Advances, Installments, Credit, and BNPL in Receipts

The payment method attribute (tag 1214) is not just two values ("advance payment / full payment"), but seven. Most errors in credit and BNPL scenarios occur because money and goods are separated in time not due to prepayment, but due to debt — and that is a fundamentally different pair of tags. We break down all seven values and clarify who actually issues the receipt when a bank or BNPL service enters the deal.

1. Seven payment calculation signs#

Value	When applied	Example
100% Prepayment	Full cost of a specific product/service paid prior to handover	Customer paid for a sofa in full online and will pick it up in a week
Prepayment	Part of the cost of a specific product/service paid prior to handover	Customer paid 30% down for a sofa, remainder due upon receipt
Advance	Money deposited without being tied to a specific product/service	Gift certificate sold, or bar deposit balance topped up
Full Settlement	Payment and handover of the product/service occur simultaneously, or this is a final receipt offsetting a previously made advance/prepayment	Regular POS purchase; or a handover receipt offsetting a prepayment
Partial Settlement and Credit	Part of the amount is paid immediately, the remainder is issued on credit (seller installment plan) at handover	Product handed over with 50% paid upfront, remainder on store installment plan
Credit Transfer	Product/service transferred entirely without payment at handover, full amount on debt	Store hands over appliances on installment plan with no down payment
Credit Payment	Repayment (full or partial) of previously incurred debt for a product provided on credit	Customer makes a scheduled installment payment to the store

The first four values represent the world of advances and prepayments (money before or alongside the product). The last three represent credit provided directly by the seller (product before money). Confusing these two groups is a common mistake: seller installment plans are not processed as a "prepayment", but through "credit transfer" and "credit payment".

2. Store Installment Plan#

At the time of item handover — a "credit transfer" receipt (if no down payment) or "partial payment and credit" receipt (if a down payment was made); itemized list included, payment amount on the receipt is zero or the down payment amount.
Each subsequent payment according to the schedule is a separate "credit payment" receipt for the installment amount, without repeating the item list — it is simply debt repayment.
The final installment closes the debt with the same "credit payment" receipt; no separate "closing" document is required — the debt balance is clear from the cumulative credited payments.

This differs from a bank consumer loan precisely because the store itself acts as the lender: the merchant receives payments directly from the buyer in installments, without bank involvement.

3. POS Credit from a Bank#

When a customer applies for a consumer loan from a partner bank at the checkout, the bank transfers the entire amount to the store immediately (minus its commission, if any). For the store, this is a standard full cashless payment at the time of handing over the goods: the merchant has already received its funds in full. The credit relationship — payment schedule, interest, late payment liability — exists solely between the bank and the customer and is not reflected in the store's receipt in any way. Do not confuse this scheme with "credit sale": those tags apply only when the seller itself acts as the creditor, rather than the bank.

4. BNPL Services ("Dolyami", "Split", and Similar)#

Legally, the operating model of a BNPL service depends on the specific contract with it, which determines who issues the receipt and for what amount:

Service Model	When the Merchant Receives Money	What the Merchant Issues a Receipt For
The service pays the merchant the full amount immediately (minus commission) and assumes the default risk	Immediately, in full	"Full settlement" by cashless payment at the time of goods transfer — same as regular cashless payment
The service transfers money to the merchant in installments as payments are received from the buyer	In parts, spread over time	Gray area: formally, the money has not yet been received in full by the merchant at the time of goods transfer — most services contractually assume the fiscalization responsibility, but this must be explicitly verified, not assumed by default
The service buys out the right of claim from the merchant under a factoring scheme	Immediately, in full	"Full settlement" by cashless payment, similar to the first model

Cenaly does not have a ready-made integration with specific BNPL services — check with your service which specific model applies under your contract: this determines the timing and amount of the receipt, and there is no general rule that is "the same for all BNPL."

