Skip to main content
F
Florida Clay
September 16, 2021
Solved

Processing a refund in QB Desktop for Mac 2019 creates a false Accounts Receivable Balance

  • September 16, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

I had attempted to get help for this problem in another thread, but things got way off track without it ever being solved, so I’m going to start fresh and try to boil things down to the essentials.

 

I am the Treasurer of a nonprofit organization holding a national convention. I use Quick Books Desktop 2019 for Mac. When a “customer” (one of our members) sends in payment for the convention registration fee and for any optional items he or she chooses (tours and the like), I record the payment to the members account using “Create Sales Receipts.”  That works just fine.

 

For various reasons, it has been necessary to refund several members' registration payments.  I do that by clicking on the "Refunds and Credits" button on the QB home page.  This opens a credit memo form that I complete with the members' name in the “Customer/Job,” list the various items they purchased being refunded with quantity and cost, etc., in the normal way and save it.  I then click on the refund button on the top of the “Credit Memos/Refunds” screen and complete the check form that opens and save it. QB automatically chooses “Accounts Receivable” as the account to charge the check to. 

 

The problem is that while this does what it should in most respects (charges the amount of the checks against the bank balance, corrects sales items account registers to reverse the sales and leaves affected customer accounts with zero balances).  However, it creates a false Accounts Receivable asset on the balance sheet equaling the sum of the amounts refunded.

 

One thing I do want to mention because it is a red herring that shows up here and there on the internet and it does not work is opening the Receive Payments window, entering the customer’s name, and checking the linked refund check to apply it against the credit memo.  This just substitutes a false Undeposited Funds asset on the balance sheet for the false Accounts Receivable asset on the balance sheet.

 

Best answer by LieraMarie_A

Yes, you're right, @Florida Clay. 

 

In reality, that shouldn't touch the Accounts Receivable account. However, QuickBooks uses this account to link the credit memo and the check. Additionally, since they're already linked together, you won't need to do the same process in the Receive Payment window.

 

You can also share your thoughts and ideas about this matter through your account. Our product development team reviews all the feedback we receive to ensure we’re meeting the needs of our customers. 

 

Here's how:

  1. Choose QuickBooks and select Preferences. 
  2. On the Preferences pane, select Feedback. 
  3. Click the Enable sending usage data to Intuit check box. The preference is enabled by default. 
  4. Close the Preferences window. 
  5. From this pane, you can follow a link to the QuickBooks Desktop Mac online forum and/or to an online form for submitting feedback.

 

I'm always here if you need further assistance in creating a customer refund. Have a good one.

1 reply

LieraMarie_A
LieraMarie_AAnswer
September 16, 2021

Yes, you're right, @Florida Clay. 

 

In reality, that shouldn't touch the Accounts Receivable account. However, QuickBooks uses this account to link the credit memo and the check. Additionally, since they're already linked together, you won't need to do the same process in the Receive Payment window.

 

You can also share your thoughts and ideas about this matter through your account. Our product development team reviews all the feedback we receive to ensure we’re meeting the needs of our customers. 

 

Here's how:

  1. Choose QuickBooks and select Preferences. 
  2. On the Preferences pane, select Feedback. 
  3. Click the Enable sending usage data to Intuit check box. The preference is enabled by default. 
  4. Close the Preferences window. 
  5. From this pane, you can follow a link to the QuickBooks Desktop Mac online forum and/or to an online form for submitting feedback.

 

I'm always here if you need further assistance in creating a customer refund. Have a good one.

    M
    Mirabilis
    April 16, 2022

    I've been using QB for two decades now and I still don't understand this.  I teach private lessons and I charge monthly using statement charges.  This allows me to keep track of all charges with a single entry (especially because most of the charges are automatic every month) instead of using invoices which then have to be paid.  If a student stops lessons early in a month I have to issue a refund.  Following the steps shown in QB help, I write a credit memo and then write the check.  But the debit for writing the check to the customer does not show up on her account.  What am I missing?

    M
    mv32
    April 16, 2022

    Let's record a customer payment, @Mirabilis.

     

    Recording a received payment is to show to the customer's account that the credit memo was returned as a refund check. Let me show you how:

     

    1. From the Customers menu, select Receive Payments.
    2. Select Create a Payment.
    3. Fill out the fields.
    4. Select the outstanding check and credit memo.
    5. Choose how you want to deposit the payment.
    6. Select Save.

     

    Once completed, you can run the Sales by Item Detail report. By doing so you'd see whether the credit memo is properly applied.

     

    If you need assistance running reports such as Profit and Loss or for your sales transactions, I recommend checking out our articles in the Reports topic page. They can help you build specific and detailed reports in QuickBooks Desktop.

     

    I'll share what else you want to know in QuickBooks Desktop. If you have other concerns with your customer transactions, let me know. I'll assist you again.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement