[Shelley2445]

If the payments received for 2014 match the 2014 1099 doesn't that mean any invoices from 2014 with balances are unpaid?

[jerileycpa]

Your question is unclear. By definition, any invoice with a balance is unpaid. But it could be partially unpaid or fully unpaid. If you received an invoice from a vendor for $1200 but only paid $600 in the calendar year, then the 1099 that you send the vendor would be for $600 not $1200. Does that help or can you restate your question?

[Shelley2445]

Your question is unclear. By definition, any invoice with a balance is unpaid. But it could be partially unpaid or fully unpaid. If you received an invoice from a vendor for $1200 but only paid $600 in the calendar year, then the 1099 that you send the vendor would be for $600 not $1200. Does that help or can you restate your question?

I apologize for my question not being clear... I'll try again...

I own a business and I send out thousands of Invoices to customers every year... at the end of the year I receive 1099's from each customer... now let's say that the 1099 for customer #1 shows they paid me $50,000 in 2014 and my records show that I received $50,000 from customer #1 in 2014 but I still show Invoice for customer #1 from 2014 that haven't been paid... wouldn't that mean that indeed those invoice have not been paid yet because what they say they paid me in 2014 and what I say I received from them in 2014 are the same!

Hope I explained my question better!

[jerileycpa]

Ah, it's you receiving the 1099. The question is then, how much did you bill the customer in 2014? If you billed them for $50K and they paid you $50K and you still show open invoices, then it sounds like you might not have applied some payments to your invoices correctly. Are you using accounting software? If so, which one?

[Shelley2445]

Ah, it's you receiving the 1099. The question is then, how much did you bill the customer in 2014? If you billed them for $50K and they paid you $50K and you still show open invoices, then it sounds like you might not have applied some payments to your invoices correctly. Are you using accounting software? If so, which one?

I use the newest version of Quick Books

The invoices I send out can range anywhere from $45.00 to $100,000+ on just one invoice... I can mail out 10 or more invoices to the same customer in one day so one customer might have had 10 invoices sent to them in a year and another customer might have had 500+ sent to them in one year... when they send me payments they specify what invoice or invoices they are paying... sometimes they only make partial payments on a invoice and there are times they make multiple partial payments on just one invoice... Quick Books makes it very easy to revieve payments and record what invoices are being paid/partially paid... I have a terrible problem collecting money on invoices that I show have not been paid or invoices where payments were made but there is still a remaining balance... so what I'm asking is if a customer says they paid me $50,000 in 2014 and I show I received $50,000 in 2014... doesn't that mean any remaining invoices for that customer for 2014 that show a balance have not yet been paid?

The reason for this coming sense question is because when a year is over and I receive the 1099's I check what they say they paid to what I say I received and if the #'s match for that year I go into that customers account and any remaining unpaid invoice for that year I reprint and send them out and it never flippin fails... they always give me problems about paying them... I have unpaid invoices dating back to 2008 that are unpaid and oh... if I dare send out any invoices that is 2 yrs or older the response I get from them is this invoice is 2 years old I'm not paying it... it's not like I don't repeatedly send them out... ugh!😠

Ah, it's you receiving the 1099. The question is then, how much did you bill the customer in 2014? If you billed them for $50K and they paid you $50K and you still show open invoices, then it sounds like you might not have applied some payments to your invoices correctly. Are you using accounting software? If so, which one?

I use the newest version of Quick Books

The invoices I send out can range anywhere from $45.00 to $100,000+ on just one invoice... I can mail out 10 or more invoices to the same customer in one day so one customer might have had 10 invoices sent to them in a year and another customer might have had 500+ sent to them in one year... when they send me payments they specify what invoice or invoices they are paying... sometimes they only make partial payments on a invoice and there are times they make multiple partial payments on just one invoice... Quick Books makes it very easy to revieve payments and record what invoices are being paid/partially paid... I have a terrible problem collecting money on invoices that I show have not been paid or invoices where payments were made but there is still a remaining balance... so what I'm asking is if a customer says they paid me $50,000 in 2014 and I show I received $50,000 in 2014... doesn't that mean any remaining invoices for that customer for 2014 that show a balance have not yet been paid??

