Once you’ve sent out your invoice, you are just waiting for it to get paid. Once it has been paid, you’ll complete one final step to close the loop – match the invoice to the payment that pays for it.
Note: If a customer pays their invoice digitally on Ambrook, this step is automatically completed! It’s a major benefit of using Ambrook for invoicing. Set up your Ambrook Wallet to get started.
You can match payments to invoices from two places: the invoice and the ledger.
Matching from the ledger
From the Ledger: Identify the payment that pays for the invoice. If it doesn't exist (i.e. if your accounts are not automatically connected), create a transaction or check to represent the payment.
Click the three dots on the right hand side of the transaction that you want to match to an invoice. You’ll see a “Match to Invoice” option.
Clicking this will open up a panel called “Match Payment,” where you can search a condensed list of your invoices for the right one.
(If applicable) If this check pays for multiple invoices, repeat these steps for the "Amount Remaining" line item on the check to match to all associated invoices. You do not need to create multiple checks; just click on the three dots and select "Match to invoice" again.
5. You're set when the check has invoices that represent the total balance and you no longer have an "Amount Remaining" line item.
Matching from invoices tab
From the Invoices tab:
Click on the invoice
2a. If you already have a payment present in the ledger, you can click on the match payment button, which opens a panel called "Match Payment". You can then select the payments that were for this invoice. Tip: The Filter button can be used to search by amount or name to more easily find what you’re looking for!
2b. If you do not have a payment in the ledger, click on the + button to record a new transaction to the ledger.
3. When you are done matching, click “Done.” The line items and tags from your invoice will have been copied over to the payment on your Ledger, so there’s no bookkeeping left to do.
If there were multiple payments that paid for the invoice, select/record them all in step 2 until you are 100% matched.
If you have a payment that pays for multiple invoices, ensure that your payment is represented in the ledger, and select it when matching. The Match Payment screen will then look something like this, with other invoices listed below the payment.
FAQs
What do I do if part or all of an invoice is uncollectible or shorted, and I don't have the intention to collect the difference, but want to clear this invoice?
The cleanest approach is to write off the difference using a credit memo categorized as Bad Debt. That will allow the invoice to show as paid in full without creating additional pending payments.
Here are the steps:
1) Create a Bad Debt category
Go to Settings → Categories → Add Category.
Add a new category called Bad Debt and set it as an operating expense.
2) Create a Credit Memo for the short-paid amount
Go to Invoices → Credit Memos → New.
Select the correct customer/entity and enter the short amount (for example, $0.50 or $60).
When prompted for a category, select Bad Debt.
3) Apply the Credit Memo to the invoice
Still under the Credit Memos tab, find the credit memo you just created.
Click the three dots on the right → Apply credit memo → apply it to the corresponding invoice.
Once applied, the invoice should show as paid in full, and the remaining balance will be properly recorded as bad debt rather than continuing to appear as a pending payment.