When a customer promises to pay only part of an open invoice, forecast the promised amount and the unpaid residual separately. Keep the original invoice as the parent control total, cap all expected components at the current open balance, and do not extend the customer's date to money they did not commit to pay.
Translate the promise precisely
Oracle's receivables documentation treats a promise to pay as a dated commitment with an amount and status. Those fields are essential when the commitment covers less than the invoice. Record the promised amount, promise date, source timestamp, contact channel, and status. Then calculate the residual from the current open balance rather than from the original invoice total.
| Component | Amount rule | Timing rule | | --- | --- | --- | | Promised portion | No more than the documented commitment and current open balance | Use the promised date as evidence, not as proof of available cash. | | Unpromised residual | Current open balance minus the promised portion | Keep unassigned or use separate supportable evidence. | | Later payment | Observed amount applied to the invoice | Reduce the open parent and components once. |
The promise-to-pay tracking guide explains the core evidence fields. The payment-plan framework is a different case because it addresses a documented series of installments rather than one partial commitment.
Prevent residual double counting
Use this control:
`promised portion + unpromised residual = current open balance`
If a recorded partial payment arrives, reduce the parent invoice and identify whether the source system applied it to the promised portion. Stripe's partial-payment documentation supports tracking an amount remaining on an invoice. Do not keep the paid amount in expected cash, and do not create a second invoice record for the residual.
The partial-payment forecast guide covers that event after money is recorded. A promise is evidence about intent; a payment is an observed accounting event.
Give the residual an owner
The remaining balance needs its own next action and review trigger. Record whether it is disputed, awaiting approval, unsupported by the customer, or simply not discussed. Avoid guessing a standard delay for the residual. A later commitment can update the timing assumption, but it should be appended with a new date and source rather than backdated into the original promise.
If the promised date passes without a supporting payment, expire the timing evidence and route the item through the broken-promise workflow. Preserve the open balance even when confidence changes.
Decision rule
Use the promise only for the documented amount, isolate the residual, and refresh both components from recorded payments or new commitments. AR Pulse can express the split as an internal action and forecast assumption; it does not contact the customer or guarantee the promise will be kept.