Understand the Ledger Tab
The Ledger tab provides a complete, accountant-readable financial history for a single vehicle entity. It presents every financial event — invoices, collections, and expenses — in a structured double-entry format with running balances, net position, and drill-down sections. Use it when you need to audit a job’s full financial picture or answer questions like “how much did we actually make on this repair?”
Who can do this: All team members with BayPay access.
Where to find the Ledger tab
The Ledger tab is the third tab inside the Financial Recording Modal, alongside Collections and Expenses. To access it:
Open an entity card
From the Collection Queue or any entity list, click a vehicle card to open the Financial Recording Modal.
Select the Ledger tab
Click Ledger in the tab bar at the top of the modal. The view switches from the recording interface to the accounting summary.
Ledger sections
The Ledger tab is divided into sections from top to bottom. Each section can be expanded to see individual transaction rows.
Invoice / Estimate basis
The top section shows the financial basis for the job:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Invoice amount | The total invoiced value of the repair order. If no invoice has been issued yet, this shows the estimate amount with an “Estimate basis” label. |
| Insurance payable | For insurance jobs, the portion the insurer is responsible for. This section appears only when the entity has an insurance contact and the insurance payable amount has been set. |
Responsibility split
For insurance jobs, a responsibility split section appears showing how the total is divided between the insurer and the customer (excess). This helps you track which party owes what and how much each has paid.
Collections
The collections section lists all inflow transactions recorded against this entity. Each row shows:
- Transaction date
- Payment method (Cash, Card, Bank Transfer, Cheque, Payment Link)
- Contact name (customer or insurer)
- Amount
- Credit terms and due date (if applicable)
- Status (active or voided)
Voided transactions appear with strikethrough formatting and a VOID badge. They are visible for audit purposes but are excluded from all totals.
The section footer shows:
| Line | Description |
|---|---|
| Total collected | Sum of active (non-voided) inflow transactions |
| Outstanding (customer) | Invoice amount minus collected from customer |
| Outstanding (insurer) | Insurance payable minus collected from insurer (insurance jobs only) |
Expenses
The expenses section lists all outflow transactions (parts, sublet, etc.) recorded against this entity. The layout mirrors the collections section with the same columns.
The section footer shows:
| Line | Description |
|---|---|
| Total expenses | Sum of active outflow transactions |
| AP pending | Unpaid credit-term expenses |
Net on the job
The final section shows the net financial position for the entire job:
Net = Total collected - Total expenses
The net position pill uses colour to indicate the result at a glance:
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green | Positive net — the job is profitable so far |
| Red | Negative net — expenses exceed collections |
| Neutral | Zero net — break-even |
A formula footnote below the net pill shows the exact calculation so there is no ambiguity about how the number was derived.
Opening balance and running balance
The Ledger tab computes a running balance through the transaction list:
- Opening balance is always zero for a new entity (each job starts with no financial history).
- Each inflow transaction adds to the running balance.
- Each outflow transaction subtracts from the running balance.
- The final running balance equals the net position shown in the Net on the job section.
This running balance helps you trace exactly when the job crossed from negative (expenses exceeding collections) to positive territory, or vice versa.
Accountant format
The Ledger tab uses an accountant-friendly display format:
- Positive amounts (inflows) display as plain numbers
- Deductions (outflows) display in parentheses: (500.00)
- All amounts are formatted in the location’s currency with proper thousands separators
- Voided transactions display with strikethrough text and are clearly marked
Only confirmed transactions contribute to the Ledger totals. Pending transactions — such as a payment link that has been sent but not yet paid — are excluded until they are confirmed. This ensures the Ledger reflects actual financial movements, not anticipated ones.
When to use the Ledger tab
The Ledger tab is designed for specific use cases:
| Use case | Why the Ledger tab |
|---|---|
| Auditing a vehicle’s financial history | See every transaction in chronological order with running balance |
| Checking job profitability | The net position shows at a glance whether a job made or lost money |
| Reconciling insurance payments | The responsibility split and per-party outstanding make it clear who still owes what |
| Investigating discrepancies | Voided transactions remain visible so you can see the full history including corrections |
| Preparing for day close | Review individual entities to ensure all transactions are correctly recorded |
For aggregate views across multiple entities or the entire location, use the Transactions page instead.
Common questions
Why does the Ledger show a voided transaction that does not appear on the Transactions page? The Transactions page excludes voided transactions for a clean operational view. The Ledger tab retains them (with VOID badge and strikethrough) because it serves as an audit trail for a specific entity. Both approaches are intentional.
Can I edit a transaction from the Ledger tab? No. The Ledger tab is read-only. To modify a transaction, switch to the Collections or Expenses tab, void the incorrect transaction, and record a new one.
What does “Estimate basis” mean? When a vehicle has not yet been invoiced (the job stage is still at Estimate or Approved), the Ledger uses the estimate amount as the financial basis. The label “Estimate basis” makes this explicit. Once an invoice is issued, the section updates to show the invoice amount.
How does the Ledger handle partial payments? Each partial payment appears as a separate transaction row. The Outstanding line in the collections section shows the remaining balance after all partial payments are subtracted from the invoice amount. At Tanaka Auto Service Osaka, a job invoiced at 150,000 JPY with two collections of 50,000 and 30,000 would show 70,000 outstanding.
Why is the net position different from the outstanding amount? Outstanding is Invoice minus Collections (what the customer still owes). Net is Collections minus Expenses (what the workshop actually earned). A job can have zero outstanding (fully paid) but a negative net if expenses were high.
Related pages
- View Transaction History — location-wide transaction listing
- Record an Expense — recording outflows that appear in the Ledger
- Handle Partial Payments — how partial collections show in the Ledger
- Close the Day — locking transactions that the Ledger reports on