Time and money
Getting paid
Record payments against invoices, and let clients pay online by card through Stripe.
Orin OS tracks what has been paid against each invoice, so the amount your business is owed is a fact rather than an estimate. You record payments that arrive by bank transfer or other means, and you can let clients pay online by card.
Before you start
- Recording a payment, and connecting online payments, need permission to manage billing.
- A payment is recorded against an issued invoice. A draft must be issued first. See Billing and invoices.
Steps at a glance
Record a payment
Step 01
Find the invoice
On Billing, or on the client's Billing tab, find the invoice. Its payment status shows Unpaid, Overdue or Part paid, with what is left. Select the payment icon at the end of its row.
1: the payment icon on a part-paid invoice. Money the client paid in advance shows above the invoices as Held on account. Step 02
Record the payment
Enter the Amount, which starts at the balance due and cannot be more than it, and the Date received. Choose the Method: Bank transfer, Direct debit, Card, Cheque, Cash or Other. Paid into shows the usual account for that method; if there is no single usual account, choose one. Add a Reference and Note if useful, then select Record payment.
Record a payment. The saved result was not captured, to leave the demo invoice unchanged. If the date falls in a period your books have closed, Orin OS refuses it and says so under the date.
Step 03
Check the balance
A message confirms the payment. The invoice's status becomes Paid, or stays Part paid with the new balance, and the Ageing tab on Billing updates.
Step 04
Take payments online
Open Online payments in Settings. Clients pay on Stripe's own page, from the invoice email or their portal; Orin OS never sees a card and takes no fee, while Stripe charges its own.
Select Create a Stripe account or Connect an existing Stripe account. You finish on Stripe and return to this page, which then shows Connected, taking payments, or Connected, Stripe needs more details if Stripe wants more information first.
The page in the demo environment, where online payments are not switched on. The connect steps were not captured. Once connected, invoice emails carry a Pay this invoice online button while something is left to pay, and a payment appears on the invoice as Online (Stripe) once Stripe confirms it, without anyone typing it. A refund you make in Stripe is recorded the same way.
Common questions
A client paid part of an invoice. Record what arrived. The invoice stays Part paid for the balance.
I recorded a payment on the wrong invoice. Open that invoice, remove the payment, then record it on the right one. Do not use a credit note to move money between invoices.
How do I refund an online payment? Make the refund in Stripe. Orin OS records it on the invoice by itself, on the day Stripe reports it: a Refunded line reading Refunded in Stripe appears under the payment, the invoice shows what is owed again, and your business is told. Do not remove the payment: a refunded payment has no remove button, and Orin OS refuses to remove it.
A client disputed a card payment with their bank. Your business is told when the dispute opens and when it closes. Nothing changes on the invoice while it is open. Deal with the dispute in Stripe.
What if I disconnect Stripe? Clients can no longer pay online, and pay links already emailed say so. Your Stripe account and the money in it stay yours.