I have paid a vendor twice for the same invoice. They have issued a refund. How to I record this properly?

andorra-condo · ‎December 10, 2018

Anonymous · ‎December 10, 2018

I can help you properly record the vendor refund for your duplicate payment.

Did your vendor issued you a check for the refund? If so, you'll just need to record a deposit for the vendor check:

Go to the Banking menu, then choose Make Deposits on the drop-down selection.
If the Payments to Deposit window appears, just hit OK.
In the From Account drop-down selection, select the appropriate Account Payable account.
Enter the actual amount of the vendor check in the Amount column.
It's optional to enter a memo, check number, payment method and class.
Click Save and close when you're done.

Let me also share this Community Article for different situations for recording a vendor refund: https://community.intuit.com/articles/1501317

That'll do it. If you need further assistance or questions about recording vendor refunds, please let me know.

View solution in original post

Anonymous · ‎December 10, 2018

Hello there andorra.condo,

I can help you properly record the vendor refund for your duplicate payment.

Did your vendor issued you a check for the refund? If so, you'll just need to record a deposit for the vendor check:

Go to the Banking menu, then choose Make Deposits on the drop-down selection.
If the Payments to Deposit window appears, just hit OK.
In the From Account drop-down selection, select the appropriate Account Payable account.
Enter the actual amount of the vendor check in the Amount column.
It's optional to enter a memo, check number, payment method and class.
Click Save and close when you're done.

Let me also share this Community Article for different situations for recording a vendor refund: https://community.intuit.com/articles/1501317

That'll do it. If you need further assistance or questions about recording vendor refunds, please let me know.

andorra-condo · ‎December 10, 2018

Thanks, I had done this except instead of selecting "Accounts Payable" I was using the original account. So now it is fixed and no longer annoying me. Thanks a lot.

Anonymous · ‎December 10, 2018

That's awesome @andorra.condo. Well if you need anything else, feel free to post again in the Community. We're always here to help.

Happy Holiday and enjoy your weekend.

bruceindustrial295 · ‎April 18, 2019

Good Afternoon,

I have followed all of the instructions and I believe I have also been sucessful in the past. However, now I am getting an error message pop up that states " You cannot use more than one A/P or A/R account in the same transaction."

There are two vendor refunds as well as the rest of my deposit for today in this transaction. The checks have also been deposited in the bank account.

I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

Leanne

Bruce Industrial Company, Inc

Anonymous · ‎April 18, 2019

Thank you for joining the discussion, @bruceindustrial295.

Allow me to step in and help deposit your two vendor refunds successfully in QuickBooks.

In QuickBooks, you cannot record a transaction that contains two A/P accounts. Saving these transactions will result in the message Warning: You cannot use more than one A/R or A/P account in the same transaction.

Let's fix this by setting up a clearing account so you can move money from one account to another account.

Here's how to create a clearing account:

From the Lists menu, select Chart of Accounts.
Right-click anywhere in the Chart of Accounts, then select New.
In the Add New Account window, select the Bank radio button.
Select Continue.
In the Account Name field, enter Clearing Account, Barter Account or Wash Account.
Do NOT enter an opening balance.
Click Save & Close.

Once done, let's make a deposit again for the vendors' refunds. This time, instead of selecting the A/P account, let's use the clearing account. This will transfer the amounts on the clearing account.

Then, make a deposit again and select the clearing account for the Deposit To field and A/P account on the From Account column. You'll need to enter the individual vendor for this transaction.

That should do it. You can also check out this helpful article about clearing account just in case you need it for future use: Common uses for a clearing account.

Keep me posted if you need anything else. I'll be here to help if you have additional questions about the clearing account process. Have a good one.

WeldWright · ‎June 28, 2023

I discovered an old error in my QuickBooks Desktop like this from 2019. I had accidentally paid a bill from the personal checking account instead of the business account. It looks like I voided that bill, created a new one and paid it from the correct account. Then the vendor refunded the payment made from the personal account, which was deposited. I may have chosen the wrong item for the "From Account." I chose the original Expense Account, which was "Supplies." In any case, both transactions have long since been cleared. However, the amount paid shows up as a credit in the Unpaid Bills Detail. So, I went back to the deposit of refund from the vendor and changed the "From Account" from "Supplies" to "Accounts Payable." Then I recorded a Bill Credit and linked the deposit to the credit. The transaction still shows up in the Unpaid Bills Detail report. If you can disentangle this mess I have made, you deserve a medal!

AlcaeusF · ‎June 28, 2023

Hello there,

I know the importance of recording transactions correctly for books to remain accurate and error-free. Allow me to chime in and help you get rid of the transaction in the Unpaid Bills Detail report in QuickBooks Desktop.

This issue usually happens when items or expense accounts you've selected in the bill and the credit doesn't match. For now, I recommend reviewing your transactions and ensuring both are identical.

This way, you can successfully pay using the credit and remove the bill from the report. Here are some screenshots for your visual guide:

Additionally, you can customize the data, add or delete columns, add or remove information on the header/footer, and even personalize the font and style of the report. Here's an article you can visit to learn more about customizing reports in QuickBooks Desktop: Customize reports in QuickBooks Desktop.

Let us know if you have additional questions or concerns about the vendor reports in QuickBooks. We're always here to lend a hand. Take care always.

WeldWright · ‎June 29, 2023

Thank you for your quick response. I followed the instructions and found that the account in the Credit did not match the account in the Bill, so I fixed that. I still have the credit showing under Unpaid Bills report. The only way to get it out of the report was to delete it. Then I reentered it as it was before and it shows up again. The only way to apply the credit is to create a phony bill to the same vendor. Perhaps, since I voided the original bill, there is no need to create a credit. If I just delete the credit, will it mess the books up somewhere?

Candice C · ‎June 29, 2023

Good afternoon, @WeldWright.

Thanks for coming back and asking additional questions.

With the questions you asked this go around, I recommend consulting with your accountant to get the best answer. They'll give you the advice you need to get back to running your business.

Keep us updated on how the conversation goes with your accountant. Have a wonderful day!

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I have paid a vendor twice for the same invoice. They have issued a refund. How to I record this properly?