How do I show Installment Payments to customers?

Help has arrived, CampingIsLife.

I'll gladly show the way to record upfront deposits in QuickBooks.

To start, let's set up a liability account for your upfront deposits. They are categorized as such even though you put the money into your bank account. Here's how:

1. From the Lists menu, select Chart of Accounts.
2. In the Chart of Accounts window, right-click and select New from the pop-up menu.
3. Select Other Current Liability as the Account Type.
4. Enter a name for the account (for example, Upfront Deposit) in the Name field.
5. Click on Ok.

Then, you need to create an item to use when recording deposits. You'll have to ensure this is linked to the liability account.

1. From the Lists menu, select Item List.
2. In the Item List window, right-click and select New from the pop-up menu.
3. From the Type drop-down menu, select the purpose of the deposits you collect.
4. Enter a name for the item (for example Upfront Deposit) in the Item Name/Number field.
5. Select the Upfront Deposit liability account you created from the Account drop-down list.
6. Click on Ok.

After that, let's record the deposits you receive. I'll show you how.

1. From the Customers menu, select Enter Sales Receipts.
2. On the Customer: Job drop-down list, select the customer.
3. If the Deposit To field, select the account into which to deposit the funds.
4. Enter the other relevant information.
5. In the Detail section, select the Upfront Deposit item you created from the Item drop-down list.
6. In the Amount field, enter the amount of the deposit.
7. Select Save and Close.

Once done, you can now create invoices. For more details, please see Step 4 in this article: Manage Upfront Deposits or Retainers. Then, proceed to Step 5 for the next process.

Additionally, I've included these articles that'll help you track your customer transactions and your cash flow in QuickBooks Desktop:

• Sales and Customers
• Get Started with Customer Transaction Workflows
• Track your Cash Flow in QuickBooks Desktop

Please come back and keep us posted on your progress in recording your upfront deposits in QuickBooks. I'm determined to ensure your books are accurate.

Hi CampingIsLife,

Hope you’re doing great. I wanted to see how everything about recording your upfront deposits. Do you have any clarifications? If you do, just let me know. I’d be happy to help you at anytime.

Looking forward to your reply. Have a pleasant day ahead!

@CharleneMaeF, thanks for your reply.  It's not the upfront deposits that are my issue.  It is simply how to best invoice the customer, reflecting what they owe for the month, not the whole amount.  Still seeking a solution.

Thanks!

Hello there, @CampingIsLife.

I understand you want to process an installment for your customer. I'll share options with you on how to send an invoice or statement to your customers that will show what they owe for each month.

First, you can follow the steps provided above by one of my colleagues which is about an upfront deposit. You need to record an advance. Before sending the invoice, make sure to apply a negative amount that you want to apply as the upfront item. 

Second, you can also do the progress invoice. You just need to enter the advance payment as a credit memo. If you don't want to create an invoice manually each month, you can memorize the invoice. You can also create in advance for the upcoming month's invoices.

Lastly, you can create a statement that you can send together with the invoice, in order for the customer to see the balance and transactions.

Here's also an article you can read to know more about the Account Receivable (A/R) workflows in QBDT: Get started with customer transaction workflows in QuickBooks Desktop.

If I can be of more help about a progress invoice, please know that I'm always around and happy to assist you. Have a great day.

I appreciate the replies; however, none of these solutions actually addresses the issues I discussed in my question.  I need a way for my guests to pay online through whatever I send them that shows their account information.  

 - Payments cannot be made on statements.

 - Customers do not pay ahead of time. They pay a yearly contract over a period of 10 months.

 - I can record payments directly on an invoice, so a customer can see the activity; however, the invoice sent shows the balance of their contract instead of the monthly payment due.  

We have used workarounds for some time; however, we were hoping that there was a better way for us to invoice our guests in a professional manner.  

Thanks for the efforts!

Hi there, CampingIsLife.

I appreciate you for coming back to the thread to add some clarification about your concern. With this, I'll be sharing further information to ensure that your concern from your original post stated above will be address accurately.

