Glossary · Invoices and billing
Open item
An open item is an invoice, credit or payment on a customer account that hasn’t yet been fully matched or settled.
In open-item accounting, each invoice stays open until the payments and credits matched to it add up to its full amount. The customer’s balance is the sum of the open items, and each one keeps its own date and age.
That is what makes aging reports possible: because every open invoice is tracked separately, you can see that a customer owes €5,000 current and €2,000 that is 60 days overdue, rather than one undifferentiated balance.
The alternative, balance-forward accounting, carries only a running total. It is simpler but hides which invoices are late — exactly what you need to know when chasing.
Example
A customer pays €3,000 against a €5,000 invoice. The invoice stays open with €2,000 outstanding, still aged from its original due date.