This article explains how detached and reattached payments in Stripe affect invoice syncing, accounting records, and revenue recognition in Synder.
Use this article if:
- You use Stripe invoices, and payments are detached and reattached to different invoices.
- An invoice that a customer previously paid in Stripe later appears as Open.
- Revenue recognition results appear unexpected or incomplete.
Do not use this article if:
- You do not use Stripe invoices.
- Payments are never manually detached or reassigned in Stripe.
This information is provided for reference only. Synder does not provide a correction or recovery workflow for this scenario.
What is a detached invoice in Stripe
Stripe allows you to detach a payment from one invoice and attach it to another after the original transaction. As a result:
- A single payment associates with different invoices over time.
- The original invoice can revert to Open status in Stripe.
- Stripe does not notify downstream systems that the historical invoice–payment relationship has changed.
Example scenario
- Invoice #1 is created in Stripe.
- Payment #1 is applied to Invoice #1. Invoice #1 status becomes Paid.
- Payment #1 is detached from Invoice #1.
- Payment #1 is attached to Invoice #2.
- Invoice #1 status becomes Open in Stripe.
At this point, Stripe has changed the invoice–payment relationship, but Synder has already synced earlier data.
How Synder sync behaves
Sync Open Invoices: OFF
- Synder syncs Invoice #1 and Payment #1 through chronological auto-sync.
- Invoice #2 is not imported.
- Invoice #1 remains closed in the accounting system, even if Stripe now shows it as Open.
Result: The accounting system reflects the original state, not the later reassignment that you see in Stripe.
Sync Open Invoices: ON
- Synder syncs Invoice #1 and Payment #1.
- Invoice #2 is imported, but the payment is not synced to Invoice #2.
- Invoice #1 remains closed in the accounting system.
Result: Invoice #2 can appear unpaid with no payment attached. Invoice #1 stays paid.
Revenue Recognition (RevRec) impact
Based on payment date (example: Sync Open Invoices OFF)
- RevRec recognizes Invoice #1 because it has a payment.
- RevRec does not recognize Invoice #2.
- Subscription results can appear Incomplete.
Based on invoice date (example: Sync Open Invoices ON)
- RevRec recognizes Invoice #1 regardless of payment.
- RevRec also recognizes Invoice #2 regardless of payment.
Important: This can result in a subscription with an incomplete status
Key limitations
- Synder does not resync or rewrite historical links when Stripe changes invoice–payment relationships.
- Detached payments in Stripe create accounting states that automation cannot mirror accurately
- If you detach a payment, you must adjust it manually in your accounting software.
- This behavior is normal and not a sync error.
Next steps
- To maintain predictable accounting results, do not detach payments from invoices in Stripe.
- If invoice reassignment becomes necessary, review the accounting manually.
- Share this article with your accounting team before making changes in Stripe.
Reach out to Synder Team via online support chat or email with any questions you have – we are always happy to help you!
