# Register a payment

Record money a debtor paid on a collection contract with its proof attached, see how it is spread over the installments, then send or print the receipt and correct a payment.

A payment records money the debtor handed over, with the proof of it, and settles the contract's installments with it. This page uses the demo contract **DCC00001** "Unpaid rent, unit 4B": 12,000 in six monthly installments of 2,000, the first paid by P00001 and the second partly paid by P00002.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- The contract needs its installments: **Register Payment** appears once they are created, as [Create a collection contract](create-a-collection-contract) shows.
- Have the proof ready, such as a transfer slip or a signed cash voucher, as a file. **Receipt** is required: a payment without a file cannot be saved.
- You need at least the **User** access right on **Collection**, on a contract you can open.

## Register the payment {#register}

1. Open **Collection/Collections** and the contract. The **Installments** tab shows what is due, paid and left on each installment.

![The six installments of DCC00001; the first is paid, the second partly paid by P00002.](https://jaah.app/web/image/13818-16a93ae8/collection-register-a-payment-installments_tab-en.png)

2. Open **Actions** and choose **Register Payment**.
3. Fill **Amount** and choose the **Payment Method**: the list offers the methods agreed on the contract, or every method of the company when the contract names none ([Payment methods](payment-methods)).
4. Under **Receipt**, attach the proof. **Payment Date** is now; change it to the day the money arrived.
5. Click **Save**.

![The Register Payment dialog with the amount and the method; the proof of payment goes under Receipt before Save.](https://jaah.app/web/image/13826-9d54eaba/collection-register-a-payment-register_dialog-en.png)

The dialog shows its own **Pay** button and the status **Draft**: leave them. **Save** records the payment, spreads it over the installments and sets its status to **Paid** in one go. On a phone the dialog fills the screen, with the same buttons.

## How the amount is spread {#how-it-is-spread}

The payment settles the unpaid installments in order of due date. Each takes up to what it has left; the last one reached may be settled in part. The **Register Payment** button of a line in the **Installments** tab fills the dialog with that installment, and its method when it has only one, but the money still goes to the oldest first.

- An installment with nothing left becomes **Paid**.
- An installment settled in part becomes **Partial Paid**, like DCC00001/SP2: 1,000 paid of 2,000. The next payment completes it first.
- **Total Paid** and **Remaining** of each line, and **Paid** and **Remaining** of the contract, follow at once.

Register at most the contract's **Remaining**: an amount above it is not attached to any installment.

A payment a signed-in party enters with the **Pay** button on their contract page is recorded the same way and arrives **Paid**; its chatter says it was created from the portal. Check its proof, and use **Reset Draft** if it is wrong.

## Send or print the receipt {#receipt}

Open the payment from the contract's **Payments** button, or from **Collection/Installments/Payments**, grouped by contract.

![Payment P00002, status Paid, with the proof of payment attached and the installment it went to.](https://jaah.app/web/image/13831-cf20432d/collection-register-a-payment-payment_form-en.png)

- **Actions**, then **Send to Debtor** or **Send to Owner**: an e-mail in the reader's language with the template **Collections: Payment Receipt Notify** and the PDF receipt attached. Change the text if needed, then **Send**.
- **Actions**, then **Payment Receipt**: the same PDF, with the amount received, the debtor, the contract, the date and method, the installments it was allocated to, the names of the proof files and a signature line.
- **WhatsApp to Debtor** and **WhatsApp to Owner** send it by WhatsApp: [WhatsApp in collection](/docs/whatsapp/whatsapp-in-collection).

![The receipt e-mail to the debtor, written in their language, with the receipt PDF attached.](https://jaah.app/web/image/13835-a5fd3384/collection-register-a-payment-receipt_email-en.png)

On a phone, the e-mail fills the screen, the attachment at its foot. A payment in **Draft** cannot be sent ("Confirm the payment before sending its receipt."), and its PDF carries a DRAFT stamp.

## Correct a payment {#correct}

**Actions**, then **Reset Draft** takes the amount back off the installments and sets the payment to **Draft**. Change the amount, date or installments, then **Pay** spreads it again. To remove a payment, reset it first, then **Delete** it from **Actions**.

## FAQ {#faq}

### Why can't I save the payment? {#cannot-save}

**Receipt** is empty: the field is outlined in red and the message "Missing required fields" appears. Attach the proof of payment and save again.

### Can the debtor pay with a method not on the contract? {#other-method}

Not on this payment: add the method to the contract's **Payment Methods** first ([Payment methods](payment-methods)).

### Does a payment notify the debtor by itself? {#notify}

Only when an **Installment Status** rule exists for **Partial Paid** or **Paid**: [Collection settings](collection-settings#alert-rules). The receipt itself is always sent by hand.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/collection/register-a-payment
- Updated: 2026-10-28
- Version: Collection 19.0.3.2.5
- Verified: 2026-10-28