Payments
Payments
The payments section covers recording what buyers have paid, tracking outstanding balances, and producing a final reconciliation of the sale's financials. Payment is received against a specific invoice — the invoice must exist before a payment can be applied.
Receiving a Payment
Selecting an Invoice
On the Receive Payments screen, locate the invoice by buyer (bidder number or GEM ID) or by invoice number. The screen displays the invoice total and any outstanding balance.
Payment Methods
Four payment methods are available:
| Code | Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cash | No additional reference required |
| 2 | Check | Enter the check number in the reference field |
| 3 | Credit Card | Enter the card number and expiration date |
| 4 | Bill Later | Records the invoice as deferred; no payment collected now |
A single invoice can be split across multiple methods. For example, a buyer may pay part by check and part by credit card.
Ad-Hoc Adjustments at Payment Time
You can add one-time credits or debits to the invoice during payment:
- Credit (CR) — reduces the total amount due
- Debit (DB) — increases the total amount due
Provide a type, description, and amount. These adjustments are stored with the invoice and appear on the reconciliation.
Applying the Payment
The sum of all payment method amounts (plus any ad-hoc adjustments) must exactly equal the invoice total (within a tolerance of $0.0001). The system will not accept the payment if the amounts do not match — verify your totals before submitting.
The entire payment transaction is processed as a single database transaction. If any step fails, the entire payment is rolled back with no partial changes saved.
Ownership Transfer on Payment
When a payment is accepted, GEM records the transfer of animal ownership from seller to buyer:
- An
animal_salesrecord is created for each seller–buyer pairing, capturing the price and percentage sold. - The
ownerstable is updated — the buyer's ownership record is created or added to, and sellers whose remaining percentage reaches zero are closed out with an ending date. - For partial-interest sales (sell percent < 100%), partial ownership records are created accordingly.
- If the buyer already partially owns an animal, their existing ownership percentage is increased.
Effective Date of Ownership Change
The ownership transfer uses an effective date determined as follows:
- If today's date falls within the auction's start and end dates, the effective date is today.
- If the auction is in the past or future, the effective date is the auction's start date.
This effective date is recorded on all ownership transfer records.
Automatic Load-Out Trigger
If all items on the invoice have a delivery type of Picked Up (P), the system automatically triggers load-out sheet generation when payment is received.
Delivery Instructions
Any delivery instructions entered at payment time are stored with the invoice. If the Replace Directions checkbox is checked, those instructions are also saved back to the buyer's GEM profile (entities_priv.directions) for future reference.
Payment Status
Viewing Paid and Unpaid Invoices
The payment status screen shows invoices filtered by their payment state. Use the Unpaid Invoices view to see buyers with outstanding balances. Paid invoices show the payment date and method.
Outstanding Balances
Invoices are considered outstanding if they have a balance greater than $0.001. The Unpaid Invoices report (under Reports) provides a printable list of all buyers with amounts still owed.
Reconciliation Report
The reconciliation report summarizes all financial activity for the auction and is used to close out the sale's books.
Payment Totals by Method
A breakdown of total receipts by payment type: Cash, Check, Credit Card, and Bill Later. Useful for verifying deposits and card batches.
Miscellaneous Charges and Credits Summary
Totals for each miscellaneous charge and credit type defined for the auction, showing how much was collected or credited across all invoices.
Personal Credits Applied
The total value of pre-existing People Credits (from buyers' credit accounts) that were applied to invoices during this sale.
Full Reconciliation
The complete reconciliation combines:
- Gross sale proceeds (sum of all bid amounts)
- Adjustments from miscellaneous charges and credits
- Personal credits applied
- Net amount collected by payment method
Use this report to verify that total payments received match total amounts invoiced and to reconcile against your accounting records.
Invoicing
Invoices are generated after bids are complete. Each invoice goes to a single buyer and lists the animals they purchased, any applicable miscellaneous charges and credits, and a total amount due. Invoices must exist before payments can be received.
Delivery
The delivery section covers tracking how each animal leaves the sale — whether it is delivered, picked up, staying, or still unknown — and generating the load-out documents that accompany the animals.