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Payments & Finance
Manage client payments, allocations, bank accounts, and financial transactions in Hidma.
Overview
The Payments section is your financial hub where you track money coming in from clients, allocate payments to bills, manage refunds, and handle all payment-related activities. Whether you're recording a client deposit, applying funds to an invoice, or issuing a credit note, everything happens here.
What You Can Do
Recording Money
Add Funds When a client pays you, record the deposit in Hidma. Choose which bank account received the funds (if using Bank Accounts feature) and the amount will be available to allocate against their outstanding bills.
Track Bank Accounts If your business uses multiple bank accounts or operates multiple legal entities, enable Bank Accounts to track exactly which account funds flow through. See balances per account, per client, per organization.
Applying Payments
Allocate to Bills Take client funds and apply them to specific invoices. You can pay bills in full, make partial payments, or split one payment across multiple bills. The system tracks what's been paid and what's outstanding.
Partial Allocations Pay just a portion of a bill row - perfect when clients make installment payments or pay what they can afford. Hidma tracks the remaining balance automatically.
Handling Adjustments
Write-Offs Mark uncollectible amounts as written off without deleting the bill. Essential for bad debt, settlements, or goodwill gestures. Shows what was paid vs. what was forgiven.
Credit Notes Issue credits that clients can use against future invoices. Perfect for returns, billing errors, or goodwill gestures. Unlike refunds, credits stay on account for future use.
Refunds Return actual money to clients who overpaid or deposited funds in error. Only available when clients have a positive balance. Track which bank account the refund came from.
Key Features
💰 Bank Accounts (Optional Feature)
Track money movement across different bank accounts and organizations. See exactly which account received client funds and which account you're paying from.
Benefits:
- Better reconciliation with actual bank statements
- Per-account balances for each client
- Cross-organization payment tracking
- Clear audit trail of money movement
📊 Payment Allocations
The heart of the payment system - connecting money received to bills issued.
How it works:
- Client pays you (recorded as "Funds")
- You allocate those funds to their outstanding bills
- Bills move from "Outstanding" to "Paid" or "Partially Paid"
- Client's account balance updates automatically
- Receipts generated for their records
🔄 Flexible Payment Options
Full Payment Client pays entire bill amount - straightforward allocation, bill is marked as paid.
Partial Payment Client pays less than full amount - allocate what was paid, bill shows remaining balance.
Multiple Bills Client sends one payment for several invoices - split the funds across multiple bills.
Installments Client making payments over time - create multiple allocations as payments come in.
Common Workflows
Recording a Client Payment
- Client sends you €5,000
- Go to Payments → Add Funds
- Select the client
- Choose currency and organization
- If using Bank Accounts: Select which account received the funds
- Enter amount: €5,000
- Save
Result: Client now has €5,000 available balance to allocate.
Allocating Payment to Bills
- Go to Payments → Allocate Payments
- Select the client
- Choose to use existing balance or add new funds
- Select which bill(s) to pay
- Enter amount for each bill
- Review and save
Result: Funds deducted from client balance, bills marked as paid/partially paid.
Handling Partial Payment with Write-Off
Scenario: Client pays €2,000 of €5,000 bill, you agree to write off the rest.
- Go to Payments → Allocate Payments
- Select client, enter €2,000 payment
- Select the €5,000 bill
- Check "Include write-off for remaining amount" (€3,000)
- Optionally include write-off details on receipt
- Save
Result: Bill fully settled (€2,000 paid + €3,000 written off).
Issuing a Refund
Scenario: Client overpaid by €1,000.
- First check client has positive balance
- Go to Payments → Add Transaction → Refund
- Select client (only those with balances appear)
- Choose bank account to refund from
- Enter amount: €1,000
- Add description
- Save
Result: €1,000 returned to client, balance cleared.
