How to properly record rent expense?

Glad to have you here in the Community, @olgacharnahalava.

You can record an advance payment and tagged it as an Accounts Payable to properly enter a rent expense in QuickBooks Online. Let me guide you through the steps.

Recording an advance payment will record the prepayments as a credit on the vendor's profile, and you can use it to pay their future bills. Here's how:

1. Click the + New button, then select Expense.
2. Select the vendor from the Payee drop-down and the Payment method.
3. In the Category column, select Accounts Payable (A/P) from the drop-down.
4. Enter the necessary information and the amount.
5. Click Save and close.

Here's an article you can read for more details: How to record the advance payment made to a supplier.

Once done, when you create a bill in the future, the right-hand sidebar will show you the available credits that you can apply to the bill.

As always, feel free to visit our QuickBooks Community help website if you need tips and related articles in the future.

Keep in touch if you need any more assistance with this, or there's something else I can do for you. I've got your back. Have a good day.

I do not know where intuit got advance payment from - very odd

just post the payment as of the date you paid it.  The date of the invoice (your bill) has nothing to do with your accounting.

I'm on accrual basis. Normally, if I pay April's expense in March, then I would record it as prepaid. 

Now in this case the invoice is dated March for April's service, but the payment is processed in April. Here are my JE's:

3/25/2020 (Invoice date)

Dr     Prepaid rent (April)

    Cr      A/P

4/2/2020 (Payment date)

Dr    A/P

    Cr     Cash

4/30/2020 (Prepaid amortization)

Dr    Rent Expense

    Cr   Prepaid

The question is: do I need to record a prepaid expense basing it on invoice date if the payment is made in the month when the service occurs? If not how do I date my JE's?

Hi, @olgacharnahalava. 

I hope your day is going well so far. I want to ensure that your concerns are addressed and for you to get back to running your business. I'm unable to advise you on which route would be best for your business, but you can consult with your accountant to be sure. They'll be able to provide you with the best accounting advice for your question. Here are a few articles that can help you in the future with Journal Entries: 

• How to Use Journal Entries

• Reverse or delete a Journal Entry

Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with. Wishing you continued success. 

I am not able to comprehend the account type of rent payable as ACCOUNTS PAYABLE. Well, I think we should treat the Rent payable as OTHER CURRENT LIABILITY account type.

Accounts Payable account type for those VENDORS or SUPPLIERS who provide us business operational materials or services.

Please educate me, I am so confused...

Thanks.

Hi there, @ sajidrasheed. I'd be happy to share some information about the Accounts Payable account type.

Accounts Payable is a current type of liability. It is a short-term liability, which is due within one year.

You can name it Other Liability if it's the account you prefer. I've got this article for you to know more about Accounts Payable: A business owner’s guide to the accounts payable process.

I'll be right here if you have any questions about the cash flow process. Please don't hesitate to comment below. Take care and have a good one!