# Moving payments between bookings

Sometimes a payment ends up on the wrong booking, or needs to move as part of a normal booking
lifecycle event — a guest rebooking after their booking expires, a contract renewal, or a room move.
The money was received correctly; it just needs to sit on a different booking.

**Moving a payment** reassigns it to another booking without reversing it and re-recording it by
hand. The payment keeps its original identity and its card or bank link, so your records — and any
later refund — stay connected to the original transaction.

## What happens when you move a payment

- The payment's **receipt** (the record of the payment) is reassigned to the destination booking.
- **Nothing is reversed or re-created** — there is no payment reversal note and no duplicate
  payment. It is the same payment, now on the correct booking.
- The link to the original card or bank transaction is preserved, so a **refund can still be issued**
  — now from the destination booking.
- The payment is **re-applied to the destination booking's open invoices** automatically (oldest
  invoice first, matching currency). See [Allocations](/finance-and-accounting/allocations/).
- Every move is **recorded for audit**, so you can always see which booking a payment belongs to now
  and the outcome of its most recent move.

## What you can move

- Payments on bookings **within the same workspace**.
- Payments where the original and destination booking use the **same payment provider**.
- **Whole payments** — a payment moves in full; it can't be split across bookings.
- **Regular receipts and deposit receipts.**

Both the original and destination booking must be in one of these states: **tentative, confirmed,
expired, or cancelled**.

## When a payment can't be moved

A payment can't be moved, for example, if it:

- hasn't been issued yet;
- has already been reversed or refunded (in full or in part), or has a refund in progress. A refund
  that has since been cancelled by a refund reversal note no longer counts;
- came from an online travel agent (OTA) channel; or
- is on a workspace where the feature isn't switched on yet.

You don't have to guess: a payment carries its own “can this be moved?” status and, when it can't,
the reason — so this can be shown in your tools before the action is offered. A few checks depend on
the destination booking — such as it using the same payment provider — and are confirmed when you
make the move.

## Recording why a payment was moved

When you move a payment you can record a **reason** — for example that it was on the wrong booking, a
duplicate, a guest request, or a general correction. The reason is kept with the audit record so the
move is easy to understand later.

## Using the API

Moving payments is available through the **Accounts Receivable & Payments API**. Rather than repeat
request formats here, use the ready-made examples in the **Postman collection** and **Apollo**
explorer — they show how to check whether a payment can be moved, perform the move, and confirm the
result. Links are on the
[Accounts Receivable & Payments API integration](/finance-and-accounting/integrations/ar-payments-api/) page.

Moving a payment uses the same permission as issuing a refund: anyone who can refund a payment can
move it.

## Getting notified when a payment moves

A single move raises **two webhooks**, so your systems can stay in sync without polling:

| Webhook | Topic | What it signals |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `v2.invoicing.receipt.moved` | invoicing | The receipt has been reassigned to the destination booking. |
| `v2.payments.payment.updated` | payments | The underlying payment has been updated to reflect its new booking. |

Subscribe to whichever fits your integration. For payloads, schemas, and to test events, see the
webhook catalogue at <https://webhooks-docs.lavanda.app/>.

## Availability

Moving payments **within a workspace** is available today, enabled per workspace by Lavanda. Moving
payments **between workspaces**, and moving them **automatically** as part of rebooking and renewal
flows, are planned for a later release. If the capability isn't available on your workspace, contact
your Lavanda representative.

## See also

- [Payments](/finance-and-accounting/payments/) — payment states and what each payment shows.
- [Receipts](/finance-and-accounting/document-types/receipts/) — the document that records a payment.
- [Refunds and reversals](/finance-and-accounting/payments/refunds-and-reversals/) — the other post-payment corrections.
- [Allocations](/finance-and-accounting/allocations/) — how a moved payment is re-applied on the destination booking.