Question

Bank transactions

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
February 18, 2026
1 reply
2 views

I frequently collect payments for project down payments that an invoice hasn’t been created for yet.

What is the easiest way to categorize a bank transaction, specifically a deposit, and have it like to a project when an invoice was not created yet. But I want it to be applied to the project and visible as a credit for future invoices.

I’d prefer to do this in one entry. It’s easy once the invoice is created and I can match the transactions but I don’t want to have to create an invoice if the money is already deposited.

QuickBooks Online

D

Dandie_A

QuickBooks Team

Hi there, Trueburton. The easiest way to record a bank transaction without creating an invoice is by using the 'Receive Payment' function. This allows you to link the deposit to the project and save it as a credit in one seamless entry.

Here’s how to do this:

Locate the deposit in the Pending section under Bank Transactions and click Find Match.
Go to the +Create menu and select Receive Payment (not "Sales Receipt" or categorizing it as income).
Choose the Customer and assign the payment to the Project to ensure it is properly linked.
Enter the Amount, Payment Date, and Payment Method.
Leave the invoice section blank since there’s no invoice yet.
Deposit the payment directly into the bank account where the money was received (not "Undeposited Funds").
Click Save.

Once saved, the deposit will show as an unapplied credit in the customer or project account. When you create an invoice for this project later, the credit can either be manually applied or automatically applied, depending on your system settings.

To verify that everything is recorded correctly, check the customer's profile under Sales > Customers and look for any unapplied payments. Alternatively, you can run a Customer Balance Detail report filtered for that specific project to confirm the credit is available and properly linked.

Don't hesitate to leave a comment below if you have further questions. We'll resolve it for you.

T

TrueburtonAuthor

I assume this will not show as Income on the project until the invoice is created and credit applied?

Z

ZackE_

QuickBooks Team

Thanks for getting back with the Communtiy, Trueburton.

Based on how QuickBooks is designed, Income on the Project dashboard is driven by sales forms (like invoices or sales receipts). Because a deposit/payment isn't a sales form, the system won't move that amount into the Income column until it has an invoice to link to. This is a standard system behavior regarding how reports are generated.

I can certainly understand how an ability to do this could be useful and have submitted a suggestion about it as of today.

You can also submit your own feedback while signed in.

Here's how:

Use the Gear icon at the top right.
Select Feedback under the Profile column.
Enter your suggestion.
Select Next to submit.

Your feedback's definitely valuable to Intuit. It will be reviewed by our Product Development team and considered in future updates. You can review the Product Updates page for news about your product.

If you want the payment to hit your Project Income immediately without creating a separate invoice later, you can use a sales receipt instead. This records the income and the deposit in one single step, so your project dashboard updates instantly!

I've also included a detailed resource about working with projects which may come in handy moving forward: Create & manage projects

If there's any additional questions, I'm just a post away. Have a wonderful Thursday!

Sign up

Login with SSO

Let's get you signed in

Login with SSO

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded