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Managing On account balances

On account sales allow customers to purchase products or services on a credit account they can pay off later. By placing a purchase On account, you'll create an invoice for that sale the customer will need to settle in the future. You can set your own policy around timing and payment methods for On account balances.

You can also process On account sales with the Lightspeed Scanner app. Payment links will be sent to customers if the payment link feature is enabled.

Viewing On account details

You can view and manage On account details on the Sell screen during a sale or by navigating to the Customers page.

To view a customer's On account details via the Customers page:

  1. Navigate to Customers > Customers.
  2. Locate a customer and click to expand the row.
  3. Click the Account tab to view the different balances your customer may have:
    • Account balance: The rolling account balance that recalculates after every transaction.
    • Allow account balance: Notes if an On account limit is enabled and the balance limit, if applicable.
    • Limit available: The remaining credit available after the account balance is subtracted from the balance limit.
    • Total spent: The total value spent to date.
    • Last 12 months: The total value spent in the 12 months prior to the customer's last purchase (not the last 12 months from today).

      Expanded customer row showing the Details tab and options to manage the customer details.

  4. Under History, click the current period (time period of the On account balance from the first of the current month to today's date) or previous period (first to the last day of the previous month) rows to expand and view the:
    • Opening balance: Account balance as of the start of the period.
    • Sales: Any On account sales made during that timeframe, sale ID and link to the Sales history, and the amount of credit used or settled during the transaction.
    • Current balance: Closing balance as of the end of the period.

      Expanded customer details with transactions for the period highlighted.

If you have Lightspeed Payments, you can review payments made to balances on outstanding invoices by navigating to Financial services > locate the payment > click View invoice allocations.

Viewing invoices on the customer's accounts receivable page

The customer's accounts receivable profile page offers a more detailed view of a specific customer's account balances and invoices. From this page, you can:

  • Monitor credit limit usage and outstanding balances
  • View a list of the customer's invoices and the creation date, original amount, and remaining balance of each invoice
  • Click an invoice number to view a specific invoice

The page can be accessed via the Customers page or Sales history.

A customer's accounts receivable profile page with list of invoices.

To access a customer's accounts receivable profile page via the Customers page:

  1. Navigate to Customers > Customers.
  2. Locate a customer and click to expand the row.
  3. On the right, click View accounts receivable.

    Expanded customer row showing the Details tab and options to manage the customer details.

To access a customer's accounts receivable profile page from the Sales history:

  1. Navigate to Sell > Sales history.
  2. Locate an On account sale.
  3. Click View accounts receivable.

    The Sales history page with an expanded sale showing the options to continue the sale, manage receipts, and view the accounts receivable page.

On the customer's accounts receivable profile page, review the customers' On account details, search for an invoice, or click an invoice number to view the invoice.

Exporting On account details

You can view the total balances of all your customers at once by exporting a customer list.

  1. Navigate to Customers > Customers.
  2. Click Export list.
  3. Locate the Balance column. A negative number represents the customer's total balance owing.

Making payments to On account balances

You can apply a payment to a customer's On account balance on the Customers page, during a sale, or continue the sale through the Sales history.

If you use Lightspeed Payments, you can send an online payment link for On account sales.

Applying a payment on the Customers page

You can apply a payment to a customer's On account balance via the Customers page using a saved payment method (Lightspeed Payments) or manually accept cash or process an integrated payment type to pay down balances.

  • Applying a payment on the Customers page with Lightspeed Payments

    This feature is in beta and may not be available in your account. You can view alternative instructions in the next tab.

    1. Navigate to Customers > Customers.
    2. Locate a customer and click to expand the row.
    3. Click Pay balances.

      Expanded customer row showing the Details tab and options to manage the customer details.

    4. Select a location, if applicable, then click Next.

      If a customer has outstanding balances across multiple locations, you can only pay off one location balance at a time. Repeat the steps in this section per location, as needed.

    5. Use the checkboxes to select applicable invoices. Enter the payment amount per invoice line as needed, then click Next.

      Define payment amount window with selected invoices and entered payment amounts.

