Practical guide
How to match supplier payments to invoices in the software
Every supplier invoice creates a payable for the condominium, and every payment settles that payable in full or in part. Correctly matching payments and invoices in the software means knowing at any moment which documents have been settled, which are still open, and which are covered only by an advance. Without this link, payments remain disconnected bank movements and the payable to suppliers is never clear, with the risk of paying the same invoice twice or leaving another uncovered. This guide explains how to handle the matching of payments and invoices, how to treat advances and balances, how to read open items and how to keep payables control aligned with the bank statement.
The invoice-to-payment cycle
The cycle starts with recording the supplier's invoice, which creates a payable of the condominium toward that supplier for the amount due. The payable stays open until it is paid. The payment, when it happens, must be linked to the specific invoice it settles, not recorded as a generic outgoing from the account.
This link is what turns a series of transfers into a readable picture of supplier relationships. A payment matched to its invoice closes the item and removes it from the list of open payables; an unmatched payment leaves the invoice apparently unpaid and creates a duplicate with the bank movement, distorting both the payable and the reconciliation.
Open items: knowing what still has to be paid
Open items are the invoices recorded but not yet settled. Keeping them under control is essential for cash management: they say how much the condominium still owes to suppliers and by when. An up-to-date list of open items lets you plan payments against available liquidity and instalments still to be collected from owners.
Correct matching keeps this list truthful. When every payment closes its invoice, the open items show exactly the residual payables. If payments are not matched, the list stays inflated with invoices that are actually already paid and becomes useless for deciding what to pay and when.
Advances, balances and partial payments
Not every payment settles the whole invoice in one go. A supplier may request an advance on order confirmation and the balance on completion, or issue an invoice paid in several tranches. Matching must handle partial payments: each tranche reduces the invoice's residual payable, which stays open for the part not yet settled.
For works paid by stages of completion, each stage generates an invoice or a payment request, and the related transfer must be matched to that specific tranche. That way the software shows, for each supplier, how much has been paid as an advance, how much remains as a balance and whether the payments are consistent with the progress of the works and with the earmarked money of the works fund.
Withholding tax and the amount actually paid
For suppliers subject to withholding tax, the transfer amount does not equal the invoice total: the supplier receives the net, while the withholding remains the condominium's responsibility as a withholding agent and is paid separately via the F24 form. Matching must account for this difference, otherwise the invoice would appear only partly paid.
Correct recording splits the payable into its components: net paid to the supplier and withholding to be paid to the tax authority. The net payment closes the part owed to the supplier, the withholding payment closes the tax part. Confusing the two amounts leads to incorrect open items and inconsistencies in the year-end certifications and the 770 return.
Payables control and bank reconciliation
Payment-to-invoice matching intertwines with bank reconciliation: every payment matched to an invoice must correspond to a real debit on the bank statement. Comparing closed items with bank movements catches errors, such as a payment recorded but not yet executed or a double transfer for the same invoice.
At year end the picture of open and closed items feeds the statement: invoices not yet paid represent payables to suppliers to be shown in the balance sheet, following the logic of the statement required by Article 1130 bis of the Italian Civil Code. Accurate matching during the year makes this disclosure immediate and reliable.
Handling matching with software
A management platform that links payments and invoices shows the open items per supplier at any time, handles advances and balances with partial payments and flags when a payment does not find its matching invoice. Searching by supplier lets you see the full history of the relationship, with how much was invoiced and how much paid.
AmministraPro lets you record supplier invoices, match each payment to the document it settles, handle advances, balances and withholding, and monitor open items in real time. To see how matching integrates with the cash journal, reconciliation and the statement, you can review the features on the /funzioni page and the plans on the /prezzi page.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I record a payment without linking it to the invoice?
The payment stays a disconnected bank movement and the invoice keeps showing as unpaid among the open items, even though it has been settled. This creates a duplicate between the still-open payable and the bank outgoing, which distorts both payables control and the accounting reconciliation. Every payment must always be matched to the specific invoice it settles, in full or in part.
How do I handle an advance paid before the balance?
The advance is a partial payment that reduces the residual payable of the invoice or order, which stays open for the part not yet settled. In the software you match the advance to the supplier's document and the item remains open until the final balance. That way, for each supplier, it is always visible how much has been paid as an advance and how much remains to be paid on completion of the supply or works.
Why doesn't the transfer amount to a supplier with withholding equal the invoice?
Because a supplier subject to withholding tax is paid the net, while the withholding remains the condominium's responsibility as a withholding agent and must be paid separately to the tax authority via the F24 form. Matching must split the payable into net paid to the supplier and withholding to be paid, otherwise the invoice would appear only partly paid and the year-end certifications would be inconsistent.
What are a supplier's open items?
They are the invoices recorded but not yet settled, in full or in part. They represent the condominium's residual payable to that supplier and, together with the due dates, say how much and when will have to be paid. An up-to-date list of open items, kept truthful by correct payment matching, lets you plan outgoings against available liquidity and instalments still to be collected.
How do I link payments to stages of works completion?
Each stage of completion generates an invoice or a payment request, and the related transfer must be matched to that specific tranche. In this way the software shows, for the works supplier, how much has been paid for each stage and how much remains as a balance, and lets you verify that payments are consistent with the actual progress and with the earmarked money of the special works fund.
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