Hello there, Neal. To return a 50% deposit and clear the transaction from your books, the process depends on how you received the payment.
If you do not process payments through QuickBooks, you can record the refund manually. This involves creating a Credit Memo to zero out the invoice and then issuing a Check to show the money leaving your account. After that, you will link those two steps together using the Receive Payment feature to clear the balance.
If you use QuickBooks Payments, you'll first create a Credit Memo to reduce the balance of the invoice. Next, use a Refund Receipt to electronically return the money to the customer’s card. Finally, use Receive Payment to link the credit and the refund. This ensures the invoice is closed and the money is physically returned.
For more details and specific steps on how to record these, please refer to this article: Refund a deposit.
If you have any additional questions, feel free to reply below.