@Anonymous wrote:
Hi everyone,
I bill my clients by the hour, I require payment up front, and I do not offer refunds for unused hours. I'm having a little difficulty tracking this in Quickbooks desktop like I want. Here is what I would like to do:
1. Bill customers for a block of time up front
2. Have this payment show as income for the month it is received, not the month the hours are worked
2. Track hours worked for that customer, and send them some sort of receipt or update when the purchased hours have been used.
I've been recording payments as retainers, but they won't show up in reports as income in the month I receive them. Any advice?
"I do not offer refunds for unused hours"
If you are unable to provide the service for whatever reason it is still of course refundable
When you receive prepayments it is not income on the accrual basis; in this case income is created when service is provided. For meaningful reports, businesses should keep the books on the accrual basis. If you apply for a loan banks want to see accrual basis reports. Prepayments are income on the cash basis. You can run a report in either basis but only if you keep the books on the accrual basis.
