Top 5 Questions: Invoices

Can we ever talk too much about invoices? Impossible! Invoicing is such an important pillar in business, which is why we’ve searched the Community for the most popular questions. Let’s not waste another moment and take a dive (in no particular order).

 1. How do I apply credits to an invoice?

Let’s take a moment to go over when you would want to use a credit. A credit is used when you wish to reduce what the customer owes you, maybe because of a promo or as a reward. This is not to be confused with a refund, which occurs when you need to send money back to a customer. We can walk through this step by step:

Create Credit Memo:

1. Select + New.
2. Choose Credit memo.
3. In the Customer dropdown, click the customer's name.
4. Enter the credit memo details (info like the date and amount). 
5. Once done, Save and close.

Now you’re ready to apply that credit to your open invoice. 

1. Select + New.
2. Click Receive payment.
3. In the Customer dropdown, select the customer.
4. In the Outstanding Transactions section, choose the open invoice you want to apply the credit memo to.
5. In the Credits section, select the credit memos you want to apply.
6. In the Payment column, enter how much of the credit you want to apply.
7. Leave these fields blank: Payment method, Reference no, Deposit to, and Amount received fields.
8. Fill out the rest of the form (don’t forget the date).
9. Double-check the total after applying the credit memo.
10. Lastly, save and close.

Do you want to save time for the next credit? Don’t worry, there’s a setting for that!

1. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Account and Settings.
2. Select the Advanced tab.
3. Select Edit ✎ in the Automation section.
4. Choose Automatically apply credits.
5. Lastly, Save and Done.

To learn more about delayed credits and other features, check out the full article: ​​Create and apply credit memos or delayed credits in QuickBooks Online.

2. How long does it take for an invoice payment to be deposited into my bank account?

We deposit your funds within five business days after your first payment. 

Two quick notes to keep in mind: First, deposits take a bit longer while we set up and verify your merchant account. After we're done, your payments will deposit much quicker, typically within two business days. 

Second, if you have an American Express ESA account, your payments deposits are on American Express's schedule so you won't be eligible for next-day deposits. Here are some great articles for you to take a look at:

Common questions about payments deposits in QuickBooks Online

Why are my funds on hold?

3. How do I change the account on my invoice? 

Invoices get the account information from the item/service entered in. To change the account affected, you need to change the one associated with the item/service. This means we have to go to our handy dandy Gear Icon:

To change the account the item/service is associated with:

1. Go to the Gear icon, choose Products and Services.
2. Find the item or service you need to change.
3. Select Edit in the Action column.
4. Make necessary changes.
5. Once you're done, hit Save and close.

That will then update the account in your invoice. Piece of cake!

4. How do I mark an old invoice (that has been paid) as paid without changing my bank balance? 

There may be a time you have an invoice from before using QuickBooks Online. You’ve been paid the money already but need to mark the invoice as completed without any accounts being changed. In this situation, we’ll actually revisit the steps for creating a credit memo (see above). Once that credit memo has been applied, you’ll go ahead and receive payment on that invoice. This will mark the invoice complete but without any money movement. 

To keep it easy, I’ll attach those steps again below:

1. Select + New.
2. Click Receive payment.
3. In the Customer dropdown, select the customer.
4. In the Outstanding Transactions section, choose the open invoice you want to apply the credit memo to.
5. In the Credits section, select the credit memos you want to apply.
6. In the Payment column, enter how much of the credit you want to apply.
7. Leave these fields blank: Payment method, Reference no, Deposit to, and Amount received fields.
8. Fill out the rest of the form (don’t forget the date).
9. Double-check the total after applying the credit memo.
10. Lastly, save and close.

​​

5. When does QB take items out of inventory--when a sales order is created, or when the invoice is finalized?

Keeping an accurate count of inventory is crucial to your business, so knowing when QuickBooks makes changes to that number is important. I'm going to take a second to review when you use an invoice versus a sales receipt :

• Create an invoice if you’ll get paid at a later time.
• Add a sales receipt if your customer paid on the spot.

Now, to answer the question at hand. QuickBooks decreases your inventory once a sales receipt or invoice is created. This means if you’re just creating an estimate, your inventory won’t be touched. 

For more information on inventory, check out this link: Set up and track your inventory in QuickBooks Online.

I hope this article hit on some of the questions you have as well! Remember, the Community is a great resource, not only with our Intuit-created articles but from your fellow business owners. We’re all in this together!