--- title: "Paying a partner or supplier invoice" description: "Send money to a partner or supplier for an invoice they raised, even when no student payment is attached." lastModified: "2026-08-27" lang: "en" wordCount: 979 url: https://qualyhq.com/training/payouts/paying-a-partner-or-supplier-invoice --- ## Site navigation - [For schools](/international-education/for-schools.md) — For international education schools - [For agents](/international-education/for-education-agents.md) — For international education agents - [Explore](/training.md) — Watch videos on how to use Qualy - [About](/about.md) — Learn about Qualy's mission and values - [Pricing](/pricing) - [5-min demo](/demo.md) - [Login](https://dashboard.qualyhq.com) # Paying a partner or supplier invoice > Pay an invoice you have received—no incoming student payment required. ## At a glance - **Intended for:** Everyone - **Available in:** All plans - **Reading time:** 4 minutes - **Last updated:** 29th July 2026 ## Quick summary When a supplier or partner invoices YOU, raise a TI (tax invoice) against their partnership. This creates the invoice without needing an incoming student payment, and Qualy generates the payout to their bank account when you send it. ## Overview Most money leaving Qualy is a **split** off a student payment—you collect tuition, and the school's share is forwarded automatically. But sometimes a supplier simply **sends you an invoice**: a service provider, a partner school billing you directly, an overseas office. There is no student payment behind it. For that, raise a **TI invoice** against their partnership. It is standalone—no existing payment required—and the payout to their bank account follows from it. **RCTI and TI point in opposite directions.** A **TI** means *they invoiced you*, so money flows **out** to them. An **RCTI** is an invoice *you raise on their behalf*, typically for commission they have earned. Paying a bill you received means a **TI**. ## Step 1 – Make sure they exist as a partnership Payouts are always sent to a **partnership**. A contact record on its own is not enough—if the supplier only exists as a contact, create the partnership first. ## Step 2 – Add their bank account Open the partnership, go to **Bank accounts**, and add the account for their **country** and **currency**. Qualy asks for the fields that country actually uses—BSB for Australia, IFSC for India, sort code for the UK, IBAN and BIC across Europe, and so on. A partner also needs their **legal details and address** on file. A payout with a missing bank account or missing legal information fails and tells you which one is missing. ## Step 3 – Raise the invoice From the **Payouts** area, create the invoice against that partnership, with the amount and currency they billed you in. Give it a clear description or reference so it is recognisable on the statement later. The invoice type—**TI** or **RCTI**—follows that partnership's settings unless you choose otherwise, so it is worth checking the partner is set up the way you expect before you raise your first one. ## Step 4 – Approve and send The invoice appears in **Payouts** like any other. Open it, check the breakdown, and **send** it. If your account requires approval on payouts, it sits in **pending review** until someone clears it. Watch its **status** through to **paid**. ## Paying in another currency If you owe in a currency you do not hold—an Indian supplier invoicing in **INR**, say—set their bank account to that country and currency. Qualy converts at the exchange rate applied to the payout, and the payout record shows the **source amount**, the **target amount** and the **rate**. Check the converted figure on the payout before you send. The rate is applied at payout time, so a large invoice raised days earlier will not settle at the rate you saw when you created it. ## When a payout fails Open it and read the reason—Qualy names it. The usual causes: - **Missing bank account** on the partnership - **Missing legal details or address** for the partner - **Payouts disabled** for that partnership Fix the missing detail and it proceeds. You can also choose to have that money **sent to you instead**, so nothing stays stuck. There is no "standalone payout" you can create on its own. Money out is always generated from an invoice or a split—raise the TI and the payout follows from it. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need a student payment before I can pay a supplier? No. A TI invoice is standalone—it does not need an existing payment or payment plan behind it. Use it when you simply owe a supplier for an invoice they sent you. (If the money you are forwarding did come from a student payment, use the Pay a supplier section on that payment instead, so the split stays linked to the money that funded it.) ### What is the difference between RCTI and TI? They point in opposite directions. A TI means they invoiced you, so money flows OUT to them. An RCTI (Recipient Created Tax Invoice) is one you raise on their behalf—typically for commission they have earned. If you are paying a bill you received, you want a TI. ### Can I pay a contact who is not a partnership? No. Payouts are always sent to a partnership, so the supplier has to exist as a partnership with a bank account before you can pay them. A contact record on its own is not enough. ### Can I pay in a different currency to the one I hold? Yes. Set their bank account to the right country and currency, and Qualy converts at the exchange rate on the payout. The payout record shows the source amount, target amount and the rate applied. ### Why did my payout fail? The usual causes are a missing bank account, missing legal or address details on the partnership, or payouts disabled for that partner. Open the payout to see the exact reason, fix it, and it proceeds. You can also redirect the money to yourself instead. ### Is there a standalone payout I can create directly? No. There is no standalone payout object in Qualy—money out is always generated from an invoice or a split. Raise the TI invoice and the payout follows from it. ### Can I raise several of these at once? Yes. The bulk operations tools can raise standalone invoices and run a bulk payout or remittance across many partners at once. ## Prefer doing this via the Qualy API? Head over to our developer docs for everything you need—endpoints, examples, and simple how-tos. 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