If I purchased materials on a credit card from a supplier and then returned them to the supplier, how should I record this in QuickBooks?

I'm here to assist you with your inquiry regarding purchasing materials and handling returns from customers.

Additionally, I'd like to inquire whether you've received a refund or credit from your supplier. I'll guide you through the complete process of recording these transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Firstly, let's record the purchase transaction paid via your credit card. Here's the step-by-step process:

1. Click the + New button and select Expense.
2. Make sure to tag your credit card account in the Payment Account section.
3. Enter all other details of the purchase.
4. Click Save and close. 

Next, if you've received a credit from your supplier, you can record it as a credit card credit. This can be applied to future bills on the same supplier. Here's how:

1. Go back to the + New button and select Vendor credit.
2. Select the name of the vendor in the drop-down list for Vendor. 
3. Scroll down to the Item details section. Then, select the items that you return. This will automatically reduce the number of available quantities for this item in your records.
4. If you don't have inventory, select an account instead in the Category details section. 
5. Click Save and close.

In case you received a refund, you can create a bank deposit to return the funds to your account. You can find a detailed guide in this article: Record and Make Bank Deposits in QuickBooks Online.

For more in-depth information on these processes, please refer to this resource: Enter Vendor Credits and Refunds in QuickBooks Online.

We would also recommend reaching out to your accountant for additional advice on this matter to make sure that your financial record keeping is accurate. 

Just to add more resources when recording vendor-related transactions, I'll share these articles as well:

• Run a Report with Vendor Totals 
• Manage Outstanding Balances for Customers and Vendors in QuickBooks Online 

Visit us again in the forum and don't hesitate to ask questions if you need anything else. The QuickBooks team is always ready to jump in and offer our help anytime you need it. 

Thank you for such a detailed answer. However, I'm not an accountant; I'm a small business owner, and I don't keep such detailed records. I just need to file my taxes, and there are bank transactions that I simply need to categorize. I have no idea what I bought or why I have a refund; I just want to know which category to record this credit card transaction in. That's all. Thank you.

I am no expert or an accountant, but I have found the supplier credit (in the supplier menu) doesn't give me a chance to apply it or match it to a refund on a credit card leaving the amount siting in limbo and not being able to balance my supplier.  I entered a credit card credit from the supplier menu and was able to match the refund and balance the supplier.  

Unlike the quickbooks suggestion above, I have found a supplier credit will allow me to use the funds for a future credit, but the credit card credit allows me to match the refund to the transaction screen in banking without a problem.  I tried with the supplier credit but I could not match it so it just sits there.

I would suggest adding a credit card credit and matching to balance the supplier, add the invoice numbers or attach documents incase you need to look into it further down the road.  Alternatively, categorize the refund to the same account you categorized the purchase to and add good notes.