Deposits & Credits

Everything you need to know about where deposits are created, where payments are recorded, and how to apply paid deposit balances to invoices without creating accounting confusion.

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Overview

This page is now mainly a support and back-office page.

Use it for:

• reviewing the deposit ledger
• checking what balance is still available
• applying a paid deposit to the correct invoice

Do not treat this page as the main place to create deposits.

Current workflow:

• Create deposit invoice: use Invoices → Deposits
• Record deposit payment: use the deposit invoice row in Invoices
• Apply paid deposit to a work invoice: use Deposits & Credits → Apply Deposit or launch the flow from Invoices

Why it matters:

• Lets you collect funds before starting work while keeping job-level traceability
• Avoids guessing which deposit still has money left
• Maintains clean accounting history when corrections are required
• Ensures customer-facing documentation is stored with the customer record

Here is what you can do:

• Review deposit invoices and their remaining balances
• Apply paid deposit balances to target invoices later
• Open the correct Invoices screen when you need to create or collect a deposit
• Keep full auditability across deposit creation, payment, and application

This also matters for Project Mode garages, where deposits may be collected before one or more stage invoices are raised later in the job.

Important current behavior:

• Every deposit must be linked to a booking
• The booking must belong to the current garage
• Deposit invoices are numbered automatically if needed
• Deposit PDFs are stored with the customer record
• If the PDF/document step fails during deposit creation, the deposit is rolled back instead of leaving behind a broken record
• Deposit PDFs now include the customer snapshot and vehicle snapshot when available

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How to Access

This page is usually opened from invoice-side actions or finance follow-up work.

1. Open your garage dashboard.
2. Go to Deposits & Credits when you need deposit support work.
3. Go to Invoices → Deposits when you need to actually create a deposit invoice or record payment.

Tab	What it shows
Deposits	Deposit ledger plus a clear handoff to the Invoices deposits workflow
Apply Deposit	Move paid deposit value onto a target invoice for the same booking

Good to know: Credit notes now live on Invoices. When you click Credit Note (Create/Apply) from an invoice's more menu on the Invoices page, you are taken to the Invoices Credit Notes tab with that invoice preselected.

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Key Features at a Glance

Feature	What It Does
Deposit Invoice Ledger	Shows existing deposit invoices, booking links, status, and remaining available balance
Apply Deposit	Moves paid deposit value onto a target invoice, reducing its outstanding balance
Deposit Invoice Link	Deposit invoice numbers open the deposit invoice in Invoices
Customer Attachment Record	Saves deposit invoice PDF under customer attachments

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Step-by-Step Guide

1. Creating a Deposit

Create deposits from Invoices, not from this page.

There are two normal creation paths:

Option A — From Invoices → Deposits

1. Open Invoices.
2. Switch to the Deposits tab.
3. Select the booking.
4. Enter the deposit amount.
5. Click Create deposit.

Option B — From the approved estimate workspace

1. Open the linked booking workspace for the approved estimate.
2. Confirm the estimate is fully approved.
3. In the deposit panel above the estimate list, click Create deposit.
4. Review the suggested amount:
   • if the estimate has an upfront payment rule, that amount is prefilled
   • you can override it before creating the deposit
5. Click Create deposit.

The deposit always uses the garage's configured currency automatically.

What is created:

• A deposit invoice linked to the selected booking and its customer.
• Invoice number generated automatically if missing.
• A customer attachment record with the deposit invoice PDF.
• A PDF snapshot that includes the customer and vehicle details when available.
• The new invoice opens in Invoices → Deposits for follow-up management.

Good to know: Deposit creation is intentionally strict. If document attachment fails, the deposit is rolled back so you do not end up with incomplete records.

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2. Recording Deposit Payment

Deposit payment is recorded in Invoices, not on this page.

1. Open Invoices.
2. Open the Deposits tab.
3. Find the deposit invoice row.
4. Click Mark Paid.
5. Enter the payment amount.
6. Choose the payment method.
7. Confirm.

Status progression:

• open -> partially_paid -> paid

After payment is recorded, the ledger here updates to show the new paid amount and available balance.

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3. Applying Deposit to an Invoice

This page is primarily for this step.

For the standard estimate-backed billing flow, deposit use is often automatic:

1. Create the final work invoice from the booking after the job is complete.
2. If the booking has a paid deposit balance, autoGMS applies that balance automatically when the final invoice is created.

The Apply Deposit tab on this page remains available as a support or fallback tool for older/manual deposit workflows.

Financial effects:

• Target invoice's paid amount increases.
• Target invoice's outstanding balance decreases.
• Deposit's available balance decreases.
• Allocation/payment records are appended for traceability.

What you will see after applying:

• Updated paid/due values on the target invoice.
• Deposit utilization reflected in the deposit table.

