Quick Start Guide
Start reconciling payments with clarity and traceability.
This guide picks up after onboarding and gets you from your first real workflow to your first reconciled payment. By the end, you'll understand the core loop: invoice → payment → validation → done.
What You'll Accomplish
- Create your first invoice
- Record or review your first payment
- Validate the payment and understand what changes after validation
- Know where to check invoice status, customer balances, and credits
Before You Begin
Make sure you have:
- Completed the Onboarding Guide
- A SettleWise account with access to the correct organization
- At least one register configured so payments can be validated
QuickBooks and Stripe connections are optional. Focus on getting comfortable with the core workflow first — integrations can be added later.
The Core Workflow
Everything in SettleWise follows this loop:
- Create an invoice → customer receives it via email
- Customer pays → payment arrives (you enter it manually, or it comes in via email/Stripe)
- Validate the payment → assign a register, confirm the allocation, post to QuickBooks
- Invoice updates automatically → status moves from pending → partial → paid
If a payment exceeds the invoice amount, the excess becomes a credit. If something doesn't match, you investigate.
Steps
Review the Three Core Areas
You'll work primarily in three places:
| Area | What it shows | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices | What customers owe and what's paid | Creating bills, checking status |
| Payments | Money received and where it was allocated | Recording payments, validating matches |
| Customers | Balances, credits, and history per customer | Checking what a customer owes or has as credit |
Configure the Basics
Go to Settings → Organization and confirm:
- Business information — name, email, address (appears on invoices and emails)
- Payment methods — the methods your customers use (wire, check, cash, ACH, etc.)
- Registers — add at least one register (bank account) where payments will be deposited. Every payment needs a register before validation.
Optional: Connect QuickBooks and/or Stripe when you're ready for automatic sync and payment links.
Create Your First Invoice
Navigate to Invoices → Create Invoice:
- Select or create a customer (email required for sending)
- Add line items (from product catalog or custom)
- Set the due date
- Click Create and Send
The customer receives an email with the invoice. If Stripe is connected, the email includes a payment link.
You can also create invoices with the AI assistant: 'Create an invoice for Smith for $1,500, due in 30 days'
Reconcile Your First Payment
When a payment arrives:
- Go to Payments → find the payment (or Add Manual Payment to enter it manually)
- Confirm the customer and invoice match
- Assign a register (bank account where the money landed)
- Click Validate
The system allocates the payment to the invoice, generates a receipt, updates the invoice status, and syncs to QuickBooks if connected.
Common Questions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Payment shows "Required Actions" | It needs manual review — the amount might not match, or there are multiple possible invoices. Open the payment and resolve. |
| Invoice says "Partial" | Normal — the customer has paid part of the total. It will become "Paid" when the remaining balance is covered. |
| Where did the overpayment go? | Excess payment becomes a customer credit automatically. Check the customer profile to see their credit balance. |
| Can I undo a validated payment? | Not directly. Contact your administrator for adjustments. |
You're Set When...
- You can find an invoice and read its status (pending, partial, paid)
- You can add a payment and validate it with a register assigned
- You know where to check a customer's balance and credits