> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dualentry.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Accounts Receivable

> Manage the revenue side of your business in DualEntry - invoicing, automated dunning, customer payments, and sales order management.

The accounts receivable module in DualEntry manages the revenue side of your business - from issuing invoices through collecting payment and reconciling deposits. Every AR transaction posts to the [general ledger](../general-ledger/index) in real time, keeping your receivable balances and revenue recognition current.

## Invoicing and collections

[Invoicing and dunning](./invoicing-and-dunning) covers the full invoice lifecycle. You create invoices manually, generate them from sales orders, or schedule them as recurring charges. Once sent, DualEntry tracks delivery, views, and payment status. Automated dunning sequences escalate reminders on overdue invoices so you spend less time chasing payments.

Credit memos and adjustments are handled within the invoicing workflow. When you issue a customer credit, it becomes available to apply against future invoices or to refund directly.

Invoices support [approval workflows](../../platform-configuration/approval-workflows), so you can require review before sending - useful for high-value invoices, non-standard terms, or invoices that include manual adjustments. The approval routing is configurable by amount threshold, customer, or revenue account. See [invoicing and dunning](./invoicing-and-dunning) for the complete workflow.

## Customer payments

The [customer payments](./customer-payments) workflow records money received against outstanding invoices. You can apply a single payment to one or many invoices, process a batch deposit from a remittance advice, or record prepayments and deposits that get applied later. Partial payments, overpayments, and refunds all have dedicated handling.

Payments post to your bank account and clear the receivable on the invoice. They surface automatically in [bank reconciliation](../close-management/bank-reconciliation) for matching against cleared deposits.

For businesses with high payment volume, the [bank match AI](../close-management/bank-match-ai) feature uses machine learning to match incoming bank transactions to open invoices based on amount, reference number, and customer. This reduces manual reconciliation effort and accelerates the cash application cycle. See [customer payments](./customer-payments) for details on every payment scenario.

## Order management

[Order management](./order-management) adds a pre-invoicing layer for businesses that take sales orders before billing. Sales orders go through their own approval workflow, track fulfillment status, and convert directly to invoices when you are ready to bill. Backorder handling and partial shipments are built in.

The sales order layer gives you visibility into future revenue before invoices are issued. Open sales orders represent committed customer purchases that have not yet been billed, feeding into your revenue forecasts and fulfillment planning. You can filter orders by status - draft, approved, partially fulfilled, invoiced - to track the pipeline from commitment through collection.

If your business bills at the point of sale without a receivable, use [cash sales](./customer-payments#cash-sales) instead of the order-to-invoice workflow. See [order management](./order-management) for the full reference.

## Customer statuses: active, inactive, and archived

Customer records carry a status that controls whether you can post new transactions against them and where they appear in the product. Active is the normal state. Both **inactive** and **archived** block new transaction creation, so neither can be used on a new invoice, payment, or other AR record. The difference is mainly about visibility and intent.

* **Active** - the default state. The customer is fully usable for new transactions and appears in all selection lists.
* **Inactive** - a soft, reversible state for customers you are not currently transacting with. New transaction creation is disabled, but inactive customers remain selectable in some reporting and document contexts, such as generating a [customer statement](./customer-statements). Reactivate the customer to resume normal use.
* **Archived** - a stronger retirement state. New transaction creation is disabled, and archived customers move to a separate Archived tab in list views so they no longer clutter day-to-day selection. Historical transactions and reporting are preserved.

Use inactive when you expect the relationship to resume or you want the customer to stay readily available for statements and lookups. Use archive when the customer should be retired from active views while keeping the full history on the books. Existing posted transactions and the [audit trail](../../platform-configuration/audit-trail-and-compliance) are unaffected by either status change.

## Related resources

* [General ledger](../general-ledger/index) - where AR postings land
* [Cash management](../cash-management/index) - reconciling customer deposits
* [Approval workflows](../../platform-configuration/approval-workflows) - configuring invoice and sales order approvals
* [Accounts payable](../accounts-payable/index) - the other side of the ledger