What does clear payment do in the received payment?

Great to see you here @moniwebbm!

The Clear Payment button in the Receive payment transaction will clear the amount automatically entered in the Amount received box after checking the Invoice transactions. This is how it looks like:

I've added an article for your future task about managing your invoices in QuickBooks Online: Create invoices in QuickBooks Online. This contains sub-articles about creating a progress invoice and modifying sales forms.

You're always welcome to comment below if you have other questions. I'd be glad to answer them for you. Have a wonderful heart's day!

If I Clear Payment in a Prior Period, does it create entries? If it does create entries do the entries fall into the prior Closed period, or into the current Open period?

Hello, PBY33. 

Thank you for reaching out to the Community. When you clear the payment, it won't create any entry. It will just clear the amount you've paid. 

Though, creating the journal entry clears out the customer's balances as well. The likely reason why the amount is no longer showing on the Receive Payment section is that it was already zeroed out. 

If you use an external platform to process payments, you can easily keep track of payments as well. Please refer to this article for more detailed steps: Record invoice payments manually.

I'll be on the look out for your reply if you have more questions about the processes in QuickBooks. I'll see you around in the Community space. Stay safe!

I am also having trouble with this feature.  There are numerous transactions that another bookkeeper entered into my client's account.  They are bills that have been paid, and are connected to an online banking transaction, but yet they do not show a zero balance.  If I HIT clear the payment then it makes the bill active again and I do not want that as far as I can tell as the bill has been paid.  Would it add the money back to the bank register if I were to do that?  That's why I'm not touching it until I can get more feedback.  It's also causing certain reports to be off as well, like the aging summary and the Bills to be paid.  It's showing bills due that are not due, with negative balances.  Example photos attached below.  

Hi Mary4booksbybrooks,

Thank you for the screenshot.

Since the applied payment was an online banking transaction, you won't be able to clear the payment within the page you showed. You will get an error saying you need to unmatch it from the Banking page. If you'll do that, payment will be removed from the register and will go back to the For Review tab on Banking.

I would actually not let you touch anything yet. It would be best if you can reach out to our phone or chat team. That way, you can do a screen-sharing session to trace your transactions. Any changes will definitely have an impact on your books, so we need to be careful.

You can find the steps to contact them, their phone number, and schedule in this article: QuickBooks Online Support.

We're right here in the Community hub if you have other concerns. Take care!

Hi, once you cleared the payment. Will the amount be floating again as an open invoice?

Thank you

Hello there, @V3nus. I'll be glad to share what'll happen once you clear a payment while processing a Receive Payment transaction in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

When you select the Clear Payment button while processing the Receive Payment transaction, the amount in the Amount received box will be removed. Once this happens, QuickBooks will automatically notify you that you must set a transaction amount (please see the screenshot below for your reference).

With that, you're unable to save the payment transaction. This means that the invoice will remain open, and the payment you received from your customer will be floating or will not be applied properly.

Once you've recorded the payment amount, you can pull up the Invoices and Received Payments report from the Reports menu's Standard tab. This will help you monitor the payments you've received and the invoices that go with them.

Also, you may want to check out one of our Help pages as your reference in case you need a guide in managing your company's income and customers using QBO: Sales and Customers help for QuickBooks Online.

Please keep me posted if there's anything else you need or questions about managing invoices and payment transactions in QBO. I'll gladly help. Take care, and have a great day, @V3nus.

After reading the responses, I have to ask, why have the clear payment option at all? Not sure why you would need to clear the amounts at that point. Perhaps I am missing something. Would love some clarification.

Let me share some information about the Clear Payment button feature, skygal1.

When receiving a payment, such as an invoice or a bill, the Clear Payment button appears. After checking the transactions, the transaction will clear the amount automatically entered in the Amount received box. It cancels your payment and reactivates the bill or invoice.

Additionally, the Clear Payment button will remove any check marks from the selected invoices and return the form to its original state. When the screen appears, select the customer from whom you received the payment. QuickBooks will then display any outstanding invoices you have for them. Mark the boxes for any invoices to which you want to apply for the payment. Payment will be applied to the full open balance of the invoice by default. You can adjust the payment amount per invoice if it is a partial payment.

I'm adding here some links that you can scan through about the different ways of recording customer's payments in QuickBooks Online and how the program works:

• Learn how to receive and categorize invoice payments in QuickBooks Online
• Getting started with QuickBooks 

Please know the Community has your back. If you have additional questions, click the Reply button and post a comment. I’m here ready to assist further. Take good care!

So should the "Amount Received" field show 0.00 when we are ready to "Save and Close" the payment?

I am using invoices and A/R credit memos to account for Payment Processing Fees, so by default when I receive payment for the invoice, all of the credits are pre-selected and the "Amount Received" field is 0.00. When I Save & Close, it still says that the invoice is Paid. Why does amount received say 0.00? Is it because the amount to be received is coming from Credit Memos and not a new payment source?

Yes, you're correct in your assessment, @CNew.
 

In this scenario, the Amount Received field will show "0.00" even when the invoice is marked as Paid. This is because the payment for the invoice is being offset by the credit memos you've applied. The system takes into account these credit memos and calculates the net payment due, which could be zero or any remaining balance after applying the credits.

Additionally, these resources will provide you with comprehensive guidance on effectively managing credit memos, delayed credits, and accurately recording customer refunds. 

• Create and Apply Credit Memos or Delayed Credits
• Record a Customer Refund

If you have any more questions or seek deeper insights, don't hesitate to continue the conversation. Happy learning!

Wow! What a horrible experience with the Clear Payment button. It is confusing on "if I click this... what will happen" - QBs... you should rethink your design and use of "clear payment". BTW...still lost on what happens next...clicking the stupid button now.