Taking Payments

By the end you'll be able to take a payment, split it across cash and card, decide which invoice the money clears, and read a client's account balance and credit with confidence.

All amounts in Wattle are in Australian dollars (AUD).

---

The two-minute mental model

Read this once and the rest of the page will make sense.

When a client pays you, two separate things happen:

1. You record the money — "Mrs Patel handed over $180."
2. You allocate the money — "Apply that $180 to invoice INV-1042."

Most of the time these happen together in one dialog and you don't think about them as separate. But they are separate, and that's the single most important thing to understand on this page.

If you record money but don't allocate it to an invoice, the money sits safely on the client's account as credit — like a deposit. The invoice still shows as unpaid until you allocate the money to it. This trips people up: "I took the payment, why does it still say overdue?" Usually the answer is: the money was recorded but not yet allocated. See If something looks wrong at the bottom.

For the bigger picture of how charges become invoices, see Charges vs invoices and Invoices.

---

How the account balance is computed

The account balance is the single number that answers "does this client owe us money, or do we owe them?". You'll see it on the client's file (in the sidebar and on the Financials tab) and on the patient's Financials tab.

Under the bonnet, Wattle works the balance out as one running total of everything on the account: every charge adds to it, every payment subtracts from it. In plain words:

everything they've been charged — minus everything they've paid.

That single sum naturally folds in all of:

• Unbilled charges — things added to the account (during a consult, or as a direct charge) that haven't been put on an invoice yet.
• Balances due on invoices — what's still owing on every finalised invoice.
• Payments and credit — money recorded reduces the balance, whether or not it's been allocated to a specific invoice. Unallocated money (overpayments, deposits, a cheque that arrived in the mail) still pulls the balance down and shows separately as account credit.

The balance card shows the total one of two ways:

When it's exactly zero, the card simply reads Account Balance at $0.00 with a green dot — nothing owing, nothing held, all square. (On the client Financials tab the owing-money label reads Outstanding Balance rather than Account Balance — same number either way.)

Why a paid-looking invoice can still show "Overdue". The status badge on an invoice (Paid / Partial / Overdue) is worked out from the allocated payments only. If you recorded a payment but left it as credit instead of allocating it, the invoice doesn't know about it yet — so it can still read "Overdue" even though the money is on the account. The fix is to allocate the credit (see Apply account credit to an invoice).

---

Quick pay — take a payment in full

This is the everyday case: the client is paying the whole invoice, right now, by one method.

Take a full payment on one invoice

Usually: front desk

Step by step

1. Open the invoice you want to take payment for. (From Billing → Invoices, click the invoice. Or from the client's or patient's Financials tab, click the invoice in the list.)
2. Make sure the invoice is finalised — you can only take payment on a finalised invoice, not a draft. If you see a Finalise button, the invoice is still a draft; finalise it first. See Invoices.
3. Click the Take payment button in the invoice header. (It's the prominent, highlighted button, and it only appears while the invoice still has a balance owing.)
4. The Payment dialog opens with this invoice and its balance already selected. Leave the amount as-is for a full payment.
5. Choose the payment method — Cash, Credit Card, Debit Card, Cheque, Bank Transfer, or Other. (This is required; there's no "unknown" option — see the tip below.)
6. Optionally add a reference (e.g. a receipt number) and any notes, and set the payment date if it wasn't today.
7. Click Record Payment.

The invoice flips to Paid and the balance drops to zero. A success message pops up with a Print receipt action — see Printing a receipt below.

Other ways to do this — same dialog, different starting points:

• ⭐ From the invoice (above): best when you're taking payment for one specific invoice. Use the Take payment button in the header.
• From the client's Financials tab: click the Record Payment button at the top of the tab. The dialog opens already focused on that client's outstanding invoices — handy when the client has several.
• From the client file header: click the Payment button (the prominent action near the client's name). Same dialog.
• From the Dashboard Pending invoices card: open the row's ⋯ menu and choose Payment.

All of these open the same Payment dialog and do the same thing. There's no "better" or "worse" one — use whichever is closest to where you already are.

---

Print or send a receipt

Every time you record a payment, Wattle offers you a receipt on the spot — no need to go hunting for it afterwards.

Usually: front desk

How it works

1. Record a payment as usual and click Record Payment.
2. A success message appears with a Print receipt action. Click it to open the receipt as a PDF you can print for the client or save.
3. If emailing is switched on for your clinic, a Send receipt option appears alongside it — click that to email the receipt straight to the client instead.

