FactorCloud lets you apply a payment with a date in the past. This is useful when a payment hit the bank before you got to it – but it changes more than the date on the record, so it is worth understanding what moves.
What backdating changes
When you enter a past payment date, the app warns you:
You are entering a payment with a past date. Please note that any accrued fees will be automatically recalculated based on the payment date you provide.
In other words, fees are recalculated as though the payment had arrived on that earlier date. On a term with collection fees that step up by invoice age, an invoice that looks 45 days old today may be treated as 30 days old, and the client is charged the lower tier.
This recalculation only applies to terms with collection fees charged on full payment. If your term charges fees another way, the date changes but the fee does not.
The part that surprises people
A backdated payment shows on two different dates depending on which report you run.
- The Payments screen and its export use the payment date you entered – the backdated one.
- The AR Ledger records the entry against the date it was actually created in the system – today.
So a payment backdated to the 28th of last month appears in the Payments export under the 28th, and in the AR Ledger under the day you keyed it. Neither is wrong; they answer different questions. The Payments view answers "when did the money arrive", the ledger answers "when did we record it".
If the two reports disagree for a client, this is almost always why. Check whether the payments in question were backdated before treating it as a data problem.
Turning it off
Backdating is controlled by Allow backdating payments under Settings › System Config › Optional Features. With it disabled, payments can only be applied with the current date.
Good practice
- Backdate only to the date the funds genuinely cleared, not to an arbitrary earlier date to reduce fees.
- Note the reason on the payment. The audit trail keeps the date, not the intent.
- When reconciling month-end, run the AR Ledger and the Payments export and expect them to differ by any backdated items.
Related articles
- How to Import Payments
- How to Create a Term