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Must know
  • A payment records money received against an invoice; a transaction is the underlying processing record, identified by its PSP reference.
  • A card payment (and a bank-debit payment run through the processor, like ACH or pre-authorized debit) creates a transaction. Payments you record as handled outside the platform — cash, check, an account-credit application, or a gift card — create a payment with no transaction behind it.
  • A transaction can be Authorised before it’s Settled, so a Paid invoice may still show an Authorised transaction until settlement lands.
  • Refunds show up as negative amounts in the transaction list.
A payment and a transaction describe money from different angles — but not every payment has a transaction behind it. A payment answers “how much did we receive toward this invoice, and how?” It’s the entry that moves the invoice toward Paid (or Partially paid). Each payment carries a method — card, bank, cash, check, account credit, or gift card — and always settles an invoice. A transaction is the processing record from the payment processor, keyed by a unique PSP reference. It carries the technical status of the money as it moves through the processor. Only payments the processor handles have one: an online card payment gets both a payment and a transaction, while a payment you record by hand (cash, check, or bank) or a gift-card redemption creates a payment on its own — there’s no transaction to go looking for.

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Transaction statuses

  • Authorised — the card was approved and the funds are held, but not yet finalized.
  • Captured — the funds have been claimed and are queued for settlement.
  • Settled — the funds have been finalized and are on their way to your payouts.
  • Pending — the transaction is in progress.
  • In Review — a refund that exceeds your daily refund limit and is waiting on approval before it processes.
  • Refused — the card was declined.
  • Reversed — a settled bank refund that the bank later rejected and returned.
  • Cancelled / Error — the transaction didn’t complete.
Because settlement happens a little after authorization, an invoice can read Paid while its transaction still shows Authorised for a short while — that’s normal, and it flips to Settled once the processor finalizes it. Refund transactions appear as negative amounts so your totals net out. Related: How do I search and export my transaction history? · What do the invoice statuses mean? · How payouts work