Is there a way to create invoices that have no affect on the Profit

Hey there, @Zimmerling.

The profit showing in the Profit and loss report depends on its accounting method. 

If you the cash basis, this will recognize revenue and expenses only when money changes hands. With this method, you record income as it’s received and expenses as they’re paid. 

On the other hand, accrual accounting recognizes revenue when it's earned, and expenses when they're billed (but not paid). Using this accounting method, income and expenses are recorded when they’re billed and earned, regardless of when the money is actually received. 

If you're using the accrual accounting method, then is the reason why your invoices are affecting your profit.

Additionally, disabling invoicing is unavailable in QuickBooks. This is a built-in feature that is already included in the program. Creating an invoice will also affect your expenses such as the Cost of Goods account.

For more details, please check out this article: Cash vs. accrual accounting.

Aside from that, you can also customize your reports to get a better picture of your business. 

Let me know how else I can help you with QuickBooks by adding a comment below. I'm more than happy to lend a helping hand. Keep safe!

Hi Customer, @Zimmerling.

Hope you’re doing great. I wanted to see how everything is going about the Profit and loss accounting concern you had yesterday. Was it resolved? Do you need any additional help or clarification? If you do, just let me know. I’d be happy to help you at anytime.

Looking forward to your reply. Have a pleasant day ahead!

Is it possible to create an invoice and have it go toward deferred revenue? That's where the cash goes when I collect the cash, why is the invoice automatically going toward sales/profit? I have to use accrual because if I do cash, the cash will go do sales/profit upon collection, therefore accrual is a must. How do I change where the invoices go that is important. 

Hello, 

But I can't use cash based accounting because then when I collect cash it shows it as a sale/profit. In my business when I collect cash I move that cash to the deferred revenue account, so I have to stay in accrual. But with that, when I create an invoice in accrual it books it as a sale/profit. How can I change it so that when I create an invoice it doesn't create anything. Or what can I do to make this all work? 

Hello Tbone4,

Thank you for reaching out to the QuickBooks Community! An accrual-basis report shows income regardless of whether all your customers have paid and expenses whether you have paid all your bills. That is why when an invoice is created in accrual mode; it shows as sales/profit. What I recommend is getting in touch with your accountant to see what would be the best practice for your business. If you don't have one, no worries! We offer a ProAdvisor service to connect with an expert within your area. If even provide a free consultation. Here's how to communicate with one:

1.  Go to Find My Accountant.

2.  In the Find an expert in section, choose what you're looking for, then use your search field to enter a City or ZIP code.

3. Select Search.

4. Browse through the results and find one that works best for your business. You can click on each ProAdvisor's profile to learn more information about them.
   

    

   For more information about invoices with QuickBooks Online, this article is very instrumental. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions. My team and I will be here to help! I hope you have a great day.