About deposits on jobs

Some contracts require a client to supply a deposit before work can begin. When you receive the deposit, you need to decide how to enter the deposit, as well as when and how to apply the deposit when invoicing the client. This often depends on the terms agreed upon in the contract. The following outlines the most common methods for handling job deposits:

You can enter the check for the job deposit in the 1-2 Deposits/Interest window. If you only receive a few deposits each fiscal year, deposit the check to the checking account and credit the Deposits on Jobs account. If you receive numerous deposits, create a subsidiary account for each deposit using the job number as the subsidiary account number. This enables you to track deposits independently.

You can enter the job deposit as a receivable credit in the 3-2 Receivable Invoices/Credits window, debiting the Deposits on Jobs account and crediting the accounts receivable account. You can enter the deposit as an open credit, assigning it invoice status 1-Open, and invoice type 2-Memo.

Later, you can apply the credit as you enter receivable invoices or you can apply the credit as you enter receipts in the 3-3 Cash Receipts window. The credit affects the statement balance, but does not affect the contract balance.

Tip: By entering the job deposit as a credit, you can supply the client with a copy of the credit. This allows the client to see how you applied the job deposit to invoices. Another way to inform the client about the job deposit is to send the client a statement detailing the activity for the job.