Overview
If you send invoices to clients using Quicken Business & Personal, it's important to know how to record payments and apply them to the correct invoices.
Whether you receive a bank transfer, cash payment, individual check, or a single payment covering multiple invoices, this guide walks you through the different ways to apply payments and keep your records accurate.
Things to Note
When you send an invoice, a Client Invoices account (Accounts Receivable) is created under Business Payments in your Accounts List. The invoice amount is credited to this account, increasing your Accounts Receivable balance.
When you apply a payment to an invoice, Quicken Business & Personal creates a negative transaction that offsets the original invoice amount. This transaction is treated as a transfer from the account receiving the payment to the Client Invoices account.
Once all invoices have been paid, the Client Invoices account will have a zero balance.
You can apply invoice payments in several ways:
Link to Transaction: Apply an existing transaction, such as a downloaded bank transaction, to an invoice.
Apply One Payment to Multiple Invoices: Split a single payment across multiple invoices.
Create Transaction: Record a payment manually, such as a cash payment.
Apply Payment from a Transaction: Apply an existing transaction to an invoice directly from the Transactions section.
Use Existing Credit: Apply a client's available credit toward an invoice.
Note: You can't overpay an invoice. Any excess payment is credited to the client and can be applied toward future payments.
Link a Transaction to Apply the Payment
Use this option when a payment transaction already exists in Quicken Business & Personal. This includes downloaded bank transactions, Venmo transactions, and individual check payments.
Hover over the left panel and select Sales & Billing, then select Invoices.
Locate the invoice you want to apply the payment to and click the three-dot menu at the end of the invoice.
Select Apply Payment.
Select Link to Transaction.
Select the transaction you want to apply and click Next.
Review the payment details and click Save.
Note: You can also apply a partial payment using this method. If the client pays the remaining balance later, you can apply another payment to the same invoice.
Apply One Payment to Multiple Invoices
If a client makes a single payment covering multiple invoices, you can split the transaction and apply the appropriate amount to each invoice.
Hover over the left panel and select Dashboard.
Select the account containing the bulk deposit.
Locate the payment transaction and click the three-dot menu at the end of it.
Select View Transaction.
Under Category, click Split.
For each split, select Client Invoice as the Category.
Enter the payment amount for each invoice.
Make sure the Invoice Payment checkbox is selected for both sides of the split.
Click Save Splits.
Note: If you have multiple businesses, use the Business dropdown to the left of the Client dropdown to assign the payment to the correct business. If you have multiple clients or projects, use the Clients & Projects dropdown to select the correct one.
Create a Manual Transaction and Apply the Payment to an Invoice
Use this option when you receive a payment that hasn't been recorded in Quicken Business & Personal, such as a cash payment. You can create a transaction while applying the payment to the invoice.
If you want to track cash payments without affecting the balances of your other accounts, consider setting up an Undeposited Funds account. This allows you to record payments separately until you deposit them.
Hover over the left panel and select Sales & Billing, then select Invoices.
Locate the invoice you want to apply the payment to and click the three-dot menu at the end of the invoice.
Select Apply Payment.
Select Create Transaction.
Select the Payment date and Deposit to account.
Confirm the Payment amount.
Enter or confirm the Amount to apply to the invoice.
Click Save.
Apply a payment directly from a transaction.
You can also apply a payment to an invoice directly from the Transactions section. This allows you to select the invoice you want to associate with an existing transaction.
Hover over the left panel and select Transactions.
Locate the payment transaction and click the three-dot menu at the end of it.
Select Edit transaction.
Under Clients & Projects, select the correct client.
Select the Invoice Payment checkbox.
Click Update.
On the Record Invoice Payment screen, click Apply Payment.
Locate the invoice and enter the amount you want to apply.
Click Save.
Track Tips Alongside Invoice Payments
You can also record tips when applying payments to invoices. This is useful when a client pays more than the invoiced amount and the additional amount is a tip.
Hover over the left panel and select Sales & Billing, then select Invoices.
Locate the invoice you want to apply the payment and tip to, and click the three-dot menu at the end of the invoice.
Select Apply Payment.
Select either Link to Transaction or Create Transaction.
Confirm the Payment Amount, including the tip.
Turn on the Add a Tip toggle.
Click Save.
How Tips Appear in Reports:
Tips recorded when applying invoice payments are treated as income, not as invoice items or billable expenses. They'll appear in the Income section of your Profit and Loss report. This helps you track your total earnings without affecting project costs or itemized billing.
Apply an Existing Credit to an Invoice
If a client has an available credit, you can apply it toward an invoice. To check how much credit a client has, go to the Clients & Projects section.
Hover over the left panel and select Sales & Billing, then select Invoices.
Locate the invoice you want to apply the credit to and click the three-dot menu at the end of the invoice.
Select Apply Payment.
Select Use Existing Credit.
Enter the Apply to invoice amount.
Click Save.
Note: Once a transaction is assigned as an invoice payment, you can't edit the transaction until the payment assignment is removed.
How to Remove a Payment
Open the account containing the payment transaction.
Click the three-dot menu next to the transaction.
Select View transaction.
Click Edit next to the payment.
Select Edit Payment Assignment.
In the lower-left corner of the pop-up, click Remove Payment.
For instructions specific to the Mobile App, see How to Apply Payments to Invoices in Quicken Business & Personal Mobile App.
If you need assistance or have any questions about Quicken Simplifi, our support team is here to help.