What this page is for
Some M-Pesa payments carry no usable phone number to match against — a till (Buy Goods) payment carries none at all, and some configurations return it hashed rather than as a number. This page is the way round that: find the one unplaced receipt whose amount equals exactly what the guest says they paid, within the last few hours, and settle the bill from it.
Only people whose role can operate payments see this page.
How to…
How to match a bill by amount
- Under The bill being paid, search for and add the bill, by order number or the customer's name.
- Choose the M-Pesa method the guest used.
- Type the Amount the guest paid. It starts at what the bill still owes.
- Press Find the receipt, and confirm.
- If exactly one receipt matches, it pays the bill at once and the page shows the result. If several match, choose the right one with Use this receipt. If none match, nothing is placed, and any receipt that arrives later waits on the unresolved payments queue.
Only receipts from the last few hours that nobody has already placed are considered, and only an amount that matches exactly. A receipt for a part-payment never qualifies.
Worked examples
Supermarket
A guest at Tumaini Supermarket pays KES 1,350 (Kenyan shillings) to the shop's till number, which carries no reference the system can use. The cashier adds the guest's bill, chooses the M-Pesa paybill or till number method, types 1350, and presses Find the receipt. Exactly one receipt of KES 1,350 arrived in the last few minutes, so it settles the bill immediately with no further choice needed.
Restaurant and bar
Two separate tables at The Acacia Grill & Bar both happen to pay KES 2,000 by till number within the same few minutes. When the waiter matches the second bill by amount, both receipts of KES 2,000 are offered; she chooses the one that arrived just after the guest confirmed payment.