Desktop Attach Open Credit to Customer Payment

Hi, Paula. It's great having you in the QuickBooks Community.

I'd be glad to assist you with your concern about applying open credit to a customer payment in QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). 

As a Credit Memo is generally used to record a refund or a decrease in the amount due from a customer, may I kindly inquire for more details about the September 2023 billing? I'd like to ask if it was a customer overpayment or a return of goods or services. Nevertheless, I'll outline below my recommendations.

Although it isn't possible to enter a negative entry on the Receive Payment window since we can't receive a negative payment, you can consider creating a Credit Memo against the September 2023 invoice and apply both the open credits and the $7,733.75 customer payment for August and October 2023 billing. You can follow these steps: 

1. In your QBDT, go to the Customers menu, then Customer Center.
2. Find the customer and open the September 2023 invoice. 
3. Select Refund/Credit.
4. Review the Date and Credit No.
5. Hit Save & Close.
6. Choose Retain as an available credit, and click on OK.
7. Go to the Customers menu, then Receive Payments.
8. Enter 7733.75 for the Payment Amount.
9. Put a checkmark for August and October open invoices.
10. In the Unused Credits section, select Apply Credits.
11. Put a checkmark for the corresponding September 2023 credits.
12. Hit Done.
13. Select Save & Close.

In the meantime, you can keep the September 2023 billing as an open invoice. However, it would be best to consult your accountant regarding this.

If you consider running financial reports after this, let me add this article as a reference in customizing reports in QBDT: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Keep us posted if you have further details about the September 2023 billing. We'll do our best to assist. Take care.

Thanks for the reply! But it's still not applying the credit to the payment per the attached screenshot. It shows the payment towards the two invoices, it shows the credit applied, but it doesn't apply the credit to the payment. I don't get it. This is Accounting 101, applying credits to payments. I know there's a way to do this, I've done it before in my career using QBDesktop!

I can help you apply the credit to the customer's payment, Paula.

In QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), the error message "Transaction is not in balance" suggests a discrepancy between the total payment amount and the sum of individual invoice payments or credits applied.

The system triggers this error message to ensure accuracy and balance in your financial records by requiring the total payment amount to match the combined amounts of all invoices being paid, including any credits applied.

To fix this, review the payment application details, ensuring that the invoice amounts and applied credits sum up to the total payment indicated at the top of the form.

Additionally, based on the screenshots provided, it seems like the credit was applied to a different invoice. Ensure to select the correct transaction when applying the credits.

If the issue persists, I suggest contacting our Customer Support Team. This way, they can pull up your account securely and check the cause of the problem.

Moreover, if you encounter a difference in the A/R balance in the Chart of Accounts and balance on reports, feel free to check out this article: AR balance on the Chart of Accounts does not match AR balance on reports.

Keep in touch if you need more assistance applying credits to your customers. I'm always here to help.