Recording money received is a two-step, maker-checker flow: one person records the payment, a different person approves it, and only then does any balance move. Panzo also splits a payment across milestones automatically and holds any surplus as an advance on account.
Maker-checker in two steps
Recording only captures the payment as pending. It does not move any milestone balance. A different user, holding the Finance Approve Collections permission, must approve it before the paid amount moves. So one person can no longer invoice, record and self-approve a collection.
- Recording needs Finance edit access and writes the proposed receipts as pending.
- Approving needs the Approve Collections permission and a person who did not record the payment.
- Separation of duties is enforced in the database, so the approver can never be someone who recorded any part of the payment.
- Rejecting or withdrawing a pending payment simply deletes it, because a pending receipt never moved money. Either the approver or the recorder can do this.
Waterfall allocation and advances
A payment can exceed the milestone you record it against, so Panzo waterfalls it. It fills the target milestone first, cascades any excess into later already-invoiced milestones in order, and holds any final remainder as a project advance on account. Every slice, and the advance, is written as its own receipt so the money is fully itemised.
| Where the money goes | In what order |
|---|---|
| Target milestone | Filled first, up to its outstanding balance. |
| Later invoiced milestones | The excess cascades into them, in due order. |
| Advance on account | Any remainder is held as a project advance. |
Recording a payment
Open the project's collections in Finance
Go to Finance, open the project, and use Record Payment on its collection schedule.Enter the amount received
Record the payment against a milestone. Panzo shows the proposed waterfall split so the approver can review it.Get it approved
A different user with Approve Collections reviews and approves. Only then do the milestone balances move and the receipts become approved.
Note
Chasing overdue payments
Key takeaways
- Recording a payment captures it as pending and moves no balance.
- A different user with Approve Collections must approve before any balance moves.
- Separation of duties is enforced in the database, so no one can record and self-approve.
- Payments waterfall across milestones, and any surplus is held as an advance on account.
- Every slice is written as its own receipt for a clean, itemised trail.