the customer's agreed payment terms. Recording payments against the wrong invoices can result in incorrect outstanding balances and might confuse both you and your customer. Keep your bank account and Zoho Invoice in sync to ensure your reports stay accurate.