Manually Apply Payments to Invoices

When a client pays an invoice, that payment needs to be recorded in Docket so your billing stays accurate and your records stay clean. Docket gives you a few ways to do that depending on how a client pays.

If your account is set up with DocketPay, your clients can pay their invoices online via credit/debit card or ACH and their payments are recorded automatically. 

If they pay by cash, check, or another method outside of DocketPay, you'll need to apply that payment to their invoice manually. 

Before You Start

Here are a few things to know before you continue:

• Depending on your permissions, you may not be able to access some or all of these settings. Please reach out to your Admin if additional access is needed.
• We recommend that only the Account Owner(s) or Admin(s) set up or change the settings covered in this article.
• The screenshots below show all payment options available in Docket, but you may see fewer options in your Docket account depending on if you're using DocketPay and if clients have saved payment methods.

Payment-Related Settings

Before you start applying payments, it's important to be aware of the global account settings that control how payments are processed and recorded in Docket. 

Please Note: The list of settings below is limited to settings that apply to manually recorded payments.

Prompt for Tips on Payment

This setting is turned OFF by default.

Turning this setting on means that you'll see an option to add a tip when manually applying a client's payment. 

If your business accepts tips, we recommend turning this on so you don't miss the opportunity to record them separately from the main payment amount and report on them.

Save Card on File

This setting is turned ON by default.

If you manually apply a credit/debit card payment to a client’s invoice, Docket will automatically save it to their profile unless this setting is turned off. We recommend leaving it on to save you and your team extra steps.

TIP: The Client Has Option to Save Card on File setting only applies to clients paying their invoice online.

Pre-Authorization Card Payment

This setting is turned ON by default, but only applies if you're set up with DocketPay.

There are two ways DocketPay captures clients' payments: 

• Pre-authorized charges.
• Captured sales.

A pre-authorized charge is when a client’s payment method is temporarily approved for a specific amount, but the funds haven’t been taken out of their account yet.

Captured sales happen when the full amount of money is taken out of a client’s account and deposited into yours.

If this setting is left on, you’ll have the ability to choose whether to pre-authorize (place a hold on) the client’s owed amount or try to charge it in full immediately. Pre-authorizing the amount owed is a good way to protect your business from fraud.

Charge Card Processing Fees to Client

This setting is turned OFF by default, but only applies if you're set up with DocketPay.

If you’re using DocketPay, you can turn this on and charge clients a card processing fee to help cover some of your payment processing costs.

This is a common business practice across many different industries and helps make it easier for your business to offer clients the convenience of paying invoices online.

Apply a Payment to an Invoice

If a client pays their invoice outside of DocketPay, you'll need to apply that payment manually in Docket.

There are 9 different payment methods you can record on an invoice:

1. Cash
2. Check
3. Credit/Debit Card (outside of DocketPay)
4. Credit/Debit Card (using DocketPay)
5. ACH (using DocketPay)
6. Direct Deposit (outside of DocketPay)
7. Third Party Processor (outside of DocketPay)
8. Credit Memo
9. Account Credit

While you can technically still receive client payments via credit/debit card, direct deposit, or a third party processor if you're not set up with DocketPay, you'll need to manually apply these electronic payments to invoices because Docket cannot automatically record these for you.

Even if you're set up with DocketPay, there may be instances where you want to run the client's saved payment method yourself to ensure timely payment.

There are 4 places in Docket where you can apply payment to an invoice:

1. The Invoices page.
   
   
2. The client's profile.
   
   
3. The invoice itself at the bottom.
   
   
4. The invoice itself at the top.
   
   

Charge a Saved Payment Method

If your client has a credit/debit card or ACH account saved to their profile and your business uses DocketPay, you can manually charge that saved payment method.

This is a good option when you need to collect payment on an invoice without waiting for the client to pay on their own.

Charge a Saved Credit/Debit Card

To do this, just follow the instructions below:

1. Click "Apply Payment" from one of the options listed above.
2. Select the client's saved card from the list that appears.
   
   TIP: You can save a new card at the same time you use it to charge a client by clicking the "New Card" button instead.
   
   
3. If you have the Prompt for Tips setting enabled, select the tip amount the client paid you.
   
   If you don't have the Prompt for Tips setting enabled, skip to Step 5.
4. Click "Continue to Payment" at the bottom.
   
   
5. The invoice's Balance Due will auto-fill out the Amount field, but you can change this if needed.
6. Check the Agreement box to apply the processing fee to this transaction.
7. Decide whether you want to place a hold on the client's card for this amount instead of charging the full amount immediately.
8. Click "Charge" to process the transaction and close the invoice.

You'll now see the payment recorded on the invoice and the balance will update accordingly.

