Sales reports include unearned revenue, even though the service item on the invoices is linked to a liability account. How can I troubleshoot why?

Your deferred revenues will appear in your sales reports, Dustin. Let me provide sufficient information about this below.

Invoices for deferred revenue appear in sales reports in QBO because the program records the total amount as a sale, regardless of the revenue's earned status. This occurs even when the service item is linked to a liability account, as QuickBooks processes invoices or sales receipts as sales upon recording. The reporting mechanism aggregates all invoiced amounts, including those associated with deferred revenue, treating them as sales transactions. As a result, even technically unearned revenue is included in sales reports.

Nonetheless, it will not be included in your Profit and Loss (P&L) report until it is recognized as earned revenue. When you create an invoice for deferred revenue, the total amount shows up as a liability on the balance sheet rather than as income on the P&L report.

To exclude the deferred revenue from the sales reports, you can filter out the report to show only a specific amount.

1. Go to the Reports menu.
2. Select any sales reports.
3. Click on Customize in the top right corner.
4. Tap the Filter dropdown.
5. From the Product/Service dropdown, select only those items not linked to your deferred revenue account.
   
6. Click Run report to display the data.

Once you've tailored your reports to meet your specific needs, you can refer to this article to seamlessly export your business data to Microsoft Excel for use beyond QuickBooks: Export your reports to Excel from QuickBooks Online.

I'm just a reply away if you have any other questions about deferred revenue in QBO. We're always around here in the Community forum to help. Have a great day!

Thank you this was super helpful. Follow up: Is it possible to filter QB's built in "Sales Tax Liability Report" in the same way? When I go to it, I see a few options to customize, but the "filter" option does not appear. Can I get that specific report to exclude unearned revenues? 

Thank you this was super helpful. Follow up: Is it possible to filter QB's built in "Sales Tax Liability Report" in the same way? When I go to it, I see a few options to customize, but the "filter" option does not appear. Can I get that specific report to exclude unearned revenues? 

Thank you this was super helpful. Follow up: Is it possible to filter QB's built-in "Sales Tax Liability Report" in the same way? When I go to it, I see a few options to customize, but the "filter" option does not appear. Can I get that specific report to exclude unearned revenues? 

1. Go to the Reports menu.
2. Locate and open the Sales Tax Liability Report.
3. Click the Export icon dropdown, then select Export to Excel.
4. Save the file somewhere you can easily find, like your Downloads folder or your desktop.
   
   

• Export your reports to Excel from QuickBooks Online
• Export reports, lists, and other data from QuickBooks Online
  
  

Thanks but I do not think this works. I believe you are telling me to 1) export the Sales Tax Liability Report, 2) run a separate sales report to identify unearned revenues, and then 3) manually adjust the Sales Tax Liability Report in Excel to reflect only actual sales. Is that right?

The issue with this is that if I separately run a sales report filtered to identify unearned revenues, it does not allow me to summarize by sales tax locations (or does it? I haven't figured it out). How do I map a sales report to the sales tax locations as summarized by the Sales Tax Liability Report ("Tax Name")?

What I am ultimately trying to see is sales (sales only, not unearned revenues) by tax location. Am I overlooking another way that this is supposed to be accomplished? 

Thank you for responding dustin-ellehudso! To clarify, when you mentioned Tax Name are you referring to the Tax Agency? I'm looking forward to hearing back from you! See you in a few. 

I am referring to the column on QBO's "Sales Tax Liability Report" labeled "Tax Name." This report is showing me gross total, non-taxable, taxable amount, and tax amount summarized by a state, city, and county (i.e. by each distinct taxable level within a state). Reference QB guidance here. This is perfect, except that I need to exclude unearned revenue. So if I need to get that from a different sales report, than I need that other sales report to give me the same state, city, and county breakdown (aka "Tax Name"?) that is being given in the "Sales Tax Liability Report." Thanks!

You're on the right path to addressing your concerns, Dustin. Rest assured, I'll assist you in getting the specific report you need in QuickBooks Online.

When you generate a report in QuickBooks Online (QBO), the accounting method affects how transactions are recorded. To exclude unearned revenue from the Sales Tax Liability Report in QBO effectively, consider using the cash basis method.

