Employee garnishment to pay for a customer invoice

Hey ChristaBK,

I'm happy to see you're using creativity to unlock the full potential of QuickBooks. The system is designed to give you control, so you can more effectively run your business and be confident that your financials are recorded accurately. While payroll items won't communicate directly with an invoice, I'm confident we'll have no problem getting this recorded.

They key here is to create a Service Item affecting the same account as your garnishment Payroll Item. It's just a few easy steps to create a new deduction:

1. Go to the Lists menu and then click Payroll Item List.

2. At the bottom of the list, click the Payroll Item button and then click New.

3. Select Deduction, then click Next.

4. Follow the onscreen instructions, and make a note of the selected Account.

5. Click Finish when you're done.

Once you've run payroll, we'll just need to clear the account you selected on a credit memo. This is just a few easy steps:

1. Go to the Customers menu and click Create Credit Memos/Refunds.

2. In the Customer:Job field, choose the customer you wish to apply the garnishment to.

3. Click the Account drop-down list and choose which Accounts Receivable account to use.

4. Select the Item drop-down then click Add New. 

5. Create a Service item, and select the same account used for your garnishment deduction. 

6. Enter the Amount of the garnishment and an exempt Tax rate.

7. Click Save & Close. 

8. Select Apply to an invoice then click OK to immediately apply this credit to the open invoice. 

As you can see, this is a pretty hands on process. Don't hesitate to reach out to your accountant if you want to make sure everything is recorded accurately. They'll be able to determine how to approach this while keeping your accounts balanced. Check out our Find an Accountant page to find a QuickBooks pro in your area. You can enter in your postal code to find accountants near you, and filter for the product you're using.

I'm here for you. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.