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Lizz82
September 15, 2022
Question

Recording Deposits For Special Orders + Opening Balances

  • September 15, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

Using Quickbooks Online in Canada.

 

I run a furniture store. Most of our products are made to order, so customers typically provide a deposit at the time of order, and pay the balance just before delivery. We record as income after delivery has been completed.

 

I found the article about retainers & deposits, and it was helpful

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/service-items/record-retainer-deposit/L6B5RsY6l_US_en_US?uid=l83g52zj

I've created a liabilities trust account called Special Order Prepayments

And a Service Income called Special Order Deposits

 

However I'm still a little uncertain how to do all my entries.

First, how do I record an opening balance for a customer (we've moved over from other software).

I have a list from my POS system with the customer names, the special order value, the deposit received to date, and the amount still owing.

E.g. Customer 1

Special Order value $2697.36

Deposit received in old software $899.12

Balance owing $1798.24

 

When we receive a new order, how will the entry differ from the above?

Part 1

Customer orders $3000 sofa

At the time of order, pays deposit of $1600

Balancing owing of $1400

 

Part 2 (2-3 months later)

Custom pays balance owing

 

Part 3

Order is delivered (1-2 weeks later)

Income is recorded as earned at this time, along with sales tax.

1 reply

A
Amanda-B
September 15, 2022

Hey there Lizz82,

 

Thanks for reaching out to us here. Making sure you're recording your transactions properly is an essential step for maintaining clean books. It's important that you get the best support possible. I can point you in the right direction

 

To ensure accuracy in your books, I recommend reaching out to an accounting professional for expert advice on creating these types of transactions. They'll be able to guide you in choosing the correct transaction type as well as which accounts to affect so that your accounts can end up with the right balance. You can add your accountant to your books by going to the My Accountant tab of your QuickBooks account. You can also find an accountant that has experience using QuickBooks near you by clicking on the Find a pro to help option in that section.

 

If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out here.

L
Lizz82Author
September 16, 2022

Can you at least provide some guidance for just the first part?

How do you enter an opening balance for a retainer/deposit?

You have the article explaining how to take them, but it neglects to mention what to do if you have a retainer/deposit on file prior to starting with Quickbooks.

That seems like something many others would need to know as well

It's a basic part of set-up with your software.

T
Trish_T
September 16, 2022

Hi Lizz82,

 

I'd be happy to provide more information here!  In review of the article you've posted above, I see it's for QuickBooks Online U.S.  Although there are similarities between that and the Canadian version of QuickBooks Online, I suggest following this helpful guide.  You'll find when creating a liability account to track the retainers/deposits, you'll also have the option to enter an Unpaid Balance and an as of date.  Once you set up the account and create a retainer/deposit item, you'll be all set to create sales receipts or invoices for the deposits.  

 

If you have any other questions, feel free to reach back out.  We're here for you!

 

 

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