Manual Reconciliation of Invoices and Collections

Most of the time, collections are automatically reconciled when you use Register Payment from an invoice. However, manual reconciliation is needed in these scenarios:

• A payment was created independently (not from the invoice)
• An advance collection was received before the invoice was issued
• One check pays for multiple invoices (batch payment)
• A payment was applied to the wrong invoice and needs to be moved

When to Use Manual Reconciliation

Scenario	Action
Standard collection on a new invoice	Use Register Payment (auto-reconciles)
One check covering multiple invoices	Manual reconciliation
Linking an advance collection to a later invoice	Manual reconciliation
Fixing a mis-linked payment	Reset and re-reconcile

How Reconciliation Works

In Odoo, reconciliation means linking journal items that offset each other:

• A posted invoice creates a debit on Accounts Receivable (customer owes money)
• A posted collection creates a credit on Accounts Receivable (money received)
• When reconciled, the invoice's debit and the collection's credit cancel out — the balance becomes zero, and the invoice is marked Paid

Method 1: From the Invoice "Outstanding Credits"

If a customer has an unmatched credit (advance payment) on their account:

1. Open the unpaid invoice
2. Look for the "You have outstanding credits for this customer" banner at the top
3. Click Add next to the outstanding credit
4. Odoo applies the credit to this invoice, marking it Paid or Partially Paid

This is the most common pattern for handling advance payments from customers.

Method 2: From the Customer's Ledger

For more complex reconciliation (e.g., one payment → multiple invoices):

1. Open the customer's record (Customers > Customers > click customer)
2. Click Accounts Receivable balance or open the Customer Statement
3. You'll see all open (unreconciled) items — both invoices (debits) and collections (credits)
4. Select the collection and the matching invoice(s)
5. Click Reconcile (auto-reconciles once selected items balance to zero)

Method 3: OCA Bank Reconciliation

For bank statement reconciliation (matching bank deposits to invoices and collections), ARE18 uses the Account Reconcile OCA module.

Navigate to: Accounting Dashboard > Bank journal > Reconcile

In the reconciliation view:

1. Each bank statement line is shown
2. Odoo suggests matches based on amount, customer, reference
3. Accept suggestions with a click
4. Or manually search and select the invoices/collections to match
5. Click Validate to post the reconciliation

Batch Payments (One Check, Multiple Invoices)

When a customer sends a single check to pay for several invoices:

1. Record the collection as one payment for the total amount
2. Leave it unreconciled initially
3. Open the customer's Accounts Receivable ledger
4. Select the collection and all the invoices it covers
5. Reconcile — Odoo will match them as long as the totals balance

Alternative: Use the Add button from each invoice's "outstanding credits" banner to apply portions of the collection one invoice at a time.

Unreconciling (Undo Reconciliation)

If you reconciled incorrectly:

1. Open the invoice or payment
2. Go to the Journal Items tab
3. Find the reconciled line (usually highlighted)
4. Right-click or click the unlink icon to unreconcile
5. Both documents return to unmatched state

:::warning Before Unreconciling Unreconciling affects the payment state of both the invoice and the collection. Verify what you're undoing before proceeding. It's generally safer to create a reversing entry than to unreconcile posted entries. :::

Verifying Reconciliation

After reconciling:

• The invoice shows Paid (green badge) or Partially Paid
• The collection shows Paid status
• Both are linked — clicking one shows the other
• The Aged Receivables report no longer shows the invoice as outstanding
• The Customer Statement shows both sides balanced

:::tip Reconciliation Tips

• Always check the amounts match before reconciling
• Use the Subsidiary Ledger report to see each customer's unreconciled items
• For partial matches, Odoo supports partial reconciliation — residual amounts stay open
• Use Statement of Account reports as your single source of truth for customer balances :::