Taking an advance from a parent, and using it on the bill

Before the school season, parents often pay part of the money ahead: "keep the books aside, I will collect them next week." If that money is rung up as a sale, the day's sales look too high and the stock looks sold when it is still on the shelf. If it is just put in the drawer, the drawer is over and nobody knows whose money it is. BooksPOS records it as what it is: an advance, money you hold for that customer.

1. Take the advance

1. Open Khata (customers) and choose the parent, or create them with New customer (a phone number helps you find them later).
2. Choose Take advance.
3. Type the amount and how it was paid: cash, bank transfer, card, EasyPaisa or JazzCash. Add a reference, such as a transaction ID, if there is one.
4. Choose Record advance.

The parent now shows Advance held in Khata, with the advance's own lines below their account. Cash taken as an advance is counted in the counter's shift, so the drawer adds up, but it is not a sale: in the accounts it is money owed to the customer until it is used or refunded.

Advance held: Rs 10,000 taken, Rs 3,775 used. Screenshot of the current build (28 Sep 2026), synthetic demo data.

2. Use it when the books are collected

1. At the till, bill the books as usual, and choose the parent as the customer with F4.
2. Press F9 (Take payment). The From advance tender is available for customers who have an advance, and the screen shows how much is available.
3. Pay all of the bill from the advance, or part of it, with the rest in cash or another tender. BooksPOS will not let you use more than the parent has.
4. Choose Complete sale.

Rs 6,225 from the advance, the rest in cash. Screenshot of the current build (28 Sep 2026), synthetic demo data.

The sale is a normal sale on that day. Only the cash part goes into the drawer; the part paid from the advance was already counted when it was taken.

3. Returns and refunds

• If books paid from an advance come back, the refund can go back onto the parent's advance.
• To give back what is left, choose Refund advance in Khata and how it is paid out (cash from this counter's drawer, bank transfer, card or wallet). Refunding an advance needs its own permission, so not every cashier can do it.

Keeping track

The advance appears at the till, in the parent's Khata, in the shift close ("cash advances taken less refunded") and in Reports under Advances held for customers: the total money you are holding that is owed to customers, not income.

Books the parent will collect later

The advance keeps the money right. To keep the books aside as well, make an order:

1. At the till, bill the books and choose the parent with F4.
2. Press Order (F7) instead of taking payment. Copies in stock are held for the parent until a hold date (14 days by default), and a walk-in sale cannot take them. Books not in stock are marked as awaited.
3. When they come to collect, open Pending deliveries, choose the order and Hand over. It is a normal bill at the price agreed on the order, and can be paid From advance.

When awaited books arrive, Reserve what is free holds them for the parent. Print pending slip gives the parent a list of what is still to collect; it says it is not a bill. A hold that lapses simply stops counting, and cancelling what is left needs a manager. For a whole class's books, school course sets can add the set and order the missing titles in one go.

In the owner portal

On the Cloud edition, the owner portal's khata shows each customer's advance balance, as the branch last reported it. Orders and pending slips are worked on the store PC.

Common questions

Is an advance counted in the day's sales?

No. An advance is money you hold for the customer, so it is a liability in the accounts, not income. It becomes part of a sale only when it pays a bill.

Does advance cash go into the drawer?

Yes, when it is paid in cash: the counter's shift counts it, so the drawer adds up at the close. When the parent later pays a bill from the advance, no new cash enters the drawer for that part.

Can a parent use part of the advance and pay the rest in cash?

Yes. A bill can be split between From advance and any other tender. BooksPOS will not let you use more than the parent has.

Who can refund an advance?

Only staff whose role has the refund permission. The refund can be paid out as cash from the counter's drawer, bank transfer, card or wallet.

Can I see all the advances I am holding?

Yes. Reports has Advances held for customers, the total you owe back or owe in goods.

These features work in the current build. More about the school season on the book depot page.