We see some businesses recording the payment directly in the invoice itself (to change the debtor or creditor balances) without the money actually being received or paid.
There are situations where (part of) the invoice is no longer payable:
- A discount was received after the invoice was issued
- The goods supplied are damaged
- The customer returns some items
Instead of adjusting the invoice by entering a ‘payment’, the correct treatment is to issue a credit note for the adjustment. Xero explains how to do this for your bills to pay and for invoices.
Once you've created an invoice or a bill, there's almost no reason for you to do anything further in the invoice itself. Please record payments only when reconciling, not via invoices or bills.