---

Split tender — one payment, two methods

Sometimes a client pays part in cash and part on card (or any mix). Wattle handles this as two separate payments against the same invoice — not one combined entry.

Take a payment split across cash and card

Usually: front desk

Step by step

1. Open the finalised invoice and click Take payment.
2. In the amount field, type the first portion — for example, the cash amount ($50 of a $180 invoice).
3. Choose the method for that portion (Cash), add a reference/note if you like, and click Record Payment.
4. The invoice now reads Partial with the remaining balance ($130).
5. Click Take payment again.
6. Type the second portion ($130), choose the second method (Credit Card or Debit Card), and click Record Payment.
7. The invoice flips to Paid.

---

Allocations — choosing which invoice the money clears

When a client has more than one unpaid invoice, you decide where their payment goes. This is allocation.

Allocate a payment across several invoices

Usually: front desk

Step by step

1. From the client's Financials tab (or the client file header), click Payment.
2. Enter the total amount the client is handing over.
3. Choose the method.
4. In the allocation area, apply the money to the invoice(s) you want to clear. You can put it all on the oldest invoice, spread it across a few, or leave some (or all) of it unallocated as credit.
5. Click Record Payment.

Each invoice you allocated to updates its balance and status (Paid or Partial). Anything left unallocated lands on the account as credit.

---

Account credit — money the clinic holds for a client

Credit is money on the client's account that isn't tied to an invoice yet. It comes from:

• Overpayments — they paid $200 on a $180 invoice; the extra $20 becomes credit.
• Deposits / prepayments — money taken before there's an invoice (e.g. a surgery deposit).
• Cheques in the mail — money recorded straight to the account before you decide which invoice it belongs to.
• Voided invoices that had payments — when you void an invoice, any payments that were on it become credit. (See Invoices.)

Unallocated credit shows on the Account Balance card as an Account credit: $X unallocated line, and it pulls the account balance down. It sits there, safe, until you allocate it.

Record a payment as account credit (no invoice yet)

Usually: front desk

Step by step

1. Open the client's file and click Payment (header button, sidebar Account Balance card, or Financials tab — all work).
2. Enter the amount and choose the method.
3. Leave it unallocated — don't apply it to an invoice.
4. Click Record Payment.

The money lands as credit on the account and the balance updates. You (or a colleague) can allocate it to an invoice whenever one exists.

Apply account credit to an invoice

Usually: front desk

Step by step

1. Open the invoice you want the credit to clear. If it has a balance and the client has unallocated credit, the Payments panel shows an apply-credit control. It spells out how much credit is available — for example $50.00 credit — Apply — so you know exactly what you're working with before you click.
2. Click it (the … credit — Apply control). The Reallocate Payment dialog opens, pre-filled to move the credit onto this invoice and showing the client's outstanding invoices.
3. Review the split — adjust the amounts against each invoice if you want.
4. Click Save Reallocation.

The invoice balance drops by the credit you applied; its status updates to Partial or Paid.

Other ways to do this

• ⭐ From the invoice: click the … credit — Apply control in the Payments panel — it shows the available credit amount and only appears when the invoice has a balance and unallocated credit exists. Best when you're looking at the invoice you want to clear.
• From the client or patient Financials tab: click the Reallocate link next to the Account credit figure. This targets the largest unallocated payment — handy when you're working from the account view rather than a specific invoice.

---

Move a payment to a different invoice

Made a mistake — applied a payment to the wrong invoice, or overpaid one and underpaid another? You can move it.

Move a payment to a different invoice

Usually: front desk

Step by step

1. Go to the client's (or patient's) Financials tab and find the payment in the Recent Payments list. If any of it is unallocated, the Allocation column shows a clickable $X unallocated badge — click it. (The Reallocate link beside the account-credit figure, and Apply credit on an invoice, open the same dialog.)
2. The Reallocate Payment dialog lists every invoice the payment can land on, with the current split filled in.
3. Set the amounts — lower one invoice's allocation, raise another's. Anything left over stays as account credit.
4. Click Save Reallocation.

Both invoices update — the one losing the money goes back up, the one gaining it goes down.

---

Partial payments and paying the rest later

A client can pay part now and the rest another day.

Take a partial payment now and the rest later

Usually: front desk

Step by step (today)

1. Open the finalised invoice and click Take payment.
2. Enter the amount they're paying now (less than the balance).
3. Choose the method and click Record Payment.
4. The invoice flips to Partial with the remaining balance still showing.

