Record a manual payment

Not every payment comes through an online rail. When a customer pays you in cash, by bank transfer, or through any channel outside PaidFast, record it manually so the invoice is marked paid and your balances stay accurate.

#Recording a payment

Open the invoice and choose to record a payment, then enter:

• Amount — the full balance or a partial amount.
• Date — when the payment was received.
• Method — cash, bank transfer, cheque, etc.
• Reference — optional, such as a bank transaction ID.

PaidFast updates the invoice to Paid or Partially paid, issues a receipt, and logs the payment in your Activity feed — exactly as it would for an online payment.

#Partial payments

Recording an amount smaller than the balance leaves the invoice Partially paid and keeps it open for the remainder. Record further payments as they arrive until the balance clears.

#Let customers tell you they've paid

Customers can pay you directly and then confirm it themselves, from the invoice's pay link or in WhatsApp. You check it and approve it, and PaidFast records the payment and sends the receipt, so you don't have to type it in.

#Set it up

1. Open Settings → Payments and expand Manual / bank transfer.
2. Tick Enable manual / bank transfer payments.
3. In Payment instructions, write how customers should pay you, for example your M-Pesa paybill and account, or your bank details. Use {invoiceNumber} and {amount} and PaidFast fills in each invoice's number and amount.
4. Save.

Pay links then show Pay directly to the business with your instructions, and WhatsApp offers Paybill or bank and I've already paid. Without instructions, pay links show Already paid another way and customers can still confirm a payment. What the customer sees, step by step: Paying by manual payment.

#When a customer says they've paid

• Every confirmation, from a pay link or WhatsApp, is emailed to your Support Email and appears as Payment confirmation from [customer] under the notifications bell, on the invoice, and in Activity, with the amount, method, date, reference and note.
• Check it against your M-Pesa statement or bank account, then:
  • Approve — PaidFast records the payment against the invoice, marks it Paid or Partially paid, and sends the customer a receipt by email and WhatsApp.
  • Reject — give a reason (for example "Unable to verify payment reference."). The customer is told the reason by email, and on WhatsApp if they made the claim there or have no email on file, so they can follow up. Nothing is recorded.
• Approving is what settles the invoice. Until then the invoice still shows its full balance.

#Keeping records clean

• Always record the actual date money was received, not the date you entered it, so statements and reports are accurate.
• Add a reference for bank transfers to make reconciliation easy later.
• For a refund you owe a customer, use a credit note to adjust what's owed.

Manual payments are available on every plan — they're just a way of telling PaidFast that money already changed hands.