The client paid, but the booking says Past Due. Or you sent a refund and the balance came right back. Every case comes down to one line of math. Once you see it, the fix is usually obvious.
How the balance is calculated
On a booking's Invoice tab, the balance is always:
Total Cost minus Payments = Total Balance Due
A refund counts as a negative payment, so it lowers Payments. To get the balance to $0, one side has to move. Either the client pays more, or the price comes down.
| What happened | Total Cost | Payments | Total Balance Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client pays in full | $1,246.25 | $1,246.25 | $0.00 |
| You refund $623.13 | $1,246.25 | $623.12 | $623.13 |
| Price lowered by $623.13 | $623.12 | $623.12 | $0.00 |
A refund by itself makes it look like the client owes you again. The price has to drop by the same amount for the balance to land at $0.
After a refund
Both refund forms have a box labeled The customer still owes this amount. Leave it unchecked and Check Cherry adds a credit note that lowers the Total Cost by the refund, so the balance stays at $0. This applies to card refunds (Start a Refund) and to refunds you record yourself for Zelle, cash, check, and other manual payments (Record Manual Refund). See refunding a payment for the full steps, for card and manual refunds.
Check the box only when the client will pay again, like after a charge to the wrong card, or when you are refunding an overpayment (covered below).
Clearing a balance left by a refund
If a refund was saved with the box checked, the booking shows the refunded amount as due, often with a Past Due badge. If the client doesn't owe it, lower the price yourself with a credit.
Accepting less than the total
The client paid $1,200 on a $1,246.25 booking and you decided to let the rest go. Or you agreed to a discount after they already paid. Don't record a payment that never happened. Add a Credit or Discount for the remaining balance, using the same steps above. Use the taxable note above to decide whether it lowers your sales tax. The Total Cost drops to what they paid and the balance reaches $0.
Negative balance
A negative Total Balance Due means Payments are higher than the Total Cost. The invoice still shows the Paid badge, so it's easy to miss. Figure out which side is wrong:
- The client really overpaid, for example they paid twice. Refund the difference and check The customer still owes this amount, because the price is already right. If you leave it unchecked, the refund lowers the price too and the balance stays negative.
- The price is too low, for example they paid for extra time you never added to the invoice. Add the add-on, or add a pricing adjustment with a Charge reason such as Service or Other Charge.
- A taxable credit was entered with tax included. A taxable credit lowers the tax too, so entering the full refund drops the total by more than the refund. Taxable lines show a T next to the amount. Click the ellipsis (...) next to the credit, choose Edit, and either enter the amount before tax or set Taxable to No.
A payment came in outside Check Cherry
The client paid by Zelle, Venmo, cash, or check, and the booking still shows a balance. Record the payment instead of lowering the price. Lowering the price makes it look like you earned less, and the payment never shows up in your reports.
To see every booking that still has money owed, use the Outstanding Balance report.