Step by step (when the rest arrives)

Choose whichever fits how the money came in:

• ⭐ They pay at the desk again: open the same invoice → Take payment → enter the remaining balance → Record Payment. The invoice flips to Paid.
• A cheque arrives in the mail (no client present): record it as account credit (see Record a payment as account credit), then click Apply credit on the invoice (or the Reallocate link on the Financials tab) onto the invoice when you're ready.

---

Reading the Recent Payments list

On both the client and patient Financials tabs you'll find a Recent Payments card showing the last 10 payments — date, amount, method, reference, and how much (if any) is still unallocated.

A non-zero "unallocated" figure on a payment is your flag that money is sitting as credit and hasn't been applied to an invoice yet. If a balance looks wrong, this list is the first place to check.

---

Refunds — paying money back to a client

Sometimes you need to give a client money back — they overpaid, prepaid for something that didn't go ahead, or you'd simply rather return their credit than leave it on the account. Wattle calls this a refund, and it's done from the client's file.

A refund draws down the client's account credit and produces a refund receipt. So it's the mirror image of taking a payment: a payment puts money on the account, a refund takes it off.

Log a refund

Usually: front desk or admin

Step by step

1. Open the client's file and go to the Financials tab.
2. Click Log Refund.
3. Enter the amount you're giving back and how you're returning it (the method).
4. Save. The client's account credit drops by that amount, and a refund receipt is produced for you to print or keep.

---

End of day — cash reconciliation

Usually: front desk or whoever cashes up.

At the end of the day's trading you can reconcile your takings — check that what's actually in the till and on the card terminal matches what Wattle recorded. It's the digital version of counting the drawer.

Reconcile the day's takings

Step by step

1. Go to Billing and open the End of day reconciliation screen.
2. For each payment method (Cash, Card, and so on), Wattle shows the expected amount — the total it recorded for that method today.
3. Next to each, type the amount you actually counted (the cash in the drawer, the card terminal's total, and so on).
4. Wattle works out the variance for each and marks it:
   • Balanced — counted matches expected.
   • Short — you counted less than expected.
   • Over — you counted more than expected.
5. Add a note if anything needs explaining (a float adjustment, a known discrepancy, and so on).
6. Click Save to record the reconciliation.

---

A note on payment methods

The method dropdown has six fixed options: Cash, Credit Card, Debit Card, Cheque, Bank Transfer, and Other. A method is required — there's no "unknown" or "unspecified" choice. Card payments are split into Credit Card and Debit Card so your takings reconcile cleanly.

• Use Cheque for cheque payments — Wattle is Australian and uses Australian spelling throughout.
• If you genuinely don't know the method (e.g. a third-party app paid on the client's behalf), choose Other and record what you do know in the Notes field, then correct it later if the real method comes to light.

---

If something looks wrong

Common payment puzzles and the calm explanation for each:

• "I recorded the payment but the invoice still says Overdue/Unpaid." → The money was recorded but not allocated to that invoice, so it's sitting as account credit. Open the invoice and click Apply credit in its Payments panel, or use the Reallocate link beside the account-credit figure on the Financials tab, to apply it. Recording and allocating are two separate steps — see Allocations.
• "The balance doesn't match what I expect." → Check the Recent Payments list for any payment with an unallocated amount; that's credit not yet applied. Remember the balance is just everything charged minus everything paid — unallocated money still counts.
• "I applied a payment to the wrong invoice." → Click the $X unallocated badge on the payment (or Apply credit on an invoice) to reopen the Reallocate Payment dialog and move it. Nothing is lost — see Move a payment to a different invoice.
• "There's no Take payment button." → The invoice is a draft (finalise it first) or it's already paid (nothing left to pay) — the button only appears on a finalised invoice with a balance owing.
• "I put the wrong amount and it overpaid." → The excess automatically became account credit. It's safe on the account and you can reallocate it to another invoice or leave it for next time.

Can't see one of these buttons at all? Your account may not have permission — ask whoever set up your clinic.

---

Related sections

• Charges vs invoices — how the money model works before you ever take a payment.
• Invoices — finalising, voiding, and merging the documents you take payment against.
• Estimates (quotes) — quoting before work begins.
• Clients (pet owners) — where the account balance and credit live.
• How the app talks to you — reading badges and status colours.
• Glossary — plain-English definitions of charge, ledger, credit, allocation.