Please Note: If you record a paid amount that's greater than the invoice balance, the overage will automatically be added as an account credit in the client's profile.

Charge a Client's Saved ACH Account

To do this, just follow the instructions below:

1. Click "Apply Payment" from one of the options listed above.
2. Select "ACH" from the list that appears.
   
   
3. Select the saved ACH account from the options that appear.
   
   TIP: You can save a new ACH account at the same time you use it to charge a client by clicking the "+ Add New Account" button instead.
   
   
4. If you have the Prompt for Tips setting enabled, select the tip amount the client paid you.
   
   If you don't have the Prompt for Tips setting enabled, skip to Step 6.
5. Click "Continue to Payment" at the bottom.
   
   
6. The invoice's Balance Due will auto-fill out the Amount field and the Transaction Date will default to today's date, but you can change both of these if needed.
7. Click "Apply Payment" to record the payment and close the invoice.
   
   

You'll now see the payment recorded on the invoice and the balance will update accordingly.

Please Note: If you record a paid amount that's greater than the invoice balance, the overage will automatically be added as an account credit in the client's profile.

Apply a Cash Payment

Recording a cash payment in Docket is super simple.

To do that, just follow the instructions below:

1. Click "Apply Payment" from one of the options listed above.
2. Select "Cash" from the list that appears.
   
   
3. If you have the Prompt for Tips setting enabled, select the tip amount the client paid you.
   
   If you don't have the Prompt for Tips setting enabled, skip to Step 5.
4. Click "Continue to Payment" at the bottom.
   
   
5. The invoice's Balance Due will auto-fill out the Amount field and the Transaction Date will default to today's date, but you can change both of these if needed.
6. Click "Apply Payment" to record the payment and close the invoice.
   
   

You'll now see the payment recorded on the invoice and the balance will update accordingly.

Please Note: If you record a paid amount that's greater than the invoice balance, the overage will automatically be added as an account credit in the client's profile.

Apply an Electronic Payment Outside of DocketPay

The steps to apply a payment made by a credit/debit card, direct deposit, or third party processor outside of DocketPay are all the same.

To do that, just follow the instructions below:

1. Click "Apply Payment" from one of the options listed above.
2. Click on the matching payment method you need to record from the options that appear.
   
   TIP: The "Credit" button is what you'll use to record a credit/debit card payment made outside of DocketPay, like when using a mobile card reader.
   
   
3. Add a description about this transaction for your records.
4. If you have the Prompt for Tips setting enabled, click "Continue to Tip".
   
   If you don't have the Prompt for Tips setting enabled, skip to Step 6.
   
   
5. Select the tip amount the client paid you.
6. Click "Continue to Payment" at the bottom.
   
   
7. The invoice's Balance Due will auto-fill out the Amount field and the Transaction Date will default to today's date, but you can change both of these if needed.
8. Check the Agreement box to apply the processing fee to this transaction if you've charged the client a processing fee outside of DocketPay.
9. Click "Apply Payment" to record the payment and close the invoice.
   
   

You'll now see the payment recorded on the invoice and the balance will update accordingly.

Please Note: If you record a paid amount that's greater than the invoice balance, the overage will automatically be added as an account credit in the client's profile.

Apply a Check Payment

Recording a check payment in Docket is super simple.

To do that, just follow the instructions below:

1. Click "Apply Payment" from one of the options listed above.
2. Select "Check" from the list that appears.
   
   
3. Add a description about this transaction for your records.
4. Add the check's number for your records.
5. If you have the Prompt for Tips setting enabled, click "Continue to Tip".
   
   If you don't have the Prompt for Tips setting enabled, skip to Step 7.
   
   
6. Select the tip amount the client paid you.
7. Click "Continue to Payment" at the bottom.
   
   
8. The invoice's Balance Due will auto-fill out the Amount field and the Transaction Date will default to today's date, but you can change both of these if needed.
9. Check the Agreement box to apply the processing fee to this transaction if you've charged the client a processing fee outside of DocketPay.
10. Click "Apply Payment" to record the payment and close the invoice.
    
    

You'll now see the payment recorded on the invoice and the balance will update accordingly.

Please Note: If you record a paid amount that's greater than the invoice balance, the overage will automatically be added as an account credit in the client's profile.

Apply a Partial Payment

You can apply a partial payment to an invoice by adjusting the total amount in the Amount field. 

The amount will appear as a payment on the invoice after you click "Apply Payment".

The invoice's Balance Due will also decrease by the amount paid.

The invoice's open/overdue status won't change until the remaining balance is paid.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Support team through the chat widget on the bottom of this page or by sending an email to support@yourdocket.com!