How to apply an overpayment in QuickBooks Online
When a customer pays more than the invoice, record the full amount in Receive payment and QuickBooks Online shows the extra as an amount to credit. You then apply that credit to another of the customer's invoices through Receive payment, or refund it.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 17 Oct 2026
On this page
Key takeaways
- QuickBooks Online shows any part of a received payment that isn't applied to an invoice as an amount to credit for that customer.
- Intuit gives three ways to deal with an overpayment: apply the credit to an invoice, refund the customer, or enter the extra as a tip.
- Applying the credit to another invoice happens in Receive payment, where you select the customer, the credit and the invoice it goes against.
Before you start
Ask the customer what they'd like done with the extra. Intuit's options are to put the credit towards an invoice, to give a refund, or to record the extra payment as a tip. Intuit mentions the refund for a customer who overpaid by accident.
Make sure the payment itself is in QuickBooks, entered at the full amount the customer sent rather than cut down to the invoice total. In Receive payment, any difference between the amount to apply to invoices and the amount received is what QuickBooks shows as the amount to credit. Recording the payment is covered in the how-to on marking an invoice as paid.
Check the overpayment is real. If the customer paid the right amount and it was simply keyed in wrongly, open the payment from Sales transactions and correct its Amount received instead.
Steps
- Select + New (or + Create).
- Choose Receive payment.
- Select the customer who overpaid.
- Select the credit left by the overpayment, then the invoice you're putting it towards.
- Then select another pending invoice and enter the overpayment amount in Amount received.
- Check the Payment column, which shows how much goes against each invoice and can be adjusted. Anything not applied shows as an amount to credit.
- Select Save and new, or Save and close.
Note
What changes afterwards
Before you deal with it, the original invoice is covered and the extra waits on the customer's account as a credit. Applying it brings down what's owed on the invoice you picked. Refunding it sends the money back instead. Intuit treats either outcome, credited or refunded, as settling the overpayment.
To see where the customer stands, go to Reports, select Standard reports, and run the Customer Balance Summary report. The customer's open balance is in the Total column.
What you save in Receive payment is a payment transaction, so it can be opened from Sales transactions and edited, or voided or deleted through More, like any other payment. QuickBooks alerts you if the payment is linked to other transactions, and a deleted transaction can't be reversed.
General information
Sources
- Handle a customer credit or overpayment, QuickBooks Online help (Australia)
Intuit Australia Pty Ltd. Current at 17 October 2026, released 17 October 2026. Checked 17 October 2026.
QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Licence: Intuit Australia legal terms (facts quoted with attribution, no endorsement implied).
- Record invoice payments, QuickBooks Online help (Australia)
Intuit Australia Pty Ltd. Current at 17 October 2026, released 17 October 2026. Checked 17 October 2026.
QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc. Licence: Intuit Australia legal terms (facts quoted with attribution, no endorsement implied).
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How to issue a refund in QuickBooks
Refund a customer in QuickBooks Online with a refund receipt for returned items, or with an adjustment note and refund expense for a paid invoice.
How to mark an invoice as paid in QuickBooks
Record a customer's full or part payment against an invoice in QuickBooks Online with Receive payment, then check what the customer still owes.
How to allocate a credit note in QuickBooks
Put an adjustment note against a customer's invoice in QuickBooks Online, automatically with Automatically apply credits or by hand in Receive payment.