Understanding Payment Status
Every transaction has a payment status that indicates whether money has actually changed hands. This status determines whether the transaction affects your financial metrics.
The Two Status Options
Paid
What it means: The money has moved. For income, you received it. For expenses, you paid it.
Effect:
Creates a ledger entry
Appears in Dashboard calculations
Counts in financial reports
Affects your Net Cash Flow
Unpaid
What it means: The transaction is recorded but money hasn't moved yet.
Effect:
No ledger entry created
Does NOT appear in Dashboard
Does NOT affect financial metrics
Serves as a reminder or placeholder
Why Payment Status Matters
The platform uses cash-basis accounting. This means:
Income counts when received, not when invoiced
Expenses count when paid, not when billed
Payment status is how you indicate whether cash has actually moved.
When to Use Each Status
Mark as Paid when:
For Income:
Payment has arrived in your bank account
You've received the funds
The money is actually in your possession
For Expenses:
You've paid the bill
Money has left your account
The expense is settled
Mark as Unpaid when:
For Income:
You've sent an invoice but haven't been paid
Payment is expected but not yet received
You want to track expected income
For Expenses:
You've received a bill but haven't paid it
The expense is upcoming or pending
You want to track what you owe
Common Workflow
Invoice → Payment Workflow
Create transaction as Unpaid
Record the expected income or upcoming expense
Date: Invoice date or due date
Wait for payment
Transaction shows in your list as "Unpaid"
Doesn't affect Dashboard yet
Mark as Paid when money moves
Update status to "Paid"
Update date to actual payment date (optional)
Transaction now affects your metrics
Direct Payment Workflow
If you pay immediately or receive payment instantly:
Create transaction as Paid
Record the transaction
Set date to payment date
Immediately affects your metrics
Changing Payment Status
Unpaid → Paid
When you receive income or pay an expense:
Open the transaction (click in table)
Find the Payment Status field
Change from Unpaid to Paid
Save changes
The transaction will now:
Create a ledger entry
Appear in your Dashboard
Count toward totals
Paid → Unpaid
If you marked something as Paid by mistake:
Open the transaction
Change status back to Unpaid
Save changes
The ledger entry will be removed, and the transaction will no longer affect metrics.
Note: Changing status on old transactions can affect historical metrics for those periods.
Viewing by Payment Status
The Transactions page lets you filter by status:
All: See everything
Paid: Only paid transactions
Unpaid: Only unpaid transactions
Use these filters to:
See what's affecting your current metrics (Paid)
Track outstanding invoices and upcoming bills (Unpaid)
Impact on Dashboard
Only Paid transactions affect your Dashboard:
Your Dashboard shows the reality of cash that has moved, not planned or expected transactions.
Impact on Reports
When generating reports:
Standard reports include only Paid transactions
This gives you accurate income and expense totals
Unpaid items are not exported (they're not real income/expense yet)
Best Practices
Record when you know, mark paid when it happens
Create the transaction when you send an invoice or receive a bill. Mark it paid when the money actually moves.
Review Unpaid regularly
Check your Unpaid transactions periodically:
Follow up on outstanding income
Plan for upcoming expenses
Don't forget about pending items
Keep dates accurate
Use the actual payment date for the Date field when marking as Paid. This ensures proper period tracking.
Don't backdate status changes
If you marked something Paid today, don't change the date to last month unless the payment actually happened then.
Common Questions
1- Should I create Unpaid transactions if I always pay immediately?
Not necessary. If you create transactions at the moment of payment, just mark them Paid immediately.
2- What if I forget to update Unpaid to Paid?
Your metrics will be under-reported. Review Unpaid transactions regularly to catch anything you forgot.
3- Can I filter Dashboard by payment status?
The Dashboard always shows Paid transactions only. That's its purpose—showing real cash movement.
4- What about partially paid transactions?
Record the paid portion as Paid. If there's a remaining balance, you might track it separately or in notes.