When reviewing the Vehicle Debtors report, you may notice a negative balance against a vehicle, even though the customer has already paid their deposit.
This is normal behaviour in Navigator and relates to how customer deposits are recorded before a vehicle sale has been invoiced.
Why Does This Happen?
When a customer pays a deposit towards a vehicle, Navigator records the payment against Vehicle Debtors.
However, if the vehicle has not yet been invoiced, there is no corresponding invoice to offset that payment.
As a result, the deposit appears as a negative balance on the Vehicle Debtors report.
This represents money the dealership has received and is holding on behalf of the customer.
Example – Customer Pays a £500 Deposit
A customer orders a vehicle and agrees to pay a £500 deposit.
Initially, Navigator records the expected deposit against the vehicle.
Once the customer pays, the figures may appear as follows:
| Column | Amount |
|---|---|
| OS DEP (Outstanding Deposit) | £0.00 |
| Paid | £500.00 |
| Due | -£500.00 |
The -£500.00 does not mean the customer owes a negative amount or that a transaction has been posted incorrectly.
It simply means the dealership has received £500 towards a vehicle that has not yet been invoiced.
From an accounting perspective, this is a credit balance in Vehicle Debtors, representing the deposit being held.
How to Check the Outstanding Balance
You can review the vehicle's individual debtor information to confirm what the customer currently owes.
Navigate to Vehicles > Sales Manager's Toolkit.
Select Reports > Debtor List.
Locate the relevant vehicle.
Review the OS DEP, Paid and Due columns.
Double-click the vehicle to open the deal.
Select the Debtors tab.
In our example, although the Debtor List displays -£500.00, the individual deal's Debtors tab may show £0.00 currently due, because the customer has paid the agreed deposit.
What Happens When the Vehicle Is Invoiced?
Once the vehicle sale is invoiced, the sale creates the corresponding debtor amount.
The deposit already received can then be offset against the amount owed for the vehicle, reducing the remaining balance payable by the customer.
Until that point, the deposit remains a credit balance against Vehicle Debtors.
Important Points to Remember
A negative debtor balance can be completely normal where a deposit has been received before invoicing.
OS DEP represents an outstanding deposit that has been requested but not yet paid.
Paid shows payments received against the vehicle.
Due can show a negative amount when payments have been received before the corresponding invoice.
The individual vehicle's Debtors tab provides further information about the amount currently due from the customer.
Summary
If a customer has paid a £500 deposit and the Vehicle Debtors report displays -£500.00, this does not necessarily indicate an error.
It generally means the dealership has received the deposit, but the vehicle sale has not yet been invoiced.
You can confirm this by opening the individual vehicle deal and reviewing its Debtors tab.
If the negative balance remains unexpected after the vehicle has been invoiced and payments allocated, contact the Navigator Helpdesk for assistance.
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