Allocate a supplier payment
Allocating a supplier payment matches money you have paid to the specific purchase invoices it settles. Only a Posted supplier payment can be allocated. One payment can be spread across several bills, and any unmatched amount stays "on account" until you allocate it.
Before you begin
- The payment must be Posted. See Record a supplier payment.
- There must be an Issued purchase invoice with an outstanding balance, in the same currency as the amount you are allocating.
Add an allocation
- Go to Payments → Supplier Payments and open the posted payment.
- In the Allocations panel, select Add Allocation.
- In Search Invoice, type an invoice number or supplier name and pick the bill from the results. Its outstanding amount and currency are shown.
- Enter the Amount to apply (in the invoice's currency). It defaults to the bill's outstanding amount; lower it for a part-payment.
- Add Notes if useful and select Allocate.
[Screenshot required: Add Allocation window with the invoice search results and amount field]
What happens next
- The amount moves out of the payment's holding account (unapplied payments) and reduces what you owe on that bill, in your accounts payable, on the settlement date — the later of the payment date and the bill's date. An allocation whose settlement date falls inside a locked period is refused unless you can override the lock, and removing an allocation is posted on the same date as the allocation it removes. As soon as you pick the bill, the panel tells you the date the allocation will be posted on and, if that date is locked, what will happen when you click — before you click.
- The bill's payment indicator updates to Partially Paid or Fully Paid.
- The payment shows how much is now Allocated and how much is still Unallocated. When nothing is left, it shows Fully allocated.
- If the payment and the bill are in different currencies and the exchange rate has moved since the bill was recorded, Sales Scribe works out the small realised exchange gain or loss for you. See Foreign-currency payments and exchange gains or losses.
Removing an allocation
To undo an allocation on a posted payment, select the reverse (circular arrow) button on that allocation's row and confirm.
Note: Removing an allocation on a posted payment posts a reversing accounting entry that exactly offsets the original allocation. The amount returns to the payment's unapplied balance so you can re-allocate it, and both the original allocation and its reversal are kept for audit. The allocation is not silently deleted.
The reversal carries the allocation's own date. Undoing an allocation moves no money — it only says the payment was never matched to that bill. Dating the reversal today would make every aged-payables figure between the two dates claim the bill had been settled when it had not. One consequence: if the allocation falls inside a locked period, removing it is refused. See Why can't I post into this date?.
Important notes
- Allocate only what fits. You cannot allocate more than the payment's unallocated amount, nor more than a bill's outstanding balance. Amounts must be greater than zero.
- A payment can be partly allocated and left with money on account; allocate the rest whenever you like.
- Unallocated supplier payments appear in your Unallocated items report so nothing gets forgotten.
Troubleshooting
- The Add Allocation button isn't shown. Allocation is only available on a Posted payment that still has an unallocated amount. If the payment is fully allocated, there is nothing left to match; if it is Draft, post it first.
- A bill isn't in the search results. Only Issued purchase invoices with an outstanding balance appear, and they must match the payment's currency. If you named a supplier when creating the payment, the search is limited to that supplier's bills.
- Something went wrong with a reference number. If an allocation fails with a generic error, note the reference shown and try again; if it persists, contact support.