An MAD 1,200 invoice settled in two instalments does not create three sales. It creates one sales document and two cash movements allocated to one balance. The journal works when it separately answers what was sold, what was collected and what is still owed.
Four views not to merge
- Sales journal: sales and documents.
- Receipt register: bank/cash movements.
- Customer ledger: invoices, credits and allocations.
- Ageing: open balances by due date.
- Credit journal: linked corrections.
- Reconciliation: explanations of differences.
- Accounting: approved entries and tax.
1. Give every line one nature
A sales line carries date, continuous number, customer or customer type, base, applicable VAT and total. A payment line carries value date, method, bank/cash reference, amount and allocated invoice. A credit is a linked correction document, not an invented negative receipt or deletion of the original.
| Register | Event | Identifier |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | Invoice/sale | Document number |
| Payments | Receipt/refund | Movement reference |
| Credits | Approved correction | Number plus source invoice |
| Due items | Expected balance | Customer plus document |
Preserve gross records and links. Summaries can then be recalculated; a monthly net cannot explain which invoice was paid.
2. Example: one invoice, two payments
On 3 September, invoice F-410 records MAD 1,000 excluding tax and MAD 200 VAT in this illustration. On 10 September, the customer pays MAD 500; on the 25th, MAD 700. The sales journal has one MAD 1,200 invoice. The receipt register has two lines. The customer balance moves from MAD 1,200 to 700, then zero.
| Date | Event | Sale | Cash | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/09 | F-410 | 1,200 | — | 1,200 |
| 10/09 | Transfer A | — | 500 | 700 |
| 25/09 | Transfer B | — | 700 | 0 |
If Transfer A arrives without a reference, put it into an unallocated queue instead of creating a sale or clearing a random invoice. The cash is real; its allocation remains unproved.
3. Close by exception
Daily or weekly depending on volume, compare issued sales, payment-method totals, bank, physical cash, credits, refunds and open balances. Search exceptions first: duplicate, missing number, unallocated cash, return without credit, wrong customer or date mismatch.
- Freeze the operational period.
- Export sales by number.
- Export payments by reference.
- Count physical cash.
- Match the bank.
- Allocate certain receipts.
- List exceptions with owners.
- Pass complete events to accounting.
Accounting decides recognition, accounts and tax period. The operational journal supplies complete events; it should not pretend to replace that judgement.
Collecting cash is not selling again
Sale, invoice and payment can occur on different dates. Preserve each event and their link instead of adding cash receipts to invoiced revenue.
4. Build ageing from documents
BelloPOS can expose invoice, due date, status and payments. Calculate balance document by document and bucket it as not due, 1–30, 31–60, 61–90 and over 90 days. Keep unallocated credits and customer overpayments visible rather than offsetting another customer.
- Not due: prevention
- 1–30: normal reminder
- 31–60: promise and credit review
- 61–90: escalation
- >90: risk and recovery decision
The ageing total should reconcile to accounting receivables control. Every difference becomes a task, never a silent adjustment.
Mistakes to avoid
- Adding sales and receipts.
- Clearing an unidentified payment.
- Deleting the original after a credit.
- Offsetting two customers.
- Closing on a monthly net.
- Leaving an exception ownerless.
Frequently asked questions
Does the sales journal contain payments?
It may display their status, but keep the payment movement in its own register and link it to the sale.
How is a part-payment handled?
Create a payment line allocated to the invoice and leave the remaining balance open.
What about a transfer without a reference?
Hold it unallocated, identify customer and invoice, then allocate with an approval trail.
Does ageing replace the customer ledger?
No. It is a management view of open balances and must reconcile to accounting.
Is BelloPOS a general ledger?
It supplies useful sales, payment and balance data. Entry and financial-statement approval remain in the accounting process.
What to take away
A clean journal records each sale once, preserves every cash movement and explains every balance through verifiable links.
Sources
The figures and rules quoted above come from these pages, read on the date given in the article.
Reconcile one full week
Rebuild sales, cash collected and balances as three separate totals before looking for the difference.
Read next
Other practical guides on the same subject: