Reimbusements for bottle deposit

Susan607 · ‎December 27, 2025

Hello Community,

We buy and deliver bottled water. We have to pay the 5 cent bottle deposit to our vendor above the cost of the water. We have this as a line item called 5 Cent Deposit which is a service and uses the account Reimbursable Expense. The customer pays the invoice which includes both line items - cost of water and deposit total the Reimbursable Expense is not being reduced by the deposit total.

I don't know what that deposit amount is being attributed to and why the reimbursement account is not being affected.

I have another customer that has the line item for a reimbursable expense which uses the service item Reimbursable Expense with the account Reimbursable Expense which does offset the correct amount on the invoice when it is paid.

When I do not use the 5 Cent Deposit line item name on the water sale invoice but instead use Reimbursable Expense as the line item for the deposit, it still won't offset the Reimbursable Expense account when the invoice is paid. So I'm stuck with what looks like a bunch of expenses that have not been reimbursed.

All of reimbursable fees on attached file have been reimbursed but are not being offset.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

raymund_A · ‎December 27, 2025

Hello, Susan607.

Appreciate your effort in raising your concern here in the Community. I’d be glad to help you solve your reimbursement issues.

Here’s how:

Go to the Gear Icon located in the upper-right corner of QuickBooks Online.
Under Lists, select Products and Services.
search for the 5 Cent deposit item, then click the Edit button.
Look for the Income account, which specifies where QuickBooks tracks this item. Ensure this is set to Reimbursable expense account.
Choose Reimbursable expense from the dropdown menu.
Save and close.

If you have other questions and concerns, our Community Team is always here to assist you.

Susan607 · ‎December 28, 2025

Hello Raymund,

Thanks for your rapid response. This question is for QB for Mac and not for QBO.

I have looked at my Items list in QB Mac and indeed the account there is identified as Reimbursable Expense. In fact, when I enter that line item onto an invoice QB warns me that it is an Expense account (and not an income account). See below.

When I use either item name/number on an invoice it will not offset the Reimbursable Expense when payment is made.

Is there a way of identifying where that payment for the expense is going? Is it reducing my Accounts Receivable? Thanks for your help.

MariaSoledadG · ‎January 01, 2026

Hello there, Susan607.

Thank you for sharing screenshots.

When you mention that the Reimbursable Expense doesn't offset when payment is made to the invoice, are you trying to view a Profit and Loss report where the same amount still appears, even after the invoice is paid?

If that's the case, it’s important to note that the Reimbursable Expense will not explicitly show as "zeroed out" on the report, since it represents an actual expense. Instead, you will only see the adjustment reflected in the Net Income after the invoice is paid.

You can drill down the report or click the specific transaction to trace or identify where the payment for the expense is allocated.

Lastly, once invoice is paid, your Accounts Receivable will decrease accordingly.

Let me know if you need additional help or assistance. The Community Team is always here to help.

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Reimbusements for bottle deposit