Entering Vendor Refund without bill or inventory

I've got you covered on how to enter a refund from a vendor when there is no bill or inventory involved in QuickBooks Desktop.

There are different ways how to enter a refund from a vendor in QuickBooks. Based on your scenario, we can record a Deposit of the vendor check and then a Bill Credit for the returned items. Once done, we can link the deposit to the bill credit. Just follow the instructions below to properly record the refund. 

Record a Deposit of the vendor check:

1. Go to the Banking menu, then select Make Deposits.
2. If the Payments to Deposit window appears, press OK.
3. In the Make Deposits window, choose the Received from the drop-down and choose the vendor who sent you the refund.
4. In the From Account drop-down, select the appropriate Accounts Payable account.
5. In the Amount column, enter the actual amount of the Vendor check.
6. Enter the remaining information in the Deposit.
7. Press Save & Close.

Record a Bill Credit for the returned items:

1. Go to the Vendors menu, then select Enter Bills.
2. Choose the Credit radio button to account for the return of goods.
3. Enter the Vendor name.
4. Tap the Items or Expense Tab.
5. Enter the returned items with the same amounts as the refund check or select the appropriate expense account.
6. Press Save & Close.

Link the deposit to the Bill Credit:

1. Go to the Vendors menu, then select Pay Bills.
2. Check the Deposit that matches the Vendor check amount.
3. Click Set Credits and apply the Bill Credit you created earlier then select Done.
4. Click Pay Selected Bills, then press Done.

For other options on how to record refunds you received from a vendor, you can check out this article: Record a vendor refund in QuickBooks Desktop. In addition, you can use this resource to guide you if you need to fix AR and AP balances on a cash basis Balance Sheet for future reference: Resolve AR and AP balance on a cash basis Balance Sheet.

Keep me posted if you still have questions or concerns about managing vendors' refund in QBDT. I'll be around for you. Have a great day!

@mb_sd1 

The advice given by QB is far too complicated.  Just create a credit card credit (Banking > Enter Credit Card Charges > Click 'Refund/Credit' radio button) and assign the same Office Supplies expense to the credit that you applied to the purchase.  

Thank you, however the refund went to my bank account vs credit card. 

I like the simplicity here but I had made the purchase through my bank/debit card. 

Thank you, was hoping for something simpler than a three step method. Since there’s no bill involved for this expense, can I just make a deposit from the vendor? Is the credit from vendor really necessary?

I know some steps to record this in a simple way, mb_sd1. 

Yes, you can record the vendor refund as a deposit from the vendor. Since there's no bill or inventory involved for this expense, you can simply deposit the vendor without creating a bill credit. Creating a credit from a vendor is only necessary if it involves a quantity or an expense on your end.

To record the vendor refund as a deposit, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Banking menu.
2. Click Make Deposits.
3. If the Payments to Deposit window appears, press OK.
4. In the Make Deposits window, click Received from the drop-down and choose the vendor who sent you the refund.
5. In the From Account drop-down, select the Expense account.
6. In the Amount column, enter the amount.
7. (Optional) Enter a Memo, Check Number, Payment Method, and Class.
8. Click Save & Close.

Additionally, you can also learn more in this material since it contains some scenarios that will apply to you: Record a vendor refund in QuickBooks Desktop. 

I'm here if you'd like to ask questions about refunds in QuickBooks Desktop. Just leave the details in your reply, and I'll get back to you. Have a great day ahead. 

Thanks so much for the reply. I assume here that I can put my original expense account instead of Accounts Payable, correct? So, in my originally posted example, I put "Office Supplies expense" as the Account when I purchased the book. So in my deposit, I can also put "Office Supplies expense" as the Account, and that expense will decrease by the amount I am refunded.

Thank you! So, in my origally posted example, I had used "Office Supplies expense" as the Account for the book. So, in my deposit, I assume I can use "Office Supplies expense" as the Account instead of "Accounts Payable?" And that way my Office Supplies expense will decrease by the amount I am refunded.

@mb_sd1 

"So in my deposit, I can also put "Office Supplies expense" as the Account, and that expense will decrease by the amount I am refunded."

Correct.