Payments

How money moves from your client into your books. One payment method is fully automatic, the others are honest about the single click or file import they need. This page says exactly which is which.

Quick Answer

Tally Assistant collects invoice payments through a one-click PayPal button in every invoice, and automatically detects PayPal payments, flipping the invoice to PAID and creating the linked income transaction. Bank transfers, cash, and checks enter your books through your bank file import or one manual click, and payment screenshots from Venmo, Cash App, Wise, Alipay, and WeChat Pay become transactions via OCR. Overdue invoices get escalating reminders on day 1, 7, and 21, and multi-currency payments convert to your base currency at daily rates.

Best for

  • Freelancers whose clients will click a PayPal button
  • Anyone who wants the invoice status to update without asking the client
  • People paid in several currencies who want one consistent bottom line

Not ideal for

  • Businesses that need credit-card processing built into the invoice (cards are not a direct option, only PayPal)
  • Anyone needing configurable reminder schedules
  • Teams that need payment reconciliation for hundreds of invoices

Only PayPal payments update automatically. Cash, checks, and wire transfers always need one manual status click, and bank-transfer payments only appear after you import the bank file. Cards are not accepted directly, only through PayPal.

How Payment Works

1

Invoice with a payment link

Describe the work in one sentence and the AI builds the invoice with line items, tax, and a PayPal payment button. Send it by email with the PDF attached.

2

Client pays

The client clicks 'Pay with PayPal' and pays in their chosen currency. Or they pay by bank transfer, and the money shows up in your next bank file import.

3

Payment detected, transaction linked

A PayPal payment flips the invoice to PAID and creates the linked income transaction automatically. Every other payment type is recorded by import or one manual click.

4

Late? Reminders escalate

Past the due date, the invoice shows OVERDUE and reminders go out on day 1, day 7, and day 21. The client payment history shows exactly who pays late and who pays on time.

5

Converted into reports

Payments in other currencies keep their original currency and convert to your base currency at the daily rate, so your reports have one consistent bottom line.

6

Audit trail of everything

Every status change, reminder sent, and manual mark is recorded in the append-only audit log, so the payment story of any invoice can be reconstructed later.

Ways Clients Can Pay

PayPal payment button

The default online path. Clients click 'Pay with PayPal' in the PDF or email and pay in seconds. Payments are detected automatically and the invoice flips to PAID on its own.

Bank transfer or wire

You add your bank details to the invoice. The client pays their bank, and the transaction enters your books when you import the bank file. It is matched and categorized like any other incoming transfer.

Manual status update

Cash, checks, and any payment that never touches PayPal: one click marks the invoice PAID and creates the linked income transaction. Honest by design, the record shows which invoices were marked manually.

Payment screenshot capture

Venmo, Cash App, Wise, Alipay, WeChat Pay, or a bank app confirmation. Screenshot it, upload it, and the OCR creates the transaction with the amount, date, and currency it reads from the image.

One thing to know up front: only PayPal payments are detected automatically. Everything else depends on your import or one manual click. We say this on the invoice page too, because a status that lies is worse than a status that asks for one click.

What's Automatic, What's Not

Automatic

  • PayPal payment via the invoice button flips the status to PAID and creates the linked transaction.
  • Payment reminders escalate on day 1, 7, and 21 after the due date, per invoice.
  • Multi-currency amounts convert to your base currency at the daily rate in reports.
  • Every status change lands in the append-only audit log.

One manual step

  • Cash, check, and wire payments are marked PAID with one click.
  • Bank-transfer payments appear after you upload the latest bank file.
  • Screenshots from Venmo, Cash App, Wise, Alipay, or WeChat Pay are uploaded and read by OCR.
  • Reminders can be turned off per invoice, but the day 1 / 7 / 21 schedule is fixed.

Import Guides by Platform

Every guide states the platform's real export options, including the ones that are missing. Venmo has no CSV export, so its guide says so and shows the screenshot path instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do clients pay my invoice?

Every invoice includes a 'Pay with PayPal' button, rendered in the PDF and the email. The client clicks it, pays through PayPal, and the payment is detected automatically. You can also add your bank transfer details or a Stripe payment link to the invoice, and those payments are recorded when the money arrives in your imported bank file.

Which payments are detected automatically?

PayPal payments made through the invoice button. When one lands, the invoice status changes to PAID and a linked income transaction is created automatically. Payments that never touch PayPal, like cash, checks, or wire transfers, need one manual status click. This is a real limit, and the invoice status always tells you which path was used.

Can clients pay in their own currency?

Yes. Invoices can be issued in any supported currency, with the amount, tax, and payment link all in that currency. When the payment arrives, the income transaction keeps its original currency, and reports convert it to your base currency using daily exchange rates.

What happens when an invoice goes overdue?

The status changes from SENT to OVERDUE on the due date, and reminders escalate automatically on day 1, day 7, and day 21 after that. You can turn reminders off per invoice. The schedule is fixed, not configurable per client.

Does Tally Assistant charge fees on payments?

No. Tally Assistant does not add any fee on top of client payments. PayPal applies its own standard merchant fees, which appear in your PayPal export and import as expenses, so they stay visible in your books.

Can I track a deposit and a final payment as one client record?

Yes. Both payments import as income transactions matched to the same client profile, so the deposit, the balance payment, and any refund appear in sequence on one client record, alongside their outstanding invoices.

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