Recording Deposits For Special Orders + Opening Balances

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.

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.

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!

Thank you, this is helpful.

Is there a way to assign the opening balance of deposits to individual customers?

I have deposits for about 50 customers.

I have a list of their names, and the deposit on file for each as of a specific date.

duplicate reply, can't delete.

Hey Lizz82, 

when you set up your customer you can enter an opening balance for that specific customer. Here is an article that I find very helpful on Manage outstanding balances for customers and suppliers in QuickBooks Online 

If you need anything else, feel free to reach back out.

Aren't opening balances related to the a/r for the customer?

That article doesn't mention deposits.

I need to set specific opening balances for deposits already paid by each customer.

Thanks for visiting us again about  recording customer opening balance in QuickBooks Online, @Lizz82.

Yes, opening balances for customers are related to Accounts Receivables. If you want to record certain opening balances use journal entries to increase the A/R balance. Here's how:

1. Click the + New button in the upper-left hand corner and click Journal Entry.
2. Add the date when you want to retroactively record the opening balance in the Journal date field.
3. Proceed to the Account column and select Accounts Receivable in the first line.
4. Input the amount in the Debits column.
5. Go to the second and enter the a second account to balance the entry. You'll want to reach out to your accountant if you're unsure which account to use.
6. Enter the name of the customer in the Name column.
7. Press Save and close.

Repeat the steps for the rest of your customers. I'm also adding the same article shared by my colleague to help you manage outstanding balances for customers and suppliers in QuickBooks Online.

Visit us again if you need further assistance with your customer deposits. I'm here to share additional help if you need one. Have a lovely day.