How to bulk upload Payment Receipts and Payout Receipts?

Need to record payments against multiple invoices or expenses, or create multiple Payment or Payout Receipts at once? Bulk Upload lets you do both using a CSV file.

Unlike the regular bulk payment option (On Invoice/Expense Dashboards), where the same payment details are applied across all selected invoices or expenses, Bulk Upload lets you specify the payment date, method, account, amount, reference, and other details separately for each transaction through a CSV file.

This is especially useful when you are:

Migrating historical payment or payout data from another accounting system
Uploading a large number of receipts during onboarding
Recording multiple customer payments at month-end
Recording multiple vendor payouts at once
Allocating one payment across multiple invoices or expenses

The bulk upload process is available for both Payment Receipts and Payout Receipts.

Where can I find Bulk Upload?

For Payment Receipts

Go to Sales & Invoices > Payment Receipts dashboard and click Bulk Upload under the option of "Create a Payment Receipt":

For Payout Receipts

Go to Purchases & Expenses > Payout Receipts dashboard and click Bulk Upload under the option of "Create a Payout Receipt":

1) Download the Sample CSV File

Once you open Bulk Upload, you’ll see the options to Upload CSV File and Download Sample Format.:

Click Download Sample File Format to download the CSV template.

The sample file contains the columns required to create Payment Receipts or Payout Receipts.

Important: We recommend using the sample CSV provided by Refrens and adding your data to it. Do not unnecessarily rename or remove columns from the sample file, especially if you are using the standard format.

2) Fill in the CSV File

Important CSV Columns:

Below are some of the important fields you may need while preparing your CSV.

Column	Description	Mandatory/Optional	Notes
paymentReceiptNumber	Unique number for the Payment Receipt	Mandatory	Required on every row.
payoutReceiptNumber	Unique number for the Payout Receipt	Mandatory	Required for Payout Receipt uploads.
paymentDate / payoutDate	Date on which the payment or payout was made	Mandatory	Required for every receipt.
amount	Total amount of the receipt	Mandatory	Must match the total of allocated amount + TDS + transaction charges.
currency	Currency of the receipt, such as INR, USD, EUR, etc.	Optional	Leave blank if the currency is same as default business currency.
paymentMethod	Method through which the payment was received or paid	Mandatory	Must be a valid payment method.
paymentAccount	Bank, cash, or other payment account used for the transaction	Mandatory	Not required when `paymentMethod = CASH`. (Ensure to use Payment Accounts that are already added in your business)
clientID / vendorID	Unique key of the customer/vendor	Mandatory	Used as the primary method to identify the client/vendor.
clientName / vendorName	Customer/vendor name, used as a fallback when the unique key is not provided	Optional*	Used when `clientID / vendorID` is blank.
refId	Bank/UPI transaction reference, if applicable	Optional	Can be left blank if no transaction reference is available.
notes	Additional notes for the receipt	Optional	Can be left blank if there are no additional notes.
tds	Total TDS deducted from the receipt; applicable to India	Optional	Applicable when TDS is deducted.
tdsPercent	TDS percentage, if applicable	Optional	Applicable when TDS is being recorded.
transactionCharge	Bank/payment gateway charges, if applicable	Optional	Applicable when a bank/payment gateway charge is deducted.
exchangeRate	Required when the receipt currency is different from your business currency	Optional*	*Required only when the receipt currency differs from the business currency.
isAdvance	Used to mark a receipt as an advance	Optional*	If there are no invoice/expense allocations, the system automatically treats it as an advance. (More details later in the article)
tags	Existing tags that you want to add to the receipt	Optional	Tags must already exist in your Refrens Account; new tags cannot be created through bulk upload.
settledInvoiceNumber	Invoice against which a Payment Receipt is being settled	Optional*	*Required when the receipt is being allocated to an invoice.
settledExpenseNumber	Expense against which a Payout Receipt is being settled	Optional*	*Required when the payout is being allocated to an expense.
settledAmount	Amount allocated to a particular invoice/expense	Optional*	*Required when an invoice/expense is being settled.
settledTds	TDS amount allocated to a particular invoice; applicable to India	Optional	Used when TDS needs to be split across individual invoice allocations.

