Record invoice payments and refunds

A payment records money a customer paid against an issued invoice. Customers can pay by card online, and payments made any other way are recorded by hand. Each one changes what is still owed.

Card payments online

When Stripe is connected and ready on the team's Payments page and Card payments is on in Invoicing settings, an issued invoice's email has a Pay online button, and its Client Portal page has Pay with the amount left to pay. Each opens a page where the customer sees the invoice and its balance, can view the PDF, and pays the balance by card through Stripe, without signing in. The money goes to the team's Stripe account. Magpie takes no fee; Stripe's processing fee applies.

After a card payment, Magpie will email the payer a receipt, sent from your business's name via Magpie; replies will go to the member who last emailed the invoice. Magpie will also keep a record of the payment in a free Magpie account for the email address the payer gives Stripe, and list it there under Sent to you. If the payer is signed in to Magpie on the payment page, the payment will be kept in that account instead: the page names the account under Pay and offers Sign out, to pay as someone else. The receipt and the record name your business, the invoice's number, the amount and the date, and only an account at your client's email address can open the invoice from it. Your team's own Stripe account may email a receipt too, if its Stripe settings say so. A payment you record by hand gets no receipt from Magpie.

A card payment is recorded on the invoice automatically, with the method Online payment. The invoice page shows the payment link so you can send it another way; anyone with the link can see the invoice and pay it.

A refund made in Stripe is recorded on the invoice automatically. A card payment cannot be removed or have its amount, date or method changed in Magpie, because they follow Stripe; refund it in Stripe instead. Its reference can still be changed. If a customer pays after the balance was already paid another way, the invoice shows that it was overpaid; refund the difference in Stripe.

Record a payment made another way

Open an issued invoice and choose Record payment. The amount starts at the balance due. Change it to record part of the balance. Type it the way you write amounts, such as 1,234.50 or 1.234,50; it is in the invoice's currency. Enter the date the money was received, the method, such as Bank transfer, Cash or Cheque, and an optional reference such as a cheque or transfer number, then choose Record payment.

The amount cannot be more than the balance due, and the date cannot be in the future. If the payment is refused, the form opens again with the reason and what you entered.

After a payment that leaves a balance, the invoice is Partly paid and stays in the Due or Overdue tab. Its page shows the amount received and the balance due. When payments reach the total, the invoice moves to Paid and records the date of the last payment as the date it was paid in full.

The Outstanding and Overdue totals on /invoicing add up balances due, not invoice totals, and the invoice list has a Balance due column.

A payment can also be recorded from a bank transaction in Accounting, under Banking. It is recorded as a bank transfer with the note "Matched to a bank transaction in Accounting." See Import and review bank transactions.

Correct or remove a payment

The Payments section on an invoice lists each payment and refund with its date, method, reference, amount and the person who recorded it. Click a date, amount or reference to change it, or choose a different method. A change that would make payments larger than the invoice total is refused.

Remove takes off a payment recorded by mistake and recalculates the balance. A payment cannot be removed if refunds would then be larger than the payments left; remove or change the refund first.

The invoice Activity section records each payment and refund that was added, changed or removed, and who did it.

Record a refund

In the More menu beside the invoice's number, choose Record refund to record money returned to the customer. A refund can be up to the amount paid. It reduces the amount paid, so a refunded invoice shows a balance due again. Magpie does not send the refund.

Void an invoice with payments

An invoice with payments cannot be voided, because a void invoice states that nothing is due. Record a refund or remove the payments until the amount paid is zero, then void it.

In the mobile app

Open an issued invoice to see its payments and balance due. Editors can choose Record payment below the payments, choose Record refund from the invoice's action menu, or swipe a payment to remove it.

If a payment is recorded but the balance due is wrong after reloading the invoice, Contact support.