Why this matters
Maya (made up) now sends invoices from her accounting software. Last month she recorded a client’s $600 payment as a brand-new sale, and her accountant found that April’s revenue was $600 too high.
The fix is simple once you see it: record the payment against the invoice, not as new income. In this module you create a $420 invoice in Wave, approve it, mark it as sent without emailing anyone, record the payment against it, and check Aged Receivables, all on real Wave screens.
What you’ll build
A $420 invoice that went from Draft to Sent to paid in full, with the payment recorded against it so the income is counted once, and an Aged Receivables report showing $0.00 unpaid.
What you need
- Nothing to start the practiceThe practice is built from real Wave screens and does not touch any account.
- A free Wave account with a practice business, to do it for realName test customers clearly, for example “Practice – Lopez Dental”, so they never mix with real ones.
Concepts
3 ideas you’ll use in the practice.
Draft, approved, sent
Save and continue keeps the invoice as a Draft: nothing is sent and nothing is owed yet. Approve draft makes it final, so it counts as an accounts receivable.
Send invoice emails it. Mark as sent only records that it went out, for an invoice you delivered another way (or while practising).
Record the payment on the invoice
When the customer pays, open the invoice and click Record a payment: date, amount, method and the account the money went into.
The amount due drops to $0.00 and no new income is added: the receivable turned into cash. Adding the same money again as a deposit in Transactions would count the income twice.
Aged Receivables is your follow-up list
Reports › Aged Receivables lists what each customer owes by age: Not Yet Overdue, 30 or Less, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and 91 or More days.
A paid invoice drops off it, which is exactly what a clean follow-up list looks like.
Practice
Do every step yourself in a practice copy of the real tool. It checks your work, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on.
Do it for real
Now repeat it in your own account. Tick each step as you go.
Quick check
3 questions to check you’ve got it.
1. What does Approve draft do in Wave?
- It emails the invoice
- It makes the invoice final so it counts as owed
- It records the payment
Show the answer
It makes the invoice final so it counts as owed. A draft is not counted yet. Approving it turns it into a real, unsent invoice; sending is a separate step.
2. You handed a customer a printed invoice. How do you record that it went out without emailing it?
- Mark as sent
- Send invoice
- Leave it as a draft
Show the answer
Mark as sent. Mark as sent updates the status without sending an email.
3. A customer pays a $420 invoice. Why record the payment on the invoice instead of adding a $420 deposit?
- Deposits are a Pro feature
- It makes no difference
- So the income is counted once and the invoice shows as paid
Show the answer
So the income is counted once and the invoice shows as paid. Recording it against the invoice clears the receivable; a separate deposit would count the income a second time.
Wave: Enter a Bill, Pay It and Reconcile
Money coming in is handled. Next: the other side, a supplier bill entered, paid from the books, and the bank account reconciled at month end.
Start module 3 →