Steps for invoice balance review
- 01
Find the invoice in the franchise’s invoice list.
- 02
Open it and check the reporting period and invoice lines.
- 03
Review the balance, due date and payment history.
- 04
Take only the action its current status allows.
What the finished work leaves you with
An invoice review note that confirms the invoice, its reporting period, line items, balance, status, payments, and what can be done next.
What to do when the review finds a problem
You cannot tell which invoice is the right one
Find the invoice whose franchise, number, and period match the question.
You have the invoice open
Check each line item against its source before discussing the balance.
The amount and period are confirmed
Use the status and payment history to decide the next follow-up.
The line items or balance do not explain the status
Escalate with a link to the invoice instead of changing it during review.
A common mistake to avoid
Acting on a list total without opening the invoice to check its period and status.
Franchise invoice balance review checklist
Use this checklist before acting on a franchise invoice. It confirms which invoice and reporting period you are looking at, separates the original total from the balance due, checks line items and payments, and ends with a clear next step for payment or follow-up.
Before you start
- Open the invoice list with the invoice number, franchise, reporting period, and status showing.
- Know whether you are reviewing, paying, or following up on this invoice.
- Keep the invoice detail and any related sales report or billing rule ready to compare.
When an invoice balance or line item looks wrong
Trace a wrong balance from the invoice to its line items, reporting period, payments, and status. Do not fix the total from the list; first find which record explains the number.
The balance does not equal the line items.
Check first
- Add the line items, credits, and payments using the invoice’s rounding and signs.
- Check whether a line is hidden by a filter, a collapsed section, or a page that did not finish loading.
- Compare the invoice’s reporting period and billing rule with the line descriptions.
Next action
Note the gap with the invoice number and period, then send it to whoever owns the billing rule or adjustment. Do not overwrite the balance or delete a line to make it add up.
Confirm the result
The invoice explains its balance from the visible lines and payments, or the remaining gap has an owner and a note.
A payment shows in history, but the balance is still open.
Check first
- Check the payment’s status, amount, invoice, and date.
- Look for a pending, reversed, unapplied, or duplicate payment.
- Confirm the invoice status updated after the payment was confirmed.
Next action
Go by the payment’s actual status, and send an unapplied or reversed payment to whoever reconciles payments. Leave the invoice open until it shows the confirmed payment.
Confirm the result
The invoice and payment history agree on the amount paid, the balance, and the status.
The invoice shows the wrong franchise or reporting period.
Check first
- Compare the invoice’s franchise, period, and billing rule with the sales report it came from.
- Check for a similarly named franchise or a duplicate invoice in the list.
- Confirm the line items came from the same sales report.
Next action
Stop follow-up on the wrong invoice, find the right one, and send the correction to the invoice owner. Keep the wrong invoice’s history rather than editing its franchise or period to fit.
Confirm the result
Your note names the right invoice, franchise, period, billing rule, balance, and next step.
The invoice status does not match the latest payment or adjustment.
Check first
- Compare when the status last changed with the time of the latest payment or adjustment.
- Check whether that payment is pending, failed, reversed, or complete.
- Refresh the invoice and confirm the same status appears in its history and in the list.
Next action
Treat the invoice as unresolved until the payment is final, then tell the invoice owner the status is out of date. Returning from checkout or an old list label does not mean it is paid.
Confirm the result
The invoice detail, history, and list show the same latest status, or the open question is written down.
When you need to hand it on
- Include the invoice number, franchise, period, line items, balance, payment history, and status dates.
- Do not share full payment details; give only what is needed to find the payment.
- Ask the invoice owner whether it is a billing rule, payment, or status problem.
Link to the record instead of copying passwords or unrelated personal details into your note.
A situation to work through
A franchise invoice is unpaid, but it is not yet past due. The reviewer checks its currency, balance, due date, and latest payment status before assigning a follow-up.
Keep unpaid and overdue apart, show the currency with each balance, and check the payment status before closing the follow-up.
This is a planning example, not a customer result.
How can teams review an invoice before acting on it?
Open the invoice, check its lines, balance, due date, payments and the reporting period it bills, then take the action its status allows. Corrections are added as credit lines, so the original charge stays on record.
Put the workflow into practice
In Granite, every invoice shows its lines, balance, payments and the period it bills, and is corrected with credits instead of being rewritten.
Set it up in Granite with your own franchises, reporting periods and billing rules.