Good to know: When you launch this flow from the invoice row's Apply Deposit action on the Invoices page, the target invoice is already preselected.

Good to know: The target invoice can be a normal booking invoice or, in project workflows, a stage invoice. This lets you collect money early and apply it as the work is invoiced phase by phase.

Good to know: Deposit invoices stay in Invoices -> Deposits. The normal Invoices list is reserved for work invoices so advisors can focus on the actual job invoice they still need to collect.

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4. Viewing Deposit Invoices

The deposits table on this page is a ledger view. It currently shows these columns:

Column	What it shows
Deposit	Deposit invoice number with a link to open it in Invoices
Booking	Booking reference with a link to open the booking when available
Amount	Original deposit invoice amount
Paid	Amount paid so far on the deposit invoice
Available Balance	Paid amount minus any amount already applied
Status	Current status (open, partially_paid, paid)

Use this table to answer three simple questions:

1. Does the deposit invoice exist?
2. Has the customer actually paid it?
3. Is there still any balance left to apply?

What happens on the work invoice after application:

• The work invoice shows Total job value, Less deposit received, and Amount due now in its totals/payment summary
• The remaining due is reduced accordingly
• The deposit does not appear as a normal service line item

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Credit Notes

Credit notes no longer live on this page. Use Invoices and open the Credit Notes tab instead. From an invoice row, click Credit Note (Create/Apply) and the system opens that tab with the source invoice preselected.

If you need to correct a draft or open invoice, use the direct edit or void + reissue workflow on the Invoices page instead.

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Best Practices

• Always tie the deposit to the exact booking.
• Create and collect deposits from Invoices so the team always uses the same path.
• Use this page mainly to review balances and apply them correctly.
• Record payment as soon as funds are received.
• Apply only the amount you need and leave the rest for later if required.
• For paid invoice corrections, use credit notes from the Invoices page instead of editing values directly.
• Keep references and notes clear for reconciliation and audits.

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Frequently Asked Questions

I do not see a Create Deposit form on this page.

That is expected. Deposit creation moved to Invoices → Deposits. This page is now focused on ledger review and deposit application.

Create Deposit fails with a booking validation message.

Expected. A booking is mandatory for deposit creation. Select a booking from the dropdown before creating the deposit.

Deposit not visible in the Apply tab.

Record payment first. Unpaid deposits have no available balance to apply. The target invoice must also belong to the same booking.

Credit note option unavailable on an invoice.

Check the invoice status on the Invoices page. The Credit Note (Create/Apply) action only appears for paid and partially_paid invoices. Draft, open, and void invoices do not support credit notes.

Can I credit the same line item twice?

Not in the same credit note. Each line item can only be selected once per credit note. If you need to credit it again, create a separate credit note.

What happens when I apply a credit note?

The credit note workflow on the Invoices page changes the credit note from Pending to Applied. The source invoice's creditNotesTotal increases, which reduces its effective total. If the effective total drops to match or fall below the amount already paid, the invoice may transition to Fully Paid status.

Can I void a credit note?

Credit notes are no longer managed from this page. Use the Invoices credit-note workflow or contact support if a credit note was created in error.

What payment methods are available for deposit payments?

Payment link, Card, Cash, and Cheque. These are the same methods available on the invoice payment modal.

The deposit amount does not match what I expected.

The deposit form always uses your garage's configured currency automatically.

Why does the PDF still show old information on an old deposit invoice?

Older deposit PDFs may need regeneration if they were created before snapshot improvements were applied. Updating invoice metadata alone does not automatically rewrite an already stored PDF file.

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Quick Reference

I want to...	Go here	Do this
Create a deposit	Invoices → Deposits tab	Select booking, enter amount, Create
Record deposit payment	Invoices → Deposits tab → row action	Click Mark Paid on the deposit invoice
Apply deposit to invoice	Deposits & Credits → Apply Deposit tab	Select target invoice, choose deposit, apply amount
Review deposit ledger	Deposits & Credits → Deposits tab	Check amount, paid amount, available balance, and status
Open a deposit invoice	Deposits & Credits → Deposits tab	Click the invoice number link
Create a credit note	Invoices → ⋮ → Credit Note	Open the Invoices Credit Notes tab
Select line items to credit	Invoices → Credit Notes tab → form	Pick line item, set qty to credit and amount to remove, fill in reason
Choose credit resolution	Invoices → Credit Notes tab → Resolution	Credit balance or Refund
Apply a pending credit note	Invoices → Credit Notes tab → table	Click Apply on the row
Check deposit balance	Deposits & Credits → Deposits tab	View the Available Balance column
See credit note status	Invoices → Credit Notes tab → table	Check Status column (Pending/Applied)