Pay by link and opening data

Two parts of Settings are on this page. Pay by link switches on the providers your customers can pay through, such as Tabby or Tamara. Each provider gets its own account in your books. Opening data loads what you owned and owed on the day you started with LedgerLite. Pay by link settings post nothing. Opening data posts balanced entries, with Opening Balance Equity on the other side of every one.

Where: Settings › Pay by link and Settings › Opening data, both in the Accounting group of the Settings menu
Number: None for Pay by link. Opening data uses AROB-… for an amount owed, ARDEP-… for a customer advance and OPEN-000001 for opening stock
Posts to: Pay by link: nothing. Opening data: Accounts Receivable, Customer Deposits, Accounts Payable, Inventory and the accounts in your Account balances file, against Opening Balance Equity
Who: Admins

What it’s for

Pay by link

A customer who pays by link (a payment link or a QR code from the provider) pays the provider, not you. The sale is paid, but the money is with the provider. The provider pays you later, less its fee.
Until that payout, LedgerLite keeps the money in the provider’s own account, “Pay by link - ‹provider›”. It is an asset: the provider owes you that money. It is separate from your cash, your bank and your card machines.
Switching a provider on makes it a way to pay on sales invoices, in Payments received and at the till. You choose, for each provider, whether the till, the back office or both can use it.
When the provider pays you, record it on Card payouts. The fee is booked there, not when the customer pays.
A new company has no provider. You add each one here.

Opening data

Use it once, when you start using LedgerLite, to load your starting position on the changeover date. That means what customers owe you, what you owe suppliers, your stock, and the balances of your other accounts.
You can choose only what you have. Everything you choose is checked first and then posted together. If one row is wrong, nothing is saved.
Each balance is posted against 3150 Opening Balance Equity, so your books balance from the first day.
After the import, an admin can correct customer balances, supplier balances and opening stock on the tabs of this screen.

Not every starting balance is entered here:

You want to start	Use	More
Many balances at once (customers, suppliers, stock, other accounts)	Settings › Opening data, the Import tab	This page
The balance of one bank or cash account	Money in or out, the Opening balance tab	Bank and cash accounts
Opening stock for a few items	Stock adjustments, kind Opening stock	Stock adjustments
More customers, suppliers or products, without balances	Data Exchange	Imports and exports
One customer or supplier	The customer and supplier screens	Customers, Suppliers

Fields

Pay by link provider

Press Add provider, or Edit provider on a provider’s menu.

Field	What it means	What it changes
Provider name *	The name as it appears on the provider’s statement. 2 to 120 characters. Two providers cannot have the same name, in any capitals	The provider’s name everywhere, and its account name “Pay by link - ‹name›”. Renaming the provider renames the account
Arabic name	Optional	Printed on Arabic receipts
Show at the till	On by default	Cashiers can choose this provider when a customer pays by link at the till
Show in the back office	On by default	The provider can be chosen on an invoice and in Payments received
Fee includes VAT	Off by default. Turn it on when the provider’s invoice shows VAT on its fee	Each payout you record afterwards books the fee before VAT as a merchant fee and claims the VAT as input VAT. Payouts already recorded do not change
Provider tax registration number	15 digits, as printed on the provider’s tax invoice. Needed when the fee includes VAT and your company is registered for VAT	Kept on the provider and on the payouts that claim VAT
Expected fee (percent of the bank deposit)	Optional, 0 to 100	Only fills in the fee when you record a payout. You can change it there. Posts nothing
Expected fixed fee per payout	Optional, zero or more	Only fills in the fee when you record a payout. Posts nothing

There is no field for the account. LedgerLite creates it for you when you save the provider for the first time.

Each provider is shown as a box on the list:

What you see	What it tells you
On or Off	Whether the provider can be chosen. At the till and In the back office show where
Waiting for payout from ‹provider›: ‹amount›	Sales paid by link that the provider has not paid out to you yet
Owed to ‹provider›: ‹amount›	You gave refunds through the provider after it paid out. It will take them off your next payout
Nothing waiting for payout	The account is at zero
Account: Pay by link - ‹provider›	The provider’s account in your books
Fee includes VAT · tax number … or Fee has no VAT, then expected fee …	The fee settings above

Opening data: Import

The import has three steps: choose what you are bringing in, choose the date and the files, then check the totals and apply.

Field	What it means	What it changes
Opening date	The changeover date. It starts as today. It must be after your last locked date and no later than today	The date of every entry the import posts, and the date stock arrives
Stock location	Shown only when you bring in opening stock or supplier balances. Pick an active location	Where the opening stock is held. Supplier balances ask for it too, but they put no stock there
Choose file / Choose another file	One CSV file for each kind you chose. Template downloads the right columns	The rows to import. The columns must match the template exactly
I checked the row counts and totals.	The tick-box on the last step	Unlocks Apply opening data

The files you can choose, with the columns of each template:

Group	File	What it brings in	Columns
Records	Customers, Suppliers, Products	New people and items. Nothing is posted to your books. Each code or SKU must be new	See the template for each
Balances	Customer amounts owed	Invoices customers still owe on the changeover date. This does not create sales or VAT	customer_code, source_document_number, invoice_date, due_date, outstanding_amount, notes
Balances	Customer advances	Money customers paid ahead and have not used. This does not create cash	customer_code, source_reference, original_receipt_date, amount, notes
Balances	Supplier balances	What you still owe suppliers	supplier_code, amount, due_date, and optionally invoice_number and invoice_date
Balances	Opening stock	Quantity and unit cost of the stock you hold	sku, quantity, unit_cost
Account balances	Account balances	Opening balances of your other accounts, such as cash, bank and equity	account_code, debit, credit, description

Rules for the files:

Amounts are positive, with up to 4 decimals. Dates are written as year-month-day, such as 2026-08-01.
A customer or supplier in a balance file must already exist, or be in the Customers or Suppliers file of the same import.
Each balance file can hold up to 500 rows (200 for Supplier balances and Account balances).
A supplier can have several balances in one import if each row has its own invoice_number. Rows with no invoice number are limited to one per supplier.
A customer’s amounts owed need a different source_document_number each. Advances need a different source_reference each.
Each row of the Account balances file has either a debit or a credit. All debits must equal all credits. Add your own 3150 Opening Balance Equity row to make it balance.
Account balances must not repeat accounts that the other files bring in. The accounts it does not accept are listed in What the app blocks.

Opening data: the correction tabs

Tab	What it lists	Fields when you change one
Customer opening balances	Every amount owed and customer advance imported, with Show: Active, Cancelled or All	Amount, Original invoice date and Original due date (amounts owed), or Original receipt date (advances). The customer and the opening date are fixed
Supplier opening balances	Every supplier balance imported, with Show: Active, Deleted or All	Amount owed to the supplier, Due date, Supplier invoice number, Invoice date
Opening stock	The opening stock documents, with their location, date and value	Nothing here. The row links to Stock adjustments

Cancel with a correcting entry asks for Date of the correcting entry *, Reference, Reason * and Internal notes. The date cannot be before the opening date or after today.

Every change asks for a reason, and the change history keeps the old and new values.

Buttons

Pay by link

Button	When you see it	What happens	Accounts
Add provider	Top of the list, for admins	Opens the form. Add provider in the form saves the provider and creates its account	No entry
Edit provider	The provider’s menu	Opens the form. Save changes saves. Saving with nothing changed is refused	No entry
Switch off	The menu of a provider that is On	Asks “Switch off ‹provider›?”. The provider can no longer be chosen at the till or in the back office. Payments taken keep their history. Refunds and payouts for it still work	No entry
Switch on	The menu of a provider that is Off	Switches it on at once	No entry
Delete provider	The menu of a provider that is Off	Asks “Delete ‹provider›?”. It works only for a provider that was never used. The account is archived and renamed “Pay by link - ‹provider› (removed)”	No entry
Cancel, Back to Pay by link providers	In the form	Leaves without saving. If you typed something, it asks first	No change
Check status	After a message “Change not confirmed”	Reads the list again, so you can see whether the last change went through. Do not repeat the change before that	No change

Statuses you will see: On and Off.

Opening data

Button	When you see it	What happens	Accounts
Next: choose files	Step 1, after you tick at least one kind	Goes to step 2	No change
Template	Beside each file	Downloads an empty CSV with the right columns	No change
Preview import	Step 2, when every chosen file is loaded	Checks all the rows and shows the totals. Nothing is saved yet	No change
Back to choices, Back to files	Steps 2 and 3	Goes back. What you chose stays	No change
Apply opening data	Step 3, after you tick the box	Posts everything together, dated on the opening date	Posts
Check result	When the answer to Apply was lost, or when you prepare the same files again	Tries the same import again. If it already went through, you see its result. Nothing is posted twice	No change
Start another import	After Apply	Starts again from step 1	No change
Edit	A customer balance’s menu	Opens the form. Update opening amount owed or Update opening advance asks for a reason first	Restated on its own date
Cancel with a correcting entry	A customer balance’s menu, only when Edit and Delete are not available	Posts a linked entry that swaps the lines of the opening entry	New entry
Delete	A customer balance’s or supplier balance’s menu	Asks for a reason. The number stays as a deleted record	All effects removed
Change amount, due date or invoice	A supplier balance’s menu	Opens the form. Review change, then Save change, with a reason	Restated on its own date
Change history	A supplier balance’s menu	Shows every change with its reason	No change
Edit or delete in Stock adjustments	A row of the Opening stock tab	Opens that document in Stock adjustments	No change

Statuses you will see: customer balances are Active or Cancelled; supplier balances are Active or Deleted; opening stock documents are Active, Deleted, Replaced or Cancelled.

What gets posted

Pay by link

Adding, changing, switching off and deleting a provider post nothing. Money moves in these ways.

What happens	Provider’s account	Notes
A customer pays by link at the till, on an invoice, or in Payments received	Goes up by the amount paid by link	Sales, VAT and stock post as for any sale. The link part is never drawer cash. At the till, the register close lists it on its own line
A customer returns goods paid for by link	Goes down by the refund	The refund goes back to the provider, never in cash. The provider’s own app is used too
You record the provider’s payout on Card payouts	Goes down by the full amount the provider collected	The bank gets what reached it. The fee is booked at that moment

Example 1 shows a payout where the fee carries VAT. Example 2 shows a provider whose fee has no VAT.

Example 1A payout where the fee includes VATCard payouts · provider with Fee includes VAT on

Sales waiting at the provider1000.00
Fee before VAT100.00
VAT on the fee5.00
Reached your bank895.00

Account	Debit (AED)	Credit (AED)	Why
The bank account you pick	895.00		The money that reached you
6600Bank and Merchant Fees	100.00		The provider’s fee before VAT
1400Input Tax Recoverable	5.00		VAT on the fee that you can claim back
Pay by link - Tabby		1,000.00	The provider no longer owes you this
Total	1,000.00	1,000.00	Balanced

The VAT is claimed only when Fee includes VAT is on and your company is VAT registered on the payout date. Cancelling the payout puts every line back.

Example 2A payout where the fee has no VATCard payouts · provider with Fee includes VAT off

Sales waiting at the provider2000.00
Fee kept by the provider105.00
Reached your bank1895.00

Account	Debit (AED)	Credit (AED)	Why
The bank account you pick	1,895.00		The money that reached you
6600Bank and Merchant Fees	105.00		The whole fee, as the provider kept it
Pay by link - Tamara		2,000.00	The provider no longer owes you this
Total	2,000.00	2,000.00	Balanced

No VAT is claimed, so the whole fee is a cost.

A provider’s account can go below zero. Say a customer returns goods after the provider paid out. A sale of 65.00 paid by link is paid out in full. The refund of 65.00 then takes the account to −65.00, and the list shows “Owed to Tabby”. The next sale by link clears it. You cannot record a payout while the account is at or below zero.

Opening data

Every balance posts its own entry, dated on the opening date. The amounts below are the ones used to prove each entry.

The customer amounts owed, the customer advances and the supplier balances post one entry for each row of the file.
The opening stock posts one entry for the whole stock document.
The Account balances file posts one entry, with the lines exactly as you typed them.
Nothing posts VAT, sales or payments. The sales and VAT reports do not count opening amounts owed.

Example 3A customer owes you at the changeover dateCustomer amounts owed

Amount the customer still owed125.00

Account	Debit (AED)	Credit (AED)	Why
1100Accounts Receivable	125.00		The customer owes you this
3150Opening Balance Equity		125.00	The other side of the opening balance
Total	125.00	125.00	Balanced

The row also creates an opening invoice that keeps the original invoice number you gave as its reference. The invoice has no lines, no VAT and no stock.