The reason for this coming sense question is because when a year is over and I receive the 1099's I check what they say they paid to what I say I received and if the #'s match for that year I go into that customers account and any remaining unpaid invoice for that year I reprint and send them out and it never flippin fails... they always give me problems about paying them... I have unpaid invoices dating back to 2008 that are unpaid and oh... if I dare send out any invoices that is 2 yrs or older the response I get from them is this invoice is 2 years old I'm not paying it... it's not like I don't repeatedly send them out... ugh!😠

[paraclete]

You cannot just view any year in isolation. Are we to assume your business started in 2014? It maybe in 2013 there was an outstanding invoice at year end of the same value as an invoice in 2014. In business it is usual to apply amounts received to extinguish the oldest debt first unless the payments are very specific about which invoices are being paid. If your debtor part pays invoices or fails to pay invoices it is necessary to promptly find out why and make adjustments where necessary or resolve disputes. You should maintain reconciliations of the accounts so you know at any time exactly what the balance is made up of. If you can't do this yourself employ a bookkeeper, a business the size of you can afford it or cannot afford not to.. As far as old debts are concerned there is such a thing as legal action where your debtor is recalcicant

[Shelley2445]

You cannot just view any year in isolation. Are we to assume your business started in 2014? It maybe in 2013 there was an outstanding invoice at year end of the same value as an invoice in 2014. In business it is usual to apply amounts received to extinguish the oldest debt first unless the payments are very specific about which invoices are being paid. If your debtor part pays invoices or fails to pay invoices it is necessary to promptly find out why and make adjustments where necessary or resolve disputes. You should maintain reconciliations of the accounts so you know at any time exactly what the balance is made up of. If you can't do this yourself employ a bookkeeper, a business the size of you can afford it or cannot afford not to.. As far as old debts are concerned there is such a thing as legal action where your debtor is recalcicant

No the business did not start in 2014... I was using what is called a "Example" and Payments are "Very Specific" as to which invoice is being paid... I "Can" do this myself... I have been for years... I can afford staffing anyone I want... I chose not to... I don't need anyone else in my financial business... I was simply asking a question!

[jerileycpa]

My answer to your question is no, it may not. It's not enough to just know how much they paid you, you also have to know how much you billed them for during the year. That's how you would know if they still owed you money at the end of the year.

If your clients are balking at paying invoices that you are resending to them, then maybe you have a problem in your bookkeeping. My suggestion would be to send an AR aging report to your clients with open invoices on a quarterly basis. If they tell you they paid something, then make sure they provide a check number and date so that you can match it to your records. If you can't, insist on a cancelled check. You should never let anything get more than 6 months past due without having a talk with your client. Find out what the statute of limitations for collections is in your state then decide if you want to pursue old invoices or not.

[Shelley2445]

My answer to your question is no, it may not. It's not enough to just know how much they paid you, you also have to know how much you billed them for during the year. That's how you would know if they still owed you money at the end of the year.

If your clients are balking at paying invoices that you are resending to them, then maybe you have a problem in your bookkeeping. My suggestion would be to send an AR aging report to your clients with open invoices on a quarterly basis. If they tell you they paid something, then make sure they provide a check number and date so that you can match it to your records. If you can't, insist on a cancelled check. You should never let anything get more than 6 months past due without having a talk with your client. Find out what the statute of limitations for collections is in your state then decide if you want to pursue old invoices or not.

I know what the total of all invoices for each client for the year is... almost always it is more than what the 1099 say... so therfore that would mean that there are unpaid invoices or invoices with balances... it's just frustrating because the same company manages all the different clients I do business with... its like a flippin game to them to not pay or only pay portions of invoices... sometimes I wonder if it's alp.worth it!. Thank You so much for your input☺

[paraclete]

I see your problem in your answer to me. You choose not to employ a bookkeeper but like to involve yourself in the detail. Now that is fine until there is so much detail that you can't unravel what needs to be done. The task of a manager is to ensure the important things are done when they should be done and each business owner should be first and foremost a manager. Some business owners just never make the transition to manager when the business grows and they hide in the detail.

A manager should be involved in keeping the cash flowing, but your view of the business seems to be an annual event. You like detail then examine the accounts on a monthly basis

[jerileycpa]

Shelley, sometimes you have to dump a difficult client. Now, if it's a management company that you're dealing with, have you told the clients directly about the trouble that you're having getting paid? Maybe they're unaware. Have you considered raising your prices because of the difficulty and additional time you spend trying to collect? If your clients love your work, they could put some heat on the management company to straighten up. By the way, what is your business?