Ask Me Anything with Product Expert, Leon

I created an estimate, did my progress billings and now I'm at the end of the project with retainage money left in QuickBooks as "Open Balance". How can I invoice for this open balance?

Is this a negative open balance ?

No. Our jobs require a 10% retainage to be withheld so our invoices are paid at only 90% thus leaving a balance on each invoice. The estimate has been billed out 100%. I want to invoice for the open balance of retainage total. I usually have to make up a Word document to do this but it seems like there has to be a way to invoice this open total balance.

If it is  positive open balance, this means that there is either already a unpaid invoice, or another transaction, like an Journal entry that is hitting this customer Accounts receivable. Best way to identify, this is by running a Customer Balance Detail Report, to id where the balance is coming from. 

Yes it is coming from the open invoices that have balances.

You could send them a statement (open item/ balance forward) and when they pay their balance you can apply the payment to all the open invoices. You can send them a payment link, or they can use one of the old invoice payment links and they can pay online.

Yes when I receive a final check for the retainage that's exactly what I do. Put in the total check amount and then it goes against all the open invoices as paid in full.

That is fine. However, just seems like QuickBooks could have a way through invoicing to bill for those open balances without making a statement, but an actual invoice number XYZ.

Thank you.

When you are entering in the estimate if possible you can add the retainage as a separate line , and not add that to the invoices that they are paying , then when invoices are paid you can, add the estimate line left over on each being the retainage. to a new invoice.   Other than that QuickBooks does not have a way to create a new invoice for the balance of the open invoices.

Thank you for all your help. I may try as you suggest. Again thank you for your time.

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