Example 4A customer paid you aheadCustomer advances

Advance the customer still holds80.00

Account	Debit (AED)	Credit (AED)	Why
3150Opening Balance Equity	80.00		The other side of the opening balance
2300Customer Deposits		80.00	Money you hold for the customer
Total	80.00	80.00	Balanced

No cash is created. The advance can be used on the customer’s next invoice.

Example 5You owe a supplier at the changeover dateSupplier balances

Amount owed to the supplier50.00

Account	Debit (AED)	Credit (AED)	Why
3150Opening Balance Equity	50.00		The other side of the opening balance
2000Accounts Payable		50.00	You owe the supplier
Total	50.00	50.00	Balanced

The row creates a supplier balance that you can pay from Supplier payments like any other bill.

Example 6Opening stock: 10 units at 2,000.00Opening stock

10 units × 2,000.00 each20000.00

Account	Debit (AED)	Credit (AED)	Why
1200Inventory	20,000.00		The cost value of the stock you hold
3150Opening Balance Equity		20,000.00	The other side of the opening balance
Total	20,000.00	20,000.00	Balanced

The stock arrives at the location you chose, on the opening date. The unit cost you give becomes the item’s starting average cost. Later purchases blend into it.

Example 7Cash in the drawer at the changeover dateAccount balances file · two rows

Row 1: 1000, debit500.00
Row 2: 3150, credit500.00

Account	Debit (AED)	Credit (AED)	Why
1000Cash on Hand	500.00		Opening cash, as typed in the file
3150Opening Balance Equity		500.00	The row you added to make the file balance
Total	500.00	500.00	Balanced

The file’s own rows are the entry. LedgerLite adds no line of its own, so the file must balance by itself.

Put the examples together. A company imports 500.00 of cash (Example 7), 20.00 of stock (2 units at 10.00) and a 75.00 supplier balance. After the import its totals are:

On the balance sheet	Amount
Total assets (cash 500.00 and Inventory 20.00)	520.00
Total liabilities (Accounts Payable)	75.00
Total equity (Opening Balance Equity: 500.00 + 20.00 − 75.00)	445.00

The trial balance shows 520.00 on each side.

Correcting an opening balance

Change	What it posts
Edit a customer balance, or Change amount, due date or invoice on a supplier balance	The opening entry is restated in place, on the opening date, with the new amount. The document number stays. The history keeps the old values
Delete a customer or supplier balance	The entry is removed from your books. The balance ends at nothing. The number stays as a deleted record
Cancel with a correcting entry on a customer balance	A new linked entry swaps the lines of the opening entry. An amount owed of 50.00 gives Dr Opening Balance Equity 50.00 and Cr Accounts Receivable 50.00. An advance of 40.00 gives Dr Customer Deposits 40.00 and Cr Opening Balance Equity 40.00. The original stays in the history

Where it shows up

Pay by link

Place	What changes
Sales invoices, Payments received and the till	The provider appears as a choice while it is On and shown there. A back-office payment asks for the provider’s order number
Settings › Pay by link	Each provider’s box shows what is waiting for payout, or what you owe it
Card payouts	The provider’s statement lists its sales, refunds and payouts. The payout form is limited to what the provider still owes you
Register close and shift reports	Pay by link sales are counted in the sales total on their own line. They are not counted as cash that should be in the drawer
Chart of accounts	The account “Pay by link - ‹provider›” is an asset account. It cannot be renamed, archived or deleted there
Balance sheet	The balance of each provider account is part of your assets

Opening data

Place	What changes
Customers	The statement shows the opening amount owed and the opening advance. Both count in what the customer owes or holds
Suppliers	The statement and the supplier balance include the opening balance. It appears in aged payables and in Supplier payments
Stock reports	The opening stock is the first movement of each item at the location. The inventory value includes it
Trial balance and balance sheet	The accounts you loaded, and Opening Balance Equity
Sales and VAT reports	Not changed. Opening amounts owed are not sales and carry no VAT
Journals	Entries appear as Opening balance import, Supplier opening balance and Opening stock
Cashbook	A bank or cash account in the Account balances file shows a line named Opening balance

