FAQ: Handling Invoice Payments That Don’t Match the Invoice Amount

When a customer accepts a bid in Contractor Accelerator, the system automatically creates invoices based on the payment terms defined in that bid. This automation keeps your contracts, payment schedules, and invoicing aligned.

For example, if a bid includes 50% down and 50% upon completion, two invoices will automatically be created once the bid is accepted.

In most cases, the customer pays the exact invoice amount and the invoice can simply be marked as Paid in Contractor Accelerator. However, there are situations where a customer pays more or less than the invoice total. Because Contractor Accelerator currently marks invoices as paid rather than tracking individual payment transactions, this can require a small manual adjustment.

This article explains how the process works and what to do when the payment amount differs from the invoice total.

How Invoices Are Created

When a bid is accepted:

1. The contract language, disclaimers, and payment terms are locked in.
2. Contractor Accelerator automatically generates invoices based on the payment schedule in the bid.
3. Those invoices become part of the project record.

Example:

• Project Total: $10,000
• Payment Terms: 50% down, 50% upon completion

Invoices created:

• Invoice #1 — $5,000 deposit
• Invoice #2 — $5,000 final payment

Marking an Invoice as Paid

When the customer pays the full invoice amount:

1. Open the Billing section in the Project.
2. Mark the invoice as Paid.

If your account is integrated with QuickBooks Online (QBO):

• Customer information and invoice details sync to QuickBooks.
• QuickBooks determines the official invoice number, so numbers will match between both systems.
• When an invoice is marked Paid in QuickBooks, it will also appear as paid in Contractor Accelerator.

What Happens If the Customer Pays a Different Amount?

Sometimes a customer may:

• Pay less than the invoice total
• Pay more than the invoice total
• Combine payments across invoices
• Make adjustments during the project

Currently, Contractor Accelerator does not track individual payment transactions or partial payments. The system simply marks invoices as Paid or Unpaid.

Because of this, invoices cannot yet reflect partial or overpayments within Contractor Accelerator itself.

Workarounds (Current Best Practices)

Until payment tracking is expanded, we recommend the following approaches.

Option 1: If integrated, track the Payment in QuickBooks Online 

If you are using the QuickBooks Online integration, you can record the exact payment details there.

Steps:

1. Record the payment in QuickBooks with the actual amount received.
2. Apply the payment to the appropriate invoice(s).
3. Once the invoice is considered paid in QuickBooks, it will sync back and appear as Paid in Contractor Accelerator.
4. Best practice would be to also add a pinned note to the account in CA to ensure everyone knows the remaining balance, as the invoice will appear as tho nothing has been paid. 

QuickBooks will maintain the detailed payment history while Contractor Accelerator keeps the project record aligned.

Option 2: Add a Pinned Project Note

If you are not using QuickBooks, the best option is to document the difference directly in the project.

1. Add a pinned note in the project.
2. Record the payment details, such as:
   • Amount received
   • Remaining balance
   • Any agreed adjustments
3. Use this note as a reference to ensure the correct final amount is collected.

Pinned notes are visible to your team and help ensure nothing slips through the cracks during project completion.

Example Scenario

Invoice created from bid:

• Invoice: $5,000 deposit

Customer sends a check for $4,500.

What to do:

• If using QuickBooks: record the $4,500 payment in QBO and track the remaining balance there.
• If not using QuickBooks: add a pinned note stating that $4,500 was received and $500 remains due.

Future Improvements

We understand that accurate payment tracking is important for contractors managing multiple jobs and invoices.

The Contractor Accelerator team will be working on improvements for this portion of the software later this year.  More updates will be shared as this functionality becomes available.