First, the details you've entered when sending an invoice will show the same info in the customer's view. That said, manually alter the amount due is the most secure way to perform so the information stays accurate as long as you've attached the actual amount due in the memo field.

Second, converting the invoices from estimates won't show the customer contract balance left. Instead, you'll see all the items that have been approved and will be paid. Meanwhile, I suggest running the Customer Balance Detail report and customize it. This way, you're able to personalize it to show the monthly payment due and the customer summary activity of their entries. Then, manually send this to your customers.

Lastly, you're correct that payments cannot be made on statements. This is only available for invoices. That said, you can connect a payment account to QuickBooks Desktop so customers can pay for their invoices online. To see additional and detailed information, you can click this article: Connect your QuickBooks Payments account to QuickBooks Desktop. This is a great way for the guests to pay online through whatever you send them that shows their account information.

Please refer to this article to view various ways on how you can track customer transactions in QuickBooks Desktop and how it works: Get started with customer transaction workflows in QuickBooks Desktop.

I'll be right here to help you if you have some other questions about invoices or any related concerns in your customer's transactions. Have a good day ahead!

Is there more updated information on this available? I am new to quickbooks and have a similar set-up problem. Here's the common scenario: We contract with a client for a total amount of $5,000. But the amount is due on a monthly basis of $350/month. So the client wants to see the total of the $5,000 due, but the invoice should only reflect the actual amount due based on the monthly amounts. We have too many people to manually modify this for each invoice billing. So how can it be done? Thank you!

Welcome to the Community, and thanks for choosing QuickBooks as your accounting software, apeterson2.

I've got a way you may consider to show your client the total customer balance of $ 5,000.

You can edit the invoice template and add the Customer Total Balance field. I'll be glad to show you how:

1. Go to Lists, and select Templates.
2. Double-click the existing template to open it.
3. Click Additional Customization.
4. Proceed to the Footer tab and check the box for Customer Total Balance under the Print column.
5. Click OK.
   

Doing so will give you the customer's total balance from all invoices that will appear below the Balance Due. Note that this will only show when printing the transaction.

I've added links to learn more details about customizing templates and troubleshooting when encountering issues using customize templates:

• Use and Customize Form Templates.
• Fix Common Issues When You Use and Customize Templates.

Know that the Community is always open if you have follow-up questions about managing your invoices.

Thank you. But I am still unclear on this. I have one invoice for $5,000. But it is payable at $350/month. How do I create an invoice that shows that $350 is due on 12/1/22 towards a balance of $2,500? 

Hi there, apeterson2.

I appreciate you for coming back to the thread to add some clarification about your concern. With this, I'll be providing steps to ensure you can create an invoice that shows $350 and is due on the exact date.

You can set up and use progress invoicing in QuickBooks Desktop. This allows you to split an entry into as many transactions as you need. With this, you can create an estimate worth $5,000 and invoice customers for partial payments which are $350/month. As you finished work, add items from the initial estimate to progress invoices. This keeps project payments organized and connected from start to finish.

To start with, you'll have to turn on progress invoicing in QBDT on the Preferences page.

Here's how:

1. Sign into QuickBooks Desktop as an admin.
2. Go to the File menu at the top and select Switch to Single-user mode.
3. Go to the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
4. Select Jobs & Estimates from the list of menus. Then, choose the Company Preferences tab.
5. Select Yes in the DO YOU CREATE ESTIMATES? section. Then, click Yes in the DO YOU DO PROGRESS INVOICING? section.
6. Hit OK to save and close your preferences.

Once done, you can now create an estimate in QBDT. Please follow the steps below.

1. Go to the Customers menu at the top and select Create Estimates.
2. Choose your customer. Then, fill out the necessary fields.
3. Click Save & Close.

After that, you can now create progress invoices from the estimate. You can open this article to see further details and how to perform the process: Set up and send progress invoices in QuickBooks Desktop.

Lastly, you may refer to this article to view different ways how you can track customer transactions in QBDT to make sure your account receivable stays accurate: Get started with customer transaction workflows in QuickBooks Desktop.

Don't hesitate to click the Reply button below if you have other concerns with managing your invoices. I'm always here to help, apeterson2. Have a great day!