When you record a payment for one or more invoices, Rhythm decides how to spread that money across the amount owed. This article explains the order Rhythm follows, what happens to extra money, how to use a customer’s existing credit in a payment, and why Rhythm may refuse a payment that looks correct.
When one payment covers more than one invoice, the same payment can appear on multiple query rows, once for each invoice it settled. That is expected and does not mean you have duplicate data. Because each payment is linked to one order, a payment-line-item query field such as Amount Paid (Order) returns the amount for that linked order only, even when the payment was spread across more than one invoice.
How a Payment Is Spread Across an Invoice's Lines
When you pay a whole invoice instead of choosing specific lines and amounts, Rhythm spreads the payment across the invoice’s lines for you. The order is fixed and cannot be changed: credit lines are settled first, and the remaining lines follow each line’s pay priority. You do not choose this order when you receive a payment for a whole invoice.
A line can never be paid more than it is owed. Rhythm checks the payment amount against the line’s total minus what has already been paid on it, not against its current balance due. This matters when a write-off or credit memo has reduced the line, because those reductions do not count as amount paid. In that situation, a line can sometimes accept a payment that is larger than its visible balance due. If the payment is more than all open lines can absorb, Rhythm refuses the payment with an overage message instead of lowering the amount.
If you and someone else try to pay the same invoice at nearly the same time, only one payment can succeed. Rhythm refuses the other payment in full, even if it looked valid when you entered it, and none of it is saved. If this happens, reload the invoice and try again because the other payment may have already paid it.
After a payment posts, you cannot adjust its amount in Rhythm, even if the deposited amount differs from what you recorded. For example, if a bank deducts a fee from a deposited check, record the difference with a separate adjustment instead of trying to edit the posted payment.
A single invoice, such as one created by a group membership order, can be paid with more than one payment or more than one payment method. Rhythm supports this, but it is usually best to avoid it unless necessary. Splitting a payment this way makes later partial refunds, corrections, mixed payment methods, member-specific charges, and single-person changes harder to manage.
What Happens to an Overpayment
If a payment is more than the invoices actually owe, Rhythm keeps the extra amount as a credit on the payer’s account. The extra money is not lost or automatically refunded. A single payment can include only one overpayment line, and Rhythm refuses a payment that includes more than one. Every overpayment credit created this way is numbered the same way, so the credit number alone does not identify a specific overpayment. Use the credit record or the payment it came from instead.
After any part of an overpayment credit has been used, you can no longer void or reverse the payment that created it. Before you reverse a payment, check whether any of its overpayment credit has already been used elsewhere on the customer’s account.
Payments made through the Portal never create an overpayment credit. A member can only pay what each invoice line actually owes, so there is no extra amount to hold as credit.
If a second payment is entered for an invoice that was already fully paid, such as a duplicate payment, Rhythm handles it the same way. The extra amount becomes an overpayment credit instead of being added to the invoice balance. You can refund that credit like any other overpayment credit. If your own records do not show clearly whether the refund went through, check your payment processor’s records to confirm it.
Spending Existing Credit Inside a Payment
A payment can use credit the customer already has on their account, either with an electronic charge or instead of one. These rules apply:
- The credit and the payment must use the same currency. Rhythm does not convert a credit to cover a payment in another currency, even when an exchange rate exists.
- You cannot use more credit than is currently available. If someone else uses part of the same credit after you load the screen but before you submit the payment, Rhythm refuses your payment, and the message tells you how much credit is still available.
- To apply only part of a credit, select the credit’s checkbox and only the invoice line items whose combined amount matches the credit amount you are using. If you select every line item on the invoice when you only mean to use part of the credit, Rhythm refuses the payment with a message that store credit payments should have a zero total.
Recording a Payment Made Entirely from Credit
When a customer’s invoices are settled entirely with credit already on their account, and no money changes hands, Rhythm records the transaction as a payment with a total of exactly zero and no cash account. This keeps the transaction in the customer’s payment history and reporting, even though nothing was charged.
Why a Payment Can Be Refused Even When the Total Looks Right
In addition to the line and overpayment rules above, Rhythm checks that the payment total matches the sum of everything it is covering, down to the cent. Rhythm also checks that the payment has at least one line and that its line identifiers are not repeated or missing. If a payment fails any of these checks, Rhythm refuses it in full, and nothing is written. If you are troubleshooting a failed payment with a message about being unable to process the transaction, one of these mismatches is likely the cause. This is especially common when a value did not calculate correctly before submission, particularly for payments sent through an integration rather than entered directly in the Console.
A small decimal amount can also trigger this refusal. A payment that overpays an invoice by a tiny decimal amount, or a remaining balance of a few cents left after credit has already been applied, can fail a precise total comparison even when the numbers look correct on screen.
An incorrect or stuck balance due on one invoice does not block payment on your other open invoices. If one invoice has a problem, you can still pay everything else normally while that invoice gets sorted out.
If an invoice still shows as unpaid or has a balance due even though you can see a payment, confirm that the payment is linked to that specific invoice. A payment linked to the wrong invoice looks like a missing payment from the invoice’s side, even though the payment itself was recorded successfully. You may also see the opposite pattern: an invoice marked Paid, with a related payment transaction, that still shows a balance due. Treat this the same way by reviewing the linked payment and its amount, rather than relying on the status label alone.
Tip
If an invoice shows as paid but opening its linked payment record from the batch produces an error, the payment record may have been deleted and later restored. Contact Support if reloading the invoice and the payment does not resolve it.
Related
See the related articles for the day-to-day steps of receiving a payment, voiding or reversing one, how a credit’s available balance is calculated, and what members see when they pay in the Portal.