    6. From the Register dropdown, select a register to attach the payment to.
    7. From the Payment method dropdown, select a saved payment method or click Enter card details manually and enter the card information.

      Select payment method window with active Payment method dropdown.

    8. Click Process payment. When the payment is successfully processed, the Payment received window will appear.
    9. (Optional) Add the customer's email address to send them a receipt.

      Payment received confirmation window with option to add email address.

    10. Click Done.

    To review payments made to balances on outstanding invoices, navigate to Financial services > locate the payment > click View invoice allocations.

  • Applying a payment on the Customers page without Lightspeed Payments

    1. Navigate to Customers > Customers.
    2. Locate a customer and click to expand the row.
    3. Click Pay account balance.

      Expanded customer row showing the Details tab and options to manage the customer details.

    4. In the Amount field, enter the amount to pay off.
    5. Select the Payment type from the dropdown.

      If you're paying off the On account balance with an integrated payment method, the amount will not automatically trigger your payment terminal. You'll need to manually process the payment using the terminal.

    6. Select the register you want to attach the payment to from the Register dropdown.

      Pay account balance pop-up with Amount field and Payment type and Register dropdowns.

    7. Click Pay balance.

    The customer's total balance will be updated and the payment will be applied to the oldest invoices first. You won't be prompted to print a receipt for the transaction but the balance will update when the page is refreshed.

Xero-integrated retailers may notice a delay of a few seconds while the invoices are updated and synced with Xero.

Applying an On account payment during a sale

Applying On account payments to a sale is only available with Retail POS for web.

A customer can make a purchase and make a payment towards an On account balance at the same time. This also allows you to use an integrated payment type without having to manually process and apply the payment later.

To apply an On account payment during a sale:

  1. Navigate to Sell > Sell.
  2. Add products and add the customer to the sale.
  3. Click Pay.
  4. On the Sale screen, in the unpaid account balance banner, click Add a payment.

    Banner on sale screen indicating the customer has an outstanding account balance.

  5. Enter the value the customer wants to pay towards their account balance.

    Add an account balance payment pop-up with amount to pay field.

  6. Click Add Payment. This will add the On account payment amount to the current sale amount.

    Sale screen with the current sale and the On account payment added together to create the total sale.

  7. Process the sale using the customer's desired payment method.

    Sales with added On account payments must be processed with cash or card payment. Store credit, Loyalty, layaway, and On account payments are not accepted for these transactions.

  8. Click Complete sale.

Adjusting On account limits using the Retail Imports Team

  1. Navigate to Customers > Customers.
  2. Use the available fields and filters to find your customer or group of customers.
  3. Click Export list. A CSV file will download.

    Customers page with Export list link highlighted.

    You can only download 1000 customers per CSV file. If needed, the Retail Imports Team can generate a special customer export for you, which may contain some additional data, including customer_id.

  4. In the export file, delete all the columns except for customer_code, first_name, last_name, and on_account_limit.

    You must include the customer_code for all the customers in your file. First and last names are required as a verification reference.

  5. Fill in the on_account_limit column with the values you want to adjust:
    • Write disable to set Not Allow On Account Balance.
    • Write unlimited to set Unlimited On Account Balance.
    • Write the desired amount to set a specific amount. On account limits can only have positive values. Decimals and integers are accepted.
  6. Save your file as an XLSX (preferred) or CSV.
  7. Verify your file before submitting to avoid issues that may cause the data import to fail:
    • Remove special characters, like™,☺,©, etc.
    • Erase cells with N/A so the field is blank.
    • Format scientific numbers (4.001E+11) as regular integers (40010000000).
    • Format all cells, including cells with numbers, as plain text. In Google Sheets, click Format > Number > Plain text.
    • Ensure the only fields are customer_code, first_name, last_name, and amount.
  8. Submit your file to the Retail Imports Team.

What's next?

Creating On account sales

Create an invoice for a sale that the customer can pay later.

Learn more

Setting On account limits

Set default and custom balance limits for your customers.

Learn more

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