5. Offset of Advance Payment for Partial Deliveries#

If an order is shipped in multiple batches, the offset is applied proportionally to each shipment: the amount of the "offset" receipt equals the cost of the specific part being shipped now, not the total prepayment. The unused portion of the advance payment remains outstanding until the next shipment — rounding the offset amount "for convenience" is not allowed; it must strictly match the cost of the shipped items, otherwise receipts will not match delivery notes. A detailed breakdown of the same mechanics on the online store side can be found in the article “Online Store: Timing of the Receipt”.

6. Changing the VAT Rate Between Advance Payment and Settlement (20% → 22%, 2025/2026)#

If an advance payment is received in 2025 at a rate of 20%, and shipment (settlement) occurs in 2026, the settlement receipt indicates the VAT rate in effect on the date of shipment — that is, 22%, and not the rate on the date the advance payment was received. The difference between the tax previously calculated on the advance payment at the old rate and the tax on the date of shipment is adjusted in accounting and tax records separately from the receipt — the cash register only records the fact of shipment at the rate relevant at that moment. The exact procedure for such an adjustment is an accounting matter, not a cash register setting; please coordinate it with your accountant. Read more about rate transitions and setting up cash registers for STS VAT in the article "STS and VAT-2026 in Receipts".

7. Advance Refund After Partial Offset#

If part of the advance has already been offset against previous shipments, the refund is processed only for the remaining, unapplied portion: a "refund" receipt with the payment method attribute set to "advance" for the amount of the original advance minus the amounts already offset, using the same payment method as the initial advance.

8. Example#

An electronics store sells a refrigerator on store installments under FFD 1.2. Price 60,000 ₽, down payment upon receipt — 15,000 ₽, remaining balance — four payments of 11,250 ₽ each.

At the moment of handover: receipt "Refrigerator", payment method attribute "partial payment and credit", payment amount on receipt — 15,000 ₽ (cash/card), the remaining 45,000 ₽ is issued on credit.
Each subsequent installment — a separate receipt "credit payment" for 11,250 ₽, without repeating the product itemization.
After the fourth payment, the debt is settled; no new documents are required.

9. How to do this in Cenaly#

POS supports splitting payment into a down payment and installments within a single order — the required calculation method flag (credit transfer/payment) is generated automatically at each step.
Accepting cashless payments for bank POS loans and BNPL services works like a regular cashless online payment: Cenaly does not yet have a dedicated integration with specific BNPL services; funds are recorded as a standard cashless payment based on a statement or service notification.
The history of advance settlement, credit, and installment receipts is available in POS → Receipts (receipts); for cash registers using Cenaly Hardware Bridge, the flag is printed automatically according to the order scenario.

10. Frequently Asked Questions#

A bank issued a consumer loan to a customer, and the money reached the shop immediately — do we need to set the "sale on credit" attribute? No, this is a "full settlement" via cashless payment — the shop has already received the payment in full, and credit relations going forward exist solely between the bank and the customer.

A BNPL service states that "it issues the receipt itself" — should I really not issue anything at all? It depends on the contract model (section 4). If the service actually pays you as a seller and assumes the fiscalization obligation under its own agency or factoring scheme, this may be correct; however, check the contract wording explicitly rather than relying on a general rule.

We round the advance offset amount for partial shipments — is this allowed? No, the offset amount must strictly correspond to the cost of the shipped portion — rounding creates discrepancies between receipts and waybills that are difficult to explain during reconciliation.

An advance payment was received in 2025, but the shipment is spread across 2026 — what should we do with receipts if the offset has not been registered yet? Register the offset at the time of actual shipment using the VAT rate applicable at that moment (section 6) — the delay between the advance payment and shipment is not a problem in itself, provided that a separate offset receipt is generated on time for each shipment.

The material is for informational purposes only and does not replace a consultation with an accountant. Primary sources: Federal Law No. 54-FZ "On the Use of Cash Registers", guidelines of the Federal Tax Service (kkt-online.nalog.ru), Art. 14.5 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation.

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