What the app blocks

Pay by link settings

Situation	What you see
Name left empty or too short	Enter the provider name, 2 to 120 characters.
Name already used	A Pay by link provider with this name already exists. Choose another name.
Fee includes VAT, company registered for VAT, no tax number	Enter the 15-digit tax registration number of the provider, or turn off “Fee includes VAT”.
Tax number is not 15 digits	Enter the 15-digit tax registration number of the provider.
Expected fee percent outside 0 to 100	Enter a percentage from 0 to 100.
Expected fixed fee below zero	Enter an amount of zero or more.
Saving with nothing changed	Make a change before saving.
Someone else changed the provider first	Provider settings changed. Reload and try again.
Deleting a provider that has payments or payouts	This provider has posted payments or payouts. Switch it off instead of deleting it.
A manual journal on the provider’s account	A Pay by link account cannot be posted through a manual journal.
The till uses a provider that is Off or hidden from the till	Tabby is switched off for the till. Switch it on in Settings › Pay by link, or choose another payment method.
The back office uses a provider that is Off or hidden	That Pay by link provider is not switched on for the back office. Switch it on in Settings › Pay by link, or choose another provider.
A payout above what the provider owes you	This payout is more than the provider still owes you (‹amount›). Reduce the amount you enter as received from the provider.
No provider is on for the back office	No Pay by link provider is switched on for the back office. Switch one on in Settings > Pay by link.

Opening data import

Each problem is listed with its file and row, for example “Customer amounts owed row 2, dueDate: …”. Here dueDate means the due_date column. Row 2 is the first row of data in the file.

Situation	What you see
The columns do not match the template	CSV columns do not match the template (missing ‹column›; unexpected ‹column›).
The opening date is after today	Choose today or an earlier date in the company time zone.
The opening date is in a locked period	The opening date is in a locked accounting period. Choose a later date.
Opening stock or supplier balances with no stock location	Select a stock location when importing opening stock or supplier balances.
An amount is not a number with up to 4 decimals	Enter a non-negative price with no more than 4 decimal places.
An amount owed or an advance of zero	Amount must be greater than zero.
An Account balances row with a debit and a credit	Enter either a debit or a credit, but not both.
An Account balances file that does not balance	Opening ledger debits and credits must be equal.
An account code that does not exist or is archived	Use an active account code from the chart of accounts.
One of the controlled accounts in the Account balances file	Use this account’s controlled subledger workflow.
A customer or supplier code that is already used	This customer code already exists. or This supplier code already exists.
A supplier balance due before the opening date, or invoiced after it	Due date cannot be before the opening date. or Invoice date cannot be after the opening date.
A customer invoice or receipt dated after the opening date, or due before it was issued	Original invoice date cannot be after the opening date., Original receipt date cannot be after the opening date. or Due date cannot be before the original invoice date.
A customer in a balance file that does not exist	Use an existing customer code or a customer included in this import.
The same source number twice for a customer	This customer already has an opening receivable with this source number. or This customer already has an opening advance with this reference.
A supplier invoice number the supplier already has	This supplier invoice number is already recorded for this supplier.
Opening stock for a service	Service items cannot have opening stock. Use an inventory item.
Opening stock for a bundle	Bundles cannot have opening stock. Use an inventory item.
Opening stock for an item that already moved at that location	Opening stock cannot be imported after this product has stock movements.
A fractional quantity for a unit that takes whole numbers	PCS accepts whole quantities only. (the unit’s name is in the message)
The same data sent again	This opening data was already imported, so nothing was imported again. To add more, import only the new rows.
The files changed after the preview	The import data changed after preview. Preview it again before applying.

The Account balances file refuses accounts that other screens look after:

Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Inventory and Customer Deposits. Customers, suppliers and stock come in through their own files.
Supplier Advances, Goods Received Not Invoiced, Unbilled Receivables, Input Tax Recoverable, Output Tax Payable, Payroll Payable, Pending POS Cash, Stock owed, VAT due to/from FTA and Staff Advances. These have no opening file.

A card machine’s account “Card clearing - ‹machine›” and a Pay by link provider’s account are not on this list. You can load what a card company or a provider owed you in Account balances. Take care: once loaded, only payouts and refunds move that account.

