Receive a customer advance (deposit)

Steps

1. Open MAJA Books and click Sales in the left menu, then Payments Received.
2. Click Record Payment.
3. Click Advance Payment at the top of the form. The title changes to Record Advance Payment.
4. Choose the Customer *.
5. Optionally pick the proforma invoice in Against Proforma Invoice (optional).
6. Set Payment Date *.
7. Choose the Payment Mode and Received Into *.
8. Enter Amount Received (AED) *.
9. Check the journal preview — the credit side reads Unearned Income / Customer Deposits (Liability) — and click Record Payment.

What MAJA does for you

• The receipt is posted with the bank or cash account debited and the money held as a customer deposit (a liability), not as revenue.
• The list marks it with an ADVANCE badge, and the receipt page shows its Available Credit.
• When you later open an unpaid invoice for this customer, MAJA shows Apply Credits and tells you the customer has unused credits.

Use the advance on the final invoice

1. Open the customer's invoice under Sales → Invoices.
2. Click Apply Credits.
3. In Credit Source, pick the advance under Advances / Unapplied Receipts.
4. Check Amount to apply (MAJA fills the lesser of the advance left and the invoice balance) and click Apply.

Good to know

• If you are VAT-registered, money received before the sale is a taxable event: issue an advance tax invoice from the receipt's More menu → Issue Advance Tax Invoice.
• Applying an advance posts Dr Customer Advances / Cr Accounts Receivable, dated today.
• Bad Debt Relief is refused while a customer still has an unapplied deposit — apply it first.