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tkelly_uk
Level 3

Why are two near-identical invoices posting to different revenue accounts?

[QuickBooks Desktop Premier 2018]

 

Could someone explain how it is that QuickBooks decides which account to post revenue to when an invoice is created? I thought I understood it but I've just seen something that suggests I might not.

 

And let me focus it right in on our (simple, I think) situation (in case it's an overly broad question, with an "it depends" answer.)

 

So, we're a services firm and when creating invoices, we have to provide only two things[1]. Those two things are the ITEM, and the AMOUNT. And my understanding has always been that the decision as to which revenue account gets the revenue posted to it depends on the ITEM. If I go to our ITEM list and look inside an ITEM, there is an ACCOUNT field, and so each time that item appears in an invoice, then whatever the AMOUNT is against that ITEM, that AMOUNT gets posted to the ITEM's associated ACCOUNT.

 

For example, we have an ITEM called CONSULTING. In that ITEM, the ACCOUNT is 410 . Consulting Services. So if I was to create an invoice with $10,000.00 of the CONSULTING Item, then $10,000.00 would end up being posted against 410 . Consulting Services.

 

At least, that's what I always thought.

 

But I've just seen a situation where I have three invoices to the same client, in the same month, with the same ITEM, but where their revenues are going to different revenue accounts. For one of the three, the revenue does go to where the above description suggests -- i.e. to the ACCOUNT assigned to the ITEM in question. But for the other two, the revenue is ending up in a sub-account (actually a sub-sub-account) of the ITEM's assigned account, and one that is not, as far as I can see, in any way connected with the ITEM in question.

 

Can anyone suggest why that might happen?

thx.

 

[1]  Two in addition, that is, to the usual generic stuff such as the DATE, TERMS, CUSTOMER:JOB, etc.

 

Solved
Best answer March 07, 2019

Best Answers
Anonymous
Not applicable

Why are two near-identical invoices posting to different revenue accounts?

@tkelly_uk 

RE: Eh, thanks for taking the time to reply. But I'm wondering if maybe my post got cropped short? 

 

No, not short.  The account used will always be from the item.  If your historic sales have different accounts for the same item (and you're sure it's the same) then the account on the item has changed over time.  If you didn't change the account, then perhaps someone else did.

View solution in original post

6 Comments 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Why are two near-identical invoices posting to different revenue accounts?

RE:Could someone explain how it is that QuickBooks decides which account to post revenue to when an invoice is created?

 

Yes, it's based on the accounts set up on the items you use on the invoice or other sales transaction.

tkelly_uk
Level 3

Why are two near-identical invoices posting to different revenue accounts?

 


Yes, it's based on the accounts set up on the items you use on the invoice or other sales transaction.


Eh, thanks for taking the time to reply. But I'm wondering if maybe my post got cropped short? The entire point of my question was to say that I already understood that the revenue was posted to the account specified in the item. I said:

 

>... my understanding has always been that the decision as to which revenue account gets

> the revenue posted to it depends on the ITEM. ... each time that item appears in an invoice,

> then whatever the AMOUNT is against that ITEM, that AMOUNT gets posted to the ITEM's

> associated ACCOUNT.

 

Did that part not appear on the version of my post you saw?

 

Regardless, the problem, as I explained, was that I have a situation where two invoices with the same Item (and therefore the same assigned account) are seeing revenue posted to different accounts. I'm trying to understand why that is happening.

 

--

ShiellaGraceA
QuickBooks Team

Why are two near-identical invoices posting to different revenue accounts?

Hi tkelly,

 

Let's check to see if there's a duplicate item in your Item List that has a different account.

 

Here's how:

  1. Click Lists, then click Item List.
  2. Put a mark next to the Include inactive box. You'll see an X mark next to an inactive item.

You might also want to re-sort your item list. Sometimes, odd behavior is caused by a damaged item list.

 

Here's how to do it:

  1. Click Lists and then click Item List.
  2. Select the Include Inactive checkbox. Note that if there are no inactive accounts, items, etc., the box will be grayed out.
  3. Click the Item drop-down, select Re-sort List.
  4. Click OK on the Are you sure you want to return this list to its original order? prompt.

Reach out to us anytime if you have further concerns. We're always here for you.

Anonymous
Not applicable

Why are two near-identical invoices posting to different revenue accounts?

@tkelly_uk 

RE: Eh, thanks for taking the time to reply. But I'm wondering if maybe my post got cropped short? 

 

No, not short.  The account used will always be from the item.  If your historic sales have different accounts for the same item (and you're sure it's the same) then the account on the item has changed over time.  If you didn't change the account, then perhaps someone else did.

tkelly_uk
Level 3

Why are two near-identical invoices posting to different revenue accounts?

@Anonymous wrote:

>...If your historic sales have different accounts for the same item (and you're

> sure it's the same) then the account on the item has changed over time. 

> If you didn't change the account, then perhaps someone else did.

 

Yep, that's what it was! In fact I'm just off the phone about this and that's what we concluded. And it was me who changed it! I can now see that when I did, I would have been given a dialog box giving me the option to change historical transactions too. I must have clicked "No" as what I thought was the safest choice at the time. Needless to say, I forgot all of that.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

tkelly_uk
Level 3

Why are two near-identical invoices posting to different revenue accounts?

Thanks Shiella. Turns out it's what @Anonymous said. I'd changed the Item in question -- specifically, I changed its assigned account. However, I'd forgotten that I'd done so and, more to the point, I hadn't realized that such changes to Items are not automatically retroactive. Had I known that, I'd immediately have suspected that's what had happened. And now I know!

 

Thanks for your input though.

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