Customer deposits can be created for different reasons. For example, a customer can overpay an invoice and the balance retained as a customer deposit. Or, a customer can pre-pay for an order, either with a **prebill** or outside of a prebill, and the amount will remain on their account as a **customer deposit**. In this guide, we will review how to apply a customer deposit to a **customer invoice** and flag a couple of nuances.
- Click on Receive Payment
Navigate to the **A/R module**, expand **Customer Payment** and click on **Receive Payment**.
- Click on Start a New Session
Start a **new session** and click **next**.
- Apply Payment Without Cash Receipt
In the "**Cash Receipts**" screen, click on "**Application/Correction without Cash Receipt**" and click on "**Next**".
- Select the Customer
Search for the customer either via **Order #**, **invoice #** or in the **customer field**. Then, select the customer and click "**Next**"
- Click on Process
Identify the **customer deposit** to apply and click on "**Process**"
- Select the Invoice
Select the **invoice** to apply the payment to and click "**Next**". Continue the process until you **close the cash receipt journal**.
💡 Tip! You must have a customer invoice.
The key to applying customer deposits is creating a customer invoice. If an order is "closed" or "completed", it will not display as ready to be invoiced. Therefore, you will need to manually create the invoice, close the sales journal and apply the payment.
- Accounting Status: COMPLETE
If an order is "**closed**" or "**completed**", it will not display as ready to be invoiced.
- Click on Single Invoice
Therefore, you will need to manually create the invoice, close the sales journal and apply the payment.
- Apply Payment
Once the **invoice is created**, then the **customer deposit can be applied** to the open invoice thereby moving the deposits from the liability account to **revenue account**.
- Customer Deposit from Prebill
If the customer deposit was create from a **prebill**, then a **customer invoice is needed to apply the deposit**. At this stage, the deposit is on account with the customer and applied towards an order, but remains as a liability until the invoice is created.
- Paid Invoice
When the customer invoice is created from a prebill, the **customer deposit will be applied** to the open invoice and the invoice will be "**paid**".
