When only part of an invoice is disputed, do not automatically remove the entire invoice from expected cash and do not leave the full amount unchanged. Split the current open balance into a supportable undisputed component and a disputed residual, then give each component its own evidence, owner, and timing treatment without duplicating the invoice.
Preserve one invoice control total
The invoice remains the accounting parent. Build a bridge whose parts always reconcile to the current open balance:
`open invoice balance = undisputed component + disputed component`
If a payment, credit note, or other posted adjustment changes the source balance, update the bridge from that observed event. Stripe documents that a credit note can reduce an open invoice without recording a payment and can adjust specific line-item quantities or amounts. That distinction matters: a proposed dispute is not yet a posted credit, and a posted credit is not cash.
The disputed-invoice guide covers whole-invoice treatment. This page adds the residual control for a line-item dispute.
Use two evidence tracks
| Component | Required evidence | Forecast treatment | | --- | --- | --- | | Undisputed amount | Buyer acknowledgement, approved line items, or a dated partial commitment | Assign a week only when timing evidence supports it. | | Disputed amount | Dispute reason, owner, supporting document, and next review trigger | Keep as an exception with conservative or unassigned timing. |
Avoid assuming that the customer will pay the undisputed amount immediately. The split improves the amount decision, but collection timing still requires separate evidence. Likewise, do not treat the dispute amount as uncollectible unless an authorized accounting source changes the invoice or the business makes a documented decision.
Record the residual workflow
Capture the invoice ID, export timestamp, gross open balance, disputed line or amount, undisputed residual, source of the dispute, internal owner, next action, and review date. If the dispute is resolved by a credit note, revised invoice, or payment, link the event back to the same parent invoice and recalculate the remaining balance once.
The corrected-invoice lineage workflow is useful when resolution creates replacement documents. The partial-payment guide applies when the customer pays part of the invoice before the dispute closes.
Guard against false precision
Do not apply a standard haircut or standard delay to all disputes. The page should not imply a probability of collection, legal outcome, or certainty that the customer will pay. Use scenario labels when evidence is incomplete and keep the recorded open balance visible for reconciliation.
Decision rule
Split a partial dispute for decision-making, keep one invoice control total, and update the residual only from observed source events. AR Pulse can surface that disputed residual as a ranked exception in its example output, while leaving customer contact and accounting changes to the business.