Q: When I enter a payment in RTG Bills that exceeds the amount already billed, it appears as a retainer. I don't want the payment to appear as a retainer, because it covers work which has already been done - it just hasn't been entered yet. How can I get the payment to appear as a normal fee payment instead of a retainer?

A: Excess payments no longer appear as retainers.  Starting with Version 2.09, payments appear as unapplied payments when Automatic Allocation is checked.  When a bill is printed, the payment is applied to fees, expenses, late charges, and taxes.  You will see an unapplied payment on the bill only if, at the time the bill is printed, the payment exceeds the amount due, including new charges.

Prior to Version 2.09, payments were allocated (to fees/expenses/late charges/taxes) at the time they were entered.  Any amount that could not be allocated based on amounts due was allocated based on unbilled transactions (starting with Version 1.17).  Any excess amount was treated as a retainer.

The disadvantage of allocating the payment when it is entered is that you might have done the work already without having entered the transactions.  In that case the payment is not a retainer, but RTG Bills can't allocate it until you enter the transactions for which it is the payment.  Treating the payment as an unapplied payment solves that problem.

Note that it is always possible to allocate a payment manually.  For example, you might receive a payment that should only be applied to expenses.  When you enter the payment (in the Enter A New Payment window), uncheck the Automatic Allocation box. Enter the payment in the Expense box.