What should an agent do if a payment meant for a prepayment is wrongly settled?

What should an agent do if a payment meant for a prepayment is wrongly settled?

⚡Quick answer

Two outcomes are possible—check which one applies:

  1. Client has consumed the services → Both invoices stay valid; the client must pay for all invoices.
  2. Client has NOT consumed the services → Initiate a debit note via the refund process (with client email consent). Refer to the SOP “How to initiate a refund process via ZOHO CRM.

When should I use this guide?

Use this FAQ whenever a payment that was supposed to remain as a prepayment accidentally gets settled, so you can pick the correct corrective path immediately.




Overview

In such cases, the resolution depends on the specific scenario, and each case is evaluated individually. Broadly, there are two possible situations.




Scenario 1 – Services consumed

If services have been utilised against the invoices generated, then both invoices remain valid. Since services once consumed cannot be reversed, the client is liable to make payment for all invoices raised.




Scenario 2 – Services NOT consumed

If no services have been used against the wrongly generated invoice, the agent must initiate a debit note through the refund process, subject to obtaining client consent via email.