The Cash Basis method records revenue only when cash is received. It means that unearned revenue for services that have not yet been delivered will not be included in the report. As a result, this method provides a more accurate representation of the cash flowing into your business. 

On the other hand, you can pull up a Taxable Sales Detail report. Choose the Cash method, then customize or filter the report to show the Tax Name.

Here's how:

1. Head to the Reports tab.
2. Type Taxable Sales Detail in the search field provided.
3. Select Customize.
4. Set the date range, and toggle to the Cash Basis method.
5. On the Filter dropdown, please tick these checkboxes: Tax Name, Taxable amount, Tax Amount.
6. Click Run report.

Furthermore, you have the option to download this report as an Excel file to further personalize it according to your business needs: Export your reports to Excel from QuickBooks Online.

Additionally, if you want to save your newly customized report in QuickBooks Online (QBO), follow this article: Memorize reports in QuickBooks Online.

Drop your questions in the comment section if you need further assistance with Sales Tax report. I'm here to help and provide any guidance you need.

Using cash basis method doesn't work, because that includes unearned cash received (which is what I'm intending to exclude). I want to track sales revenue, not cash. 

Your guidance on the Taxable Sales Detail report is helpful and is getting me closer. However, I need to see ALL sales in addition to Taxable sales. I believe this report filters out non-taxable sales, and I can't find a way to get them re-included. Is it possible? 

So, next, I applied your methodology for adding Tax Name, etc. to the "Sales by Product/Service Detail" report, and I also applied the previous guidance in this thread to filter out unearned revenue based on the product/service item, and it works! However, the software won't allow me to group by the "Tax Name" column that I added, so I have no subtotals by Tax Name. Is it possible to get this detail report to subtotal and/or group by Tax Name? Alternatively, I tried the "Sales by Product/Service Summary" report, but that report doesn't allow me to add the "Tax Name" column. 

To summarize, is it possible to either 1) Group/subtotal a detail sales report by "Tax Name" (i.e. to see my total sales to report to each separate taxing authority) or 2) to add the "Tax Name" data field to a summary-level sales report, and again group/subtotal by Tax Name? 

Hello, Dustin. Thanks for digging into this and sharing your findings! I genuinely appreciate your initiative in personalizing your reports to track sales effectively. It’s clear you’re committed to getting this right, and I’m here to support you.

To group or subtotal the Sales by Product/Service Detail report, you can export it to Excel and use its features to filter the data by Tax Name. For detailed steps on using these functions, I suggest visiting the Microsoft Office support page. As of now, there's no option to perform this grouping directly in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

Regarding your second question, the Sales by Product/Service Summary report doesn’t allow adding Tax Name as a column for grouping. However, you can gather valuable information using the Sales Tax Liability report, which summarizes sales by tax agency.

Additionally, consider exploring third-party reporting apps that integrate seamlessly with QBO. These tools often provide enhanced capabilities that can fulfill your specific needs. Here's how to find one:

1. Log in to QBO.
2. Navigate to the Apps menu.
3. Open the Find apps tab.
4. Enter any keyword in the search bar or use the Browse category dropdown to see different options.

We recognize the significance of providing greater flexibility for customizing sales reports. To help improve your experience with QBO, you can share your feedback. This will go directly to our product development team for careful review and potential consideration.

Here's how to send it:

1. Go to the Gear icon and choose Feedback.
2. Enter your comments or suggestions.
3. Click Next to submit.

To get the most out of your sales reports, visit this article for guidance: Use reports to see your sales and inventory status.

If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out anytime. I’m here to help ensure you achieve your goals. Take care, Dustin.

Thanks for this and to everyone who contributed to responding, I did learn a few new things. I will drop the issue and move forward with manipulating the data in Excel after exporting. Unfortunately I can't mark this as solved, though, because the objective was to identify and/or customize a QBO report to provide the necessary data. It feels like an oversight to not be able to generate a usable Sales Tax Liability report when using accrual basis accounting, and I'm amazed/confused that no one else is asking this. I have submitted feedback as suggested.