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JasonC3
November 3, 2022
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Post-dated Invoices

  • November 3, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

Hello everyone,

 

I am wondering if there is any reason I should not create post-dated invoices once a contract is signed. I have a client wanting to see a sales/receivables forecast and this seems to be the best way to do this in QuickBooks Online. 

 

When using QuickBooks Desktop I created Sales Orders to track future sales, but am unable to do that in QuickBooks Online. Creating post-dated invoices seems like an odd but effective way of doing this. I can now create a Sales by Customer Summary report (with columns by month) in order to see a sales/income forecast. 

 

The only potential issue I see is that invoices may never get sent unless I have a system to remind me to verify the work was complete and send them once the billing period arrives. 

 

I know this is an outside-the-box method but can't find any good reason not to do it.

 

Thoughts?

 

Regards,

Jason

Best answer by Rainflurry

@JasonC3 

 

I don't see it being an issue except that creating post-dated invoices will increase the customer's open balance.  But, most importantly, they won't impact the financial statements, which is good.  Just another thought - you can essentially do the same thing with estimates as opposed to invoices.  You can run an 'Estimates by Customer' report (grouped by month) to get the same information.  That will keep your customer's open balance accurate and the estimates can be converted to invoices as needed.  Just my $.02.

1 reply

Rainflurry
RainflurryAnswer
November 3, 2022

@JasonC3 

 

I don't see it being an issue except that creating post-dated invoices will increase the customer's open balance.  But, most importantly, they won't impact the financial statements, which is good.  Just another thought - you can essentially do the same thing with estimates as opposed to invoices.  You can run an 'Estimates by Customer' report (grouped by month) to get the same information.  That will keep your customer's open balance accurate and the estimates can be converted to invoices as needed.  Just my $.02.

    J
    JasonC3Author
    November 3, 2022

    Thank you Rainflurry!

     

    I actually found a better workaround. I wanted to maintain the integrity of my progress invoicing based off of a single estimate. So originally I was looking for a solution besides using an estimate.

     

    What I discovered is I can use the service date field and easily enter multiple dates for the same transaction. I was then able to create a custom report using the pivot table feature to sort by service date by month. 

     

    I am also going to use a bundle with hidden service items in my estimate to break down the different periods I want to view the income for the same service item. 

     

    Thank you for your feedback! 

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