Opening data corrections

Situation	What you see
An opening amount owed has a payment applied and you lower it below that payment	A payment of 200.00 is applied to this opening balance, so it can’t be lower than that. To lower it, unapply the payment first.
You edit a customer advance that has been applied to an invoice	Edit is greyed out in the menu, with this reason: A payment or customer advance is already applied to this opening deposit; unapply it first. Delete is still offered
The balance was already deleted	This opening receivable has already been deleted. (or deposit)
You try to change the customer or the cut-over date	Both fields are greyed out. Their notes read The customer is fixed once the balance is imported. To use another customer, delete it and import it again. and The cut-over date is set by the import and cannot change.
The date is in a locked period	The accounting period is locked through ‹date›. Choose a later date, or ask an administrator to reopen the period.
A supplier balance has a payment, advance, return or cheque against it	This opening balance cannot be changed or deleted while something is recorded against it (‹what›). Cancel those first, then try again.
A supplier balance dated in a locked month	This opening supplier balance is dated in a month that is locked (through ‹date›), so it can’t be changed or deleted. A locked month stays locked. Put the difference right with an entry dated today, such as a supplier payment or a supplier advance.
Someone else changed the balance first	This opening supplier balance was changed by someone else. Reload it to see the latest version. (customer balances say “opening receivable” or “opening deposit”)
A supplier balance: due date before the opening date, or invoice date after it	The due date cannot be before the opening date, ‹date›. or The invoice date cannot be after the opening date, ‹date›.
A reason is missing	Enter a reason for this change.

Warnings that do not stop you:

While the import applies, do not post sales, purchases or stock changes. The review step says so.
Two different imports are separate. Identical data is refused. But the same supplier balance in two different files is posted twice. Import each kind of balance once.
Payments for an opening amount owed cannot be dated before the opening date.

Who can do it

Action	Admin	Manager	Cashier
See and change Pay by link providers	Yes	No	No
Choose a provider on an invoice or in Payments received	Yes	Yes	No
Choose a provider at the till	Yes	Yes	Yes
Preview and apply the Opening data import	Yes	No	No
Edit, delete or cancel customer opening balances	Yes	No	No
Change or delete supplier opening balances	Yes	No	No
Edit or delete opening stock	Yes	No	No

An import that creates customers, suppliers, products or opening stock also needs the right to create each of those. Admins have them. Seeing the providers needs two rights: to see Business details and to see card providers. Changing them needs the right to manage card providers.

These are the standard roles. Your administrator can give a custom role each action separately in Settings › Users & access.

Fixing a mistake

Pay by link

A wrong name, a wrong fee setting or the wrong place (till or back office). Use Edit provider. A rename also renames the account. Changes to Fee includes VAT apply to payouts you record afterwards.
A provider you no longer use. Use Switch off. Old sales, refunds and payouts for it keep working. Switch on brings it back.
A provider added by mistake. Switch it off, then use Delete provider. It works only if no sale, refund or payout was ever made with it.
The account balance looks wrong. You cannot fix it with a manual journal. Look at the provider’s statement on Card payouts. Correct the sale, refund or payout that is wrong.
A payout was recorded wrongly. Change or cancel it on Card payouts.

Opening data

You have not applied yet. Go Back to files, fix the file and choose it again. Nothing was saved.
A customer amount owed has the wrong amount or date. Use Edit on the Customer opening balances tab. If a payment was applied, the amount cannot go below it.
A customer balance should not exist. Use Delete. Any payment or advance applied to it is released back to the customer as store credit, never a refund.
A supplier balance is wrong. Use Change amount, due date or invoice on the Supplier opening balances tab. Delete it and import it again if the supplier is wrong. If a payment is recorded against it, cancel that payment first.
Opening stock is wrong. Use the link on the Opening stock tab. An admin edits or deletes the document in Stock adjustments, if none of the stock was used. Otherwise save a stock adjustment.
An Account balances row is wrong. There is no correction tab for these. Ask your accountant to post a manual journal in Journals, dated in an open period. That cannot be used on a Pay by link provider’s account.
You imported the same balance twice. The identical file is refused. If it is a different file, delete the extra customer or supplier balances from their tabs.
The result was never confirmed. Choose the same files again and press Check result. Nothing is posted twice.