Skip to main content
Recording a Zelle payment on the Kim family's overdue invoice: $80.00 outstanding, and the button reading Record $80.00.Recording a Zelle payment on the Kim family's overdue invoice: $80.00 outstanding, and the button reading Record $80.00.
Most families pay outside Harness, by cash, check, or an app like Zelle, and you record it in a few seconds. Payments made through an invoice’s pay link record themselves. Either way, the payment lands on the family’s account and lowers what they owe.

​
Record a payment

Record a payment whenever a family pays you outside Harness.
1

Open Record payment

Choose Record payment from the ⋯ menu of what the family paid for. Usually that’s the invoice, in Finances → Invoices. Use the account’s menu in Finances → Accounts for a lump sum that settles up what they owe, or a charge’s menu in Finances → Transactions to pay just that charge.
2

Enter the amount

The amount starts at what’s owed. Enter less for a partial payment, or more and the form shows how much will be held on the account.
3

Add the details

Set the Date the family paid and the Payment method, like Cash, Check, Zelle, or Venmo. Add a Reference number if you like, such as a Zelle confirmation. It’s saved with the payment and included when you download a transaction report as a CSV.
4

Save

Click Record $X, which shows the amount. The invoice and the account’s balance update right away.
If the invoice has a pay link, recording a payment by hand turns the link off so the family can’t pay twice. Harness asks before it does.

​
Online payments record themselves

When a family pays through an invoice’s pay link, you don’t need to record anything. A card payment is recorded the moment it goes through. A bank payment shows as Processing for a few business days while it clears, then is recorded when it lands (see money on its way). You get an email and an inbox alert for each one. For the ways families can pay, see Online payments.

​
Partial payments and overpayments

A family doesn’t have to pay the exact amount owed. A smaller payment pays part of the invoice, and the rest stays owed. A larger one pays what’s owed and holds the extra on the account, which shows as in credit on Finances → Accounts. The balance counts that money right away, and it comes off the next invoice you send. It’s the family’s own money, not studio credit, so you can also refund it. If a family pays before you’ve sent an invoice, record the payment from the account’s ⋯ menu. The account shows the money as in credit, and the next invoice you send goes out already paid, with an email telling the family no payment is needed.

​
Fix a payment

Payments can’t be edited, so to fix a mistake, void the payment and record it again. On a fully paid invoice, choose Void payment from the invoice’s ⋯ menu. Otherwise, open Finances → Transactions and choose Void transaction on the payment’s row (see Fix a mistake). Either way, the charges it paid are owed again. A payment made online can’t be voided, so give the money back with a refund instead.

​
What your families see

Families don’t get an email or a receipt when you record a payment. In the student portal, each invoice shows an Amount paid line, and a paid invoice is marked paid with its date. Money held on the account shows as an amount “applied to your next invoice”.

​
FAQ

Yes. Record the payment from the account’s ⋯ menu first, then send the invoice, and it goes out already paid. See Partial payments and overpayments.
Payments settle the oldest unpaid charges first. To pay a particular invoice, record the payment from that invoice.
A bank payment on it is still on its way. Wait until it clears or fails, then try again.
The account is closed, and a closed account takes no new payments. Reopen it first.