Provided a customer with 14 interior doors. installed only 1. Submitted invoice for the door material (14) and the installation labor and material of only 1 of these. Included in the installation material was a $50 credit for the harware allowance on the one door. Was issued a check for the invoice with hand written alteration reflecting a deduction of a $50 credit for 7 doors. The invoice did not include any charge for the insallation material and labor of the uninstallled doors . My question is ultimately whether or not i can cash the check and still pursue payment of the outstanding $350. Just because someone changes a valid and clear invoice and issues a check, is that automatically a valid assesment of a final payment?
As long as the check does not say words such as "final settlement" or some other annotation suggesting that the payment was the resolution of the account, you should be fine pursuing the balance. If you are concerned of a differenet interepretation, you should let the customer know in writing (i.e. email, letter) BEFORE you cash the check. That way, should the customer later suggest that the payment was final, you would have documentation showing that was not the case.