Recording manual payments

When a client pays you outside the client portal, record the payment in Interdatum so the balance, invoice status and client timeline stay accurate. Manual payments are treated the same way as online card payments for balances, paid status and the client's payment history.

Which payment methods can I record?

You can record these offline payment methods:

• Cash
• Cheque
• e-Transfer
• Card (external terminal) — a card payment taken on your own terminal, outside Interdatum
• Other

The method you choose is shown with the payment in the CRM and on the client's timeline, for example "(e-Transfer)". Use Card (external terminal) for card payments you take in person on your own card machine, since those don't go through Interdatum.

Card payments that clients make in the client portal through Stripe are recorded automatically, so you don't need to record those. They appear in the payments list as "Card (online)".

How do I record a payment on an invoice?

Only owners and admins can record or delete payments.

1. Open the job and go to the Invoices tab.
2. Select the invoice. The Payments panel appears under a sent, partly paid or paid invoice.
3. Click Record payment. The amount is pre-filled with the balance owing.
4. Fill in the form: - Method — the payment method. - Amount — the amount received, in the invoice's currency. - Date received — defaults to today. The date can't be in the future. - Reference (cheque #, e-Transfer ref) — optional, up to 120 characters. - Note (optional) — up to 500 characters.
5. Click Save payment.

You can only record payments on invoices that have been sent and still have a balance. The payment can't be more than the balance owing. A payment for part of the balance marks the invoice "partial"; a payment that brings the balance to zero marks it "paid" and stamps the invoice PDF "PAID".

How do I record a deposit on an estimate?

1. Open the job and go to the Estimates tab.
2. Select the estimate. The Deposit payments panel appears under a sent or accepted estimate that requires a deposit.
3. Click Record deposit. The amount is pre-filled with the estimate's deposit.
4. Choose the Method, confirm the Amount and Date received, add an optional reference and note, and click Save deposit.

Recording a deposit on a sent estimate marks the estimate accepted, and a job waiting on its deposit moves to "Ready for Work". The total of deposit payments on an estimate can't be more than the estimate total.

The deposit you record is applied to the invoice you later create from that estimate, and is subtracted from the invoice's balance due.

What does the client see when I record a payment?

A recorded payment appears on the client's timeline in the client portal, for example "Payment of $250.00 received (e-Transfer)" or "Deposit of $100.00 received (Cash)", with the invoice or estimate it was applied to and your reference, if you entered one. When a recorded payment pays an invoice in full, the timeline also shows that the invoice was paid.

In the CRM, the Payments or Deposit payments panel lists every payment on that document with its amount, method, date, reference and note. Payments made online show as "Card (online)".

How do I delete a payment recorded by mistake?

In the Payments or Deposit payments panel, click the delete icon next to the manual payment and confirm. Only owners and admins can delete payments, and only manually recorded payments can be deleted. To refund a card payment made online, refund it in your Stripe dashboard.

When you delete a manual payment, Interdatum recalculates the balance and updates the invoice status (for example from "paid" back to "partial" or "sent"). The original payment entry is hidden from the client's timeline, and a staff-only entry records the deletion.

If the invoice PDF was already stamped "PAID", the saved PDF keeps the stamp. Use Replace Invoice to issue a clean copy if you need one.

How do clients know how to pay me offline?

Add Offline payment instructions in Settings → Client Portal, for example "Send an Interac e-Transfer to [email protected]". The instructions are shown in the client portal when online payment isn't available, on invoice PDFs (under "How to pay") and in invoice emails (under "Other ways to pay").

If you don't accept online payments, clients can still accept an estimate that requires a deposit. The client agrees to pay the deposit directly to you, the estimate is marked accepted, and you record the deposit here when it arrives.