Partial payment

A partial payment happens when a customer pays less than the invoice total — by agreement under a payment plan, by mistake, or deliberately because they dispute part of the invoice.

Apply the payment to the specific invoice and keep the remainder open. The balance doesn’t get a new due date unless you agree one; it is as late as the original invoice.

Ask why. An unexplained partial payment is often a short payment over a disputed line or a withheld fee, and settling the reason — with a credit note or an explanation — is how the balance actually gets paid.