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Create Menu - Project - Down Payment Invoice

This page describes the 'Down Payment Invoice' function on the Create menu in the Project record window. If you are using iOS or Android, the 'Down Payment Invoice' function is on the + menu.

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You can raise a Down Payment Invoice for a Project if you have received a deposit against a Project or if you wish to ask for one; and when a Project has a fixed price that you will invoice in instalments.

Before you can use the function, you should enter the down payment amount or define the instalment structure on the 'Down Payments' card of the Project window. Please refer to the page describing this card for full details.

You can create a Down Payment Invoice in two ways:

  1. Open a Project in a record window and select 'Down Payment Invoice' from the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or + menu (iOS/Android). This function is described on this page.

  2. If you want to raise Down Payment Invoices for several Projects at once, use the 'Create Project Invoices' Maintenance function and select the Down Payment Invoices option.
When you select 'Down Payment Invoice' from the Create or + menu, a Down Payment Invoice will be created immediately. The content of the first lines will depend on whether you have selected the Project Code, Project Description, Project Text, Project Leader and/or Contact options on the 'Invoicing' card of the Project record. These lines will be followed by the Down Payment amount. The Invoice will be opened in a window entitled 'Invoice: Inspect', meaning that it has already been saved and is being opened for checking.

The text describing the down payment ("1st Down Payment" in the illustration) will be taken from the Comment field in the relevant row on the 'Down Payments' card of the Project. You can change this text if necessary.

When you are sure the Down Payment Invoice is correct, mark it as OK and save it. As with all Invoices, this will cause the Sales Ledger to be updated and, if so defined in the Sub Systems setting in the Nominal Ledger and in the Number Series - Invoices setting, a Nominal Ledger Transaction to be created. You can then print the Invoice and send it to the Customer.

In the Nominal Ledger Transaction is created, crediting the Account shown in the Down Payment row in the Invoice will be credited with the value of the Down Payment. The default for this Account is the Sales Account in the Down Payment Item (or in its Item Group) specified in the Project Settings setting. If you have not specified a Sales Account in the Down Payment Item, or if you have not specified a Down Payment Item in the Project Settings setting, the appropriate Sales Account for the Zone of the Customer will be used, as specified on the 'Sales' card in the Account Usage S/L setting in the Sales Ledger. If you wish to use a dedicated Account to hold the value of a Down Payment until you issue the final Invoice, specify this Account as the Sales Account in the Down Payment Item. This has been done in the illustrations, using Account 194. When you issue a Project Invoice for work carried out, the resulting Nominal Ledger Transaction will debit the same Account with the down payment amount. The VAT Code in the Down Payment Invoice will also be taken from the Down Payment Item (or from its Item Group) or from the 'Sales' card in the Account Usage S/L setting.

When you raise the first Invoice for the Project for work carried out (e.g. using the 'Create Project Invoices' Maintenance function or from the related Project Budget using the 'Invoice' function on the Create or + menu), it will contain a row deducting the Down Payment amount, as shown below. If the value of the Invoice is less than that of the Down Payment, a zero Invoice will be created and the remainder of the Down Payment will be deducted from the next Invoice.

The reference to the Down Payment has the text "Downpay Invoiced": this will be included on the printed Invoice and can be changed if necessary.

If the function does not create a Down Payment Invoice when expected, the probable causes are:

  1. The grid on the 'Down Payments' card of the Project screen is empty, or all uninvoiced rows have Dates that are later than the current date.

  2. There is no valid record in the Number Series - Invoices setting (in the Sales Ledger). This might be a fault in the setting itself, or it might be because the default Invoice Number on the 'Number Series' card of the current user's Person record or in the Number Series Defaults setting (in the System module) is not in a valid Number Series. This problem will usually occur at the beginning of a new year. If you make a change to the 'Number Series' card of the Person record or to the Number Series Defaults setting, you will need to quit Standard ERP and restart for it to take effect.

  3. The Project has not been saved.
Please refer to the page describing the 'Down Payments' card of the Project screen for details about raising Credit Notes against Down Payment Invoices.

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