Deposit on orders

[jackcoate]

We get a 50% deposit on all orders received. When I use the "Pre-payment" screen it shows the deposit as a credit on the customers aging. When in actuality these are liabilities until the order is completed and shipped. Is there a way to use the prepayment screen and not have the pre-payment show as reducing the customers overall receivable?

[Deborah Bean]

I have one customer that has a similar situation. They take nonrefundable deposits on renting their ranch. If the customer backs out, normally the deposit is not refunded.

Enter the deposit as a Receipt using the Apply to Revenues tab. Do not click the Prepayment checkbox. Assign the GL Account field to the appropriate account, such as Deposit Liability. The deposit will NOT appear on the Aged Receivables report at this time.

When you enter the invoice, you can type the total amount. On a new line, type the Deposit as a negative number, using the appropriate GL account. Because of certain company policies, this client can now show the associated deposit on the invoice with the Total Due being the amount remaining.

The problem with this, is that you must have a way to track the deposit for when the invoice is printed.

On a regular basis, the client uses a Journal Entry to claim unused deposits as income.