Credit balances

Where a credit balance comes from#

When a tenant pays more than an invoice asks for — rounding up, paying several months ahead, or a refunded deduction — the surplus becomes a credit balance on the lease instead of disappearing into an unexplained receipt.

• It belongs to the lease, not to the room or the tenant record.
• It is not revenue until it is applied to an invoice.
• Its history shows every receipt that created it and every invoice that spent it.

1. Apply it to an invoice#

1. Open the invoice

   Go to Finance → Invoices, open the unpaid invoice and start the payment action.

2. Choose to use the credit balance

   Select paying from the credit balance instead of taking new money. The screen shows the balance available and what this invoice still owes.

3. Enter the amount

   The amount must be a whole number greater than zero, and at most the smaller of: the available balance, or the invoice's remaining debt.

   The available balance excludes credits still waiting for approval. If the figure is lower than you expect, look for unapproved receipts before assuming data is missing.

4. Confirm

   Confirm the amount. The invoice is settled without creating a new receipt, because no money changed hands.

2. Reverse an applied balance#

Removing a credit payment returns the amount to the balance and puts the debt back on the invoice. Receipts linked to the original money are kept, because that money did arrive.

Reversing is not refunding. To give money back to the tenant, record a refund as an expense — see Income and expenses.

Applying and reversing are separate permissions from ordinary collection, precisely because someone who can quietly undo a settlement can hide a shortfall.

3. Read the history#

The lease's credit history lists every movement: what added to the balance, what spent it, and against which invoice. It includes balances carried over from a previous lease after a renewal or a room transfer, so the total can be larger than anything this lease received directly.

4. At the end of a lease#

A remaining balance is either applied to the final invoice or refunded as an expense.

Renewing or transferring carries the balance across. Ending a lease and creating a new one does not — one more reason to renew rather than re-create. See Leases.