---
title: "Customer Payments"
space: "ERPNext"
url: "https://www.prilk.com/docs/erpnext/customer-payments"
updated: "2026-05-15"
---

## Customer Payments

When a customer pays you, record it as a **Payment Entry** in ERPNext. This applies the receipt against the right invoices and updates your books.

### Record a payment

Three paths into a Payment Entry:

| Path | When |
|---|---|
| **Payment Entry → New** | Direct entry — useful for cash receipts |
| **Open a Sales Invoice → Create → Payment Entry** | Faster — pre-fills the customer and the outstanding amount |
| **From a Bank Statement** | When you process bank lines (see [Bank Statements](/docs/erpnext/bank-statements)) |

### Fill in the form

| Field | What |
|---|---|
| **Payment Type** | Receive (incoming) |
| **Party Type** | Customer |
| **Party** | The customer who paid |
| **Posting Date** | The date the money landed in your bank account |
| **Paid Amount** | What they paid |
| **Paid To** | Your bank account where the money landed |
| **Reference Type / Reference No** | The Sales Invoice(s) this payment settles |

### Applying against invoices

When you select the customer, ERPNext lists their outstanding invoices in the **References** table. Tick the invoices being settled, ERPNext computes how to allocate the payment:

- **Exact match** — payment = invoice total → invoice marked Paid
- **Partial** — payment < invoice total → invoice becomes Partly Paid, balance remains
- **Overpaid** — payment > selected invoices → the excess sits as a credit on the customer's account, used against the next invoice

### Bank fees

If the bank deducted a fee (€5 transaction fee for a €1000 payment, you receive €995):
- Paid Amount = €1000 (the customer paid)
- Add a **Deductions** row: Account = Bank Charges, Amount = €5
- Final cash to your bank = €995

### Foreign currency

If the customer paid in a different currency than the invoice was in, set the **Exchange Rate**. The exchange gain/loss is posted to your exchange-rate account automatically.

### Status

A Payment Entry has only:
- Draft (editable)
- Submitted (final, locked, posted to the ledger)
- Cancelled (reversed)

### Common situations

- **Customer paid the wrong invoice** — cancel the Payment Entry, create a new one with the right references
- **Bulk payment for many invoices** — one Payment Entry can reference any number of invoices; tick all that the receipt covers
- **Refunding a customer** — create a new Payment Entry with Payment Type = Pay (you pay them), referencing the credit note