Apply a SimplePractice Client Credit to the Next Session

Last reviewed: October 7, 2026.

Open the unpaid invoice for the next session, choose Add payment, select Apply available credit, and allocate it. The credit only attaches automatically if the client is on AutoPay; otherwise it sits on the account until someone applies it.

Where client credits come from

In the accounts we reconcile, a SimplePractice credit almost always traces back to one of these:

• Insurance paid more than the estimate. The client paid an estimated copay or deductible amount, and the remittance came back with a smaller client share.

• A fee was removed after it was paid. A waived late-cancel fee or a corrected charge leaves the payment behind as credit.

• The client paid ahead. A deposit or prepayment that has no invoice to land on yet.

• A payment was run outside the normal flow. Someone charged the card manually for a session that was already settled, so the extra payment has nothing to apply to.

Know the source before you use it. A credit that exists because the payer has not finished adjudicating may be needed for that same visit.

Apply it to the next invoice

From SimplePractice’s advance-payment guide:

1. Find the unpaid invoice for the session you want to cover and check its date and amount. If the session has no invoice yet, the credit has nothing to attach to.

2. Open the invoice and choose Add payment.

3. Select Apply available credit. If the credit is smaller than the invoice and you are only allocating credit, set Amount to the credit rather than adding a card payment for the rest.

4. Choose Allocate credit, then reopen the invoice and confirm the remaining balance and any credit still on the account.

If the client is enrolled in AutoPay, the AutoPay guide says available credit is applied before the card is charged, so only the remainder runs. Without AutoPay, nothing happens until a person allocates it.

“Ten unallocated payments” is usually one credit

A common worry is a client file full of unallocated-payment flags. In our experience these usually roll up to a single credit total with no open invoice to apply it to, not a pile of errors. The unallocated-payments guide also notes a client can show a zero total balance while payments still need allocating. Add up the flags, compare the total to what the client actually paid and owes, and only then decide what to do with it.

What to avoid: running the client’s card again to “fix” the account. If the session is already settled, a new charge only grows the credit.

Keep it as credit or refund it?

Ask the client. By default we leave credits on the account for the next session, and many clients prefer that: some want it held until their deductible or out-of-pocket maximum resets in January. Refund instead when the client asks or has ended treatment. Very small credits are usually just applied forward.

One caution from our inbox: an unknown new client offering to prepay many sessions up front by check, often with an unusual backstory, matches a known check-fraud pattern in which the “overpayment” is later requested back. Let any prepayment clear before treating it as credit.

To return a credit to the client, see the SimplePractice refund guide.

Related Guides

• SimplePractice Insurance Balance vs Client Balance

• Record a Cash or Check Payment in SimplePractice

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a SimplePractice credit pay the next invoice by itself?

Only if the client is on AutoPay, which uses available credit before charging the card. Otherwise, open the invoice and apply the credit manually.

Why can’t I apply the credit to an upcoming session?

The session needs an unpaid invoice first. Once the appointment is invoiced, Apply available credit will appear when you add a payment.

Sources

• SimplePractice: Charging a client in advance

• SimplePractice: Managing unallocated client payments

• SimplePractice: Getting started with AutoPay