Thanks for coming back to the thread, PDPTPLEX. Let me answer your questions about applying payments to sales orders.

As sales orders are considered non-posting entries in the system, the option to link a customer payment is unavailable. In order to link a payment, you'll need to convert the sales order to an invoice. Any prepayments you receive for the sales order will be considered customer credit for the time being. Once you've shipped the order and converted it to an invoice, you can apply the credit to the invoice. After that, you can send another payment link to your customer to pay the remaining balance. Just ensure to apply the credit to the invoice when your customer has fully paid it. I'll outline the steps below for your guidance.

Here's how to create an invoice from a sales order so you can apply customer credits:

1. Navigate to the Customer menu on the top bar. Then, select Create Invoices.
2. On the Customer:Job dropdown, pick a customer. This will prompt the available sales order to appear.
3. Make the necessary changes in the invoice.
4. Click Save & Close.

Then, here's how to apply a credit to an invoice:

1. Open the invoice. 
2. On the top menu, click Apply Credits.
3. Tick the available credits.
4. Press Done.

I'll also share these articles for more info on the topic above:

• Send Payment links in QuickBooks
• Give your customer a credit in QuickBooks

For future reference, here's a guide on generating reports to get a comprehensive overview of your sales orders and invoice transactions: Understand reports.

Feel free to return to this post if you need further help applying payments to your invoices in QuickBooks, PDPTPLEX. We're always available to assist you.