Important Notes for Adding Customer or Vendor Details:

For Payment Receipts, you can identify the customer using:

clientUniqueKey, or
clientName

For Payout Receipts, you can identify the vendor using:

vendorUniqueKey, or
vendorName

Refrens first tries to identify the customer/vendor using the unique key.

You can provide either the unique key or the name.

If the unique key is not provided, Refrens uses the name as a fallback.

If you are using the name, make sure it is exactly the same as recorded in the system to avoid errors during upload.

For example, if the unique key is blank and you enter: Acme Pvt Ltd

Refrens can match it with the existing customer Acme Pvt Ltd, including differences in spaces or letter casing.

Important:

The customer/vendor must already exist in your Refrens account.
Bulk Upload does not automatically create a new customer or vendor.
If the name matches multiple customers/vendors, you will need to provide the unique key to identify the correct one.

The CSV file contains information about the receipt as well as the invoice/expense against which the receipt needs to be settled.

If a single Payment Receipt needs to be allocated across multiple invoices, add each invoice in a separate row.

For example, a ₹5,000 payment can be allocated as:

Just enter the same Payment Receipt Number for all invoices you want to settle under that receipt.

You don’t need to repeat the other receipt-level details in each row. Only enter the Invoice/Expense Number, Settled Amount, and other invoice-related variable fields separately for each allocation.

The same principle applies to Payout Receipts when one payout is allocated across multiple expenses.

Record Advance Receipts:

You can also use Bulk Upload to record advance payments.

If a receipt is not being settled against any invoice or expense, you can mark it as an advance using:
isAdvance = TRUE

For example:

Invoice/expense number is provided: Set isAdvance to false or leave it blank.
No invoice/expense number is provided: Set isAdvance to true or leave it blank. If left blank, Refrens will automatically treat the receipt as an advance.

Important: An advance receipt cannot have an invoice or expense allocation.

3) Upload Your CSV

Once your CSV is ready, upload it by clicking Upload CSV File.

Refrens will first check and validate your file before creating any receipts.

4) Review Your Data

After uploading and mapping the CSV, Refrens validates the data before processing it.

You will see:

Total number of receipts
Number of valid receipts
Number of invalid receipts
Preview of the valid receipts
Allocation details for receipts that settle invoices/expenses

For example, if you upload 3 receipts and 1 is valid while 2 contain errors, Refrens will show the valid records that can be processed.

5) Handling Upload Errors

If some records contain errors, you don’t need to correct the entire CSV before uploading.

You can either download the Error Report to review the failed rows and their corresponding Error Reason, fix the errors in your CSV, and upload it again, or proceed with uploading only the valid records and fix the remaining records later.

For example, you may see errors such as:

Receipt number is required
Receipt number is already in use
Payment account not found
Client/Vendor not found
Invoice/Expense not found
Invoice is already fully paid
Currency mismatch
Exchange rate is required
Advance receipts cannot have invoice/expense allocations and more

6) Confirm & Upload

Once you have reviewed the valid receipts, click Finish in the Confirm & Upload section.

Once processing is complete, Refrens will show the result of your bulk upload.

You will also receive a email once the processing is completed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I upload both Payment Receipts and Payout Receipts in the same CSV?

No. Payment Receipts and Payout Receipts have separate Bulk Upload flows and templates. Use the Payment Receipt Bulk Upload for customer payments and the Payout Receipt Bulk Upload for vendor payouts.

Can one receipt be allocated to multiple invoices?

Yes. Add the same receipt number in multiple rows and specify the invoice and settled amount for each row.

Can I upload advance payments?

Yes. You can mark a receipt as an advance using the isAdvance field, or leave the field blank when there are no invoice/expense allocations.

What happens if some rows in my CSV are invalid?

You can download the Error Report, correct the failed rows, and upload them again. You can also process only the valid rows from the original upload.

Will my invoices and expenses be updated after the upload?

Yes. Successfully processed receipts update the relevant invoice/expense balances and other accounting records just like receipts created individually.

Can I upload foreign-currency receipts?

Yes. You can upload receipts in a currency different from your business currency by providing the appropriate currency and exchangeRate.

Can I upload a receipt against an already fully paid invoice?

No. The invoice must have an outstanding balance greater than zero.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at care@refrens.com or contact us through the live chat support.

Updated on: 07/09/2026

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