Payments, refunds and write-offs

Once an invoice is sent, it waits for money. Here you record what came in, correct a payment recorded wrongly, refund what was paid too much and write off a receivable that can no longer be collected. Folnaro keeps the open amount, the status and the effect on VAT up to date for you.

What an invoice’s status says

Status	Meaning
Open	Finalized, no payment yet. The list shows when the invoice is due.
Partially paid	Part of it arrived, the rest is open.
Overdue	The payment term has passed. After a reminder the list names the level, such as “first reminder”.
Paid	Nothing is open anymore.
Written off	The open amount is written off as uncollectible.

Record a payment

Select the invoice and choose Document > Record Payment… (⇧⌘P). Once the invoice is sent, the command is also in the toolbar.
The Amount is prefilled with the open amount. Change it if less or more arrived.
Enter Received On and the Method: bank transfer, direct debit, card, cash, PayPal, Stripe or other. Under Note you can keep the payment reference, for example.
Click Record.

The Record Payment dialog with the open amount prefilled

If the whole open amount arrived today, Document > Mark as Paid (⌥⇧⌘P) is quicker. To mark several invoices, use Mark as Paid… in the list’s context menu. Folnaro then records a payment for the open amount, dated today, for each invoice.

You don’t have to type in payments from your bank statement. Under Bank you match transactions to their invoices. Folnaro then records the payment for you.

Note You can record payments and refunds without an active subscription too. They settle existing documents and create no new ones.

Partial payments

If the amount is less than the open amount, the dialog shows Partial payment: … stays open. The invoice then has the status Partially paid. In the inspector, Payments lists every payment with date and method, then the sum Paid in … payments and what is still Open.

If only a small rest remains after partial payments, for example because of bank fees, you can write it off.

Cash discount

If the invoice offers a cash discount and the first payment arrives within the discount period, the dialog offers Settle the remaining … as cash discount. With it on, the invoice is paid. The discount is no income and appears in the payment history. The inspector shows the part by which VAT goes down, per tax rate, as Cash discount VAT correction. Matching a bank transaction offers the same.

Legal background A cash discount lowers the consideration afterwards. Under § 17 Abs. 1 UStG the VAT goes down with it, in proportion for each tax rate of the invoice.

Correct or delete a payment

Open the invoice and find the payment in the inspector under Payments.
Open its context menu and choose Edit Payment… to change amount, date, method or note.
Or choose Delete Payment. Folnaro asks with amount and date before it deletes the payment.

Status and open amount update at once. An offset with an invoice correction can’t be edited, only deleted.

Paid too much

If you record more than the open amount, the dialog shows by how much beforehand. Afterwards the inspector shows … overpaid with the button Record Refund…. In the customer statement the amount appears as Customer Credit.

Pay money back

You need a refund when the customer paid more than they owe: after an overpayment, a cancellation, or an invoice correction of an invoice that was already paid.

Transfer the money to the customer.
In the inspector of the invoice, the cancellation invoice or the correction, click Record Refund….
Check To refund and enter what was Refunded, the date under Refunded on and the Method.
Click Record Refund.

The Record Refund dialog with the amount still to refund

Folnaro allows no more than the refund still due. A refund reduces income and VAT in the period the money goes back. How cancellations and corrections are offset against the original invoice is explained under Settle with the customer.

Write off a receivable

If a customer doesn’t pay and the money can no longer be collected, for example after an insolvency or failed enforcement, write off the receivable. The invoice itself stays unchanged.

Select the invoice and choose Document > Write Off Receivable…. For an overdue invoice the inspector also offers it in the Write-Off section.
Enter the date under Uncollectible since. Add a Reason, for example “Insolvency of the customer”. The reason is required.
Click Write Off.

The dialog for writing off a receivable with date and reason

The invoice then has the status Written off. The inspector names the date. If the invoice is not even due yet, Folnaro warns with the due date. Only write it off then if you are sure no more money will come.

Legal background When a receivable becomes uncollectible, § 17 Abs. 2 UStG lets you correct the VAT you already paid. This concerns accrual taxation, where the tax arises with the invoice. Folnaro then reduces the VAT in the period of the write-off. With cash accounting no tax has arisen without a payment. If you are unsure whether a receivable is really uncollectible, ask your tax advisor.

Write off a small rest

If the customer paid almost everything and a small rest is left, at most a tenth of the invoice total, the inspector offers Write Off Rest…, even before the due date. That fits bank fees or rounding you no longer ask for. The VAT on the rest is reduced in the period of the write-off.

When money arrives after all

If money arrives after a write-off, click Record Payment… in the Write-Off section. Folnaro shows what was Received since and what is Still written off. The money is taxed again in the period it arrives.

If the write-off was a mistake, click Take Back Write-Off. The invoice is open again. If you already filed the VAT return for the period of the write-off, file a corrected one.

The customer statement

What a customer owes you and what you owe them is shown in the Customer Statement. Open it in the customer’s inspector under Customers. It lists open items and payments; the open total matches the open items. Amounts in the customer’s favor from cancellations, invoice corrections or overpayments appear as Customer Credit. Send it to the customer with Save PDF…. More under Customer statement.

Invoices in a foreign currency

Your customer pays an invoice in a currency other than euros in that currency, so you record payments in the invoice currency. For every euro total, the reports and VAT, Folnaro needs a rate:

Open the invoice and find the Exchange rate section in the inspector.
Enter the rate under Euros per 1 … and click Save Rate. Folnaro then shows the amount Gross in euros.

Without a rate the invoice is missing from every euro total. Folnaro points this out. The invoice itself stays unchanged.

Legal background For VAT, § 16 Abs. 6 UStG applies the monthly rate that the Federal Ministry of Finance publishes for the month of the supply.

Common problems

Record Payment… is dimmed.: The invoice is still a draft, canceled or already fully paid. Finalize a draft first. A paid invoice needs no further payment.
I recorded a payment twice.: Often it was recorded once by hand and once through bank matching. Delete the extra one in the inspector under Payments with Delete Payment.
The invoice shows … overpaid.: The customer transferred more, or a payment is recorded wrongly. Correct the payment or refund the rest with Record Refund….
After a write-off the report shows a different VAT.: With accrual taxation the write-off reduces the tax in the period of the write-off. Check the period under Reports and file a corrected return if needed.