New to QB Online Plus for our Condo Assn. We have paid upfront deposits paid in a prior year that are for current year invoices. How do we not double count revenue?

I’m here to guide you through how to manage upfront deposits in QuickBooks, @usersheriagator.

If you accept upfront deposits or retainers for products or services, there are several steps you need to take to account for that money. This is to make sure the company revenue will not be doubled.

You’ll want to ensure you’ve set up an account, item, and a trust liability account. The retainer or deposit is treated as a liability. So when you charge a customer for the services you perform for them, you can turn the retainer or deposit you previously received into credit on an invoice and accept it like a payment. You can follow these processes to handle this fund in QuickBooks Online:

1. Create a liability account to track the amount of the retainers you've received from your customers.
2. Make a retainer item.
3. Create a trust liability bank account. However, if you keep the money in your operating account, this procedure is unnecessary.
4. Create a transaction.
5. Turn retainers into credits on invoices.
6. Transfer funds from your trust liability account to your operating account.

Follow this detailed guide on how to accomplish each step to record a retainer or deposit. This reference provides complete instructions and ways to track retainers.

I’m also inviting you to visit the QuickBooks Resource Center. The site contains articles and tools to help grow and manage your business.

Drop me a comment if you have further questions. I’m here determined to help. Thank you!

This doesn't help with my issue. 

I followed the instructions that you recommended previously from information I received through the 'QB Community". The problem I have is when inputting the Upfront Deposit that was a made prior to implementing QuickBooks and was in fact deposited in a prior fiscal year, my only options for "Deposit To" is either our Checking or Reserve accounts, Inventory Assets, Uncategorized Assets, or Undeposited Funds. None of which are correct since these funds were in our beginning balance when implementing QuickBooks. The result is that these funds are now showing up twice in our "checking account", first as part of the beginning and now as a "deposit". I believe we need some other "type" of account or other steps need to be completed but what those are I'm not sure of so I would like your expert advise how to proceed.

Thanks for adding more details, usersheriagator.

The reason the amount is duplicating because it's added to the opening balance. To resolve this, we'll have to remove it from the account. Then, properly record the deposit in QuickBooks. 

Here's how to delete the opening balance:

1. Go to the Gear icon and then select Chart of Accounts.
2. Choose the account, then click on View register. 
3. On the filter icon, click the drop-down arrow and type in Opening balance. 
4. Click Apply. 
5. Once it shows up, click Edit. 
6. On the deposit transaction screen, click More, then choose Delete.
7. Click Yes on the prompt message.

Once the amount is deleted, I'd suggest following the steps outlined in this article to properly track everything: Record a Retainer or Deposit.

I've also included an article that'll help combine multiple transactions into a single record so QuickBooks matches real-life bank deposits: Record and Make Bank Deposits.

I'm only a post away if you need more help in managing your deposits in QuickBooks. It's always my pleasure to help you out again.

If I remove all of the beginning balance, it removes more than the upfront deposits. How do I go about removing only a portion of that balance?

You're right, usersheriagator.

Deleting the opening balance will remove the whole amount. You'll just have to edit the opening balance to exclude the upfront deposits. I'll show you how:

1. Select Accounting from the sidebar menu.
2. Go to Chart of Accounts.
3. Locate the account holding the transaction, click View register from the Action column.
4. Find and select the opening balance entry to expand the view.
5. Click the Edit button, then change the amount of the opening balance. If the upfront deposit was added as a line item, you'll have to remove it.
6. Select Save and close, then choose Yes to confirm the changes.

I'm also adding these articles to help manage your retainer or upfront deposits in QuickBooks Online:

• Record a retainer or deposit
• Increase cash flow with Get Paid Upfront

Drop me a comment below if you have any other concerns or follow-up questions. The Community always has your back.