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Lettering

Understand lettering codes, the automatic lettering of bank payments and how to correct a lettering.

Updated on 10/05/2026 Edit this page

Lettering means matching an invoice with its payment by giving both the same code. A lettered item is settled; an unlettered item stays open and appears in the outstanding amount of the third party, the aged balance and the matching proposals. This page explains lettering from the bank's point of view; manual lettering is done in the third-party record.

Lettering codes

Each group of lettered lines receives a three-letter code unique to the company file: AAA, then AAB, AAC, and so on up to ZZZ. The code is carried by the lines of the customer and supplier accounts (400000 and 440000), never by expense, income or bank lines.

Situation Lines that receive the same code
Invoice and its payment The customer or supplier line of the invoice and that of the payment.
Invoice and credit note The two lines of the third party, if their amounts offset each other.
Several invoices paid by one transfer All the lines concerned, if their total is zero.

The rule is always the same: a group can only be lettered if the sum of its debits equals the sum of its credits.

Automatic lettering when a payment is booked

When you book a bank transaction matched with an invoice, NovaFisko letters without any action on your part.

  1. The payment is recorded in the financial journal, with the counterpart on the third party's account.
  2. If the amount of the transaction is exactly that of the open item, a new code is assigned to the invoice line and to the payment line.
  3. The invoice disappears from the open items: it will no longer be proposed for another transaction.

If the amount differs, even by one cent, the payment is booked but no code is assigned: the item stays open for the difference.

Note

The company settings provide a "Reconciliation difference" with an expense account (657000), an income account (757000) and a maximum tolerated difference of 1,00 €. The automatic booking of this difference at the time of lettering is coming soon. For now, clear a small difference with a miscellaneous operation, then letter.

Lettering by hand

Manual lettering is done from the customer or supplier record.

  1. Open Third parties and the record concerned, Entries tab.
  2. Filter on Open.
  3. Tick the lines to match: the counter shows the number of lines ticked.
  4. Click Letter. The message "Lettering …: … line(s)." gives the code assigned.

The Automatic lettering button of the same record matches, in one go, exactly opposite amounts and balanced groups that share a reference. Both functions are described in detail in Third-party entries and lettering.

Clearing a small difference

Example: a customer pays 1 209,88 € for an invoice of 1 210,00 €.

  1. Book the transaction by allocating it to account 400000 with the customer as third party.
  2. Post a miscellaneous operation for the difference:
Account Third party Debit Credit
657000 Discounts granted 0,12
400000 Customers The customer 0,12
  1. In the customer record, tick the invoice, the payment and the difference line, then click Letter.

Undoing a lettering

  1. In the third-party record, Entries tab, filter on Lettered.
  2. Tick one line of the group and click Unletter.
  3. The code is removed from all the lines that carried it; they become open items again.

Reversing a lettered entry has the same effect: the code is removed from all the lines of the group, so that an invoice is not left "settled" by a cancelled payment.

Warning

Unlettering does not delete any entry. If the payment itself is wrong, reverse its entry from the Entries tab: the bank transaction becomes "To process" again and the lettering is removed at the same time.

What lettering changes elsewhere

Screen or report Effect of a lettered item
Third parties, Open items and Outstanding columns The item is no longer counted.
Aged balance The item disappears from the ageing buckets.
Bank reconciliation The invoice is no longer proposed.
Quality, "Customer receivables > 60 days" The item is no longer flagged.
Exports, third-party ledger The lettering code is printed next to the line.

Letterings and unletterings are recorded in the activity of the company file, with their author.

Tip

Before a closing, run the automatic lettering on your main customers and suppliers, then check the aged balance: the items that remain are those that really deserve a justification.

See also