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Add a discount to an invoice or sales receipt in QuickBooks Online

by Intuit•96• Updated 6 months ago

Learn how to discount invoices and sales receipts.

Want to give your favorite customer a discount? You can discount a percentage of an invoice or sales receipt. If you have set discounts with fixed prices, we'll also show you how to add them as a line item on your form.

Your estimates or invoices will look different depending on whether you have the old or new estimate and invoice experience. Find out which experience you have.

How you set up and apply discounts will vary depending on which experience of estimates and invoices you have.

For a better experience, open this article in QuickBooks Online. Launch side-by-side view .

Set up and add discounts with the new layout

With the new version of estimates and invoices, you can turn the discount setting on or off directly on your estimate or invoice. But, if you want to add a discount to a sales receipt, the process is a little different.

Add a discount to the subtotal on an invoice or estimate

Select + New.
Select Invoice or Estimate.
Select ⚙ Manage to add a discount to the invoice or estimate.
Select the Payment options ▼ dropdown.
Turn on the Discount setting to add the discount field to your invoice or estimate.
Fill out your invoice or estimate.
For the discount, choose $ for a flat discount or % for a percentage discount.
Select Save.

Set up and add discounts to sales receipts

For sales receipts, you'll need to make sure the discount setting is turned on globally.

Step 1: Turn on the discounts setting

Select Settings ⚙ and then Account and settings.
Select the Sales or Invoicing tab.
In the Sales form content section, select Edit ✎.
Turn on the Discount setting.
Select Save and then Done.

Note: if you turn discounts off directly in an invoice or estimate, it turns it off in your global settings too.

Step 2: Apply a discount to a sales receipt

After you’ve turned on the discount setting, you can apply a discount as a percentage or as a dollar amount on a sales receipt.

Select + New.
Select Sales receipt.
Fill out the form and add your products or services in the Product/Service column.
To record a discount, select Discount percent to enter the discount as a percentage. Or select Discount value to enter the discount as a specific dollar amount.
Enter the percentage or amount you want to discount in the discount field.
To apply the discount to the total before sales tax is calculated, select the double arrow icon next to the discount field. This switches the order of the tax and discount fields.
Select Save.

Set up and add discounts with the old layout

Step 1: Turn on the discount setting

QuickBooks automatically creates a Discounts given account in your chart of accounts to track the discounts you give. If you haven’t already, turn on the discount setting.

Select Settings ⚙ and then Account and settings.
Select Sales.
In the Sales form content section, select Edit ✎.
Turn on the Discount setting.
Select Save and then Done.

With this setting on, the optional discount field displays in the subtotal of your sales forms. Your customer will only see it if you add the discount to the field.

Step 2: Set up and apply discounts

There are two different options for adding a discount to your sales forms. You can add a discount to the subtotal of your invoice as a percentage or a flat amount. Or, you can add a discount to your invoice as a line item where you can include a description about what the discount is for.

Add a discount to the subtotal on your sales forms

Select + New.
Select Invoice, Estimate, or Sales receipt.
Fill out the form and add your products or services in the Product/Service column.
To record a discount, select Discount percent to enter the discount as a percentage. Or select Discount value to enter the discount as a specific dollar amount.
Enter the percentage or amount you want to discount in the discount field.
To apply the discount to the total before sales tax is calculated, select the double arrow icon next to the discount field. This switches the order of the tax and discount fields.
Select Save.

Add a discount as a line item on your sales forms

If you offer specific or repeating discounts, you can add a discount to your sales form as a line item that includes a description. For example, if you have a Labor Day discount of $50, you can add that discount and description as a line item to the sales form. Note: You can only use this method for whole dollar amounts, not percentages.

Step 1: Create a discount item

Select Settings ⚙ and then Products & services (Take me there).
Select New.
Select Non-inventory or Service for the type.
Enter the name "Discount" in the Name field. If you want to create multiple discount items, give each discount a unique name so they're easy to tell apart.
In the Sales price/rate field, enter the discount as a negative amount. Keep in mind, this is a dollar amount and not a percentage.
From the Income account ▼ dropdown, select Discounts given.
From the Sales tax category ▼dropdown, select Nontaxable.
Select Save and close.

Step 2: Add the discount item to your sales form

Select + New.
Select Invoice, Estimate, or Sales receipt.
Add your products or services in the Product/Service column.
Add the discount item you just created in the Product/Service column. You can adjust the discount if you need to, just make sure it's a negative amount.
Fill out the rest of the form.
Select Save.

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