Who still owes what on this job?
The customer paid a deposit by card when they accepted the quote. The fitter added an extra on the day. The grant covers part of the cost, claimed by you after the install. A car dealer is paying a contribution as part of a promotion. The customer's final invoice shows the full price minus the deposit, with no grant line, and they refuse to pay a figure that does not match what they were promised.
In accounts, the deposit was coded to the wrong customer, the grant was received but not matched, and the dealer contribution is sitting unallocated. Nobody can say, with confidence, who owes what.
Several payers, one invoice
Most accounts setups assume one customer pays one invoice. Charger jobs regularly have two or three payers and a timeline where money arrives before and after the work. The quote, the job system and the accounts package each hold part of the picture.
- Deposits are taken through a card link and matched by hand.
- The final invoice is built from the quote, missing extras and grant lines.
- Grant income arrives in bulk and is matched to jobs later, if ever.
- Partner contributions are invoiced separately with a different reference.
- Aged debt reports mix customer balances with claims awaiting payment.
What the muddle costs
Customers dispute invoices that do not match their understanding, delaying payment and souring a job that went well. Balances go uncollected because nobody noticed. Grant money sits unmatched, so the business looks as though it is owed more, or less, than it is. And month-end in accounts turns into detective work.
Refunds are the other trap. A customer cancels after paying a deposit, or an install is part-completed and the grant cannot be claimed, and the correct refund depends on figures nobody has in one place. Getting it wrong either way leads to a complaint.
The job ledger we set up
- Each job gets a ledger that lists expected amounts by payer: customer deposit, customer balance, grant, partner contribution, agreed extras.
- Deposits taken through Stripe or your card provider are recorded against the job automatically, using the job reference in the payment.
- Agreed extras from the fitter's variation step are added to the customer's share.
- When the job is signed off, the final invoice is raised in Xero or QuickBooks with a clear line for each element, and a payment link for the balance.
- Grant and partner payments are matched to jobs from their remittance details, and anything that does not match goes to an exception list for a person.
- A single view shows, per job and in total, what is owed by customers, by grant schemes and by partners.
| Money item | How it is handled now | With the job ledger |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Matched by hand | Recorded from the payment reference |
| Extras | Often missed | Added from the agreed variation |
| Grant | Unexplained on the invoice | Its own line, matched on receipt |
| Partner contribution | Separate, unallocated | Line on the job, matched to remittance |
| What is owed | Mixed in aged debt | Split by payer type |
How grants and contributions are treated for accounting and tax is for your accountant. We set up the invoice lines and matching they approve.
Invoices customers understand
The customer's final invoice explains itself: price, deposit paid, grant, extras, balance. They pay by link. Accounts sees every job's money in one place and chases the right party. Month-end is about exceptions rather than hunting. And you can tell, at any time, how much grant and partner money you are waiting for.
When a customer disputes a figure, the answer is on the job: what was quoted, what was agreed on the day, what the grant covered and what they paid. The conversation is short because the evidence is complete.
Is your job money in a muddle?
- Customers have disputed a final invoice after a grant-funded install.
- Deposits are matched to jobs by hand.
- Grant payments arrive and are hard to allocate.
- You cannot say how much grant money you are owed today.
- Extras agreed on site are missing from invoices.