Tenant Improvement Allowance

It's my pleasure to guide you on how to enter deposit for tenant improvement allowance, @Stewart326.

Yes, you'll need to enter the amount as a liability until it is spent. 

We can enter a retainer or deposit in QuickBooks Online. The retainer is a liability to show that, although your business is holding the money from a deposit, it doesn't belong to you until it's used to pay for services. 

To start, create a liability account to track the amount of the retainer. Here's how:

1. Go to the Settings ⚙ menu, and then choose Chart of Accounts.
2. Click the New button.
3. From the Account Type ▼ drop-down menu, select Other Current Liabilities.
4. From the Detail Type ▼ drop-down menu, Client Trust Accounts - Liabilities.
5. Enter a name for the account.
6. Select an option from the When do you want to start tracking your finances from the is account in QuickBooks? dropdown list.
7. Once done, click Save and close.

Then, create a retainer item to be selected when creating an invoice or sales receipt for a deposit.

1. Go to the Settings ⚙ menu, and then choose Products and Services.
2. Click New.
3. From the Product/Service information panel, choose Service.
4. Enter a name for the new product or service item.
5. From the Income account ▼ drop-down menu, select Trust Liability Account.
6. Once finished, click Save and close.

Finally, you can create a sales receipt or invoice for the deposits you receive. Please check out Step 4 of this article: Record a retainer or deposit.

Additionally, I've added this to guide you on how you can view retained earnings account details.

The Community has your back if you have other QuickBooks concerns. Please don't hesitate to comment down below. Stay safe and have a beautiful day.

With regard to the TI funds, I have the same scenario where we paid all the upfront costs for the renovation and the landlord will be reimbursing an agreed upon amount.  I charged all my expenses for the renovation to an expense account I named 'Store Buildout', so where do I record the landlord payment once I receive it to offset the expenses and not show it as income? I considered just showing it as a credit to the same expense account, but feel that is not the best way to approach.

TIA.

@Milwaukean 

Technically, the costs you incurred for the renovation should have been recorded to an asset account called 'Due from Landlord' or something similar, instead of an expense account.  If this has all been in 2024, then you can record the reimbursement to the same expense account that you booked the renovations to.  Although it doesn't feel right, it's perfectly acceptable.