QuickBooks can show an invoice as paid even when you cannot find the customer payment.
That is worth checking.
A Paid label tells you how the invoice is recorded in QuickBooks. It does not, by itself, tell you where the money went.
Why can an invoice show as paid?
QuickBooks changes an invoice’s status when a payment is recorded against it. A customer credit can also reduce or close an invoice.
This means an invoice may appear paid because of a payment record, a credit or another change linked to that invoice.
The first question is not simply whether QuickBooks says Paid.
The question is whether the records explain why it says Paid.
What should I check?
Start with the invoice that shows as paid.
Check the customer, invoice date, amount and payment history.
Then look for:
- the payment linked to the invoice;
- the date and amount of that payment;
- the account the payment was recorded to;
- a customer credit linked to the invoice; and
- another invoice that may share the same payment.
QuickBooks lets a recorded payment be applied to one or more invoices. It also lets the user choose where that payment is recorded.
Do not assume the invoice is settled just because its status says Paid.
Find the record that explains the status.
What if I cannot find the money in my bank records?
That needs a closer look.
A payment record in QuickBooks and money arriving in a bank account are not the same record.
For example, a payment may have been entered in QuickBooks, but you may still need to understand what happened to the actual money.
A credit may also have reduced or closed the invoice without a new customer payment.
So do not rely on the Paid label alone.
Check whether the surrounding records explain it.
Why can this become hard to check?
One invoice may be easy to trace.
A full year of records can be harder.
There may be many invoices, payments, credits and deposits. One customer payment may also cover several invoices.
That makes simple matching less reliable.
For this reason, do not assume every invoice marked Paid represents money that reached the business as expected.
Check the surrounding records first.
Where RecurSave fits
RecurSave reviews the records you provide for evidence-supported financial leakage.
Customer invoices and payments are among the records that may need review.
An invoice is not treated as settled just because QuickBooks shows it as Paid.
RecurSave reports what the submitted records support.
RecurSave does not log into QuickBooks or connect to your live account. The review uses the records you provide.
The review is free. If your records support material estimated recoverable value, you receive a free Findings Summary.