Payment Statuses
Understanding what each status means:
| Status | Meaning | What Happens Next |
|---|---|---|
| Funds Available | Client has positive balance | Can allocate to bills |
| Allocated | Funds applied to specific bill | Bill status updates |
| Partially Allocated | Some funds used, some remain | Can allocate remainder |
| Fully Applied | All funds allocated | Balance is zero |
| Refunded | Money returned to client | Balance reduced |
Best Practices
Financial Management Tips
Record Payments Promptly Enter client payments into Hidma as soon as they arrive in your bank account, rather than waiting until your weekly or monthly billing cycle. This discipline gives you an accurate, real-time picture of cash flow and available funds. When payments sit unrecorded for days or weeks, you lose visibility into which clients have paid, how much cash you actually have available, and which bills remain outstanding. Prompt recording takes just a minute per payment but dramatically improves your financial visibility and makes reconciliation easier when you finally get around to it.
Use Bank Accounts Feature If your business operates multiple bank accounts - perhaps separate accounts for different legal entities, or distinct operating and trust accounts - enable the Bank Accounts feature in Hidma's settings. This capability lets you track exactly which account received each client payment and which account you're paying expenses from. Without this granularity, you know the total amounts but not the distribution across accounts, making bank statement reconciliation tedious and error-prone. With it enabled, reconciliation becomes straightforward since you can match Hidma's records per account against each bank statement.
Document Write-Offs Every single time you write off an amount - whether it's bad debt from an uncollectible client, a negotiated settlement for less than the full invoice, or a goodwill gesture to preserve a relationship - add detailed notes explaining the circumstances and decision. These notes create an essential audit trail showing why money you were owed was forgiven. Months or years later when you're reviewing historical financials or dealing with tax authorities, these explanations are invaluable for understanding what happened and demonstrating that write-offs were legitimate business decisions rather than sloppy bookkeeping.
Regular Reconciliation Set a recurring calendar appointment - weekly for high-volume businesses, monthly for smaller operations - to reconcile your Hidma payment records against actual bank statements. During reconciliation, verify that every deposit on your bank statement has a corresponding payment entry in Hidma, and vice versa. This regular discipline catches data entry errors quickly while they're still fresh and easy to correct, identifies missing payments that need to be chased up, and ensures your financial reporting in Hidma matches your actual cash position. Waiting months between reconciliations turns a simple task into an overwhelming archaeology project.
Generate Receipts Make it standard practice to generate and send official receipts to clients whenever you record a payment allocation. These receipts serve multiple purposes - they provide clients with documentation for their accounts payable records, they build trust by demonstrating professional financial management, and they create a paper trail proving payment was received and applied to specific invoices. Many clients require receipts for their internal processes, and providing them proactively without being asked positions you as organized and reliable.
Clear Communication When you issue credit notes or process refunds, don't just execute the transaction silently - communicate with the client explaining what happened and why. Let them know "We've credited your account $500 due to the billing error on invoice #1234" or "We're processing a $300 refund since you overpaid last month." This transparency prevents client confusion when they see unexpected transactions on their statements, demonstrates that you're paying attention to their account, and builds trust through open communication about financial matters. Clients appreciate knowing what's happening with their money.
Quick Links
Getting Started
- Recording Payments - Basic payment entry
- Bank Accounts Setup - Enable and configure
Advanced Features
- Partial Allocations - Installment payments
- Write-Offs - Handle uncollectible amounts
- Credit Notes & Refunds - Issue credits and returns
Configuration
- Organizations - Multi-entity setup
- Payment Settings - Configure payment options
Troubleshooting
Can't allocate payment - "No outstanding bills" Client has no unpaid invoices. Check if all bills are already paid or create a new bill first.
Client not showing in refund list Only clients with positive balances can receive refunds. Check their account balance.
Bank account dropdown not appearing Bank Accounts feature not enabled. Go to Settings > Configuration > Payment Settings to enable.
Payment not showing on account statement Check the date range of the statement includes when payment was recorded.
What's Next?
Ready to manage payments?
For beginners:
For advanced users:
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