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Customer advances

Take the deposit now, settle it on the invoice.

Record an advance or deposit against a quotation or a sales order, keep it as the customer’s credit, and have it applied to the invoice automatically when that invoice is posted. Refund it if the sale falls through.

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  • Advances recorded on the quotation or sales order
  • Applied to the invoice automatically when it is posted
  • Refund or reuse the money if the order closes
  • Advance received and balance on the printout

What is Customer advances in Flowyana?

A customer advance is money a customer pays before you invoice them: a deposit on a quotation or an advance on a sales order. Flowyana records it against that document, keeps it as the customer’s credit, and applies it to the invoice automatically when the invoice is posted. It is for any business that asks for money up front, such as fabricators, contractors, event suppliers, wholesalers and custom-order shops in India and the Gulf.

Advances usually go wrong in the gap between taking the money and issuing the invoice. The deposit sits in a spreadsheet or a payment with no invoice, and when the final invoice goes out nobody remembers to deduct it, or it is deducted twice. Flowyana connects the money to the quotation or order it was taken for, so the invoice deducts it for you.

The money is never lost track of. If the order is cancelled or the quotation closes, the advance stays as the customer’s credit, flagged on the document, until you refund it or apply it to another invoice. Documents with live advances cannot be deleted or moved to another customer or branch.

What it does

Customer advances, in practice.

Advance on a quotation or order

Record the payment from the Advances tab of a quotation or sales order, with the method and date.

Kept as the customer’s credit

The money is the customer’s credit from the moment it is received, and is not tied to a single invoice until it is applied.

Applied when the invoice posts

When the invoice made from that quotation or order is posted, its advances are applied automatically, oldest first, up to what the invoice owes.

Covers the whole quotation family

Advances taken on any revision of a quotation, or on its order, are all applied to the invoice that follows.

Refund what is not used

If the document closes or is cancelled, the advance stays as credit: refund it from the document, or apply it to any of the customer’s invoices.

Protects the document

A document with live advances cannot be deleted, and its customer and branch cannot be changed under them.

Shown on the printout

Printed quotations and orders show the advance received and the balance still due.

Listed in payments

Advances also appear in the Payments list, so cash received is in one place.

Received, applied, refunded

Each advance shows what has been received, what has been applied to an invoice and what has been refunded.

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How it works

Customer advances, step by step.

  1. 1

    Open the quotation or order

    Go to the Advances tab on the document the customer is paying against.

  2. 2

    Record the advance

    Enter the amount, method and date. It is kept as the customer’s credit.

  3. 3

    Carry on with the sale

    Revise, confirm and deliver as normal. The printout shows the advance received and the balance.

  4. 4

    Post the invoice

    When the invoice made from the document is posted, the advances are applied to it automatically, oldest first.

  5. 5

    Deal with leftovers

    If an advance is not used, or the order closes, refund it or apply it to another invoice from the customer’s credit.

In depth

A closer look.

Advances recorded where the sale is

You take the advance on the document the customer is paying against, so the link between the money and the sale is never in doubt. A quotation’s advances cover its whole revision family, so a deposit taken on the first version is still there when the third version is accepted. A sales order also picks up the advances of the quotation it came from.

  • Advances tab on quotations and sales orders
  • Covers every revision of a quotation
  • An order includes its quotation’s advances
  • Method and date recorded with each

Applied when the invoice posts

When the invoice made from the quotation or order enters a posted status, its advances are applied to it, oldest first and never beyond the invoice balance. It happens at that moment only, so later edits do not shuffle payments around. The invoice then shows the advance as paid, and the customer owes only the rest.

  • Oldest advance first
  • Never more than the invoice owes
  • Runs when the invoice is posted
  • Base-currency advances only

Refunds, cancellations and safeguards

An advance that is not used is not lost. When a quotation or order is closed or cancelled, the money stays as the customer’s credit and the document tells you so, with the amount. Refund it from there, or apply it to any of the customer’s invoices. Closed, cancelled or revised documents refuse new advances, and a document with live advances cannot be deleted or have its customer or branch changed.

  • Refund from the document
  • Or apply to any invoice of the customer
  • Closed documents refuse new advances
  • Customer and branch locked while advances are live

Who it’s for

Businesses that run on Customer advances.

Fabricators and custom manufacturers

Take a deposit when the order is confirmed, and let the final invoice deduct it automatically.

Contractors and fit-out firms

Collect a mobilisation advance on the quotation and settle it on the first invoice.

Event and equipment suppliers

Hold a booking deposit against the order and refund it cleanly if the event is cancelled.

Wholesalers and importers

Take part-payment before a shipment is ordered in, with the balance due shown on the printed order.

Questions

Asked about customer advances.

What is a customer advance?

Money a customer pays before you invoice them: a deposit on a quotation or an advance on a sales order. Flowyana holds it as the customer’s credit and applies it to the invoice when the invoice is posted.

How do I take a deposit against a quotation?

Open the quotation, go to its Advances tab and record the payment with the method and date. It is kept as the customer’s credit until you invoice.

Is the advance applied to the invoice automatically?

Yes. When the invoice made from the quotation or order is posted, its advances are applied automatically, oldest first, up to the invoice balance. You do not have to match them by hand.

What if the advance is more than the invoice?

Only what the invoice owes is applied. The rest stays as the customer’s credit, which you can refund or apply to another of their invoices.

What happens to the advance if the order is cancelled?

The money stays as the customer’s credit. The document shows a notice that the advance is still held, and you can refund it there or apply it to any of their invoices.

Can I refund an advance?

Yes. Refund it from the document’s Advances tab. Each advance shows what was received, applied and refunded, so you can see what is still unapplied.

Do advances work for foreign-currency orders?

Not yet. Advances are applied automatically only in your base currency; an advance in another currency is skipped, so apply it by hand.

Can I take advances at the POS?

No. Advances are taken on quotations and sales orders in the web workspace, not at the till.

Does an advance receipt carry GST or VAT?

No. Flowyana records an advance as money received on account and does not post a tax receipt for it; tax is charged on the invoice it is applied to.

Where do I see all advances I am holding?

Advances appear in the Payments list as payments with no invoice yet, and each quotation or order lists its own. The customer’s unapplied payments also show when you apply credit to an invoice.

One platform

Plays well with the rest.

Sales & Invoicing shares its records with every other module you switch on — no connectors, no re-typing.

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