How outstanding is worked out
Where a party’s balance comes from, and how to carry old dues over.
A party’s outstanding is not a number somebody types in. It is worked out, every time you look at it, from what you have billed them and what they have paid. That is why it cannot quietly go wrong.
The calculation
Two things add to what a party owes, and one thing takes away:
| What it is | |
|---|---|
| Invoices | The net payable on every bill you have raised for them, across both the tax and retail series. |
| Manual dues | Charges raised against them with no invoice behind them — transport, repairs, an old balance. See Raise a due without an invoice. |
| Payments | Every receipt recorded against them, whichever screen it was recorded on. |
What is left is their outstanding. If payments come to more than the debts, the difference is held as advance credit rather than showing as a negative balance.
Oldest first, always
Invoices and manual dues sit on a single timeline, ordered by date. Money settles that timeline from the oldest end forward, and older money is used before newer money.
This one rule explains most of what you will see on the payments screens:
- A lump-sum payment clears the oldest bills first, and part-settles the one it runs out on.
- A payment with nothing left to settle becomes advance credit, and the next invoice you raise takes from it automatically.
- A manual due raised before an invoice is settled before that invoice, because it is older.
- Delete or shrink an invoice and the money it was holding is freed, then settles whatever else is open.
Where to see it
| Screen | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | Total outstanding across every party, at a glance. |
| Manage Payments → Outstanding | Every open invoice and due, oldest first, with its balance. |
| Manage Payments → Payments | Money received, and how much of it is still unallocated advance. |
| Merchant Ledger report | One party’s full history with a running balance. See Send a party statement. |
Starting with old balances
There is no separate opening-balance field. Bring pre-existing dues in as a manual due per party, dated to when the debt arose, and everything after that works normally.
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Last checked against the app on 20 September 2026. Screens change as the product does — if something here does not match what you see, tell us and we will fix the page.