How the assistant explains an invoice's payment status

When a supplier writes on WhatsApp to ask whether an invoice was paid, the assistant answers on its own. That answer now takes into account how it was paid, not just whether the invoice shows as paid. You will not see that detail on your own Invoices screen — it still shows a general status, e.g. "Paid" — but it is what the assistant uses so it does not tell a supplier something that is not true yet.

A paid invoice does not always mean the supplier got paid

This is the most important distinction in this behavior. The system records the moment the company issued the payment, which is not always the moment the supplier had the money available.

The most common case is a deferred electronic check: the invoice is settled the day the check is handed over, but the supplier only cashes it at its due date, which can be weeks later.

That is why the assistant, when a supplier asks about an invoice settled with a deferred check, never says it was paid: it says a check was issued on that date and that collection depends on that instrument. This is deliberate. Telling someone holding a check in hand that they got paid would make them chase money they do not have yet.

The four payment types the assistant distinguishes

You will not see this classification on your own screen: it is what the assistant uses to decide how to talk to the supplier.

• Payment: the money was transferred. The supplier has it.
• Deferred check: an electronic check was handed over. Collection depends on its due date.
• Offset: the invoice was settled against a credit balance the supplier had. No new money moved.
• Payment without detail: a payment is recorded but not which instrument was used.

Held invoices

An invoice can be held: it is not unpaid by oversight nor was it rejected — it is stuck waiting on an internal decision. When the supplier asks about it, the assistant tells them it is held, but never the reason.

Partial payments

If an invoice has several payments that do not add up to the full amount, the assistant tells the supplier how much was paid and how much is left. It never presents it as paid.

Credit notes

Credit notes are identified as such, and the assistant never presents them to a supplier as something the company owes them.