Daily Collections
Overview
The Daily Collections page is your end-of-day command center for tracking every payment that flows through your garage. Think of it as your digital cash register tape -- it shows you exactly how much money came in, broken down by payment method, payment type, and transaction detail.
Why this matters:
At the end of each day, someone needs to count the cash drawer, check the card terminal totals, and make sure everything adds up. Without a clear report, this process is slow, error-prone, and frustrating. Daily Collections gives you all the numbers in one place so you can reconcile in minutes, not hours.
What you can do here:
- See every payment collected for any date or date range
- View totals broken down by payment method (cash, card, bank transfer, etc.)
- View totals broken down by payment type (deposit, work-in-progress, final payment)
- Export to Excel or CSV for your records or accountant
- Step back and forward one day at a time
- Filter the payments by method and search them
How to Access Daily Collections
- Log in to your autoGMS dashboard.
- From the sidebar, click Finance.
- Select Collections.
You will land on the Daily Collections page, which defaults to showing today's payments.
Good to know: Daily Collections is available to garage owners, garage admins, managers, and staff members with finance permissions. Technicians cannot access this page.
Understanding the Page Layout
The page has a header and two panels.
Date and Day Arrows (Top)
The date picker at the top sets the period. Pick one day or a range of days. When one day is selected, the previous day and next day arrows beside the picker move one day at a time. The next day arrow stops at your garage's today.
The Refresh button reloads the figures, and Export downloads them.
Collected (First Panel)
The panel header shows three figures for the period:
| Figure | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Total collected | The combined total of all payments in the period, after any refunds |
| Payments | How many payments were recorded, and on how many invoices (for example, "19 on 14 invoices") |
| Average payment | The average amount per payment |
Under the figures, two breakdowns sit side by side:
- By method -- Cash, Card, Bank transfer, Payment link and any other method, each with a coloured bar, the number of payments, the amount and its share of the money taken.
- By type -- Deposit, Work in progress and Final payment, in the same format.
Refunds show in brackets and are left out of the bar and the shares. If there were no collections in the period, each breakdown says so.
Payments (Second Panel)
A table lists every payment. Above it:
- Method buttons show only one method's payments, with a count on each. All shows every payment.
- Search finds payments by customer name, phone, plate, vehicle, invoice number, booking number or service.
The line under the table shows how many payments are listed and their total. The method buttons and search only change the table. The figures and breakdowns at the top always cover the whole period.
Click a row, or its View button, to open the collection details: the vehicle, the service and sub-services, the customer's mobile number and the booking.
Reading the Payments Table
What Each Column Shows
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| View | Opens the collection details |
| Time | When the payment was recorded. For a date range, the column shows the date with the time below |
| Customer | The customer's name, with their mobile number below (or email if there is no number) |
| Vehicle | The make and model, with the plate below |
| Invoice | The invoice number, with the booking number below. The booking number opens the booking |
| Service | The main service on the booking |
| Method | How the customer paid, with the method's colour |
| Type | Deposit, Work in progress, Final payment or Refund |
| Amount | The payment amount in your garage's currency |
Sorting the Table
Click any column header to sort by that column. Click again to reverse the order.
On a Phone
On a phone, each payment is one line: the time, the customer, the method, invoice and plate, then the amount and type. Tap a line to open its details.
Pagination
If there are many payments, the table is paginated. Use the controls at the bottom to move between pages.
Exporting Collections Data
You can export the period's collections for record-keeping or to share with your accountant.
How to Export
- Make sure you have selected the correct date or date range.
- Click the Export Excel button to download an Excel (.xlsx) file.
- For CSV format, click the small dropdown arrow next to the Export button and select Export CSV.
The export includes all payments for the selected period, including invoice, booking, vehicle, service, customer contact, payment method, payment type, reference, and amount details.
Step-by-Step: End-of-Day Reconciliation
Step 1: Select Today's Date
Open Daily Collections. It opens on today. If you moved to another day, pick Today in the date picker.
Step 2: Review the Figures
Look at the figures at the top of the Collected panel for a quick health check:
- Total Collected tells you the day's total intake
- Payments shows how many transactions occurred
- Average Payment helps you spot anomalies (an unusually high or low average might mean a recording error)
Step 3: Review the By Method Breakdown
The By method breakdown shows totals per method:
- Cash total -- Should match the cash in your physical drawer (minus your opening float)
- Card total -- Should match the total shown on your card terminal's end-of-day report
- Bank Transfer total -- Cross-check against bank transfer confirmations
- Payment link total -- Payments made through a payment link
Step 4: Investigate Any Discrepancies
If the numbers do not match:
- Click the problem method's button above the table to list only its payments.
- Check for missing payments -- did a transaction get recorded under the wrong method?
