Are payment links really this useless?

Hi there. I'm here to share some insights on how you can accept and collect deposits and alternative ways to collect deposits. 

When it comes to collecting client deposits, there are a few different approaches you can consider. Payment links can be viable, but they may only sometimes align perfectly with your specific workflow.

Additionally, the option to include a deposit in your estimate is unavailable. Thus, you'll need to convert your estimate into an invoice and add a deposit. Once you enter the amount, it will be subtracted from the total amount and automatically calculated as the remaining balance due from your customer.

Here's how to convert your estimate to an invoice: 

1. Pick Invoice from the Plus (+) icon.
2. Select the customer's name under the Customer section, then look for the estimate at the right side of the page.
3. Tap on Add, enter the amount on how much do you want to invoice.
4. Hit Copy to invoice.
5. Save the transaction.
6. Repeat the steps for the rest of the amounts.

For additional reference about converting an estimate to an invoice, read this article: Convert an estimate into an invoice in QuickBooks Online.

Once done, you can follow these steps to add a deposit to an invoice. 

1. Go to Get paid & pay or Sales, then select Invoices .
2. Find the invoice you want to add a deposit to, then select Edit ✎.
3. Enter the amount in the Deposit field.
4. From the Deposit to ▼ dropdown menu, select Payments to deposit or Undeposited funds.
5. Select Save and close.

If you want to know more about the process, check this article: Add a deposit to an invoice in QuickBooks Online

Moreover, a payment link is designed to collect payments without creating an invoice beforehand. Once your customer pays using the provided link, a sales receipt will be automatically generated for your records.

I am also adding this article about how QuickBooks Payments deposits work in QBO: Common questions about payments deposits in QuickBooks Online.

When you're ready to reconcile your account to match your bank statements, run through the topics from this link as your guide: Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

You can always get back to us if you have additional questions about receiving payments. I'd be more than glad to assist you. Stay safe, and have a great day.

This sounds great in theory but consider how this impacts your sales tax responsibility or more simply your A/R if your jobs/service carry over a period of time before you can truly issue an invoice.  

There must be a way to solve for this while still enabling the cc payment channel to clients.  

Consider impact to your sales tax responsibility, not to mention your A/R is out of whack for work that takes a period of time (months) to truly issue the invoice. 

I'd hate to have to pull the cc payment channel for deposits for a simple workflow tangle.  There must be a way to solve for this. 

Your preferences about recording online deposits are crucial to us, @Artistone.

While QuickBooks Payments doesn't offer a feature that allows one to automatically record payment links as deposits to link to an invoice later, I recommend that you send your feedback to QuickBooks Online. In this manner, they can take your suggestion into account for future software updates. We value your input and appreciate your suggestion. Here's how you can do it:

1. Select the Settings/Gear icon, then Feedback.
2. Enter your comments or product suggestions. Then select Next to submit feedback.

It's worth noting that QuickBooks Online frequently updates its features and functions, and it's a great suggestion to our software engineers to consider adding this capability in the future.

Please know that your feedback is super valuable to us and goes straight to our Product Development team, which helps improve your QuickBooks Online experience. You can even track feature requests through the QuickBooks Online Feature Requests website.

One way to link a manual customer deposit to an invoice is to record it as a retainer or deposit. This will allow you to link the deposit to the invoice transaction later.

Moreover, you can visit this article to learn more insights and information on other payment processes using QuickBooks Online: Take and process payments in QuickBooks Online with QuickBooks Payments.

If you have any questions about other processes in QuickBooks Payments, please don't hesitate to ask me in the comments below. Have a fantastic day!