## Documentation Index

Access the complete documentation index at:
https://www.zoho.com/us/books/help/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available documentation pages before proceeding.

# Basic Functions in Retainer Invoice

## Enable Retainer Invoices

To get started with retainer invoices, you’ll have to enable it first. Here’s how you can do it:

*   Go to **Settings** on the top right corner of the page.
*   Selct **General** under _Preferences_.
*   Mark the box **Retainer Invoices**.
*   Select the **Account** under which you want to record the retainer invoices. As this account will be recorded as a liability in general, it is suggested to select the account as **Unearned Revenue**.
*   Click **Save**.

![Enable Retainer Invoice](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/enable-ri.png)

* * *

## Create Retainer Invoice

After you have [enabled](/us/books/help/retainer-invoice/basic-functions.html#enable-ri) the retainer invoices module, you can create a new one. Here’s how:

*   Go to **Sales** > **Retainer invoices**.
*   Click the **+** icon next to the **Retainer Invoices** or the **\+ New** button in the top right corner of the page.

![Create Retainer Invoice](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/create-ri.png)

*   Fill in the following details.

![Create Retainer Invoice](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/create-ri-2.png)

Fields

Description

**Customer Name**

Select the customer you want to create the retainer invoice for.

**Retainer Invoice Number**

The retainer invoice number will be auto-generated. However, you can also enter a unique number by clicking the **Gear** icon.

**Retainer Invoice Date**

Select the date on which the retainer invoice is created.

**Reference**

Enter a reference number for the retainer invoice if you wish.

*   Click **Save**.

* * *

## Record Payment

After you have [created](/us/books/help/retainer-invoice/basic-functions.html#create-ri) a retainer invoice, you can record payment for it when you receive the amount from your customers.

* * *

## Offline Payments

If you have received the advance payment from your customer in person, or you can record it offline. Here’s how:

*   Go to **Sales** > **Retainer Invoices**.
*   Select the retainer invoice for which you wish to record the payment.
*   Click **Record Payment**.

![Record Payment](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/record-payment.png)

*   Fill in the required details.
*   Click **Record Payment**.

![Offline Payment](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/offline.png)

* * *

## Charge Customer

If you wish to collect the advance amount from your customers online, you can charge their card details. You can charge either charge a card associated with the customer, or charge another valid card. To charge your customer:

*   Go to **Sales** > **Retainer Invoices**.
*   Select the invoice generated from the retainer invoice for which you wish to charge your customer.
*   Click the **Record Payment** drop down and select **Charge Customer**.

![Payment](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/payment-dropdown.png)

*   If you wish to use the card that has already been associated with the invoice, choose the **Use the card ending in xxxx to charge this invoice** option and click **Proceed**.
*   If you wish to make payment using a different card that is not associated with the contact or the retainer invoice, then click the **Charge using another card** option, fill in the required card details and click on **Proceed**.

![Charge Customers](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/charge-cust.png)

* * *

## Record Partial Payment

You can also record partial payment for your retainer invoices. Here’s how:

*   Go to _Sales_ on the left sidebar and select **Retainer Invoices**.
*   Select the retainer invoice to record a partial payment.
*   Click the _Record Payment_ dropdown, and select **Record Payment**.
*   On the _Payment_ page, enter the required amount.
*   Fill in the other details and click **Record Payment**.

The payment will be recorded for the retainer invoice, and the status will be changed to **Partially Paid**.

![View Payments](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/partial-payment-ri.png)

**Note:**

*   This feature is available only for the **Global**, **UK** and **US** editions of Zoho Books.
*   If you collect payments through the customer portal, ensure that you check the **Allow customers to make partial payments for this invoice** option when you create the retainer invoice. This allows your customers make partial payments for their retainer invoices.

**Insight:**  You can also filter the retainer invoices based on the partial payments.

* * *

## View Payments Received

You can generate a report showing a quick summary of the retainer payments received from your customers. This report will include details such as the unused amount and the payment method.

*   Go to the **Reports** module in the left sidebar.
*   In the **Payments Received** section, select the **Payments Received** report.
*   Go to **Customize Report** and select the **Transaction Type** as **Retainer Payments**.
*   Click **Run Report**.

![View Payments](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/view-payment.png)

* * *

## Import Retainer Invoices

If you already have a list of retainer invoices, you can import them into Zoho Books in the **CSV**, **TSV** or **XLS** format. To import retainer invoices:

*   Go to **Sales** > **Retainer Invoices**. 
*   Click the **More** icon in the top right corner of the page.
*   Select **Import Retainer Invoices**.

![Import Retainer Invoices](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/import-ri.png)

*   Click the **Choose File** button next to **Upload file**. You can download the sample **CSV** file for your reference by clicking **sample file**.

**Insight:**  The file size cannot be more than 1 MB.

*   Choose the **Character Encoding** and **File Delimiter** for your file.

**Insight:**

*   **Character Encoding** is used to pair numbers with characters. By default, the Unicode Transformation Format (UTF-8) encoding is used which supports a wide range of characters that go beyond 8 bits.
*   The **Field Delimiter** is used to separate two values in a row. While importing vendor credits, the default file delimiter is comma (,).

*   Click **Next**.

![Import Retainer Invoices](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/import-ri-2.png)

*   Ensure that all the fields are mapped correctly in the **Map Fields** page.
*   Mark the box **Save these selections for use during future imports** if you want to use a similar import format next time.
*   Click **Next**.

![Import Retainer Invoices](/books/help/images/retainer-invoice/import-ri-3.png)

*   In the Preview page, click **Import**.

**Insight:** Zoho Books will auto-match the file headers of the imported file to the closest matching field in Zoho Books. You can manually edit each field to match the headers, and save these preferences. On proceeding, Zoho Books shows you any unmapped field you may have left out or could not match. You can map these by adding new fields with matching headers.