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Holding back an amount with a holdback

With a holdback (guarantee sum) you temporarily hold back part of the invoice amount. Your customer only has to pay that part after a set period, as a guarantee that the works have actually been carried out. Robaws calculates the amount, deducts it from the outstanding amount, puts it on the PDF and releases it again after the deadline.

Example: an invoice of €1,000 carries a holdback of 10% with a period of 30 days. Your customer therefore only has to pay €100 after 30 days. From the day after the deadline, that €100 is added to the outstanding amount again.

Activating the holdback

Switch the function on via settings > invoices > holdback > 'Activate holdback'. As soon as the holdback is active, the 'Manage holdback templates' button appears in the same card, and every invoice gets an extra 'Holdback' panel.

Creating holdback templates

Templates are optional, but handy if you always use the same holdbacks. You manage them via settings > invoices > holdback > 'Manage holdback templates'. For each template you fill in:

Field	Explanation
Name	The name of the template.
Holdback type	Fixed amount, Percentage incl. VAT or Percentage excl. VAT.
Fixed amount or Percentage	The amount or the percentage you want to apply. Which field you see depends on the holdback type you have chosen.
Number of days	The number of days used to determine the deadline.
Description on PDF	This description appears on the PDF on the holdback line. If you leave it empty, the standard term 'Holdback' is used.
Description in PDF comment	The text that appears as a comment on the PDF. You can translate it per language via the language icon.

The percentage works on different bases: Percentage incl. VAT calculates on the invoice total including VAT, Percentage excl. VAT on the total excluding VAT.

Putting a holdback on an invoice

You can assign a holdback to an invoice in two ways:

Manually on the invoice.
Via a template from the settings.

In the 'Holdback' panel, click 'Add holdback'. If templates exist, you choose one of them. If no templates exist, you get an empty holdback of the type Fixed amount and you set everything directly on the invoice.

On the invoice itself you manage: Holdback type, the amount or percentage, Number of days, Holdback deadline and the Description on PDF.

Holdback deadline = invoice date + number of days. Those three fields are linked to one another. The day after the deadline, the holdback amount is added to the total outstanding amount again. On the deadline day itself the holdback is therefore still held back.

Where do you see the holdback?

On the invoice, in the blue outstanding amount: the holdback lowers the total outstanding amount.
On the PDF: an extra 'Holdback' line (or your own description) appears below the total amount and is deducted from the total.
On the invoice and payment overview. This is a separate PDF that you open on the invoice via the pdf action button > 'Invoice and payment overview'. You can also send it as an attachment when you email the invoice. That overview gets an extra 'Holdback - (Not Yet Due)' column with the amount held back and the due date. The column only appears if the overview contains at least one invoice with a holdback that is not yet due.

A holdback is never held back on a credit note, even if one has been set on it.

Do not confuse the holdback with holding back an advance: that is a different function, which you find with the advance invoice and the combination of advance invoice and progress claims.

Updated on: 08/09/2026

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