My invoice balance was 218.40. Customer paid using credit card. I received 211.77. How to enter this in QBO, accounting for the credit card expense?

Hello, jane9742! It's great to see you make your first post here in the Community! Ensuring accurate accounting of customer transactions is crucial for effectively monitoring your business revenue. I'm here to guide you through the process of correctly recording their payments, so you can keep a precise track of their balances.

To accurately reflect the transaction, you'll need to record a payment for the full invoice amount of 218.40 and post it under the Undeposited Funds account. After that, you'll have to create a bank deposit and add a credit card bank fee as a negative (expense) item in the Add funds to this deposit section to account for the credit card expense. Before doing so, I recommend consulting your accountant to ensure you set everything up properly. 

To process a Receive payment transaction, follow these steps:

1. Go to + New and select Receive payment.
2. Choose the name of the customer in the Customer dropdown,
3. From the Payment method dropdown, specify the payment method (credit card).
4. Pick the Undeposited Funds account to put the payment into through the Deposit to dropdown.
5. In the Amount received field, enter the amount of the invoice.
6. From the Outstanding Transactions section, select the checkbox for the invoice you're recording the payment for.
7. Click Save and close. 

Right after, enter a bank deposit to include a bank fee to account for the credit card expense. Here's a guide on how to accomplish that:

1. Go to + New and select Bank deposit.
2. From the Account dropdown, choose the account you want to put the money into.
3. Mark the invoice payment you received previously from the Select the payments included in this deposit section.
4. In the Add funds to this deposit section, add the credit card bank fee as a negative (expense) item.
5. Make sure the deposit matches the net bank deposit amount.
6. Click Save and close. 

Moreover, you might consider sending your customers a summary of their invoices, payments, credits, and balances. You can quickly create and dispatch these statements using QuickBooks Online. This will keep them informed and ensure clarity in your financial dealings.

Additionally, have you had the opportunity to reach out to our QuickBooks Live Expert Assisted team yet? They specialize in simplifying revenue and financial management just for you. I encourage you to explore their services, as their expertise could be a valuable resource for all your accounting needs!

It's my pleasure assisting you, jane9742! I'm looking forward to your return to the Community whenever you need support with your sales and income transactions. Feel free to reach out anytime. Wishing you a wonderful day ahead!

@Rea_M  " --you'll need to record a partial payment--"

The OP is most likely saying that whichever merchant provider processed this transaction took their fees out of the full payment upfront.

Artificially lowering their income is almost certainly not the correct answer here, let alone annoying their customer when OP acts as if they did not receive full payment from them.