Customer owes $1400; pays $2000; has credit -$600. I owe customer $600 in commission (not a refund; don't want to affect A/R). How do I record so now balance is zero?

Good day, @Penny10,

We can create barter transactions to record an exchange between you and the customer. First, enter an invoice for the $1400 invoice and a bill to record the $600 commission. Here’s how:

Step 1: Create a Barter bank account.

1. From the Settings ⚙ icon, select Chart of Accounts.
2. Press New to create a new account.
3. Choose Bank for the Account Type ▼, and Cash on hand for the Detail Type ▼.
4. Enter the account name. (ex. Barter Bank Account)
5. Hit Save and Close.

Before you enter the transactions, make sure to add the partner to your vendor and customer list. Please note that QuickBooks does not allow adding identical names, please make sure to alter the characters if necessary.

Step 2: Create and receive payment for the invoice for the barter transaction

1. From the Create icon ⨁, select Invoice.
2. Select a name from the Customer ▼ drop-down.
3. Enter all the necessary information. Select Save.
4. To receive payment for the invoice, go back to the Create icon ⨁ then Receive Payment.
5. Choose the customer from the Customer ▼ drop-down.
6. Fill in the date and amount.
7. Pick a Payment method, then use Add new.
8. Add “Barter” in the Name field, then Save.
9. Utilize the barter bank account in the Deposit to ▼ drop-down.
10. Hit Save and close when done.

Step 3: Enter and pay the bill for the barter transaction and the bank.

1. From the Create icon ⨁, select Bill.
2. Select a Vendor name, select your barter partner, the one who receives the commission.
3. Add all the necessary information, then hit Save.
4. To pay the bill, go to the Create icon ⨁ then Pay Bills.
5. From the Payment account ▼ drop-down, choose the barter bank account.
6. Mark the bill you’ve created earlier for the commission, then pick Make payment under Balance Due.
7. Put the amount before pressing Save and close.

Please let me know how this goes or if you mean a different scenario. I'm here if you need further help. Wishing you a great and productive day!

That seems pretty convoluted.  I just want to pay her $600 thereby decreasing her balance to zero.  Is this the only way?

I know this can be puzzing, Penny10. But, I know you can do it. It will just take a few steps. 

We let customers record a barter transaction if there's an exchange of goods and services.

If we let you create a credit memo or refund, it will affect your Accounts Receivable account. 

As always, you can reach out to your accountant. They may have a different way to record this transaction in the system.

If there's anything else that we can do for you, please don't hesitate to get back to this thread. 

I followed these instructions but this won't zero out the customers balance, right?  It seems to me that the customer still has a balance of -600 and a vendor with a similar name has a balance of $0.  Is this the result you expected OR did I do something wrong?

Thank you for following the steps above, @Penny10.

 I've tried to replicate the whole process on my end, but I wasn't able to get the same result that you're getting. 

Using a check or refund is the right thing to offset the overpayment of your customers. By doing this, it will affect your Accounts Receivable (A/R) account as by my colleague mentioned above. 

Since you don't want A/R affected on these transactions, I suggest consulting an accountant. They might have other methods to record the transaction without affecting your A/R.

Feel free to leave a comment below if you have follow-up questions. I'm always here to help. Take good care!