- Check for duplicate entries -- was a payment recorded twice?
- Check for refunds -- refunds reduce the total and may explain a shortfall.
Step 5: Export and Close
Once everything matches, click Export Excel to save the day's report for your records. Count your physical cash, set aside the opening float for tomorrow, and secure or deposit the remainder.
Viewing Historical Collections
Daily Collections is not just for today. You can view any past day's collections or a range of days.
How to Select a Past Date
- Click on the date picker at the top of the page.
- A calendar opens. Click on the date you want to view, or select a range.
- The page refreshes to show that period's payments.
With one day selected, use the previous day and next day arrows beside the date picker to move one day at a time.
Viewing a Date Range
Select a start date and end date in the date picker to view collections across multiple days. The figures, breakdowns, and table cover the entire range.
Understanding Payment Methods
Cash
Physical cash handed over by the customer. Your system records the amount, but you must physically handle and secure the cash.
Reconciliation tip: Count your drawer at close of business and compare against the Cash total. Remember to subtract your opening float.
Card
Credit card, debit card, or contactless payment processed through your card terminal.
Reconciliation tip: Run an end-of-day (settlement) report on your card terminal and compare it to the Card total in Daily Collections.
Bank Transfer
A payment made by the customer directly to your bank account. This might be used for larger invoices or business accounts.
Reconciliation tip: Check your bank statement or online banking portal for incoming transfers.
Online
Payment made through Stripe or another online payment processor, typically via a payment link on an invoice.
Understanding Payment Types
The By type breakdown shows what stage of the billing cycle each payment relates to:
| Type | What it means |
|---|---|
| Deposit | An advance payment collected before work begins |
| WIP Payment | A work-in-progress payment collected during an ongoing job |
| Final Payment | The final payment collected when a job is complete |
This breakdown is useful for understanding your cash flow -- it tells you how much money is coming in as deposits (future work), how much is mid-job, and how much is closing out completed work.
Tips and Best Practices
-
Reconcile daily. Do not let days pile up. Reconciling every day keeps problems small and easy to fix.
-
Reconcile at a consistent time. Pick a time (for example, 30 minutes before closing) and do it at the same time every day.
-
Use the By method breakdown and buttons. Match each method against its physical source (cash drawer, card terminal, bank statement) for a clean reconciliation.
-
Investigate discrepancies immediately. It is much easier to remember what happened earlier today than to figure it out a week later.
-
Export for your records. Keep Excel exports as backup documentation. They are easy to store and share with your accountant.
-
Use date ranges for month-end. Select the full month in the date picker to see aggregated collections across all days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I edit or delete a payment from this page?
No. Daily Collections is a read-only view for reconciliation purposes. To modify or void a payment, go to the original invoice and make the change there. The update will be reflected in Daily Collections.
Why is a payment showing on a different date than the invoice?
Payments are listed on the date they were recorded, not the date the invoice was created. If an invoice was created on Monday but paid on Wednesday, the payment appears in Wednesday's collections.
What if a customer pays part of an invoice?
Partial payments are recorded as individual transactions. You might see the same invoice number appear multiple times if the customer made more than one payment.
Can I see payments from all my garages in one view?
No. Daily Collections shows payments for one garage at a time. If you manage multiple garages, switch to each garage individually to view its collections.
How far back can I view historical data?
You can view collections data for any date since your garage started using autoGMS. There is no cutoff.
What happens if a payment is refunded after I reconcile?
The refund will appear as a separate transaction on the day it is processed. It will show as a negative amount and will reduce the totals for that day.
Who can access Daily Collections?
Garage owners, garage admins, managers, and any staff member with finance permissions can access Daily Collections. Technicians cannot access this page.
Does this page show online payments?
Yes. Payments made through Stripe or other online payment processors appear here with the Online payment method.
Quick Reference
| I want to... | Go here | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| View today's collections | Sidebar → Collections | Opens on today |
| View the day before | Previous day arrow | Next to the date picker |
| View a specific date | Date picker at top | Select date from calendar |
| View a date range | Date picker at top | Select start and end dates |
| See total collected | Collected panel → Total collected | Shows combined total |
| See payment count | Collected panel → Payments | Payments and invoices |
| See method breakdown | By method | Cash, Card, Bank transfer, Payment link totals |
| See type breakdown | By type | Deposit, Work in progress, Final payment totals |
| List one method's payments | Method buttons above the table | Click the method |
| Find a payment | Search above the table | Customer, phone, plate or invoice |
| Export to Excel | Export Excel button | Downloads .xlsx file |
| Export to CSV | Export dropdown → Export CSV | Downloads .csv file |
| Refresh data | Refresh button (top) | Reloads current period's data |