What are Client Credits?
Credits reduce what a client owes. In BigTime, they live at the client level (not at the project level).
How Credits are Applied
- When you click Apply Client Credit on an invoice, BigTime adds the credit as a payment type called AccountCredit.
- You’ll see it in the payment history, which can make it look like the client paid more than they really did (because credits show together with cash/check/ACH payments).
Overpayments in the Payment Modal
If a client overpays an invoice in QuickBooks, QuickBooks shows it as available credit. But:
- That overpayment does not flow back into BigTime.
- BigTime does not have a “credit memo” object to receive it.
- You’ll only see overpayments as credits if you enter them directly in BigTime.
After Posting to QuickBooks
- Once an invoice is posted to QuickBooks, credits are handled in QuickBooks only.
- BigTime’s credit tool will not update those invoices anymore.
- Once a credit memo is applied in QuickBooks to an invoice, it will push back to BigTime as a payment to that invoice. The BigTime invoice will reflect the total credit applied from QuickBooks
Client vs. Project Level
- Credits can only be applied at the client level.
- You cannot tie a credit directly to a project.
- If you need to see credits per project, you can use a custom field (for tracking only).
FAQ
Why does my invoice balance look wrong after applying a credit?
This happens because credits show up in payment history as if they were regular payments. If a credit was applied twice, or if payments were edited after syncing, the totals can look higher or even negative.
Why do old invoices show inflated balances?
That usually means credits were applied multiple times or adjusted after payments were already posted. It can also happen if an invoice was synced with QuickBooks and later edited in BigTime.
Quick Tips
- Apply credits only once to avoid duplicates.
- If you sync with QuickBooks, manage credits there.
- If you don’t sync, you can safely use BigTime’s credit tool.