> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://alguna.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Payment Schedules > Collect an issued invoice's outstanding balance as a series of dated instalments, charged to a saved payment method or recorded as received offline A payment schedule splits the outstanding balance of an issued invoice into a series of dated instalments. The invoice stays as issued. The schedule only changes how its balance is collected. Use it when a customer agrees to pay a large invoice in parts, for example in three monthly payments, instead of in one payment by the due date. For how invoices reach customers and get paid in general, see [Invoicing customers](https://alguna.com/docs/invoices/invoicing-customers.md). For how Alguna fits together, see [How Alguna works](https://alguna.com/docs/concepts/how-alguna-works.md). Payment schedules are set up and managed in the dashboard only. The public API has no payment schedule endpoints. > [!NOTE] > > A payment schedule is not the same as a [custom invoice schedule](https://alguna.com/docs/quotes/create-quotes.md#custom-invoice-schedules-for-one-off-charges) on a quote. A custom invoice schedule decides when invoices are created for a one-off charge. A payment schedule takes one invoice that has already been issued and decides how its balance is paid. *** ## When an invoice can be put on a schedule **Set up Payment Schedule** is in an invoice's actions menu when all of these are true: * The invoice is issued or overdue. * The invoice has an outstanding balance. * The invoice is native to Alguna. Invoices managed in an external invoicing system cannot be put on a schedule. * The invoice is not already on a schedule. You need permission to manage invoices and payments. *** ## Set up a payment schedule 1. Go to **Invoices** and open the invoice. 2. In the invoice's actions menu, choose **Set up Payment Schedule**. 3. Fill in the form: | Field | Meaning | | - | - | | **Number of instalments** | How many payments the balance is split into. The minimum is 2. The default is 3 | | **Frequency** | The time between instalments: **Monthly**, **Weekly** or **Daily** | | **Collection** | **Auto-charge a payment method** or **Offline (record manually)**. The auto-charge option appears when the customer has a saved payment method | | **Payment method** | For auto-charge, the customer's saved payment method to charge | 4. Click **Create schedule**. ### How the instalments are calculated * The schedule covers the invoice's outstanding balance when you create it. * The balance is split into equal instalments. Any rounding remainder goes on the first instalment. For example, 1,000.00 over 3 instalments is 333.34, 333.33 and 333.33. * The first instalment is due on the day you create the schedule. Each later instalment is due one interval after the previous one. With **Monthly**, that is the same day of each following month. * All instalments together always add up to the covered balance. *** ## Track a schedule When an invoice is on a schedule, its sidebar shows a **Payment Schedule** section. It shows the schedule's status, how many instalments have been collected, and a progress bar. Click **View schedule** to open the details. They list each instalment with its number, due date, amount and status. | Instalment status | Meaning | | - | - | | **Pending** | Not yet collected | | **Collected** | Paid and applied to the invoice | | **Failed** | The collection attempt did not succeed | A schedule is **Active** while instalments remain. It becomes **Completed** when every instalment is collected. A cancelled schedule shows as **Cancelled**. *** ## Collect instalments How you collect an instalment depends on the collection method chosen at set-up. Instalments are collected while the schedule is active. ### Auto-charge Each pending instalment has a **Charge now** button in the schedule details. It charges the instalment amount to the schedule's payment method through your payment processor. When the charge succeeds, the instalment is marked **Collected** and the payment is applied to the invoice. If the customer's saved payment method is replaced by a new one, live schedules move to the replacement. ### Offline Each pending instalment has a **Record received** button. Use it when the customer paid outside Alguna, for example by bank transfer or cheque. In the **Record instalment payment** dialog: * Set the **Paid Date**. It cannot be in the future. * Select the payment method the customer used. * Click **Record**. The amount is the instalment amount. The instalment is marked **Collected** right away, and the payment is applied to the invoice. ### Effect on the invoice Each collected instalment is a payment against the invoice, so the invoice's amount paid and amount remaining update as instalments are collected. The invoice is paid when the last instalment is collected. Payments from instalments show with the invoice's other [payments](https://alguna.com/docs/invoices/payments.md). *** ## Cancel a schedule Open the schedule details and click **Cancel schedule**. When a schedule is cancelled: * Instalments already collected stay applied to the invoice. * Remaining instalments are not collected. * The invoice is released from the schedule and keeps its remaining balance. Collect it as you would any other invoice, for example with **Collect Payment** or **Mark as Paid**. *** ## Related * A customer with a payment schedule cannot be merged into another customer. See [Duplicate customers](https://alguna.com/docs/customers/duplicate-customers.md). > [card] [Invoicing customers](https://alguna.com/docs/invoices/invoicing-customers.md) > > Delivery, AutoPay, payment methods and recording payments. > [card] [Payments](https://alguna.com/docs/invoices/payments.md) > > Payment statuses and how payments are applied to invoices. > [card] [Dunning](https://alguna.com/docs/collections/dunning.md) > > Recover failed payments automatically. > [card] [Collections](https://alguna.com/docs/collections/overview.md) > > Reminders and follow-up on overdue invoices. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.