Keep one invoice record and divide its expected cash into supported installment assumptions. The sum of unpaid installments must never exceed the invoice's current remaining balance, and each installment needs its own amount, due date, evidence source, status, and review trigger.

Stripe's payment-plan documentation describes invoice plans with multiple amounts and due dates whose total equals the final invoice amount. Its partial-payment documentation distinguishes the invoice's remaining amount from individual payments and treats an invoice as paid only when the remaining balance reaches zero.

Build a parent-and-installment view

Use the invoice as the parent record:

  • invoice number, customer, original amount, and current remaining balance;
  • plan source, approval date, and current status;
  • installment amount, date, status, and evidence;
  • payments already observed and their application;
  • owner and next review date.

The parent preserves reconciliation to the AR export. The installment rows express timing. Do not create several synthetic invoices in the forecast unless the accounting source actually contains separate invoices.

Reconcile before assigning weeks

Start with the dated remaining balance. Subtract only payments already applied and observed in the source. Compare the total of unpaid installments with that balance. If the plan total is higher, cap forecastable cash at the source balance and flag the plan for correction. If it is lower, leave the residual unassigned until another supported assumption exists.

Map installments to forecast weeks using their specific dates. The due-date versus expected-date guide explains why the invoice's contractual due date and a supported cash date can coexist without overwriting each other.

Update the plan after receipts or misses

When an installment is paid, record the observed amount and reduce both the remaining invoice balance and future unpaid plan total. The partial-payment guide provides a residual-balance workflow.

If an installment date passes without cash, mark that installment missed and expire it as timing evidence. Do not automatically shift every later installment or roll the missed amount into the next week. Record a revised plan only when a current source supports the change.

If the customer disputes part of the invoice, keep the dispute amount visible and separate from agreed installment timing. A payment plan does not prove that every invoice line is accepted, nor does it authorize an accounting adjustment.

Decision rule

One invoice remains one reconciled AR balance. Installments are dated timing assumptions beneath it. Require the open balance, plan amounts, dates, observed payments, and change history to agree before summing expected cash. The promise-to-pay guide offers compatible evidence fields. AR Pulse can analyze an authorized QuickBooks export into a ranked action list and four-week collections range; qualified teams can apply here.