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Customer advances

The customer has paid, the goods haven't left yet. That money is not revenue — it is a liability: either you deliver, or you give it back. This screen shows you every order in that situation and, more importantly, checks whether their list matches what the books say.

Where to find it: Sidebar → Sales → the Customer advances tab

The customer advances screen

The three figures at the top are a cross-check​

They are not three summaries of the same thing — they are two different sources and the gap between them.

Advances on orders adds up the open orders: how much you collected in advance on each, cumulated. The Ledger balance comes from the books, from the advances-received account. The two are counted separately precisely so they can contradict each other — if both came from the orders, the check would compare a source against itself and would never catch anything.

The Difference is the figure you look at. Zero means the commercial records and the accounting ones say the same thing. Anything other than zero shows you how much money sits on the advances account with no open order behind it — usually an advance whose order was delivered without the advance being settled, or a collection put on advances by mistake.

If the check cannot be made, the screen says so

When the books don't answer, the difference is not shown as zero. A false zero would mean "everything is fine", which is worse than "I couldn't check".

The list​

Under the figures sit the orders with an outstanding advance. The search works by order number, customer name or phone — handy when the customer calls and remembers only their own number.

The Expired reservations only tick narrows the list to the orders whose reservation has passed its deadline. That is where the cases to deal with pile up: goods held for nothing, while the customer has either forgotten or changed their mind. Those are the first ones to call.

What to do with a leftover advance​

  • The customer still wants the goods — you deliver the order; the invoice settles the advance at posting.
  • The customer has given up — you give the money back with a cash payment order or a payment order.
  • The advance was left hanging after a delivery — you settle it with a debt adjustment, of type Advance Settlement.
The VAT on a collected advance is not generated for you

If you are a VAT payer, the VAT owed on an advance received from a customer is recorded by hand, in the month of collection. See sales documents.

Frequently asked questions​

Why do I have a difference, although all the orders look fine?​

Most often, a collection was put on the advances account without being tied to an order. Open the ledger of the advances account for that period and compare it against the list here.

Does the advance settle itself on delivery?​

Yes, the sales invoice settles it at posting. The adjustment is left for what automatic settlement doesn't cover.

The order is delivered, but the advance still shows here?​

That means the invoice didn't settle the advance — check whether it is posted and whether it is on the same partner.